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Original poster

Building works - quiet periods over nap time

118 replies

LondonNQT · 13/04/2022 09:47

A and B live in terraced properties and share a party wall. B is due to commence an extensive renovation of their property - A has two children aged 2 and 4.

A has requested that the builders stop work every day during nap time - they would like this included in the party wall agreement.

Is this reasonable?

OP posts:
impressivelycunty · 13/04/2022 10:34

Your local council will have specific times for when work is allowed, have a look online. Stick to that and ignore the rest!

FingersofFish · 13/04/2022 10:35

A sounds batshit

TangoWhiskyAlphaTango · 13/04/2022 10:35

I renovated a terrace house during lockdown and had the next door neighbour banging on the door to ask the electrician to stop as she was home schooling the dc. I appreciate it is very annoying but they were working during normal office hours as are your builders. I apologised but explained we had to plough through. They are now far far more noisy than me with their kids!

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 13/04/2022 10:36

I would def tell your builders that all instructions come from you.

She should not be round telling them what to do

Completely unreasonable

BloodyCreateUsername · 13/04/2022 10:37

This is utterly hilarious. I renovated my whole house with a baby who slept through the work.

FairyCakeWings · 13/04/2022 10:39

Tell your builders not to take instructions from her, and tell her to stop harassing your builders. Crazy woman.

MrsMoastyToasty · 13/04/2022 10:41

Babies can be taken out in their prams or car during nap times.
If it's a 6 month build and the builders are going to have to down tools for 2 hours every day that's going to extend the build time by weeks.

IDontHaveAnOutingHobby · 13/04/2022 10:42

@LondonNQT

A and B live in terraced properties and share a party wall. B is due to commence an extensive renovation of their property - A has two children aged 2 and 4.

A has requested that the builders stop work every day during nap time - they would like this included in the party wall agreement.

Is this reasonable?

No it isnt
Original poster
LondonNQT · 13/04/2022 10:43

Our foreman is no wallflower and he got so annoyed with them coming round, including on occasion their nanny, that he told his team to pretend they don’t speak English!

I was particularly annoyed about the party wall agreement, given that as has been pointed out upthread it’s there to protect their property. Thankfully we declined their offer to use the party wall surveyor they’d appointed a year before we started work and have our own.

I’m a secondary school teacher and I have never come across anyone so entitled in all my days.

OP posts:
Laptopsandmouses · 13/04/2022 10:43

Lol, no how ridiculous of them. What an utterly ludicrous request.

Herejustforthisone · 13/04/2022 10:45

I have a toddler and an ongoing renovation. I think that is precious in the extreme.

CosilyRosily · 13/04/2022 10:48

We considered instructing our builders not to use power tools during nap time but tbh our 12 month old slept through the noisy structural work anyway, didn't seem to bother him. Maybe suggest a white noise machine to your neighbour

Alliswells · 13/04/2022 10:49

OP I'm so relieved to hear that you are not A !!!!!!

Totally unreasonable, entitled and a bit batshit!

brookstar · 13/04/2022 10:54

A is being completely unreasonable.

I did ask my neighbours builders to be quiet for 45 mins last week as I had a job interview via Teams and had covid so couldn't leave the house to do it elsewhere....that that was a one off and they were happy to oblige! I wouldn't dare dream of asking them to be quiet everyday. We've just had to put up with it as frustrating as it can be.

SockFluffInTheBath · 13/04/2022 10:56

Some people are crazy and entitled. If the water board was digging the road up would they go out and tell them to stop jackhammering at nap time? 🤣

FurierTransform · 13/04/2022 11:26

No I don't think that is reasonable and highly unlikely they will agree to it, & even if they do, likely the trades won't abide anyway

fluffiphlox · 13/04/2022 11:28

Not just unreasonable but bonkers.

Candleabra · 13/04/2022 11:30

Completely unreasonable. I can see why they want it, neighbour’s building work can be a nightmare.
But no, they can’t ask the site to stand down for two hours every day.

Original poster
LondonNQT · 13/04/2022 11:45

@SockFluffInTheBath I honestly wouldn’t put it past them tbh!

The originally asked us via email to agree to no works over nap time and then their party wall surveyor tried the same thing. So they clearly don’t seem to think they’ve been at all cheeky.

We were told (not asked, as it’s not up to us really) by our party wall surveyor that he had agreed to no works on the party wall during nap time. They know this but came round telling the guys off for putting scaffolding up over nap time the other day. Scaffolding that’s on the opposite side of the house to them and can very clearly have nothing to do with the party wall.

OP posts:
BruceAndNosh · 13/04/2022 11:55

ha ha ha.
Nope.

So if nap time is 12 til 2, if little Jonny fills his nappy at 11.55, so nap nap starts later than usual....?

Callmejudith · 13/04/2022 11:56

Just to add to the consensus that they are crazy. We had big issues though with similarly entitled neighbours who luckily moved out a few weeks into our build. The previous year the neighbours two doors down did a renovation and the batshit one went around and told the builders to stop because she was having a massage

OakPine · 13/04/2022 12:05

Completely reasonable. Tell them so.

Then tell them you never want to hear a fucking peep out of their precious darlings before 7 or after 11. Ever!

Ariela · 13/04/2022 12:39

Not reasonable. Yes, we can ask that quieter jobs are done, but overall surely it's better for the parent if babies learn to sleep through whatever noise happens?

Hotzenplotz · 13/04/2022 13:27

Unreasonable, entitled and unrealistic.

Kipperandarthur · 13/04/2022 14:14

I’ve never heard of such entitled nonsense. Good luck in navigating this build with such crazy and unrealistic neighbours.

It’s beyond amazing that they think the world should stop for nap time. They really need to move to a rural location with no neighbours, but then could come across farmers with machinery ha ha.

How anybody could suggest this defies belief. But there again I know of somebody living in an upstairs flat who was asked not to use their kitchen after 8pm as the downstairs had a child in the bedroom beneath said kitchen in the flat below. They too were given a two word answer that included “off”.