‘My neighbour sounds like he’s smashing his house up at 7am – I want peace and quiet’

One woman was left miffed after someone bought the house next door and started to renovate it – but she said he was being really noisy and smashing lots of things

If your neighbour sounded like they were smashing their house up, what would you do? One woman was left in a conundrum after her new neighbour was making a lot of noise in his house, but in a previous conversation he had admitted that the house ‘needed a lot of work’ and he wouldn’t be moving in until the new year.

The woman took to Mumsnet to say since there’s been ‘constant banging’ coming from next door, she doesn’t know what to do about it. She explains in her post that she didn’t want to nag him because she would hate to come across as unkind before she’d had a chance to get to know him, but she also wanted to ask how long he was planning on doing work on the property.

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She wrote: “Am I being unreasonable to ask the new neighbour how long he’s planning on smashing the place up? Mid-terrace house has been empty for nine months so I know I’m just used to the quiet.

“He got the keys on Tuesday, came to say hello, and that the house needs a lot of work. He said he’d be back and forth and probably wouldn’t move in until the new year.

“Since then he’s been there for full days (including since 7am this morning) and it’s essentially constant banging. My two bedrooms are next to his two so I didn’t expect too much renovation noise but it’s not stopped. I work from home so more aware of it, admittedly.

“This morning has been the worst as I was up all night with the dog. What would you do? Ignore and hope it passes quickly or ask what the plans are next week?”

The post received a mixed response, with many Mumsnet users suggesting that she just put up with it for the time being in order to not come across as rude.

One wrote: “Suck it up, it won’t last forever. And if you ask what his plans are you’ll just come across as nosey or awkward.”

Another agreed, commenting: “Ignore it. You can’t renovate a house without making a noise. And it’s not his problem if you were up all night.”

Others recommended mentioning it to him nicely and asking could he do the work within ‘working hours’.

Someone said: “My understanding is they can work Mon to Sat but from 8am (if I remember rightly) not on Sunday. Check your council website.

“Once you have the correct info then approach him kindly and communicate. That’s all you can do. Are there neighbours on the other side of him? If so maybe have a word with them as well.”

Another wrote: “I think it’s reasonable to ask him to keep noisy renovations between working hours. At least refrain from them before 9am and after 7pm so that you are able to rest in the evenings without constant noise.

“It would also be reasonable to ask him to let you know when he’s planning any especially noisy work.”

Others said she’d just have to put up with the noise though, commenting: “As long as he sticks to the rules regarding noise that are on all council websites, there isn’t much you can do sadly. My late in-laws had this for years with their neighbours, but the council couldn’t do anything as they stuck to the guidance. Working from home has its disadvantages and this is one.”

What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.