Complaining Neighbour.

[Zammo]

Can you believe it my nieghbour has complained to me because of the noise I made when making my first knife, in MY garden.

Granted I used a multi sander when filing down the scales, but it was in the middle of the day.

I don't know whether to just ingnore her and plow on with my next project.

 

[Dynamite Dan]

just ignore her, nothing to do with her what you do in your own garden during the day.

if she complains again, then just say listen " i don't play loud music at nights too keep you awake, the sanding wont last long"

OR, next time, do it while laughing hysterically to yourself for no reason, she may think your too twisted to approach

 

[Dougster]

We fell out with our neighbours - but they were freaks.

It's best to apologise and ask when they are out; try to be considerate. You never know when you may want her to sign for a consignment of materials for your 15th knife.

Justr work out timings that won't wind her up. If she is not helpful, plough on.....

IMHO obviously.

 

[Mirius]

I'd agree with Dougster. Falling out with your neighbours is a one way trip to everything becoming painful and can seriously impact on your enjoyment of your house and garden. Be considerate and talk them. Painful and you might ask yourself why you want to bother, but the consequences of having a neighbour whose mission in life is to make your life hell is somewhere you don't want to be.

 

[Jodie]

I am the sort of neighbour who would complain, and have done on numerous occasions

Apparently (at least in Greenwich) there are no timing bylaws for when you have to stop
making noise but any noise at any time that disturbs neighbours can be considered as
a nuisance. Admittedly I only complain about loud music poomphing out at 3am and
unsecured doors banging all night but I'd consider getting stroppy about anything that
interferes with my quiet enjoyment of my property.

What would stop my bleating would be for you to put a note through my door letting me
know that you will be sanding your knife and that's what the noise is, also that you're
planning to stop at some time in the future! This lets me know that someone has
considered that their noise might concern me and that's probably enough to mollify
me

You could invite her round to have a look - I'd be genuinely fascinated to see craft being
done. If it's just a weird disembodied noise that seems to have no end, it's very unsettling.
Obviously it's going to be a self-limiting noise but it doesn't always feel like that when
something seems to be going on and on.

What I think you'd want to avoid is having a situation where someone is monitoring your
noise output at various times and reporting it to the council. Every time I've complained
about any noise the council send me a noise diary - I never fill it in as it's usually a one-off.

I like peace and quiet, me - call me a freak but...

At this moment I have tiny little aircraft whining overhead in Blackheath - I'm not going
to complain though as they're absolutely lovely; I think they might be taking part in a
competition.

EDIT: They're in the Red Bull race at O2 dome which takes place not far from my house.

 

[Mirius]

At this moment I have tiny little aircraft whining overhead in Blackheath - I'm not going
to complain though as they're absolutely lovely; I think they might be taking part in a
competition.

I hate light aircraft Just when I'm enjoying the relative solitude of the woods, along will come one of those noisy things - and they are far more noisy than any car or motorbike!

 

[Jodie]

These ones are particularly irritating actually, but I have to say that generally I love
aircraft engine noise - it can be very calming.

When I was recently camping, at about 3am there was a very low rumbling over the
lake and someone reckoned afterwards that it was probably a C130 - heaven

These teeny whiners are visually appealing though they sound very annoying.

 

[Zammo]

Jodie I think thats a good idea, i'll try the note thing.

TBH these neighbours are a total pain in the butt. They are the ones who are noisy and the mother every night at about midnight phones her son and has a very loud conversation with him, it wouldn't be a problem but her bedroom is on the adjoining wall as ours. Then on top of that she play's her music and TV extremely loudly so we can hear it in every room of our house.

It all came to a head recently when I was quite close to decking her precious son (who is staying with her at the moment), now after a talk we have decided to try and all get along. So I'm going to try and be considerate. If she does remains to be seen, early indications don't look good.

 

[Bushcraft4life]

I had the same kind of neighbours, then i got a German Shepherd puppy, she is a big girl now even though she is still a pup, no more problems from the neighbours

Nobody wants a 45kg puppy hanging off their bottom now do they

The note is a good idea, but as you said Zammo telling us how these people are, i don't think it will work.

So you know what i say.......

Its your garden, you doing it during the day, plow on with your next project mate.

 

[Jodie]

Oh if she's making noise and then whinging at you then that's not on - you shouldn't be
having to hear her TV and certainly not her phone conversations. You should do the
complaining to the council

Her behaviour is exactly the sort of thing the noise nuisance teams are there for - we
even have out-of-ours noise officers who provide a rapid response to disturbances. It's
great - and it lets people know that you know you have backup.

 

[tommy the cat]

I have great neighbours and will go out of my way to keep them happy.
I have had awful neighbours and it can be a pain. I am doing up a car at a mates and we try to stop noise by 9pm no grinding after about 8pm, shut the doors and windows when making noise and turn off the compressor off early to stop that noise (it also dims their lights!!)
We try to do noisey bits on a sunday (when the ones who would complain) are out to dinner.
To be honest it makes me laugh that when I take the camper to commercial sites the noisest people are not the teenagers but flippin young kids late and early am!!!
Anyway I think explaining what you are up to etc as mentioned may help.
Dave

 

[Eric_Methven]

My neighbour is in her eighties, a widow on her own. Sometimes she would have every right to complain about the noise coming from my workshop (angle grinder on a 45 gallon oil drum sort of noise). She doesn't say a word though. I always tell her what I'm making (so she feels involved) and I also cut her grass and keep her hedges trimmed when I'm doing my own.

Eric

 

[Jodie]

Yes - there is an opportunity to create a bit of a community rather than seething feuds
over the garden fence.

 

[redcollective]

I work in my basement in a back to back terrace. I self limit grinding with an angle grinder to less than 10 minutes in a day, and use files for the rest of the time. It helps me practice doing it by hand and I only grind of the big stuff off.

Our neighbours behind us are also fond of the midnight shout down the mobile - it's usually "Jason you little expletive, get your expletive expletive home now!"

Stu

 

[Shing]

In my experience, the ones who make frivolous complaints make the most noise and are a nuisance themselves. They think they have more rights than you and can make more noise than anyone else. They are the sort of people who will inform on you if the country is taken over by Facists.

 

[davep90]

quite simply tell them to **** off!

 

[Marts]

Easy solution - stop using power tools and reach for the sandpaper and elbow grease

 

[leon-1]

Easy solution - stop using power tools and reach for the sandpaper and elbow grease

Been there, done that, but I still have power tools and I use them. Where I currently live I could not really use the belt and disk sander in good conscience as it's a noisy beast at the best of times. The way I got around it was to fit a sanding drum to my pillar drill, if I need a bit more flexibility then I attach the sanding drum to a flexi tail and then attach that to the pillar drill. The pillar drill has variable speed and a quiet induction motor.

If I see the neighbours before I start I tend to apologise for the noise I am about to make and make them aware that "If it should be intolerable to you that you can always come round and ask me to stop, however the fact that I will be wearing ear defenders and will be concentrating on what I am doing so as not to lose or damage body parts I may not respond straight away" is normally quite a good line.

As Jodie mentioned as well it is quite good to let people see what you are doing, my neighbours quite often ask what I am making or doing and take an interest in how things come together. From being just mere bits of metal and leather to something that vaguely resembles a knife and a sheath or a belt or possibles pouch.

I am pretty sure they also think I am a complete nutter in the nicest possible way, naturally.