Noisy neighbours !

Please can I have a rant ?

The male half of our hitherto perfect neighbours of 15 years has just decided to work from home. To that end he has converted his garden shed into an office. Trouble is, and he wouldn' t admit it, he is slightly deaf. He works with the shed door open, the speakerphone and answer phone on loud , his radio on so the beat only can be heard and all his phone conversations are at full volume so that the whole neighbourhood can hear.

We are trying to enjoy the garden sitting a few metres only from all this and it is driving me MAD ! He won' t respond to polite requests in person or an e- mail asking him to shut the door, turn off the noisy gadgets or go indoors. I am strongly tempted to ring the firm he works for and suggest that they might not like their private information spread so widely and would they ask him to shut up.

OK, I could go in and leave my sunlounger under the shade of the apple tree but why should I ? I can' t help being annoyed by it and, if they were not at work, am sure other neighbours would feel the same.

I wish I could say I feel better for the rant but don' t. All suggestions gratefully received !

Grumpy Old Woman

Hi there,

I suppose the only thing to say is "Look on the bright side.  You've had a great neighbour for 15 years and a lot of people can't say that!"

It could be worse.

The neighbour next to my Mum and Dad decided to start a Plant Hire business from his home.

Mum wrote to the local Council, the District Council and even the Department of the Environment to try and get him to stop but, because Dad was the Rate Payer (remember that term?) she blithely signed his name on all of the letters that she wrote.

To be honest, Dad wasn't all that bothered and this state of affairs carried on until one day when he was working in the garden the next door neighbour (a thirty something gentleman) called Dad over to the fence by whistling and waving his arm through the window of his Jaguar car.

Dad (seventy-two years old at the time) ambled over to the fence where he was told in no uncertain terms "If you write any more complaints to any more organisations I will personally have you!"

I don't suppose he expected the response he got but anyone who knew my Dad could have told him!  This old man who suffered from angina, silicosis and pneumoconiosis promptly jumped over the fence, dragged the man through the car window and said "Well, you'd better bloody well have me now because if you come again in the future I'll kill you."

The next door neighbour gave up his Plant Hire business a couple of weeks later after organising a place on an industrial site on the other side of town.

In your case, I would try VERY hard not to upset the neighbour.  I think I would be more inclined to dig out some earphones, hook them up to my iPod and listen to the 1,000+ recordings that I have available.

Hope this helps.  

Best regards,

You're a lovely man Dutto and, when you give up the travelling life, would make an excellent councillor. I' ve been so het up by it all that the audio book/ music route never occurred. He' s gone out repping now ( and I know his diary for the rest of the day....) so it might even be raining when he gets home.

Respect to your Dad ! A man after my own heart.

Thanks to you too. I feel distinctly cheered.

Check your deeds it may well be that running a business from home is forbidden.... just a thought?

We live on a private estate which consists of a number of individual detached houses, for my sins I am the Chairman of the road committee. Getting everyone to agree and not fall out is frankly hard work but I usually find the best approach is the diplomatic one that makes them think they have gained something or been praised in some way but in reality you are the winner....

" John, you are a great neighbour but I am afraid the noise from your office is causing me distress, how can we find a solution that suits both of us"

works better than

"John, the noise from your office is getting a real pain, will you please shut the door or turn the volume down"

Failing this get a chain saw and a piece of wood and every time he goes to use the phone just fire it up!!

Good luck!
David

That, David, is a good line. I' ve been thinking how to approach the subject this evening and that is much better than steaming in with a complaint. I' ll give it a go. As for the chain saw..that's quite mild. This morning I' d have cheerfully tried a flame thrower...

What thoughtful members this forum has.

Many thanks

Q

Noise nuisance can very quickly get ones blood to boil. I too think it is worth checking the deeds, but as above diplomacy can be effective, especially as he has been a good neighbour for so long before this happened. 
Just stay calm when you speak with him, it is hard to get angry when one party stays calm, and far easier to try to find a solution. A few words spoken in anger can start a long running, acrimonious neighbour dispute where nobody wins.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Sound advice: thank you. He's still out at the moment so, with luck, might be on an overnighter and not back until it is wet tomorrow and I will be indoors !

Good luck with that one, let us know how you got one?