DIY
Most people have tasks which need doing around the home, especially if you have just moved in, or are redecorating. We accept that many people have ‘9 to 5’ jobs during the day and need to do DIY work in the evenings and at weekends.
However, this does not mean you can disturb neighbours at all hours of the day and night or allow DIY work to simply go on and on. We all have to be reasonable in our behaviour towards others.
- Think! Would you be happy if your neighbour started drilling and hammering at 9pm or at 7.30am on a Sunday morning? Consider how much noise your job is going to generate and have a plan of how you will deal with it before you start.
- Speak with your neighbours. Explain that the work is something you must do and apologise in advance of any disturbance your work might cause them. Simple information, such as how much work you have to do and how long it might last for, can go a long way to maintaining relations with them. Be sure to tell them that if the noise is bothering them then they should speak to you first and let you know so that you can do something about it. Most importantly, if they do come to you and say it is a problem – do something about it!
- There are no set times between which works can or cannot be done but you should always make sure you do the work during reasonable times. If you must do the work in the evening’s midweek, start and finish as early as possible. Consider the fact that most people look forward to having a lie in at weekends so don’t start too early in the morning. We usually suggest reasonable times to be: 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
- If DIY work has already been undertaken in preceding workdays (i.e. Monday to Saturday) then we would generally recommend that no work should be undertaken on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Whether or not noise from DIY activities is causing a nuisance comes very much down to the time of day that it is being done and whether or not it can be considered reasonable. Generally, works carried out during the day will cause fewer nuisances than those done early in the morning or late at night.