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Building work can be noisy, but with care it can be carried out without causing too much nuisance to your neighbours. Contact your council for help if you are having problems with noise from building work or DIY.
Contractors should tell their neighbours what work is being done and how long it will last. This will give the residents an idea of how much noise they will have to put up with.
Noisy building work
It is a fact that building work is often noisy. However, this doesn't mean that builders can annoy people with noise at all times of the day and night. Building contractors should consider ways to reduce noise at the planning stage.
When carrying out work builders should try to reduce noise as much as possible. Where possible building equipment should have silencers fitted and work should only be carried out during reasonable hours.
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Reasonable times for building work
In residential areas the priority is ensuring that people are able to sleep at night. There are very strict controls around working at night or when people are getting up in the morning.
Too much noise during the daytime can still be against the law. The council can take action if the builders don't show any consideration for neighbours.
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Noise from DIY
Most people have jobs that need to be carried out around the house, especially if they have just moved in. However, this doesn't give permission to annoy neighbours with the noise from DIY at all times.
Disturbance from DIY work and decorating can be minimised by thinking about what work you are doing and carrying out the noisiest activities at a reasonable time.
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Reasonable times for DIY
Tell your neighbours that you are going to be carrying out some work. Noisier work should be kept to these hours:
- Weekdays - 7.00am to 7.00pm
- Saturdays - 8.00am to 1.00pm
- Sundays - No noisy work at all
If your neighbours have small children you may need to restrict your DIY even further.
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