What's to early ?

Gene Miller

Member
Messages
101
Location
Boca Raton FLorida
My neighbor just came over and said I was making too much noise. He said it's Sunday and his children are asleep. I do live in a zero lot line neighbor hood, but I did wait until 10. I would normally start at 8 on the weekends because it's the only time I have to work on projects. I apologized and turned the sander off . Should I wait until his lazy teens get out of bed or should I wait until noon as he suggests ?
 
Here in CA most Police Departments adopt the ordinance of 7 am to 10 pm as being the times that it is okay to make noise, seven days a week. During those hours, if it is unusually objectionable, very loud noise, i.e. head banging music or rap music, you can file a complaint and the police will come out and assess the situation. However, after 10 pm, you can just call and you do not have to file a complaint, they will enforce the ordinance.

There are a couple of exceptions, garbage trucks or other city work, and construction. You are allowed to start earlier than 7 am if there is legal/permitted work being done.

YMMV.


On the other hand, how good of a neighbor is this family?...........
 
Gene, your post resonates with me because I am sensitive to noise and also currently live in a zero lot neighborhood. I can't wait to build out on some acreage I have, not because I could now make all the noise I want, but so I can get away from noise my neighbors make. Being sensitive to hearing noise, I am sensitive to making noise. I always keep my garage (actually a shop that looks like a garage;)) door shut when running any machinery or making any noise that I would find irritating if I was a neighbor. I have never had a complaint. If you were already working with no windows or doors open and still had the complaint, I would negotiate with the neighbor as to a reasonable time to start work. Personally I would think 9:00 start time would be fine, but make a pass at talking about this with the neighbor. Even if it was in the middle of the day, I don't think you have a right to make noise; that is why I keep everything buttoned up.
 
IMO your neighbor was being unreasonable. As far as I'm concerned, an 8:00 AM start time would be more than considerate on your part. Why should you live your life around his kids late night schedule?
 
10am is not too early.

Its too bad your neighbors kid went out all night and partied and think the world has to shut down in the morning so they dont feel their hangovers too severely.


I dont worry about my own kids sleeping past 10-11am, I certainly wouldnt worry about my neighbors spoiled brats.

the world wakes up and life makes noise in the morning.where I live, gardeners ,contractors,and such cant do any work before 8am..
 
Being a good neighbor is important to me. I'm always the first one to lend a hand especially when hurricane shutters have to go up . I did stop the sanding and starting working on a sketchup project. I would close the garage to contain the noise but I need the ventilation . I was sanding in the driveway because the wood was ipe and I have an allergic reaction to the fine dust. Thanks for all the help and advice. Later when I take his Christmas gift over we will talk.
 
i agre that they shouldnt be able to tel us what or when but we arent city hall and we dont have alot of voice anymore ,,so to be civil ask your local law officails as to the law and then go tback to your neighbor and inform him of the rules then come to a aggreement that you canlive with.. in my opinion 8AM is plenty good for anyone to hear noise.. but if you have means to tame it down i would do that as well..
 
I agree that 10:00 AM is not too early. My own personal rule is 9:00 AM on weekends. At the other end of the spectrum, I don't run any power tools past 8:00 PM either. For comparison purposes, I live in a typical subdivision with 1/4 acre lots.

About a decade ago, on the 5th of July, the neighbor across the street was up until 2 in the morning shooting off fireworks, came over and complained about noise at 9:00 AM the next day. I generally like this guy so I tried to find other things to do for awhile but it wasn't long before I turned my planer back on. As a total morning person (in bed by 10 PM, awake by 5 AM) I found his line of thinking (?) quite ironic.

Another situation occurred with another neighbor where I was installing roofing on an addition to my house. It must have been around 4 PM. He wanted me to stop because he was on nightshift at work that week and the nail gun noise was keeping him up. I apologized but explained that I needed to complete the job and that was my only convenient time. I did ask if he preferred if alternatively, I completed the job at midnight.

PS - Since I don't let the fact that my own kids (10 & 13) sleep over the shop/garage, why should I let the neighbors kids stop me?;)
 
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You can take a legalistic approach to it but you have to live in the neighborhood. If you get a fight going with a neighbor, they can complain about all kinds of things and it can get nasty. So, IMO, you did the right thing.

But, that said, 10am is very reasonable for noise on a weekend.

Mike
 
I'm a bigtime night owl, but if I had a neighbor making noise at 10:00 AM, I'd figure it was my problem to deal with, not his. 8:00 AM would bother me, but I still wouldn't complain. I figure they are within their rights to be making noise at that hour, even if my schedule doesn't coincide with theirs.

I live on a cul-de-sac, and have very understanding neighbors. Despite my asking them repeatedly, nobody has complained about me running power tools in the shop (garage) at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. I generally try to avoid the really noisy stuff like running the planer or ripping long pieces of wood on the tablesaw, but it's not uncommon for me to be running the DC, compressor, pneumatic sander, vacuum pump, lathe, and stereo simultaneously after midnight. (I do keep the overhead door closed, though.)
 
I'm a bigtime night owl, but if I had a neighbor making noise at 10:00 AM, I'd figure it was my problem to deal with, not his. 8:00 AM would bother me, but I still wouldn't complain. I figure they are within their rights to be making noise at that hour, even if my schedule doesn't coincide with theirs.

I live on a cul-de-sac, and have very understanding neighbors. Despite my asking them repeatedly, nobody has complained about me running power tools in the shop (garage) at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. I generally try to avoid the really noisy stuff like running the planer or ripping long pieces of wood on the tablesaw, but it's not uncommon for me to be running the DC, compressor, pneumatic sander, vacuum pump, lathe, and stereo simultaneously after midnight. (I do keep the overhead door closed, though.)

boy vaughn yu sure are some kind f night owl!!! how do you socailize with normal folk yu must be half aslleep during there awake time:D
 
Chuck your neighbor is sure lucky all your wife's horse did was clop, clop, had it "plopped, plopped" she might have been more upset!!!:rofl::rofl::rofl:
Noise, no problem, house and buildings smack dab middle of my forty acres. But I feel for you, being in an apartment building for three years in Married Student Housing at Purdue cemented me being a rural person forever!
 
I'm an early riser. By 10am I'm already thinking about what's for lunch ;-) Most of what I will get done is done by noon on my days off. I do wait till either 7am or until I hear the first lawn mower to run power tools. With a little planning there are lots of things to do without turning on power tools for the first hour or so in the morning but waiting till 10am, let alone noon, is ridiculous.

We all have to get along with our neighbors but they have to get along with us as well. Check your local ordinances, discuss them with your neighbor and try to land at an agreeable compromise. If he is the unreasonable type then at least you tried. Go on about your business within the law. . . . . (read while muttering) wait till noon, sheesh, early to bed early to rise you hibernating sloth . . (fade into indistinguishable mumbling) ruga-raga-mfft, bleegle . ... .

P.s. My neighbor has one of those speaker systems that plays the same 6 or 7 Christmas carols over and over again. Every day as dusk till about 9pm for weeks leading up to Christmas. I seem to be able to stand it because I know he and his wife really like it. Let's all be a little tolerant shall we?
 
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I'm not on a big lot, but far from the city space of zero lot lines. We and the neighbor to the east have about an acre. Neighbor to the west has about 3. Across the street, more like 3/4 acre, but their back yards back up to ranch land. I don't run anything noisy like my cyclone that exhausts outside before 10 am or after 8 pm. My big door is open in warm weather, closed when it is cold. But I usually don't have the cyclone running more than 10 minutes at a time. That's about the only tool right now that neighbors would even hear. Now when I get the planer going....:rolleyes: Jim.
 
I have a neighbor that has a 20 year old garden tractor that sounds like it's running at 100 RPM. He cranks it up at 8AM on Saturday and Sunday and drives it around. He uses it to tow a little trailer and move things around the yard.

There are those weekend mornings where 8AM is too early. He's legally within the rules so we just grimace and roll over.

When I periodically use outdoor equipment on my property, I wait till at least 9 - 9:30 AM before firing it up. I'm talking things like chain saws, wood chippers and T/L/B's (Tractor/Loader/Backhoes).

We're not friendly with the tractor neighbors - we just pretty much peacefully coexist. It doesn't hurt that we have an 85' buffer of light woods between my house and the common property line (it my 85').

Good luck making peace with your your neighbor - try to come to an reasonable agreement. The problem is the word reasonable.

Cheers

Jim
 
I guess Im in good shape since I had a tiff with my neighbor in 2003 and havent spoken to him since.

I run my Genie shop vac, which sounds like a jet landing, very close to his den window to let him know Im still his neighbor.
 
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