Noise

[crazy about cars]

Right behind my garden there is an enclosed gated area with a few garages. Recently the landlord rented a few houses out so there are now new tenants now occupying the area.

It seems that they have now made the area into their own and using it to repair numerous vehicles. I suspect they are running a business as I've seen countless vehicles being worked on there. They even have a compressor and carries out spray jobs which does annoy me as the overspray sometimes blows into my garden.

Lately as the days are getting longer they carry out repair work late into the evening - just a few minutes ago at 9.15PM we can still hear angle grinder and hammering.

As the wife is pregnant she finds the noise disturbing at this hours so I've gone and spoke to one of the guys. He was a bit aggressive when I mentioned that this is not a reasonable time for such noise. Perhaps a large hammer in his hands made me a bit nervous...

Anyway I stood my ground and he agreed to stop for the night. His parting comment made me a bit worried though as he said "Don't let me catch your fking wife and kids making noise eh".

I have a lot on my mind right now and this has really made me worry even more. Am I being unreasonable? I can ignore the noise but at 9PM would really appreciate some peace.

Is there anything I can do if the noise continues?

[Jonno02]

Phone 101. Outline the situation, not only about the threat and noise, but the fact they are running a business that is having a detrimental effect on the surrounding properties and they most likely don't have planning permission to do so. Ask for officers to respond as you feel this is becoming a regular nuisance.

[crazy about cars]

Jonno02 said:

Phone 101. Outline the situation, not only about the threat and noise, but the fact they are running a business that is having a detrimental effect on the surrounding properties and they most likely don't have planning permission to do so. Ask for officers to respond as you feel this is becoming a regular nuisance.

Thanks - I did consider dialling 101 but wasn't sure if police could provide assistance as it's technically a private area.

[Jonno02]

crazy about cars said:

Thanks - I did consider dialling 101 but wasn't sure if police could provide assistance as it's technically a private area.

Doesn't matter if it's private or public. I've phoned 101 on many occasions for nuisance neighbours (a business). The police always visited within the hour and then eventually removed all the music equipment from the business as they refused to adhere to council noise limits.

[ging84]

Think you were jumping the gun a bit complaining about the noise being too late at 9:15, especially this time of year when it's not even dark at that time.
But if someone really is running an unlawful business you have grounds for complaint regardless of the time of day

[aw51 121565]

It's a planning issue - car repairs in a residential area, overspray from car painting getting onto your washing & windows and into your lungs etc (there are limits around repairing cars with noise arising during sociable hours, the number of cars being 'repaired' over time and not having paint spray visiting the neighbours etc ) - so speak to your LA's Planning Dept on Monday and make a complaint .

Bit of a choker that the 'neighbours' will make assumptions as to who complained, but that ship has sailed now .

[crazy about cars]

I don't mind if they do what they need to do as long it stops after 8PM the latest. Sounds of angle grinders and hammering on bodywork is not what you want to hear on a Saturday evening.

I can't 100% prove that they are running a business but I do notice different cars getting worked on plus notice equipment like engine jack and compressor etc in the garage. On one occasion they somehow managed to park a Renault truck back there which is amazing considering the access road is barely wide enough.

As I work away most of the time I don't really want to cause any issues with them due to concerns over safely of family. Tenant are from 2 houses but mates from nearby hangs about often. Just hope he gets the message as I did also asked if they are running a business in garage earlier which he denied.

[TroubledSoul]

I sympathise OP, but aren't you allowed to make noise until around 10pm according to most council regs? If so, you might find that you struggle to get anything done unless they take the bit about a business being run there on board.

I do hope you get somewhere but I know myself, I have had many nights working on project cars where I am at it until 10pm and sometimes have to make a bit of noise. If someone came to me at 9:15pm and asked me to stop what I am doing I would be a bit taken aback.

I would, of course, apologise for annoying them and try to reduce any noise if I could as that's what a reasonable person does. Not threaten them while holding a hammer!

[dirkgently]

TroubledSoul said:

I sympathise OP, but aren't you allowed to make noise until around 10pm according to most council regs? If so, you might find that you struggle to get anything done unless they take the bit about a business being run there on board.

I do hope you get somewhere but I know myself, I have had many nights working on project cars where I am at it until 10pm and sometimes have to make a bit of noise. If someone came to me at 9:15pm and asked me to stop what I am doing I would be a bit taken aback.

I would, of course, apologise for annoying them and try to reduce any noise if I could as that's what a reasonable person does. Not threaten them while holding a hammer!

It wouldn't cross my mind to use something as anti-social as an angle grinder after about 8PM in a residential area.

[crazy about cars]

TroubledSoul said:

I sympathise OP, but aren't you allowed to make noise until around 10pm according to most council regs? If so, you might find that you struggle to get anything done unless they take the bit about a business being run there on board.

I do hope you get somewhere but I know myself, I have had many nights working on project cars where I am at it until 10pm and sometimes have to make a bit of noise. If someone came to me at 9:15pm and asked me to stop what I am doing I would be a bit taken aback.

I would, of course, apologise for annoying them and try to reduce any noise if I could as that's what a reasonable person does. Not threaten them while holding a hammer!

I don't mind him working on cars late as long as the noise level is acceptable. Angle grinder and hammering on metal work gets a bit annoying in my opinion especially if you are trying to have quiet evening with family. The work can sometime start from morning and lasts until late in the evening too.

Perhaps I should've worded my request better yesterday; wife and kids were pretty distressed asking me when the noise will stop so I was a bit upset (plus it's not easy to bring the discussion further with him being aggressive...). At this point I don' really want to escalate any further hoping that somehow he/they will understand.

Edited by crazy about cars on Sunday 21st June 12:25

[crazy about cars]

aw51 121565 said:

It's a planning issue - car repairs in a residential area, overspray from car painting getting onto your washing & windows and into your lungs etc (there are limits around repairing cars with noise arising during sociable hours, the number of cars being 'repaired' over time and not having paint spray visiting the neighbours etc ) - so speak to your LA's Planning Dept on Monday and make a complaint .

Bit of a choker that the 'neighbours' will make assumptions as to who complained, but that ship has sailed now .

Thanks for the advise - I did some research and as mentioned acceptable noise levels should be allowed until up to 10PM. However what is acceptable noise level is a fine line here depending on interpretation.

I don't really want to escalate any further at this point as I want to keep the peace around here plus also concerned about my wife and kids' safety. So hopefully he/they will somehow take my point on board and try to keep it as civil as possible...

[soad]

For lots of cutting out etc, you can't beat a plasma cutter - faster, neater and almost silent.

Grinding down with good quality flap sanding discs generates less noise than a hard/solid grinding disc, and gives a much gentler and nicer finish.

Views on what is reasonable noise differ widely too!

[stuart313]

Putting the legalities aside he does have a point, you cant really complain about noise if you have screaming kids running round the garden, the time of day is immaterial.

[Brigand]

If he's doing all that work on multiple cars as a business (cash in hand most likely) in a residential parking area then he's treading on thin ice with the council at least. The tiny street my mum lives on has an old codger who has it in for my brother. Around the corner, out of sight, my brother likes to work on his car. The old codger reported my brother to the council claiming he was running some kind of scrap or repair business there, and they duly came out to investigate - and quickly realised it was just a lad working on his car and not a business.

If your council has the same mindset then I'm sure they'll be interested to hear that some bloke is running what sounds like a full repair shop in this common area. Of course any action that comes against him will have him thinking of you...

Edited by Brigand on Sunday 21st June 13:07

[crazy about cars]

stuart313 said:

Putting the legalities aside he does have a point, you cant really complain about noise if you have screaming kids running round the garden, the time of day is immaterial.

My kids don't go into the garden much anymore, last time was on my eldest daughters birthday which ended at 6PM and yes there were certainly noise from the children playing I'll have to admit.

On the other hand their kids play ball and ride bikes around the area regularly and I don't have a problem with that as I understand kids will be kids. However I disagree with your point that time of day is immaterial, I will not let my kids run around screaming in the garden when it's their bed time and would appreciate if others return the common courtesy.

edit: I've just read my post again and I do apologise if it comes across as being provocative.

Edited by crazy about cars on Sunday 21st June 16:29

[9mm]

You've done the recommended PH thing of going to have a word, face to face. Shame you omitted the obligatory bottle of red.

This should be relatively easy to sort out. Speak to the Council. If he's running a business without permission they'll shut down the operation pretty quickly. If he can convince them he's working on his own cars then he'll be covered by noise nuisance laws but you will have to keep a log and it may take longer to resolve. If your children and wife are normal and don't make unusual amounts or levels of noise there is nothing for you to worry about.

[stuart313]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Of course I'm serious, the OP seems to be complaining about noise not the legalities of running a business from the garage. If it was a knitting business would the OP be on here complaining?

All I am saying is the OP asked someone not to make a noise and that someone asked the OP not to make a noise, seems fair to me.

[V8 Fettler]

crazy about cars said:

Right behind my garden there is an enclosed gated area with a few garages. Recently the landlord rented a few houses out so there are now new tenants now occupying the area.

It seems that they have now made the area into their own and using it to repair numerous vehicles. I suspect they are running a business as I've seen countless vehicles being worked on there. They even have a compressor and carries out spray jobs which does annoy me as the overspray sometimes blows into my garden.

Lately as the days are getting longer they carry out repair work late into the evening - just a few minutes ago at 9.15PM we can still hear angle grinder and hammering.

As the wife is pregnant she finds the noise disturbing at this hours so I've gone and spoke to one of the guys. He was a bit aggressive when I mentioned that this is not a reasonable time for such noise. Perhaps a large hammer in his hands made me a bit nervous...

Anyway I stood my ground and he agreed to stop for the night. His parting comment made me a bit worried though as he said "Don't let me catch your fking wife and kids making noise eh".

I have a lot on my mind right now and this has really made me worry even more. Am I being unreasonable? I can ignore the noise but at 9PM would really appreciate some peace.

Is there anything I can do if the noise continues?

Local environmental health should deal with paint overspray. Do they have a spray booth?

[Vaud]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Quite.

[daytona365]

No descriptions of these 'repairers' ? But I think we all can guess eh ?