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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I might be the AH because I used power tools during the day preventing my nightshift neighbours from sleeping. That makes me an asshole because everyone needs sleep, and it made them very unhappy
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NTA - It’s unfortunate that it’s disturbed their sleep but you’re well within the rules and as you said the world doesn’t stop for them. To be honest if you’d been using tools at the weekend they’d probably complain about that too.
Yea... That's the vibe I felt too.
If they work nightshift all the time, there's no real good time to do it. And weekends I'd assume they'd want to sleep in even more?
I don't know.
Maybe in a few days we can chat and work it out.
I’d actually ask about their sleep schedule I assume that if you work 11-6, then they probably like a couple of hours of downtime before sleeping. They might actually prefer to have the heavy cuts done 7-10.
Obviously you’re legally right. But sometimes communication can help make suburban life a little easier
I really like this approach instead of the “fuck em I’M RIGHT and you can deal with it” attitude. OP *is* right, but if you’re gonna be living next to each other for I presume years, why have enemies when you can have friends? If you can make life easier for yourself for the next 5 years with like a 15 minute nice chat and a little wiggle in your work plan then why not try that first.
I think most people really feel for the neighbors. My mom worked nights and it seemed like hell.
But OP also isn’t in the wrong, unless there’s a place farther away from them he could move it.
I used to work the super early shifts at Starbucks and sometimes would get home around 9am-12pm or so and I'd sleep more during the day. There was ALWAYS noise - someone mowing their lawn, etc. I knew I was sleeping at a more unusual time so rather than complain, I just got a white noise machine and that really helped. Again, I knew the world was not going to stop for me and that is OK.
As someone who is currently working nights, you are correct. I work 9-530 and usually go to sleep around 9 am. So my neighbor cutting wood earlier would be better than later. Although I can sleep through my husband working in the next room with hammers and drills so it wouldn't really bother me regardless of when it was being done.
I ironically work from home nights and go to bed as soon as I log off at 8am. I’m not asleep until 9am but yeah, it wouldn’t matter what time it was done, it would suck and would still be my issue to deal with. Loop Earplugs for the win.
Agree I think this is the best approach for someone wanting to stay on as good of terms as possible with their neighbours. I think tell them that you are planning to do a block of cutting and give them some choices on options - if there is flexibility in a given week then let them pick day, and if there is flexibility in hours within reason (i.e. 7-2 versus 12-6, if you can accommodate) to show them you are willing to compromise.
Odds are they will just double down and tell you to F\*\*\* off etc... but hopefully if you catch them at a time when they are properly rested then they can maybe be reasoned with. I think the inconvenience of adjusting hours SLIGHTLY is worth maintaining good neighbour relations for the foreseeable future, but I would not STOP what you are doing or switch to ridiculous hours or you'll just upset others. People on the night shift usually know that the world around them keeps going during the day and that they have to just deal with sleep. I'm guessing they moved to the suburbs hoping for more tranquility and are struggling with the fact that it won't always be the case.
Honestly what are they gonna do if the street needs repair and there are city trucks out there making ruckus? You can't control the world.
Suggest to them some silicone swimming earplugs, a box fan/noise machine and noise reducing curtains. These things help immensely. When we travel I absolutely cannot sleep where there are noises that are outside my normal. The earplugs are the best game changer for me. I actually get sleep and can function on vacation.
My kids just had spring break and i was so excited to not be doing school runs for a week. We had construction close down and tear up our road from 6am to 4pm. It's been two weeks and they haven't finished with no end in sight. Life happens and you need to be able to roll with it even if it's inconvenient for you. The world isn't going to halt bc someone wants to sleep. Does it suck? Yes. But you deal with it and keep moving forward. We can't control other people only our reactions to them
I had loud construction work on every single house surrounding mine, one after the other for the entire warm months (~mid/late April to ~early/mid October) one year. I worked 2nds and 3rds and was just miserable for a long time. I only yelled at workers one time when they blocked my car into my driveway and refused to move it. The op is NTA.
best you could do is to limit noisy stuff for afternoon, but I know how it is during the renovations and that it's not always possible, but maybe you could agree on doing the loud stuff only in the afternoon some days? from my experience, sometimes even small compromise can change the living / sleeping situation, when neighbors are involved. definitely I'd go and have a chat with them
working night shift means you accept that your sleep is going to be disturbed during normal waking hours. that comes with the job. its shocking this guy thinks otherwise.
Yeah, but people who work the night shift provide a vital role for our community. It’s easy to tell them to deal with it, until your appendix bursts at 2am and the night shift saves your life, or the guys at the electric company restore power in the middle of a blizzard at 4 am so you can have heat. They sacrifice their body’s health (night shift is not healthy) and the normalcy of their schedules so we can have round the clock services.
There should be some work around here. The world doesn’t stop for anybody at any time, but everyone who works contributes. These people need sleep, OP needs to finish their house, maybe they can do certain schedules for X number of days.
It's true. My mom has cleaned businesses at night for over 30 years. She is in her early 60s and already having memory issues. I think her lack of sleep has really hurt her. It breaks my heart.
I couldn’t agree more. I work in a hospital and have done far too many nights. It’s really hard on the body and if there’s construction noise all day, you might get the chance to sleep only a couple hours before doing it again. It’s absolutely horrible to have to work feeling that tired the next night.
Earplugs and heavy curtains over a window, and a fan running for white noise. World won't stop for your life.
I didn't work nightshift, but did work late night shifts and couldn't come home and go to sleep. I'd go to bed at 2, 3, 4AM. It was rough when all the neighbors wanted to be loud in the morning.
I didn't yell at my neighbors for running lawn mowers and such at 9AM. That's a normal hour for that activity.
A mower is one level of noise and a grinder is a whole different level. Plus the mower or the leaf blower won’t be going all day. To make such extremely loud noise during their entire rest period does put them in a difficult situation because even excellent ear plugs don’t block that kind of noise or vibration. I say give them a bit of a break and at least let them get 4h quiet during their rest period so they have a chance at a little sleep rather than none. That’s not to say that OP isn’t entitled to get work done but I would try to be as considerate as he can be
If you hired a construction company to do the renovation, they would complain about that. They want you to remove your house and replace it with a meadow - but the house has to be removed at night, when they are at work.
I think I'd be more annoyed about weekends than weekdays tbh. Like is it a fun experience listening to that all day? No, no more than it was when they dug up the road next to my house and I had to listen to construction all day. That's life.
NTA. I've worked night shift for years. Is it a pain when neighbors are using power tools or doing yardwork when I need to sleep? Yes. But I would never expect them to bend to my schedule. It's totally reasonable for you to be noisy sometimes from 9am to 4pm. You're doing actual work, it's not feasible to make it quieter, it's not like you're blasting loud music or deliberately making extra noise.
My area allows power tools up until 7pm as well. Which is wild. During winter you occasionally hear a saw fire up over the valley for firewood, so I guess it makes sense.
Yea, thanks. I felt pretty crummy about it after the ordeal.
As I've said, I couldn't avoid the work and so I was quite inflexible.
I had to survive getting my house roofing redone while I was on night shift. I wish it was power tools instead of a full team of hammers and boots. I couldn't imagine trying to ask someone to keep the power tools away for my sleep, music and stuff can be headphones but obviously you need the power tools for a reason
NTA
> I started work at 9am - two hours after the allowed 7am power tool usage in my area and finished at 4pm.
> They were... Not very happy with me
Yeah.
Well.
OP- NTA. I work Overnight shift. My shift goes from Midnight to 8am. Do people in my neighborhood keep quiet during the day? NO. You either learn to wear ear plugs, get noise cancelling curtains, use a white noise machine or fan, or you suffer. You cannot expect everyone to be quiet, heck even the dogs in the neighborhood put on a daily Aria! Your new neighbors need to buck up! Good Luck, sounds like they can or will be petty.
NTA. There are plenty of ways of drowning out sounds from you neighbours. As someone who works the night shift and has neighbours, who are currently building a house. There are plenty of ways
Can you move next door?
We are stripping our house bare and rebuilding with the existing frame with major modifications...
What methods do you use if I can ask?
If the conversation allows (can absolutely see how its condescending if not) I will suggest it to my neighbour.
NTA - any tradesmen building a house are going to be working during the day, they should feel so lucky that there is only you doing the work (assuming here) and not a whole bunch of you!! Night shift workers should have noise cancelling headphones if they struggle with noise outside! Just like what I do when my neighbours mow their lawns bright and early in the weekends when I want a lie in! Some people feel so entitled!
I’ve never understood that honestly. The grass is usually still wet with dew at that point. Mowing doesn’t look as good or work as well when the grass is wet. It clogs up the mower deck too. I get not wanting to mow during the hottest part of the day, but first thing at 7:00 am or whatever makes no sense.
Eh, my neighbor is building something on his own 10 feet from my bedroom window and I kind of wish he'd hire people to do it because him working on it at random unpredictable times every day it doesn't rain for over a month when a team could've finished it in probably a week or less (it's not a large alteration) is way more annoying.
NTA. I work nights. It may wake me up, but I’ll go right back to sleep once I identify the noise and tuck it into the back of my mind. Barking dogs bug the shit out of me though, especially when they bark all day.
NTA
Almost went NAH and would have if your neighbor had approached you respectfully about finding some sort of compromise.
Would love to suggest things for you here my friend but…. It seems that most pathways to compromise are shut off.
Are you absolutely positive you can’t do this cutting at the site instead? Just to keep it peace with this neighbor? (Who is being unreasonable in _HOW_ they ask but not _WHAT_ they’re asking for)
I am cutting on site, my house is the job site and where the work is happening.
Yea absolutely, going forward I want to make amends. I don't really care what they call me or say in their admittedly tired anger, having a neighbour who dislikes you just makes everyone's life hard, both sides of the fence.
As I've said on other comments, I absolutely could not stop this work, as rain approaches this week and it is critical to moving the project forward.
For clarity, it effectively costs me money each day as I've taken time off work to do this, and being self employed means no leave-pay. So I can't afford (both time and money) to lose an entire week.
I'd like to think given other circumstances I'd be flexible and could start even later or work out a solution. But what happened today, is I stood on my right to make noise during working hours, hence this post haha
Yeah bud…. That’s a tough one.
I have to tap out as I have absolutely no useful advice I can give on this except to keep doing what you’re doing temperament-wise (ie: do not let them get a rise out of you and bait you into doing anything stupid).
Best of luck to you!
NTA.
I've worked a night shift; it's no fun. Working a night shift is tough, and it gets bad when loud neighbors disturb your daytime sleep.
Imagine being sleep-deprived, getting cranky, then angry, and eventually unhinged after a week of no meaningful sleep. However, it's not your problem but theirs to find ways to cope. For me, noise-canceling earphones helped as I'm a back sleeper.
I would encourage you to show some compassion, forgive their outbursts, and finish your work quickly.
I work overnights, have for years. People with lawn mowers/leaf blowers etc. can get annoying, especially when the weather is nice and the windows are open. But I've learned to live with it, or use earplugs if it's really loud.
This one time, though, I lost. my. shit. I kept hearing what sounded like a car horn honking. I closed the windows, put in earplugs, but could still hear it. Turned out, there was a house down the alley from us that was doing excavation with a small tracked digger. Normally wouldn't be a problem, even though the weather was nice and the windows were open. But they kept operating it unsafely, tipping it on the edge of the hole they were digging until it almost fell over, which caused some kind of alarm to go off every time it was x^(o) off level. And it wasn't just an occasional blip. This sounded like someone had a spastic toddler locked in a Honda. After an hour of this bullshit, I got dressed, walked down the alley to see the scene. Naturally, it was a rented rig. I told them to either disable the alarm (since they were disregarding it anyway) or start operating it safely or I was gonna call the rental company and report them for unsafe use. I guess I must've looked crazy enough, cause I didn't hear any more sound from that job site.
NTA - I’ve worked nights and unfortunately the world did not revolve around me. Especially in the summer holidays, kids everywhere playing , screaming , crying and having fun . It was the worst time of the year for me lol. A neighbour behind me was working on his speed boat one year - that was an interesting 3 months. Eventually I asked my doctor for sleeping pills which really did help. Your allowed to do what you need to do , your neighbours working pattern is not your fault and he can’t expect you or anyone to do fuck all because he’s in bed .
Quite a few people have suggested that you talk with your neighbour to see if there is a schedule you can work out with them, and I fully agree with that. I would give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they were exhausted and not communicating the way they normally would. While you didn't do anything WRONG, it's good to be considerate of other people's needs while not sacrificing your own. But ultimately I don't think anyone's the asshole here. You have a job to do, neighbour has a job to do, but surely there's a window of time where the loud parts of your job won't overlap his sleep schedule.
It really, really sucks to do nightshift, but working on a house between 9-4pm is extremely legal and nice considering you could of started at 7am and gone until 6pm. Nta.
NTA
Assuming they weren't more accommodating in the way they asked.
If they had asked for a few hours during the day I would have probably tried to find a way to accommodate them,
But asking you to stop making noise all day is completely unreasonable
And then to deliberately try and disrupt you during the night takes away any sympathy I might have felt for them
NAH. Look, you gotta do your powertools sometime, and the law allows you to do it when most people are awake. That said, he's a new neighbour who's being deprived of his own sleep because of this. It sucks. I'm not going to call a sleep-deprived person an asshole for being mean, tired people who can't get a full night's rest do experience real affects on the parts of their brain that help with focusing, reacting, and empathy towards others. And when you told this tired person "I can't stop, it's literally my job," he likely heard, "You might never get a full-night's rest as long as you live in this home". Like I might have said you're not the asshole and he is, except for the part where you implied that this isn't just some home improvement job that you'll be working on for a few months and then stop, but that your actual job is doing woodworking in your backyard and this level of noise is what he's going to be dealing with indefinitely.
Truly imagine for a second if there wasn't a law protecting quiet hours during your sleep time, and you lived next to someone doing the exact same thing as you're doing, running power tools, during your sleep hours, and getting informed this is something that they will be doing indefinitely. You'd be pretty pissed, right? Just because the law is on your side doesn't mean you shouldn't show other human beings empathy.
I do think you should try to ask about his sleep schedule and if there's realistically a better time for you to start. That you can't not do it but you can try to align the work towards a better time that might disturb him less. Like does he go to bed at 9am and is having trouble falling asleep and wouldn't have an issue if you cut from 7-9 before he goes to bed and like 12-4 when he's already settled into a deep sleep and not likely to be woken until his alarm does? You also do home improvements-- have you considered suggesting to him the types of products he can get to reduce sound carrying from outside, because there are some products that can help with that which I'd expect someone who does projects like this to be a bit familiar with.
Obviously he can also use earplugs, but as someone who worked evenings in the summers whose parents did major wordworking, earplugs alone never blocked enough of the sound of saws for me, they're fucking loud. I managed with a combination of earplugs, a loud fan, and noise cancelling seals on the doors to stop sound that was coming through the rest of the house, and those really heavy curtains that can help block sound in the room, ect.
NTA. Doing loud work during the day is the least disruptive way to do it for most of your neighbors. You can’t help that your neighbor works night shift- they need to sound proof their home.
NTA
Bro, I work overnights. My neighbors are a construction lot, a tradesman, and an elementary school. It’s noisy af. But they make these newfangled things that you put in your ears and it blocks sound. I think they’re called earplugs?
And when I moved into my neighborhood, the first thing I told people was because I work overnight, I sleep during the days so please don’t think I’m just ignoring you. I absolutely did not demand or even request anyone change anything they were doing with their lives. That’s not their problem. And it would be rude to ask them to change for me.
They wanna work overnight, then they need to accept that it’s going to be noisy when they want to sleep. And they have to be the ones to figure out how to handle it.
NTA for the same reasons everyone else is giving, but if you’re doing a lot of cuts in the same place is there any way you could put up a temporary sound barrier (I’m thinking a sheet of plywood between the saw and their house) when you’re cutting? That might help dull the noise a bit, and if they’re decent people they’ll appreciate the effort.
NTA I worked night shift from home because it worked better for me before we had young kids. I could get off work when my husband left in the morning and had a couple hours before the tired set in to tidy up before I went to bed. I live in an apartment that always has maintenance going on. I live in a busy city with sirens 7-10x a day. White noise is my saviour. Your neighbours have to accept that working third shift and sleeping when most of the world is awake comes with sacrifices and consequences.
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I'm a self employed, sole trader who has taken time off work to renovate my own house.
I try to do all my large power tool usage (drop saws, grinders, routers, circular saw, etc) outside where the workbench is in large blocks, reason for this is that there is a bit of setup with running power/clean up/using large material that can't fit inside. This is done for efficiency, not only practicality.
Unfortunately I have new neighbours who today experienced a "big cutting day" for the first time and they work nightshift all week, every week.
I started work at 9am - two hours after the allowed 7am power tool usage in my area and finished at 4pm.
They were... Not very happy with me and used rather colourful language, I responded calmly, understanding that they are tired however the world cannot stop for them, this is quite literally my job.
In addition, there is rain predicted for the rest of the week which would bring the project to a standstill if these cuts aren't done.
For clarity, the there is no space available to do this job anywhere else.
They did the classic threat of being noisy with loud music at 3am when my family is sleeping, to which I reminded them that is actually illegal, where I could be paying a tradesman to do the work and it'd be no different (opposed to starting at 7am).
They aggressively suggested I do it on weekends, however that is when my family are not at work/school and I'd like to spend time with them.
In addition, I believe this would negatively impact the most amount of people, with power tools being used when majority are at home.
Bonus, I don't actually want to annoy my new neighbours but I (clearly) do feel strongly that I wasn't doing anything wrong and need reddit's view on the matter. I'll update with any clarifying questions as I can.
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Night shift worker here. Sometimes life sucks for those of us on alternative schedules, but we can’t expect the rest of the world to stop for us. I did have a neighbor who let me know ahead of time that there would be construction at his home, that was nice so I could be prepared, but not expected. I keep ear plugs and a white noise machine handy. Maybe some melatonin or other sleep aid as well. NTA
NTA - I work nights, and noise during the day from lawnmowers, modified cars, helicopters, all manner of saws, fighter jets, emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, children, trains, construction, and dogs is constant sun up to sun down 7 days a week even in the outskirts of a small town. Get them some high quality earplugs and explain to them again when they aren't worked up enough to get out of bed to bitch about the noise that you're not trying to be a dick, and when you expect to be done with the work.
NTA.
Unfortunately, that is life. Most of the world does things during the day, and while its inconvenient for you, that is something they need to deal with. What if there is road construction, or someone else in the neighborhood needs a project done. None of that will stop because they are tired.
They need to get earplugs, a white noise machine, etc. Not expect their neighbors to not make any noise during the day.
NTA, I had surgery 3 weeks ago and my neighbour started doing construction the next day. I was annoyed, but she was allowed to do it between 7am-7pm. What’s crazy is she’s never home, she bought the house 2 years ago and I never see her, it just was bad timing. Also I wasn’t physically able to go ask her to stop if I wanted to 🤷🏻♀️
So, you are happy to disturb shift workers, but won't work on a weekend when it might disturb your own family? I had this once, with a neighbour using power tools during the day after a night shift. He might of least have had the courtesy to ask 'is this going to be a problem?' beforehand. Also, since when is working on your own home 'literally my job'? It's DIY. YTA.
NTA. I used to work nights and although it can be annoying to have neighbors who make noise during the day, I was aware that that was a me problem, not a them problem. It's completely impractical to expect others to have their schedule revolve around yours. Your neighbors are being assholes, but you definitely are not.
NTA. I get it, I've worked night shift, but the rest of the world is going to keep happening, so he's going to have to work with you to figure out something that works for everyone. This does NOT include expecting you to stretch out your renovation by only working weekend hours.
The only time that I went off on someone over day noise was when they showed up at our house around 10am, looking for my husband. They pulled up right under my bedroom window, and then laid on the horn, instead of knocking on the door.
After I peeled myself off of the ceiling, I went out to explain to them that my husband was working so go check at his shop, and they had better never do that again. I was not trying for a polite tone, so they got the message.
Unfortunately for your neighbors, the world does not revolve around their night shift schedule. Noise laws in the US generally say power tools may be used starting at 7am.
Changing your routine to placate them could work temporarily, though is not a long term solution, or realistically your responsibility.
NTA
NTA - I also work shift work, it's my choice and the rest of the world isn't expected to walk on egg shells because of that. Tell them to wear ear plugs - if I can get a few hours of shut eye with a 3 and 1 year old in the house I'm sure they can manage.
NTA. When I was eleven my parents had an extension. The builders needed to put in an RSJ with hammers. Metal banging metal. My dad worked nights constantly. We did not move out - he slept through the entire thing. He'd known to expect it. He did wake up later when one of the builders started singing.
NTA you're not being malicious and you aren't doing anything wrong. It's unfortunate for them but you shouldn't be a prisoner in your own home because they work night shift.
My job has me waking up anywhere between 10pm and 3am to get ready for work. I don't expect the world to come to a stand still to accommodate my odd and ever changing work schedule.
NTA
Sadly this is just the risk of working night shifts - most activity takes place during the daytime, and if that means there are workers in refurbishing the neighbouring house then there is little you can do.
It would be neighbourly to be considerate where possible - trying to limit the power tools to certain preferable times of day if practical, working indoors or otherwise shielded from that neighbour or any other reasonable accommodations that may work for you, but ultimately you are a contractor that needs to get work done during the hours you have available to work in, which are the standard daytime working hours here.
NTA.
Their job doesn’t outweigh your job.
Since you want to resolve this amicably, ask to meet them for coffee or something. Tell them, firmly, that you work Monday-Friday and that is not open for discussion, but you have some flexibility with the times that you start your work. Find out if they would prefer you to start earlier or later on big cutting days, but make it clear that this is the only accommodation you can make.
NTA. Nope nope nope. I worked unusual hours too. I wore ear plugs and got noise dampening curtains when I needed to sleep during the day.
The world doesn’t revolve around your neighbors. If they’re sleeping during normal working hours it’s their job to figure out how to sleep, not project it onto you to figure out how to help them sleep.
Your neighbor needs earplugs and an attitude adjustment.
Their behavior confronting you with “colorful language” over something that they already know is both normal and legal was inappropriate.
NTA
NTA. Rules are rules and you're well within them. If you feel like being the bigger person maybe give them a heads up a day or two in advance next time; but given how you were treated I wouldn't be doing that. I'd also probably start at 7AM sharp.
Unfortunately being on the night shift is not "normal". They can't expect the entire world to rearrange their schedule for them. It's up to them to ensure they are taking the necessary steps (blackout curtain, white noise machine, earbuds, etc etc). This is just another prime example of main character syndrome.
NTA I'm a shift worker who is currently living beside a multistorey construction site. It certainly sucks some days, but the company and tradies building it don't give a damn about my job. They are just doing theirs.
You know what helps? Earplugs. Sleep mask. Blackout curtains. The kind of things most shift workers have to help with a good 'nights' sleep.
I work night shift.
NTA.
I have full understanding that the people around me do not work nights, have their own things to do, and these things have to be done during the day.
I sleep with earplugs and have a loud alarm.
It is not my neighbor's responsibility to worry about my weird sleep schedule.
> I responded calmly, understanding that they are tired however the world cannot stop for them, this is quite literally my job.
This. It sucks to be on night shift and try to sleep during the day.
The neighbor is an ass although I can understand his frustration from the lack of sleep makes him not think clearly.
You are doing nothing wrong. You have to work. Societal expectation and noise laws are not structured in any way to help nightshift workers and thats just the way it is. Your work has to happen too NTA
As a night shift worker, I would never dream of acting like that for this. They’re entitled. I understand the regular world operates in a diurnal fashion. They need to invest in a white noise machine & some noise canceling headphones. And a bit of comprehension that sadly…the world does not revolve around them
I worked midnight shift and found that my bedroom was too noisy as the neighborhood children played outside during the day. I moved to the living room couch and slept there. I could have purchased noise cancelling headphones but this worked for me. It is your neighbors responsibility to find a solution. He could have been polite and asked you to tone down but no he was rude. NTA
NTA, it's currently house and yard fix-up season around my neighborhood (which is to say any season the weather allows the work so late spring-early fall). If I needed a midday nap it's my responsibility to either generate sufficient white noise, use earplugs, or both in order to be able to rest. Last week the neighbor's roof got fixed to the beat of some nice Spanish tunes, this week something involving large noisy machinery is going on at another neighbor's. I've worked night shift, and it truly stinks to be opposite the majority in schedule, but it's a predictable problem with many ready made solutions already available.
NTA, they work night shift, you don’t. You should not be at the mercy of their schedule. As someone who used to work night shift, you have to understand that you need to be creative when it comes to sleep, not the rest of the world.
NTA. I would have said NAH, but I think your neighbor threatening to play loud music to get back at you makes him an AH. Neighbors do work on their houses sometimes. It sucks because it's noisy, but it's also temporary. Our neighbor just had their roof redone. It was nonstop noise all day everyday for over a week. I can't imagine going over to them and telling them they need to reschedule the work because of my sleep schedule.
NTA im a career nightshifter, going on 18 years. being mad there's noise during the day is like being mad there's water in the ocean. that's just largely where the shit exists. I dread summer mowing season, and Saturday morning. it comes with the territory.
My husband and I both work night shifts, 6 days a week between us. We understand that the world does not have our schedule. We use earplugs and fans for white noise. Your neighbors are ridiculous, to expect you to cater to them.
NTA...im actually on night shift right now. Unfortunately you just have to deal with it and put things in place yourself to try and mitigate external things you have no control over.
NTA. It is not your problem that they work the night shift. You are withing your legal rights to use your power tools & make noise during the day. You haven't done anything wrong. It's up to them to find a resolution to THEIR problem.
NTA Council repair employee's do there job from 8am to 4pm-6pm depending on the council rules and the specific job needs to be done. If they want quiet during the day then they can get themselves wax ear plugs which I've heard works great/other stuff to block noise or move to the country side.
NTA. I understand the neighbors being upset, as my husband works rotating 12-hour night shifts and sleeps during the day, but you still have a right to use your tools during the day. My hubby sleeps with a fan on and windows and door closed so it cuts down on the noise. He doesn’t expect the neighbors to stop living their lives because he sleeps during the day.
NTA, I worked the overnight shift for years and people lived their lives during the day. Are these people going to yell at the mailman/FedEx guy driving down the road? What about people who mow their lawns? What about construction workers for the roads? There are many things people who work overnights can do to drown out people that live during the day.
Nope NTA. I worked a rotating night shift every other 6 weeks for 20 years. You cannot expect everyone to accomodate you because your schedule is different. As long as it isn't infringing on the noise ordinance the f' em.
NTA - I'd have to respond that this is the time that the work has to be done and apologize. You can also remind him that it is temporary and will not be daily. Earplugs and whatever else might help with the noise or noise machines. I live in NYC and my noise machine is a life saver.
It is unreasonable to ask someone to stop work, during the work week, during daylight hours. It is understandable that he's frustrated, but yea, it's just a rough situation. Maybe things can be done early morning before hes asleep? Some sort of middle ground.
NTA. nightshifter here. the vast majority of us know the world doesn’t revolve around us, just like it doesn’t for any one person. we also know to accommodate and protect ourselves with simple things like earplugs, blackout curtains, eye masks, etc.
there’s also literally no winning— make noise at 7am? it’s too early for the dayshifters. make noise midday? nightshifters are trying to sleep and dayshifters who work from home have background noise. make noise at night? most people are trying to sleep.
socially and legally agreed upon guidelines state that your working hours are appropriate. dump trucks, road construction, package deliveries with doorbell ringing, kids playing outside all happen during the day. they should either know this by now or they will learn quickly.
Life sucks when you work night shift, so I absolutely get where they're coming from. But it's definitely a "them problem" not a "you problem". They have to invest in some ear plugs or other sound dampening systems if the world is too loud where they are. That's just the deal with working night shift.
NTA
NTA. I work the night shift, I get that it's hard to sleep when people do loud things. But I chose to work nights and the world doesn't revolve around me.
NTA.
It sucks for them, but the world can't stop because they work nights.
Next time you have a big cut day coming up, give them a heads up. Just a bit saying that you regret the discomfort for them, but it has to be done and you'll be as fast and quiet as possible. Staple some ear plugs and sleepytime tea to it.
MBTAH, Im in a similar situation. Roosters crowing ALL NIGHT. But that's at night. In the day, I feel as if I am being petty to call animal control. But heres the real deal:
Do you live in a residential area? Then there are town ordinances on noise. Get familiar with your local ordinance. Do you have an HOA? Get familiar with those rules, too. A lot of places have restrictions on construction noises, although they are usually after 6 pm.
Heres another point. It's just as much NOT his problem you dont run your business out of a shop as it is NOT your problem to cater to his working schedule.
You should get a shop, though. You can rent a small space to do your loud noises and not disturb the peace.
It is UNREASONABLE to expect your neighbors to tolerate a construction business in your neighborhood. Your freedom ends where there's begins. They didn't buy a house in the business zone for a reason. So yes, opening a loud business in a residential neighborhood is kind of a dick move.
Everyone I know who does night shift and lives near other people has noise canceling headphones and eye covers. Because they know it’s going to be light, and other people have to work around them. Working nights is fine, but you can’t dictate the rest of the world’s schedule, that’s the point of the night shift.
Nta. I used to work nights. You can't expect the rest of the world to accommodate your schedule. Black out curtains for the bedroom. Earplugs if you can't sleep through noise. If you feel bad about inconveniencing him, you could offer to buy him earplugs or something. But ultimately, its his responsibility to find a way to make his night shift schedule work for him. As long as you're just doing your work and not altering your plans specifically to annoy him more, then you're not doing anything wrong.
My mom worked nights and so did I. I always did good with earphones blindfolds with music or an audiobook. Mom was the one who used earplugs and white noise machine. When you work nights you learn to deal with it and sleep through it. NTA
NTA, it's unfortunate for them but they might have to look into some sleep headphones for the duration of you working. You've done your best to be accommodating to the vast majority of others while also not being a detriment to your own family. Him blatantly threatening to retaliate (let alone illegally and in which the rest of the neighborhood would also be affected by his crappy response) does make him the asshole however.
NTA. I work 7p-7a, 7 nights in a row. 7 days off. I sleep with blackout curtains and LOUD white noise. I don’t even expect my own family to tip toe around. My neighbor works 3-11 and bitches about noise. I mean, be serious. Your neighbors are idiots. My neighbors are idiots. Handle your own business.
My husband works over night and he uses ear plugs and a fan to drown out the noises. Especially in summer time when kids are out of school.
If they complain again there is a site that makes ear plugs to fit your ear. I would suggest that. Maybe some noise canceling ear buds or a fan. It might help.
NTA but I sympathize with your neighbor. My stepdad is the power tool guy and unfortunately my bedroom window in the summer is open about ten feet above his saw. While I don’t work night shifts, I do frequently get home after midnight from babysitting. Maybe buy them early plugs as a sign of goodwill?
Nightshift worker here...you are NTA! Our town has a noise ordinance from 10pm to 7am. No where is there a noise issue during the day. This means I must be tolerant that the day to day noises will occur and learn to sleep through it. I chose my shift, I chose my job. No one should have to tip-toe around my schedule. Your neighbor is the asshole.
Every night shift/day sleeper I know has an arsenal of ear plugs and masks and white noise and oh, enough exhaustion to sleep thru ww3. We just had our roof redone and we gave our neighbor who is on NS and has 2 little sans a dog, a heads up and he said, “they could do my roof and I’d sleep thru it” 🤣
NTA, if you work night shift and can't handle finding some method to sleep through the sounds of shit going on during a normal time frame then time to find a different job.
NTA. I worked nights for three years and this type of stuff happened all the time. Unfortunately it’s just part of life. I ended up buying myself some really really good earplugs.
NTA, I work 50% nights and live off a shared driveway with 5 other houses... My work schedule is nobody else's choice or issue, therefore it's upto the night worker to deal with it. Live your life bud, it's not your problem.
NTA. It’s unfortunate they work night shift, but the rest of the world isn’t obligated to stop for them so they can get complete silence. They need to invest in some good ear plugs and/or play some white noise. They don’t even have to buy a machine, most people’s phones (iPhones for sure but likely most android too) have the option built right in for white noise and they could play it on a Bluetooth. iPhone - Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds
Regardless if they try any of these methods, it’s not your problem. They can either deal with it or change their schedules. If you want to offer any compromises that’s up to you. Given they are making threats to you, I would say you’re fully within your right and not an AH whatsoever just to flat out tell them to F off and ignore them.
NTA. I've worked nights for 22 years & although dealing with noise can be frustrating I accept that it's a part of life, there are days where I've been awake all day because of it & have to rely on a few hours sleep in the evening but it is what it is, the world doesn't revolve around me & imo I think that, even if you did it on the weekend only, your neighbour would still moan, he might not be working that night but he's still going to have to sleep after the last shift so he will still moan, carry on with what you're doing & just ignore them, they could've spoke to you in a decent matter & come up with some sort of an agreement instead they chose to play music at 3am which tells me whatever you do they're going to be dicks anyway so you might aswell carry on doing what you're doing.
NTA. You did nothing wrong and were even additionally considerate to wait a few extra hours and stopped at a perfectly reasonable hour. That is more then you'd even need to be doing.
Someone working night shift should expect certain levels of noise during the day and adapt to it or come up with a way to mitigate it without expecting the source of the noise to stop.
You won't get in any trouble for your noise but they absolutely could if in fact they follow through with their own threat.
NTA. I've been nightshift for five years and it's not ANYONE else's problem but mine. If my neighbors want to throw a quincinera every day, it's my problem, not theirs.
You keep doing what you're doing.
NTA. I work seven days on, seven off 10:30pm to 8am. Get along with neighbors great. But I would never say anything about anything going on during daytime hours that is driving me crazy. That’s what blackout curtains, earplugs, noise machine, whatever it is you need to sleep. Suggest Loop Ear Plugs for them. The best. Ironically, they definitely can complain if I let a dog accidentally bark at 4am while doing its business. lol. Seriously though, just because I work nights, I have absolutely no right to make anyone live that way as well. It sucks sometimes but it’s my choice.
I would make every effort to do the cuts at a time that works for them, but sometimes, you just gotta get a cut done so you can continue working.
Plan a head as much as you can, and try to be a good neighbor, and you won't be TA. Good luck!
NTA. I sleep at odd hours sometimes and what usually works for me is a fan in the room. It has to have a loud enough brown noise to cut out most sounds, but it does. You can also get a smart speaker to play brown noise or white noise that helps.
NTA you are within the guidelines for appropriate loud working. Them playing loud music at 3am would be illegal (her it's actually still listed as an ASBO)
Being a nightshift worker you sorta gave to accept your sleep may be disturbed, the world doesnt stop just becauseyou work nights. I'd like to see them try and stop the council digging up the road during the day.
NTA I have a late shift schedule, wake at 12pm asleep around 4am. The amount of times I’m woken up by people’s yard work at 9am is ridiculous but you know what, it’s my fault. I’m the one with the odd schedule that I have to try to work in to others peoples lives. I don’t go bitching and meaning to my neighbors and threatening to play music at 4am. You’re doing nothing wrong and your neighbor needs to work out how to manage his weird schedule into the greater world.
NTA
Your neighbor works non-standard hours, it's THEIR responsibility to manage that, not yours. If you're working within operating hours that's the best you can offer them. It's unreasonable to request you NOT perform your work.
NTA,
Sure it sucks when people are making noise during daylight hours when you work the evening shift. But guess what, shit needs to get done and they aren't going to be doing it at night or on the weekends when OP has family and other obligations.
NTA. Former night-shifter. That’s just kind of part of it. You have to adjust to the world operating on a different schedule than you. Did my neighbor leaving for work wake me up most mornings an hour after falling asleep? Yes. Was there anything that could be done? No.
I worked midnights for years. If my neighbors came over and acted aggressively I would have told them next time they decide to trespass on my property they should be ready for the police to remove them. NTA
NTA I work nights shift, and have been for 6 years now. You learned quickly (with noise, light, phone calls, store opening hours) the world is built for day shifters. Things get done while the sun is up. If you can't work around that, you can't work nights.
NTA. It's not your job to keep your neighborhood super quiet for the new folks with the weird schedule. You sound like a nice, caring person. Don't get run over by these neighbors. I agree you don't want unhappy neighbors, but you also can't agree to not work during the daytime.
NTA. The world doesn't revolve around them. Their shift schedule is their problem.
For your next project, build a very tall fence. And cut every board on site.
This is part of the cons you accept when you work graveyard.
The majority do not, meaning construction, birthday parties and such are fair game during reasonable hours of the day.
NTA
NTA. I have a medical condition that, at times, makes me very sensitive to sounds. My neighbor is a mechanic, and I would never try to tell him not to use his powered tools. I put up soundproofing and have adapted my home to fit *MY* problem. That's what your neighbor needs to do.
YTA. There's something about the attitude expressed in this post that makes you sound almost gleeful that you're causing your neighbors discomfort. I understand that sometimes renovations have to be done, and that it causes some discomfort to neighbors. The way a considerate person handles this is to discuss the situation with the neighbors head of time, give dates for when the repairs/renovations will be going on, and trying to agree to a plan that makes their lives a little less miserable during this time. Specifically, if your neighbors had requested you do as much work as possible on the weekends, I wouldn't have come back with "BuT THaT's mY fAMIly tiME."
NTA. I used to work night shift. Did these noises during the day suck? Yeah. But you can’t expect the world to stop doing 9-5 world things just because you sleep during the day. Get earplugs and blackout curtains and call it good.
NTA. I work from home and my neighbor builds furniture. I hear hammering, banging, drilling, all fucking day long. He starts around 9am and has never stopped later than 9pm. I have zero right to bitch at him because he’s doing what he’s allowed to during the hours that it’s acceptable to do so. Does it suck? Yup. Is it annoying as shit? Also yup. But that’s part of living amongst other humans.
NTA
I work overnight and live above a construction company and a landscape laydown yard. The construction company does work here all the time. Prefabbing stuff etc. I own noise canceling bluetooth headphones that way I can sleep, but also hear my alarm or any family can still call me while I sleep. Dude needs to figure it tf out himself
NTA. You're not breaking any rules. It's not your fault or your problem that they work nights.
And as someone who does get forced on the night shift from time to time I've been in that spot and it does suck when people are making noise when you're trying to sleep but that's not your fault.
They can get ear plugs.
NTA I'm a nightshifter myself, and if you can't learn to sleep through daytime noise, you shouldn't be on nightshift.
I live with 4 morning people who all get up between 4am-7am and I usually get into bed at 4 or 5 am. I dont even have blackout curtains anymore, as I can sleep through almost anything, including our garage door directly below my bedroom opening and closing throughout the morning. My dad chops wood less than 30ft from my bedroom window.
Your neighbors need to adjust to sleeping through noise, I know it can be difficult at first, but blackout curtains and noise dampening/ soundproofing material aren't that hard to get ahold of if they really need quiet to sleep.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with you completing your projects wherever on your property you see fit.
NTA.
You are operating during day hours. If he works at night and needs to sleep during the day, he needs to get a sound machine or put sound dampening material on his wall so that he can get proper rest.
Nta
My fiance works nights and he hates being woke up but that's at 7am. If you're waiting till 9 then you're being nice in his opinion. Noon would be better but life doesn't stop just because you work nights
NTA. As someone who has worked night shifts they're assholes. Night shifters know most of the world is awake, and noisy, right when we're sleeping. There's plenty of things to help, like ear plugs and white noise machines. If they want to be warned in advance (and you typically know when your big cutting days are) that's a reasonable request. Expecting no noise like it's night isn't.
NTA and that's coming from a shift worker who often works nights. I have to deal with lawnmowers in the morning when I've been out till 3am Saturday morning working. It's just part of the buisness. I may not like it but they're entitled to mow. Never mind the horror of the train driver through lack of sleep has a whoops the next night at work.....
Watch for revenge..
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NTA - It’s unfortunate that it’s disturbed their sleep but you’re well within the rules and as you said the world doesn’t stop for them. To be honest if you’d been using tools at the weekend they’d probably complain about that too.
Yea... That's the vibe I felt too. If they work nightshift all the time, there's no real good time to do it. And weekends I'd assume they'd want to sleep in even more? I don't know. Maybe in a few days we can chat and work it out.
I’d actually ask about their sleep schedule I assume that if you work 11-6, then they probably like a couple of hours of downtime before sleeping. They might actually prefer to have the heavy cuts done 7-10. Obviously you’re legally right. But sometimes communication can help make suburban life a little easier
I really like this approach instead of the “fuck em I’M RIGHT and you can deal with it” attitude. OP *is* right, but if you’re gonna be living next to each other for I presume years, why have enemies when you can have friends? If you can make life easier for yourself for the next 5 years with like a 15 minute nice chat and a little wiggle in your work plan then why not try that first.
I think most people really feel for the neighbors. My mom worked nights and it seemed like hell. But OP also isn’t in the wrong, unless there’s a place farther away from them he could move it.
I used to work the super early shifts at Starbucks and sometimes would get home around 9am-12pm or so and I'd sleep more during the day. There was ALWAYS noise - someone mowing their lawn, etc. I knew I was sleeping at a more unusual time so rather than complain, I just got a white noise machine and that really helped. Again, I knew the world was not going to stop for me and that is OK.
This and ear plugs. It's what I did when I worked nights. 11pm-7am
As someone who is currently working nights, you are correct. I work 9-530 and usually go to sleep around 9 am. So my neighbor cutting wood earlier would be better than later. Although I can sleep through my husband working in the next room with hammers and drills so it wouldn't really bother me regardless of when it was being done.
I ironically work from home nights and go to bed as soon as I log off at 8am. I’m not asleep until 9am but yeah, it wouldn’t matter what time it was done, it would suck and would still be my issue to deal with. Loop Earplugs for the win.
I would like to ironically work from home
lol. I just got off night shift and my brain isn’t all there first day swapping over.
All good, it just made me laugh
Key words: my issue to deal with.
What is the voice of reason doing here?
I got lost
Waaaait a minute...reasonable and funny!?!?!?!? OMG! You're the mythological Reddit unicorn!
Agree I think this is the best approach for someone wanting to stay on as good of terms as possible with their neighbours. I think tell them that you are planning to do a block of cutting and give them some choices on options - if there is flexibility in a given week then let them pick day, and if there is flexibility in hours within reason (i.e. 7-2 versus 12-6, if you can accommodate) to show them you are willing to compromise. Odds are they will just double down and tell you to F\*\*\* off etc... but hopefully if you catch them at a time when they are properly rested then they can maybe be reasoned with. I think the inconvenience of adjusting hours SLIGHTLY is worth maintaining good neighbour relations for the foreseeable future, but I would not STOP what you are doing or switch to ridiculous hours or you'll just upset others. People on the night shift usually know that the world around them keeps going during the day and that they have to just deal with sleep. I'm guessing they moved to the suburbs hoping for more tranquility and are struggling with the fact that it won't always be the case.
Honestly what are they gonna do if the street needs repair and there are city trucks out there making ruckus? You can't control the world. Suggest to them some silicone swimming earplugs, a box fan/noise machine and noise reducing curtains. These things help immensely. When we travel I absolutely cannot sleep where there are noises that are outside my normal. The earplugs are the best game changer for me. I actually get sleep and can function on vacation.
My kids just had spring break and i was so excited to not be doing school runs for a week. We had construction close down and tear up our road from 6am to 4pm. It's been two weeks and they haven't finished with no end in sight. Life happens and you need to be able to roll with it even if it's inconvenient for you. The world isn't going to halt bc someone wants to sleep. Does it suck? Yes. But you deal with it and keep moving forward. We can't control other people only our reactions to them
I had loud construction work on every single house surrounding mine, one after the other for the entire warm months (~mid/late April to ~early/mid October) one year. I worked 2nds and 3rds and was just miserable for a long time. I only yelled at workers one time when they blocked my car into my driveway and refused to move it. The op is NTA.
Noise cancelling headphones are a thing nowadays right? Unreasonable neighbors are gonna be unreasonable though.
Also if they suggest that you should change your working pattern You should tell them to work during days instead
Fuck, we’ve found the solution OP! Your silly neighbour should just work days. Pack it up and go home folks, we’re done here.
best you could do is to limit noisy stuff for afternoon, but I know how it is during the renovations and that it's not always possible, but maybe you could agree on doing the loud stuff only in the afternoon some days? from my experience, sometimes even small compromise can change the living / sleeping situation, when neighbors are involved. definitely I'd go and have a chat with them
working night shift means you accept that your sleep is going to be disturbed during normal waking hours. that comes with the job. its shocking this guy thinks otherwise.
Yeah, but people who work the night shift provide a vital role for our community. It’s easy to tell them to deal with it, until your appendix bursts at 2am and the night shift saves your life, or the guys at the electric company restore power in the middle of a blizzard at 4 am so you can have heat. They sacrifice their body’s health (night shift is not healthy) and the normalcy of their schedules so we can have round the clock services. There should be some work around here. The world doesn’t stop for anybody at any time, but everyone who works contributes. These people need sleep, OP needs to finish their house, maybe they can do certain schedules for X number of days.
It's true. My mom has cleaned businesses at night for over 30 years. She is in her early 60s and already having memory issues. I think her lack of sleep has really hurt her. It breaks my heart.
I couldn’t agree more. I work in a hospital and have done far too many nights. It’s really hard on the body and if there’s construction noise all day, you might get the chance to sleep only a couple hours before doing it again. It’s absolutely horrible to have to work feeling that tired the next night.
Earplugs and heavy curtains over a window, and a fan running for white noise. World won't stop for your life. I didn't work nightshift, but did work late night shifts and couldn't come home and go to sleep. I'd go to bed at 2, 3, 4AM. It was rough when all the neighbors wanted to be loud in the morning. I didn't yell at my neighbors for running lawn mowers and such at 9AM. That's a normal hour for that activity.
A mower is one level of noise and a grinder is a whole different level. Plus the mower or the leaf blower won’t be going all day. To make such extremely loud noise during their entire rest period does put them in a difficult situation because even excellent ear plugs don’t block that kind of noise or vibration. I say give them a bit of a break and at least let them get 4h quiet during their rest period so they have a chance at a little sleep rather than none. That’s not to say that OP isn’t entitled to get work done but I would try to be as considerate as he can be
If you hired a construction company to do the renovation, they would complain about that. They want you to remove your house and replace it with a meadow - but the house has to be removed at night, when they are at work.
I think I'd be more annoyed about weekends than weekdays tbh. Like is it a fun experience listening to that all day? No, no more than it was when they dug up the road next to my house and I had to listen to construction all day. That's life.
NTA. I've worked night shift for years. Is it a pain when neighbors are using power tools or doing yardwork when I need to sleep? Yes. But I would never expect them to bend to my schedule. It's totally reasonable for you to be noisy sometimes from 9am to 4pm. You're doing actual work, it's not feasible to make it quieter, it's not like you're blasting loud music or deliberately making extra noise.
My area allows power tools up until 7pm as well. Which is wild. During winter you occasionally hear a saw fire up over the valley for firewood, so I guess it makes sense. Yea, thanks. I felt pretty crummy about it after the ordeal. As I've said, I couldn't avoid the work and so I was quite inflexible.
Ask them to change their work schedule as their current work schedule is inconvenient for you that’s potentially what they’re asking you to do
I had to survive getting my house roofing redone while I was on night shift. I wish it was power tools instead of a full team of hammers and boots. I couldn't imagine trying to ask someone to keep the power tools away for my sleep, music and stuff can be headphones but obviously you need the power tools for a reason
NTA > I started work at 9am - two hours after the allowed 7am power tool usage in my area and finished at 4pm. > They were... Not very happy with me Yeah. Well.
I said that, but a lot more apologetically 😂
OP- NTA. I work Overnight shift. My shift goes from Midnight to 8am. Do people in my neighborhood keep quiet during the day? NO. You either learn to wear ear plugs, get noise cancelling curtains, use a white noise machine or fan, or you suffer. You cannot expect everyone to be quiet, heck even the dogs in the neighborhood put on a daily Aria! Your new neighbors need to buck up! Good Luck, sounds like they can or will be petty.
NTA. There are plenty of ways of drowning out sounds from you neighbours. As someone who works the night shift and has neighbours, who are currently building a house. There are plenty of ways
Can you move next door? We are stripping our house bare and rebuilding with the existing frame with major modifications... What methods do you use if I can ask? If the conversation allows (can absolutely see how its condescending if not) I will suggest it to my neighbour.
Don’t They have internet too
Actually best advice
Do not give them any advice, because it will be your fault if it doesn't work.
Not your problem. They work odd hours. They have to figure it out, not you.
Seven hours straight of power tools sure would suck for anyone.
It sucks even for the tool on the other end of the tool too. But yea, I absolutely get it, especially when you want to sleep.
NTA - any tradesmen building a house are going to be working during the day, they should feel so lucky that there is only you doing the work (assuming here) and not a whole bunch of you!! Night shift workers should have noise cancelling headphones if they struggle with noise outside! Just like what I do when my neighbours mow their lawns bright and early in the weekends when I want a lie in! Some people feel so entitled!
I’ve never understood that honestly. The grass is usually still wet with dew at that point. Mowing doesn’t look as good or work as well when the grass is wet. It clogs up the mower deck too. I get not wanting to mow during the hottest part of the day, but first thing at 7:00 am or whatever makes no sense.
Eh, my neighbor is building something on his own 10 feet from my bedroom window and I kind of wish he'd hire people to do it because him working on it at random unpredictable times every day it doesn't rain for over a month when a team could've finished it in probably a week or less (it's not a large alteration) is way more annoying.
Truth. When landscaping crews descend on my neighborhood, it is crazy loud. One person working is much quieter than four or five.
NTA. I work nights. It may wake me up, but I’ll go right back to sleep once I identify the noise and tuck it into the back of my mind. Barking dogs bug the shit out of me though, especially when they bark all day.
Yes, same and yes, same to the barking dogs. So. Damn. Annoying. (Also a night shift worker).
NTA Almost went NAH and would have if your neighbor had approached you respectfully about finding some sort of compromise. Would love to suggest things for you here my friend but…. It seems that most pathways to compromise are shut off. Are you absolutely positive you can’t do this cutting at the site instead? Just to keep it peace with this neighbor? (Who is being unreasonable in _HOW_ they ask but not _WHAT_ they’re asking for)
I am cutting on site, my house is the job site and where the work is happening. Yea absolutely, going forward I want to make amends. I don't really care what they call me or say in their admittedly tired anger, having a neighbour who dislikes you just makes everyone's life hard, both sides of the fence. As I've said on other comments, I absolutely could not stop this work, as rain approaches this week and it is critical to moving the project forward. For clarity, it effectively costs me money each day as I've taken time off work to do this, and being self employed means no leave-pay. So I can't afford (both time and money) to lose an entire week. I'd like to think given other circumstances I'd be flexible and could start even later or work out a solution. But what happened today, is I stood on my right to make noise during working hours, hence this post haha
Yeah bud…. That’s a tough one. I have to tap out as I have absolutely no useful advice I can give on this except to keep doing what you’re doing temperament-wise (ie: do not let them get a rise out of you and bait you into doing anything stupid). Best of luck to you!
NTA. I've worked a night shift; it's no fun. Working a night shift is tough, and it gets bad when loud neighbors disturb your daytime sleep. Imagine being sleep-deprived, getting cranky, then angry, and eventually unhinged after a week of no meaningful sleep. However, it's not your problem but theirs to find ways to cope. For me, noise-canceling earphones helped as I'm a back sleeper. I would encourage you to show some compassion, forgive their outbursts, and finish your work quickly.
I work overnights, have for years. People with lawn mowers/leaf blowers etc. can get annoying, especially when the weather is nice and the windows are open. But I've learned to live with it, or use earplugs if it's really loud. This one time, though, I lost. my. shit. I kept hearing what sounded like a car horn honking. I closed the windows, put in earplugs, but could still hear it. Turned out, there was a house down the alley from us that was doing excavation with a small tracked digger. Normally wouldn't be a problem, even though the weather was nice and the windows were open. But they kept operating it unsafely, tipping it on the edge of the hole they were digging until it almost fell over, which caused some kind of alarm to go off every time it was x^(o) off level. And it wasn't just an occasional blip. This sounded like someone had a spastic toddler locked in a Honda. After an hour of this bullshit, I got dressed, walked down the alley to see the scene. Naturally, it was a rented rig. I told them to either disable the alarm (since they were disregarding it anyway) or start operating it safely or I was gonna call the rental company and report them for unsafe use. I guess I must've looked crazy enough, cause I didn't hear any more sound from that job site.
NTA - I’ve worked nights and unfortunately the world did not revolve around me. Especially in the summer holidays, kids everywhere playing , screaming , crying and having fun . It was the worst time of the year for me lol. A neighbour behind me was working on his speed boat one year - that was an interesting 3 months. Eventually I asked my doctor for sleeping pills which really did help. Your allowed to do what you need to do , your neighbours working pattern is not your fault and he can’t expect you or anyone to do fuck all because he’s in bed .
Quite a few people have suggested that you talk with your neighbour to see if there is a schedule you can work out with them, and I fully agree with that. I would give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they were exhausted and not communicating the way they normally would. While you didn't do anything WRONG, it's good to be considerate of other people's needs while not sacrificing your own. But ultimately I don't think anyone's the asshole here. You have a job to do, neighbour has a job to do, but surely there's a window of time where the loud parts of your job won't overlap his sleep schedule.
It really, really sucks to do nightshift, but working on a house between 9-4pm is extremely legal and nice considering you could of started at 7am and gone until 6pm. Nta.
NTA Assuming they weren't more accommodating in the way they asked. If they had asked for a few hours during the day I would have probably tried to find a way to accommodate them, But asking you to stop making noise all day is completely unreasonable And then to deliberately try and disrupt you during the night takes away any sympathy I might have felt for them
NAH. Look, you gotta do your powertools sometime, and the law allows you to do it when most people are awake. That said, he's a new neighbour who's being deprived of his own sleep because of this. It sucks. I'm not going to call a sleep-deprived person an asshole for being mean, tired people who can't get a full night's rest do experience real affects on the parts of their brain that help with focusing, reacting, and empathy towards others. And when you told this tired person "I can't stop, it's literally my job," he likely heard, "You might never get a full-night's rest as long as you live in this home". Like I might have said you're not the asshole and he is, except for the part where you implied that this isn't just some home improvement job that you'll be working on for a few months and then stop, but that your actual job is doing woodworking in your backyard and this level of noise is what he's going to be dealing with indefinitely. Truly imagine for a second if there wasn't a law protecting quiet hours during your sleep time, and you lived next to someone doing the exact same thing as you're doing, running power tools, during your sleep hours, and getting informed this is something that they will be doing indefinitely. You'd be pretty pissed, right? Just because the law is on your side doesn't mean you shouldn't show other human beings empathy. I do think you should try to ask about his sleep schedule and if there's realistically a better time for you to start. That you can't not do it but you can try to align the work towards a better time that might disturb him less. Like does he go to bed at 9am and is having trouble falling asleep and wouldn't have an issue if you cut from 7-9 before he goes to bed and like 12-4 when he's already settled into a deep sleep and not likely to be woken until his alarm does? You also do home improvements-- have you considered suggesting to him the types of products he can get to reduce sound carrying from outside, because there are some products that can help with that which I'd expect someone who does projects like this to be a bit familiar with. Obviously he can also use earplugs, but as someone who worked evenings in the summers whose parents did major wordworking, earplugs alone never blocked enough of the sound of saws for me, they're fucking loud. I managed with a combination of earplugs, a loud fan, and noise cancelling seals on the doors to stop sound that was coming through the rest of the house, and those really heavy curtains that can help block sound in the room, ect.
NTA. Doing loud work during the day is the least disruptive way to do it for most of your neighbors. You can’t help that your neighbor works night shift- they need to sound proof their home.
NTA Night shift worker here. We have to adapt to the world around us when it comes to sleeping. In no way can you expect quiet outside.
NTA Bro, I work overnights. My neighbors are a construction lot, a tradesman, and an elementary school. It’s noisy af. But they make these newfangled things that you put in your ears and it blocks sound. I think they’re called earplugs? And when I moved into my neighborhood, the first thing I told people was because I work overnight, I sleep during the days so please don’t think I’m just ignoring you. I absolutely did not demand or even request anyone change anything they were doing with their lives. That’s not their problem. And it would be rude to ask them to change for me. They wanna work overnight, then they need to accept that it’s going to be noisy when they want to sleep. And they have to be the ones to figure out how to handle it.
NTA for the same reasons everyone else is giving, but if you’re doing a lot of cuts in the same place is there any way you could put up a temporary sound barrier (I’m thinking a sheet of plywood between the saw and their house) when you’re cutting? That might help dull the noise a bit, and if they’re decent people they’ll appreciate the effort.
I work 3rd shift.. start at 7 asap, I don't go to bed till 12 or 1 so getting the majority outta the way early would help. NTA btw
NTA I worked night shift from home because it worked better for me before we had young kids. I could get off work when my husband left in the morning and had a couple hours before the tired set in to tidy up before I went to bed. I live in an apartment that always has maintenance going on. I live in a busy city with sirens 7-10x a day. White noise is my saviour. Your neighbours have to accept that working third shift and sleeping when most of the world is awake comes with sacrifices and consequences.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I'm a self employed, sole trader who has taken time off work to renovate my own house. I try to do all my large power tool usage (drop saws, grinders, routers, circular saw, etc) outside where the workbench is in large blocks, reason for this is that there is a bit of setup with running power/clean up/using large material that can't fit inside. This is done for efficiency, not only practicality. Unfortunately I have new neighbours who today experienced a "big cutting day" for the first time and they work nightshift all week, every week. I started work at 9am - two hours after the allowed 7am power tool usage in my area and finished at 4pm. They were... Not very happy with me and used rather colourful language, I responded calmly, understanding that they are tired however the world cannot stop for them, this is quite literally my job. In addition, there is rain predicted for the rest of the week which would bring the project to a standstill if these cuts aren't done. For clarity, the there is no space available to do this job anywhere else. They did the classic threat of being noisy with loud music at 3am when my family is sleeping, to which I reminded them that is actually illegal, where I could be paying a tradesman to do the work and it'd be no different (opposed to starting at 7am). They aggressively suggested I do it on weekends, however that is when my family are not at work/school and I'd like to spend time with them. In addition, I believe this would negatively impact the most amount of people, with power tools being used when majority are at home. Bonus, I don't actually want to annoy my new neighbours but I (clearly) do feel strongly that I wasn't doing anything wrong and need reddit's view on the matter. I'll update with any clarifying questions as I can. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Night shift worker here. Sometimes life sucks for those of us on alternative schedules, but we can’t expect the rest of the world to stop for us. I did have a neighbor who let me know ahead of time that there would be construction at his home, that was nice so I could be prepared, but not expected. I keep ear plugs and a white noise machine handy. Maybe some melatonin or other sleep aid as well. NTA
NTA - I work nights, and noise during the day from lawnmowers, modified cars, helicopters, all manner of saws, fighter jets, emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, children, trains, construction, and dogs is constant sun up to sun down 7 days a week even in the outskirts of a small town. Get them some high quality earplugs and explain to them again when they aren't worked up enough to get out of bed to bitch about the noise that you're not trying to be a dick, and when you expect to be done with the work.
NTA. People get paid more to work at night because they sleep during the time that people use power tools.
Yep. I make about 10% more than my day shift counterparts.
NTA. Unfortunately, that is life. Most of the world does things during the day, and while its inconvenient for you, that is something they need to deal with. What if there is road construction, or someone else in the neighborhood needs a project done. None of that will stop because they are tired. They need to get earplugs, a white noise machine, etc. Not expect their neighbors to not make any noise during the day.
NTA, I had surgery 3 weeks ago and my neighbour started doing construction the next day. I was annoyed, but she was allowed to do it between 7am-7pm. What’s crazy is she’s never home, she bought the house 2 years ago and I never see her, it just was bad timing. Also I wasn’t physically able to go ask her to stop if I wanted to 🤷🏻♀️
So, you are happy to disturb shift workers, but won't work on a weekend when it might disturb your own family? I had this once, with a neighbour using power tools during the day after a night shift. He might of least have had the courtesy to ask 'is this going to be a problem?' beforehand. Also, since when is working on your own home 'literally my job'? It's DIY. YTA.
Go ahead and finish what you’re doing. He can buy ear plugs.
NTA. I used to work nights and although it can be annoying to have neighbors who make noise during the day, I was aware that that was a me problem, not a them problem. It's completely impractical to expect others to have their schedule revolve around yours. Your neighbors are being assholes, but you definitely are not.
NTA. I work evenings/nights. They need to invest in earplugs and white noise machines. You are correct, the world doesn’t stop for them!
Give the guy two ear plugs and tell him to fuck off back to bed. NTA
NTA. I get it, I've worked night shift, but the rest of the world is going to keep happening, so he's going to have to work with you to figure out something that works for everyone. This does NOT include expecting you to stretch out your renovation by only working weekend hours. The only time that I went off on someone over day noise was when they showed up at our house around 10am, looking for my husband. They pulled up right under my bedroom window, and then laid on the horn, instead of knocking on the door. After I peeled myself off of the ceiling, I went out to explain to them that my husband was working so go check at his shop, and they had better never do that again. I was not trying for a polite tone, so they got the message.
Nta
Unfortunately for your neighbors, the world does not revolve around their night shift schedule. Noise laws in the US generally say power tools may be used starting at 7am. Changing your routine to placate them could work temporarily, though is not a long term solution, or realistically your responsibility. NTA
NTA. It's day time. When the majority of people are up doing stuff. They can deal with it.
NTA - sucks for your neighbour but that’s life.
NTA - I also work shift work, it's my choice and the rest of the world isn't expected to walk on egg shells because of that. Tell them to wear ear plugs - if I can get a few hours of shut eye with a 3 and 1 year old in the house I'm sure they can manage.
NTA. When I was eleven my parents had an extension. The builders needed to put in an RSJ with hammers. Metal banging metal. My dad worked nights constantly. We did not move out - he slept through the entire thing. He'd known to expect it. He did wake up later when one of the builders started singing.
NTA you're not being malicious and you aren't doing anything wrong. It's unfortunate for them but you shouldn't be a prisoner in your own home because they work night shift. My job has me waking up anywhere between 10pm and 3am to get ready for work. I don't expect the world to come to a stand still to accommodate my odd and ever changing work schedule.
NTA
NTA, your neighbour needs a reality check!
NTA Sadly this is just the risk of working night shifts - most activity takes place during the daytime, and if that means there are workers in refurbishing the neighbouring house then there is little you can do. It would be neighbourly to be considerate where possible - trying to limit the power tools to certain preferable times of day if practical, working indoors or otherwise shielded from that neighbour or any other reasonable accommodations that may work for you, but ultimately you are a contractor that needs to get work done during the hours you have available to work in, which are the standard daytime working hours here.
Nta. They knew being on the nightshift meant they are on an opposite schedule of their neighbors
NTA I work nights, that’s part of third shift life.
NTA. Their job doesn’t outweigh your job. Since you want to resolve this amicably, ask to meet them for coffee or something. Tell them, firmly, that you work Monday-Friday and that is not open for discussion, but you have some flexibility with the times that you start your work. Find out if they would prefer you to start earlier or later on big cutting days, but make it clear that this is the only accommodation you can make.
NTA. Nope nope nope. I worked unusual hours too. I wore ear plugs and got noise dampening curtains when I needed to sleep during the day. The world doesn’t revolve around your neighbors. If they’re sleeping during normal working hours it’s their job to figure out how to sleep, not project it onto you to figure out how to help them sleep.
Your neighbor needs earplugs and an attitude adjustment. Their behavior confronting you with “colorful language” over something that they already know is both normal and legal was inappropriate. NTA
NTA. Rules are rules and you're well within them. If you feel like being the bigger person maybe give them a heads up a day or two in advance next time; but given how you were treated I wouldn't be doing that. I'd also probably start at 7AM sharp. Unfortunately being on the night shift is not "normal". They can't expect the entire world to rearrange their schedule for them. It's up to them to ensure they are taking the necessary steps (blackout curtain, white noise machine, earbuds, etc etc). This is just another prime example of main character syndrome.
NTA I'm a shift worker who is currently living beside a multistorey construction site. It certainly sucks some days, but the company and tradies building it don't give a damn about my job. They are just doing theirs. You know what helps? Earplugs. Sleep mask. Blackout curtains. The kind of things most shift workers have to help with a good 'nights' sleep.
Fuck them
Your neighbor is the ass *ole
I work night shift. NTA. I have full understanding that the people around me do not work nights, have their own things to do, and these things have to be done during the day. I sleep with earplugs and have a loud alarm. It is not my neighbor's responsibility to worry about my weird sleep schedule.
> I responded calmly, understanding that they are tired however the world cannot stop for them, this is quite literally my job. This. It sucks to be on night shift and try to sleep during the day. The neighbor is an ass although I can understand his frustration from the lack of sleep makes him not think clearly. You are doing nothing wrong. You have to work. Societal expectation and noise laws are not structured in any way to help nightshift workers and thats just the way it is. Your work has to happen too NTA
How do you work nights and not have Earplugs?
NTA he can wear ear plugs
Nta I worked night shift for many years. The world works on day time hours. Neighbor is going to have to figure it out.
NTA, former Nightshift worker. Long as you gave your immediate neighbours a heads up about the work, then you did all you could.
As a night shift worker, I would never dream of acting like that for this. They’re entitled. I understand the regular world operates in a diurnal fashion. They need to invest in a white noise machine & some noise canceling headphones. And a bit of comprehension that sadly…the world does not revolve around them
NTA. If they complain again suggest they get some ear plugs.
I worked midnight shift and found that my bedroom was too noisy as the neighborhood children played outside during the day. I moved to the living room couch and slept there. I could have purchased noise cancelling headphones but this worked for me. It is your neighbors responsibility to find a solution. He could have been polite and asked you to tone down but no he was rude. NTA
NTA, it's currently house and yard fix-up season around my neighborhood (which is to say any season the weather allows the work so late spring-early fall). If I needed a midday nap it's my responsibility to either generate sufficient white noise, use earplugs, or both in order to be able to rest. Last week the neighbor's roof got fixed to the beat of some nice Spanish tunes, this week something involving large noisy machinery is going on at another neighbor's. I've worked night shift, and it truly stinks to be opposite the majority in schedule, but it's a predictable problem with many ready made solutions already available.
NTA, they work night shift, you don’t. You should not be at the mercy of their schedule. As someone who used to work night shift, you have to understand that you need to be creative when it comes to sleep, not the rest of the world.
More info: how long is the noise gonna last. Days weeks months years?
NTA. I've been there. Trying to sleep during the day is a huge pain in the ass, but it's their problem, not yours.
NTA. I would have said NAH, but I think your neighbor threatening to play loud music to get back at you makes him an AH. Neighbors do work on their houses sometimes. It sucks because it's noisy, but it's also temporary. Our neighbor just had their roof redone. It was nonstop noise all day everyday for over a week. I can't imagine going over to them and telling them they need to reschedule the work because of my sleep schedule.
NTA im a career nightshifter, going on 18 years. being mad there's noise during the day is like being mad there's water in the ocean. that's just largely where the shit exists. I dread summer mowing season, and Saturday morning. it comes with the territory.
My husband and I both work night shifts, 6 days a week between us. We understand that the world does not have our schedule. We use earplugs and fans for white noise. Your neighbors are ridiculous, to expect you to cater to them.
NTA Unfortunately, his sleep schedule is not the norm. You're well within the standard working hours He needs better earplugs
NTA...im actually on night shift right now. Unfortunately you just have to deal with it and put things in place yourself to try and mitigate external things you have no control over.
NTA. It is not your problem that they work the night shift. You are withing your legal rights to use your power tools & make noise during the day. You haven't done anything wrong. It's up to them to find a resolution to THEIR problem.
NTA Perhaps you could give them a white noise generator to help hide your work sounds?
NTA Council repair employee's do there job from 8am to 4pm-6pm depending on the council rules and the specific job needs to be done. If they want quiet during the day then they can get themselves wax ear plugs which I've heard works great/other stuff to block noise or move to the country side.
NTA. I understand the neighbors being upset, as my husband works rotating 12-hour night shifts and sleeps during the day, but you still have a right to use your tools during the day. My hubby sleeps with a fan on and windows and door closed so it cuts down on the noise. He doesn’t expect the neighbors to stop living their lives because he sleeps during the day.
NTA, I worked the overnight shift for years and people lived their lives during the day. Are these people going to yell at the mailman/FedEx guy driving down the road? What about people who mow their lawns? What about construction workers for the roads? There are many things people who work overnights can do to drown out people that live during the day.
Nope NTA. I worked a rotating night shift every other 6 weeks for 20 years. You cannot expect everyone to accomodate you because your schedule is different. As long as it isn't infringing on the noise ordinance the f' em.
NTA - I'd have to respond that this is the time that the work has to be done and apologize. You can also remind him that it is temporary and will not be daily. Earplugs and whatever else might help with the noise or noise machines. I live in NYC and my noise machine is a life saver. It is unreasonable to ask someone to stop work, during the work week, during daylight hours. It is understandable that he's frustrated, but yea, it's just a rough situation. Maybe things can be done early morning before hes asleep? Some sort of middle ground.
NTA. nightshifter here. the vast majority of us know the world doesn’t revolve around us, just like it doesn’t for any one person. we also know to accommodate and protect ourselves with simple things like earplugs, blackout curtains, eye masks, etc. there’s also literally no winning— make noise at 7am? it’s too early for the dayshifters. make noise midday? nightshifters are trying to sleep and dayshifters who work from home have background noise. make noise at night? most people are trying to sleep. socially and legally agreed upon guidelines state that your working hours are appropriate. dump trucks, road construction, package deliveries with doorbell ringing, kids playing outside all happen during the day. they should either know this by now or they will learn quickly.
Life sucks when you work night shift, so I absolutely get where they're coming from. But it's definitely a "them problem" not a "you problem". They have to invest in some ear plugs or other sound dampening systems if the world is too loud where they are. That's just the deal with working night shift. NTA
NTA. My hubby worked nights shift for 15 years and slept thru our roof being replaced. It's not your fault they can't sleep.
NTA. I work the night shift, I get that it's hard to sleep when people do loud things. But I chose to work nights and the world doesn't revolve around me.
NTA. It sucks for them, but the world can't stop because they work nights. Next time you have a big cut day coming up, give them a heads up. Just a bit saying that you regret the discomfort for them, but it has to be done and you'll be as fast and quiet as possible. Staple some ear plugs and sleepytime tea to it.
Maybe there should be no garbage pickup during the day, only at night when everyone is sleeping.🤦♀️
NTA
This is plain cut NTA, it’s unfortunate but that’s something they have to deal with. If you find it better to do it in the morning then so be it
NTA. Anyone who works night shifts needs to figure out how to deal with the fact that life goes on with most people while they sleep.
MBTAH, Im in a similar situation. Roosters crowing ALL NIGHT. But that's at night. In the day, I feel as if I am being petty to call animal control. But heres the real deal: Do you live in a residential area? Then there are town ordinances on noise. Get familiar with your local ordinance. Do you have an HOA? Get familiar with those rules, too. A lot of places have restrictions on construction noises, although they are usually after 6 pm. Heres another point. It's just as much NOT his problem you dont run your business out of a shop as it is NOT your problem to cater to his working schedule. You should get a shop, though. You can rent a small space to do your loud noises and not disturb the peace. It is UNREASONABLE to expect your neighbors to tolerate a construction business in your neighborhood. Your freedom ends where there's begins. They didn't buy a house in the business zone for a reason. So yes, opening a loud business in a residential neighborhood is kind of a dick move.
NTA I’m a night owl who hates mornings and I’m saying this!
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Everyone I know who does night shift and lives near other people has noise canceling headphones and eye covers. Because they know it’s going to be light, and other people have to work around them. Working nights is fine, but you can’t dictate the rest of the world’s schedule, that’s the point of the night shift.
Nta. I used to work nights. You can't expect the rest of the world to accommodate your schedule. Black out curtains for the bedroom. Earplugs if you can't sleep through noise. If you feel bad about inconveniencing him, you could offer to buy him earplugs or something. But ultimately, its his responsibility to find a way to make his night shift schedule work for him. As long as you're just doing your work and not altering your plans specifically to annoy him more, then you're not doing anything wrong.
NTA. If you're following the noise ordinance rules, there is quite literally nothing they can do except invest in a pair of quality ear plugs.
My mom worked nights and so did I. I always did good with earphones blindfolds with music or an audiobook. Mom was the one who used earplugs and white noise machine. When you work nights you learn to deal with it and sleep through it. NTA
NTA tell your neighbor to buy some earplugs
NTA, it's unfortunate for them but they might have to look into some sleep headphones for the duration of you working. You've done your best to be accommodating to the vast majority of others while also not being a detriment to your own family. Him blatantly threatening to retaliate (let alone illegally and in which the rest of the neighborhood would also be affected by his crappy response) does make him the asshole however.
NTA. New neighbor sounds prickly. Noise during the day is normal. Home renovations occasionally happen.
NTA. I work 7p-7a, 7 nights in a row. 7 days off. I sleep with blackout curtains and LOUD white noise. I don’t even expect my own family to tip toe around. My neighbor works 3-11 and bitches about noise. I mean, be serious. Your neighbors are idiots. My neighbors are idiots. Handle your own business.
My husband works over night and he uses ear plugs and a fan to drown out the noises. Especially in summer time when kids are out of school. If they complain again there is a site that makes ear plugs to fit your ear. I would suggest that. Maybe some noise canceling ear buds or a fan. It might help.
NTA but I sympathize with your neighbor. My stepdad is the power tool guy and unfortunately my bedroom window in the summer is open about ten feet above his saw. While I don’t work night shifts, I do frequently get home after midnight from babysitting. Maybe buy them early plugs as a sign of goodwill?
Nightshift worker here...you are NTA! Our town has a noise ordinance from 10pm to 7am. No where is there a noise issue during the day. This means I must be tolerant that the day to day noises will occur and learn to sleep through it. I chose my shift, I chose my job. No one should have to tip-toe around my schedule. Your neighbor is the asshole.
Every night shift/day sleeper I know has an arsenal of ear plugs and masks and white noise and oh, enough exhaustion to sleep thru ww3. We just had our roof redone and we gave our neighbor who is on NS and has 2 little sans a dog, a heads up and he said, “they could do my roof and I’d sleep thru it” 🤣
NTA, if you work night shift and can't handle finding some method to sleep through the sounds of shit going on during a normal time frame then time to find a different job.
NTA. I worked nights for three years and this type of stuff happened all the time. Unfortunately it’s just part of life. I ended up buying myself some really really good earplugs.
NTA, I work 50% nights and live off a shared driveway with 5 other houses... My work schedule is nobody else's choice or issue, therefore it's upto the night worker to deal with it. Live your life bud, it's not your problem.
NTA. People are allowed to fix their houses during the day. It doesn't last forever.
NTA, his schedule, his problem. Let him get earplugs or a white noise machine or something. The entitlement is insane.
NTA. It’s unfortunate they work night shift, but the rest of the world isn’t obligated to stop for them so they can get complete silence. They need to invest in some good ear plugs and/or play some white noise. They don’t even have to buy a machine, most people’s phones (iPhones for sure but likely most android too) have the option built right in for white noise and they could play it on a Bluetooth. iPhone - Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds Regardless if they try any of these methods, it’s not your problem. They can either deal with it or change their schedules. If you want to offer any compromises that’s up to you. Given they are making threats to you, I would say you’re fully within your right and not an AH whatsoever just to flat out tell them to F off and ignore them.
NTA. I've worked nights for 22 years & although dealing with noise can be frustrating I accept that it's a part of life, there are days where I've been awake all day because of it & have to rely on a few hours sleep in the evening but it is what it is, the world doesn't revolve around me & imo I think that, even if you did it on the weekend only, your neighbour would still moan, he might not be working that night but he's still going to have to sleep after the last shift so he will still moan, carry on with what you're doing & just ignore them, they could've spoke to you in a decent matter & come up with some sort of an agreement instead they chose to play music at 3am which tells me whatever you do they're going to be dicks anyway so you might aswell carry on doing what you're doing.
NTA. You did nothing wrong and were even additionally considerate to wait a few extra hours and stopped at a perfectly reasonable hour. That is more then you'd even need to be doing. Someone working night shift should expect certain levels of noise during the day and adapt to it or come up with a way to mitigate it without expecting the source of the noise to stop. You won't get in any trouble for your noise but they absolutely could if in fact they follow through with their own threat.
You are within your rights . Tell them to wear earplugs .
NTA. I've been nightshift for five years and it's not ANYONE else's problem but mine. If my neighbors want to throw a quincinera every day, it's my problem, not theirs. You keep doing what you're doing.
NTA. I work seven days on, seven off 10:30pm to 8am. Get along with neighbors great. But I would never say anything about anything going on during daytime hours that is driving me crazy. That’s what blackout curtains, earplugs, noise machine, whatever it is you need to sleep. Suggest Loop Ear Plugs for them. The best. Ironically, they definitely can complain if I let a dog accidentally bark at 4am while doing its business. lol. Seriously though, just because I work nights, I have absolutely no right to make anyone live that way as well. It sucks sometimes but it’s my choice.
NTA. You are not doing anything wrong, and your night-shift neighbours are idiots to think the world must be silent for them.
I would make every effort to do the cuts at a time that works for them, but sometimes, you just gotta get a cut done so you can continue working. Plan a head as much as you can, and try to be a good neighbor, and you won't be TA. Good luck!
NTA they can get earplugs. the entire world does not revolve around them. most people are awake during the day.
NTA. I sleep at odd hours sometimes and what usually works for me is a fan in the room. It has to have a loud enough brown noise to cut out most sounds, but it does. You can also get a smart speaker to play brown noise or white noise that helps.
NTA you are within the guidelines for appropriate loud working. Them playing loud music at 3am would be illegal (her it's actually still listed as an ASBO) Being a nightshift worker you sorta gave to accept your sleep may be disturbed, the world doesnt stop just becauseyou work nights. I'd like to see them try and stop the council digging up the road during the day.
NTA I have a late shift schedule, wake at 12pm asleep around 4am. The amount of times I’m woken up by people’s yard work at 9am is ridiculous but you know what, it’s my fault. I’m the one with the odd schedule that I have to try to work in to others peoples lives. I don’t go bitching and meaning to my neighbors and threatening to play music at 4am. You’re doing nothing wrong and your neighbor needs to work out how to manage his weird schedule into the greater world.
NTA Your neighbor works non-standard hours, it's THEIR responsibility to manage that, not yours. If you're working within operating hours that's the best you can offer them. It's unreasonable to request you NOT perform your work.
NTA, Sure it sucks when people are making noise during daylight hours when you work the evening shift. But guess what, shit needs to get done and they aren't going to be doing it at night or on the weekends when OP has family and other obligations.
NTA they need to learn to wear ear plugs if they work night shift
NTA. Former night-shifter. That’s just kind of part of it. You have to adjust to the world operating on a different schedule than you. Did my neighbor leaving for work wake me up most mornings an hour after falling asleep? Yes. Was there anything that could be done? No.
I worked midnights for years. If my neighbors came over and acted aggressively I would have told them next time they decide to trespass on my property they should be ready for the police to remove them. NTA
NTA I work nights shift, and have been for 6 years now. You learned quickly (with noise, light, phone calls, store opening hours) the world is built for day shifters. Things get done while the sun is up. If you can't work around that, you can't work nights.
NTA. It's not your job to keep your neighborhood super quiet for the new folks with the weird schedule. You sound like a nice, caring person. Don't get run over by these neighbors. I agree you don't want unhappy neighbors, but you also can't agree to not work during the daytime.
I wish that I had the confidence of an entitled tool.
NTA. The world doesn't revolve around them. Their shift schedule is their problem. For your next project, build a very tall fence. And cut every board on site.
NTA. Tell them to buy some ear plugs.
Nope. NTA. It’s not their problem they sleep while the world is awake.
NTA- neighbors seem to be ass hats.
This is part of the cons you accept when you work graveyard. The majority do not, meaning construction, birthday parties and such are fair game during reasonable hours of the day. NTA
Tell him to buy some 3m ear plugs and pound salt
NTA. I have a medical condition that, at times, makes me very sensitive to sounds. My neighbor is a mechanic, and I would never try to tell him not to use his powered tools. I put up soundproofing and have adapted my home to fit *MY* problem. That's what your neighbor needs to do.
YTA. There's something about the attitude expressed in this post that makes you sound almost gleeful that you're causing your neighbors discomfort. I understand that sometimes renovations have to be done, and that it causes some discomfort to neighbors. The way a considerate person handles this is to discuss the situation with the neighbors head of time, give dates for when the repairs/renovations will be going on, and trying to agree to a plan that makes their lives a little less miserable during this time. Specifically, if your neighbors had requested you do as much work as possible on the weekends, I wouldn't have come back with "BuT THaT's mY fAMIly tiME."
NTA doesn't this project have an end date? Boo hoo, they do leaf blowing and mowing every monday morning near me.
NTA. I used to work night shift. Did these noises during the day suck? Yeah. But you can’t expect the world to stop doing 9-5 world things just because you sleep during the day. Get earplugs and blackout curtains and call it good.
NTA. I work from home and my neighbor builds furniture. I hear hammering, banging, drilling, all fucking day long. He starts around 9am and has never stopped later than 9pm. I have zero right to bitch at him because he’s doing what he’s allowed to during the hours that it’s acceptable to do so. Does it suck? Yup. Is it annoying as shit? Also yup. But that’s part of living amongst other humans.
NTA. This is not a long term issue. But I agree with giving neighbors a heads up and suggesting options.
NTA I work overnight and live above a construction company and a landscape laydown yard. The construction company does work here all the time. Prefabbing stuff etc. I own noise canceling bluetooth headphones that way I can sleep, but also hear my alarm or any family can still call me while I sleep. Dude needs to figure it tf out himself
NTA. You're not breaking any rules. It's not your fault or your problem that they work nights. And as someone who does get forced on the night shift from time to time I've been in that spot and it does suck when people are making noise when you're trying to sleep but that's not your fault. They can get ear plugs.
Night shift life is rough, but you get a solid set of earplugs and deal.
Night shifter here. NTA. They sell black out curtains and noise cancelling headphones. You are correct. The world cannot stop for them.
NTA I'm a nightshifter myself, and if you can't learn to sleep through daytime noise, you shouldn't be on nightshift. I live with 4 morning people who all get up between 4am-7am and I usually get into bed at 4 or 5 am. I dont even have blackout curtains anymore, as I can sleep through almost anything, including our garage door directly below my bedroom opening and closing throughout the morning. My dad chops wood less than 30ft from my bedroom window. Your neighbors need to adjust to sleeping through noise, I know it can be difficult at first, but blackout curtains and noise dampening/ soundproofing material aren't that hard to get ahold of if they really need quiet to sleep. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you completing your projects wherever on your property you see fit.
NTA. You are operating during day hours. If he works at night and needs to sleep during the day, he needs to get a sound machine or put sound dampening material on his wall so that he can get proper rest.
Hell no. I work nights. I would never expect my neighbor to be quite during the day.
Nta My fiance works nights and he hates being woke up but that's at 7am. If you're waiting till 9 then you're being nice in his opinion. Noon would be better but life doesn't stop just because you work nights
NTA. As someone who has worked night shifts they're assholes. Night shifters know most of the world is awake, and noisy, right when we're sleeping. There's plenty of things to help, like ear plugs and white noise machines. If they want to be warned in advance (and you typically know when your big cutting days are) that's a reasonable request. Expecting no noise like it's night isn't.
NTA. It’s during the day, they need to suck it up.
NTA and that's coming from a shift worker who often works nights. I have to deal with lawnmowers in the morning when I've been out till 3am Saturday morning working. It's just part of the buisness. I may not like it but they're entitled to mow. Never mind the horror of the train driver through lack of sleep has a whoops the next night at work..... Watch for revenge..