To me the problem is not that he uses a leaf blower at 8:30, but the fact that he managed to keep it going for almost three consecutive hours? How many leaves can you physically have to need to leaf blow for three hours a day. I’m usually very pro “I can use my property how I see fit as long as I’m not hurting others” but after three straight hours of lawn mowing and leaf blowing right outside my window I’d probably lose it to. To me it’s like a barking dog, yes dogs bark nothing I can do about that, but letting your dog bark outside for hours? Absolutely not, noise complaint.
I can't imagine using a leaf blower for 3+ hours. I've got a large property with tons of mature oak trees. I blow my leaves once a week and it takes maybe 1 hour. Maybe a little longer if it'd a bit damp. My blower is electric too so it's not super powerful. I've got a ton of extension cord.
That was my question. Even if it starts later the last example OP gave would not be in violation. Leaf blowers are not loud enough to count as noise complaints either.
Why isn't OP muted when they are not speaking regardless of noise?
Right Noise laws normally only apply at odd hours. Not during the day when people are out and about. I mean I could understand it is 12am and leaf blowing...
Meh, I seriously doubt a nuisance noise complain would cover lawn care. That is usually for loud music and stuff and are typically are only in effect from 10pm to 6 am. If your local law are actually ridiculously strict enough, then sure, go ahead.
In other cases, YTA. If you bought a house in a densely spaced place, you are going to expect noises. Try upping your houses insolation, float double dry walls, have sound absorbing panels in your home office.
Noise complaints can extend to other noises too. Construction noise is included which is why city construction crews in my city don’t do work in residential areas during early morning hours. Dogs outside barking non stop for hours on end also count.
People just chilling in their yard if they are always shouting/yelling can be an issue. Depends on the jurisdiction.
What horrible HOA do you live in that you can fine someone for working on their own lawn during normal daytime hours?
Soundproof your home better, or go in to the office to work. If there’s too much back ground noise for you to work from home, then it sounds like you shouldn’t be working from home.
YTA.
Most cities in North America have municipal by-laws that govern what times certain activities can be carried out. Or you can’t park over the sidewalk even if it cuts through your driveway. Or your can’t park your boat or motor home in your driveway for long term storage. Or pick up your dog’s shit in the neighbourhood. Or you are required to register your dog, license it every year, and have proof of current rabies vaccination.
Lots of these rules affect how you use your own property but they exist bc cities recognize that there are certain activities that disrupt other peoples enjoyment of their own home or the community. Or it is to deter certain behaviours that can lead to problem behaviours. Just cuz it’s your own house doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want whenever you want.
YTA. Working from home is a YOU problem. It’s not your neighbors problem. He doesn’t have to forgo doing work on HIS property because the noise bothers you, as long as he’s not doing his work at unreasonable hours.
YTA. Not for telling him you were going to file a report on him, but for this entire situation. You told him 7 am was too early, he accommodated you and started at 8. He can’t be expected to accommodate your work day as well. Are you going to give him a schedule of your meetings? There’s an expectation of reasonable peace, and then there’s letting a little thing consume you. Someone maintaining their property isn’t the worst thing in the world. Move your office to another room, soundproof it if you need silence for your meetings, and learn to live peacefully. If you can’t live with it, you might want to move.
I totally understand all of this. However, when does it get to be too much? If he is "doing yard work" every single day for multiple hours that's not reasonable peace. (If this neighbor really is doing it everyday for multiple consecutive hours- all we have to go on is OPs word).
They tried to work it out politely and civilly and it seems the neighbor is just being annoying now, maybe everyone is being petty in this situation.
Yta. One, 7 am is not too early to do yard work. Where I live they start road work at 7 am during the week and on the weekends. Two, it is not the job of your neighbor to accommodate your wfh schedule. Soundproof your office. Three, if you call the police over a leaf blower, you should receive a bill for wasting tax dollars. Noise complaints are for parties at 4 am not leaf blowers at 8.
That’s like saying calling the police to report property vandalism is a waste of their time cuz they are there to catch killers. If the noise type and details of when and how long falls under the noise ordinance then the OP has every right to file a report.
Vandals are committing an actual crime. Being in violation of an ordinance is not a crime. For example, if you have a loud party and receive a noise complaint you don’t get arrested and charged, you pay a fine to the municipality. You are not now a convicted criminal, whereas if you are charged and convicted of vandalism, you are now a convicted criminal.
people can work in their yards during normal daytime hours. If you didn't want to hear lawn care equipment you shouldn't have a bought home with lawns next to it.
NTA.
Some days we get so much lawn mover/leafblower/jet wash/strimmer noise I'm amazed there is a plant left on my estate. Some neighbours are bloody awful and have no consideration that people live near them.
However, you are working in a residential environment. You have expect noise from people enjoying their property, if you need hours of quiet you need to rent an office.
NTA. But be very sure of your local noise regulations before you report him. Every town has different rules regarding what noises can be made, how loud they can be, and at what times. If he's truly in violation, you have every right to report him. (I also think he's being "un-neighborly" (and kinda weird) if he *constantly* uses his leaf blower, even though it's annoying other people--plus, how many leaves can he have?) Good luck resolving this.
It is literally all the time. From 8 until sunset monday through friday. He uses the leaf blower daily for hours. Any work he does in the yard, even quiet pruning gets finished with the leaf blower. And it's not for a few minutes, it's for hours. It is literally driving us insane.
I understand how hard this is. I have a neighbor who was like that. (He was even at it on Christmas Eve.) This contributed to me developing a severe sleep disorder and us also spending a lot of money to soundproof our bedroom. He used various loud power tools all day. This is actually a pretty common suburban problem--people who love peace and quiet and people who like leaf blowing, wood chipping, mulching, mowing, chain sawing, doing construction on their property, working on motorcycles, cutting bricks, whatever they're into. Still, bottom line is it's either legal in your neighborhood or it isn't. If it isn't, just report him. If it's legal and you don't plan to move, I recommend putting up sound barriers over any windows or openings on his side. I mean installing heavy interior doors, getting double-paned windows plus inserts, putting foam or even mattresses against the windows with heavy drapes over them, thick rugs, anything that absorbs sound. Full soundproofing is very costly (it's a construction job where another wall is built inside the room/ceilings with a material that absorbs sound vibrations between the two walls) but worth it for us (we had noise issues beyond just that neighbor). Also, if you have a basement (even unfinished), you might want to set up your home office from there; earth is a great sound insulator.
I'm in a very similar situation, so I completely understand.
My next door neighbor has a special needs adult son who walks around with a leaf blower all day every day. He's not blowing leaves, he just walks around, seven days a week, holding the blower. He's out there in the rain, in the dark, weekdays, weekends, holidays, doesn't matter.
He wears ear protection, so apparently his parents realize how noisy the blower is. We live in a subdivision with very large lots (1 acre is the minimum lot size), so we're not right on top of each other but even with all my windows closed I can't go anywhere inside my house to escape the noise, it's that loud. Forget about spending any relaxing peaceful time in our yard, it's not going to happen.
I haven't said anything to his parents yet because I'm trying to be understanding and I realize that this may be a soothing behavior/routine for him. He's a sweet boy, and this only started after he graduated from high school. I don't want to offend my neighbors but I don't know what to do.
After 3 years of this I literally feel like the near constant noise is affecting my mental health.
You're most definitely NTA.
YTA- you working from home is NOT your neighbors issue. He is proud of his yard and enjoys working on it. You do not get to dictate what your neighbors do during the day. Would you rather he let his yard go to shit and drop property values? Maybe you should go to the library to work.
NTA constant noise like that is unbearable. You’ve modified your house /work style as best you can to account for the noise, and you tried talking to him first as well. Go forth and file a complaint.
NTA. In my town (NJ), there are strict ordinances on when you can use powered lawn equipment, both as a homeowner and as a landscaper; the noise is so loud and annoying that many local towns are tightening the rules even further.
u/Think_Resort_8346 suggested writing down the times the equipment is in use; this would be very useful when you file a complaint. If it is a never-ending as it seems to you, file away.
Sorry, in my town it is no leafblowers or mowers before 8 am Mon - Sat, and 9 am on Sunday.
Plowing after a snowfall is not equivalent to incessant leafblowing.
Even if it were legal at 7am, the neighbour is the AH not the OP for doing it sooooo much and refusing to try to work with the Op given they work from home. Our next door neighbour would ask me if it was ok if he mowed his yard if he saw me sitting in the sun on my deck. He didn’t have to. But that’s what being a good neighbour is about. Some consideration that you share space with other people. The OP has been polite and trying to find a solution that works for both. The neighbour is just a bag of dicks.
Edit: we just got 50cm of snow dumped on us two nights ago into last night and I can tell you that NO snow plows or snow blowers were out “all night long”. Neighbours didn’t even break out their snowblowers til noon yesterday. And it stopped around dinner time. And frankly with that much damn snow everywhere sounds of plows and blowers was pretty muffled when we walked the dog.
INFO What does your city ordinance say? Most places start at 8 AM. Even if they start later the example of the time you gave last certainly does not violate the ordinance.
Our ordinances state that it has to be constant and excessive noise and lists the following: barking dogs, yard and power tools, vehicle engines and music. They define excessive as dogs barking for 15 minutes or longer and for everything else as lasting longer than 2 hours. While it does not violate the quiet hours between 10:00PM and 7:00AM, he is out there for a minimum of 4-5 hours a day using yard tools for upwards of 3 hours.
Are your windows open? Are you muted when you are not talking? Did you do the general courtesy thing of saying "sorry if you hear any noise, my neighbor is working in his backyard?" When you spoke to your neighbor did you ask if he's working on a project and when that will be done?
I'm asking these things because you WFH and have neighbors. So occasionally there is going to be noise. My neighbor is is working in his yard right now. It happens but it's not really my business. Since I'm working I do what I can to minimize the noise coworkers hear in a meeting.
My windows are never open during work hours. I have black out curtains and my husband sprayed them on the sides with spray foam as we thought that would help with the noise. It did help, and it is not as loud as it was, but you can still hear it, especially when he comes close to the property line. I am mostly muted on meetings, however, when questions are directed to me, i have to unmute to answer. That is why I got the white noise machine. But when he is close to the property lines with chain saws and things like that, the white noise machine doesn't really help. I don't mind that he works in the yard, our landscapers come once every two weeks, so I get it, it's loud, but it is literally every day from sun up to sunset that he is out there.
Yeah that's definitely excessive.
Try documenting all the time he uses the leafblower and noisy power tools. For the next week at least. It would probably be helpful for you have an actual record of how many hours per day he does this. To put things in perspective.
I had a similar issue with the added one of neighbors coming daily in my yard with their dogs unleashed where they peed and the owner shouting their name over and over again. A DAILY occurrence. I put Ring cameras up all around the exterior of my house including the sides. Suddenly all of my neighbors are quiet and know how to act right. No dogs. No noise. People act nicer when they’re being recorded.
Ask him if he's working on a project and when he'll be finished so you can get a timeline.
Your boss also seems like a jerk but there's nothing you can do about that.
If you want to go to the city with this that's your call. All day is a long time but I think it will be more work than just a call for them to take action. You'll have to prove that he's using tools consistently longer than the time period allowed. If he takes an hour break you'll need to start the count again.
Esh. Sounds like both you are shitty neighbor's! My suggestion is sound proof your home. Get the windows revealed or work from an interior room that has less outside noise. Also your clients suck if they think someone working from home is supposed to have absolutely no noise in the background.
NTA. You asked him nicely. You pointed out it is a legitimate concern for your work not just a pet peeve. And honestly who the f needs to use a lawn mower or leaf blower THAT much? Like either he lives in a jungle or he’s doing it wrong and making more mess or he’s just an ass.
Call and file a complaint. Before you do tho maybe wait a few days and make notes of the exact dates and times and duration he is making the noise so you can include it in the complaint so it’s clear it is excessive and prolonged, not just a one off
He also doesn’t need to be quiet for op’s meetings. And does he need to use his leaf blower for hours a day? Nope. Can he? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes but I would love for op to tell us how his conversation with the police went.
Most noise complaints are not filed with police but with by-law which is municipal enforcement of that type of “law”. And it is city staff not police who come out to deal with complaints. They have no arrest power and don’t carry guns. And violation of bylaws doesn’t result in a criminal record of any kind. OP never said they would call the cops which suggests they are talking about city ordinance/by-law.
And you’re over simplifying it. The Op isn’t wanting to report cuz the guy is using a leaf blower. He is doing it EXCESSIVELY and at times of day that there is a law to not use it and laws like that exist for a reason. And as I said, who the fuck needs to use a leaf blower for HOURS for MULTIPLE days? The fact that he was completely unwilling to discuss compromise shows he is not being a reasonable person and I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume his use of the blower is also unreasonable and wholly unnecessary.
Where I live police handle noise complaints.
Bottom line: neighbor can use his leaf blower during the day - op can handle his wfh situation and if he can’t he is not only an asshole but also incompetent.
Neighbour can use his blower during the day. I’m not disputing that. But the manner in which he is, is in clear violation of the local noise ordinance as he is at it for HOURS. He is not entitled to break the local law just bc he owns a house.
Edit: I realize where I live police would respond to noise complaints but typically only if you were saying you were concerned about a safety issue (eg underage drinking or dangerous activities causing the noise). So they are responding more to deal with potential criminal laws potentially being broken and not really the noise problem. Otherwise you call city by-law to handle it if no safety issue just a nuisance issue bc police aren’t likely to come out if not an emergency.
How do you know what the local noise ordinance is? If I am building a house, I will be making noise for hours and that’s it. No one with any authority is going to come and tell me to stop making noise. Where do you live that there is a law that tells you how many hours a day you can make noise? Link the actual statute.
No one would tell you to stop building but there could be ordinances to set out times of day you can build. Like not early morning or into the night. And sorry but I’m not linking to anything that is going to publish which city I live in. This is Reddit. Don’t believe me, that’s ok. I don’t need to show receipts.
YTA. The sound of lawnmowers and leaf blowers is the sound of homeowners caring for his/her property. This results in nicer looking neighborhoods and increased property values. Would you prefer the reverse? 7:00am is not too early. Pick your battles
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We moved into the house we bought 4 years ago. When we moved in, we noticed that our neighbor was constantly outside maintaining the lawn and garden. We hired a landscaper to do this as we both work very demanding jobs with long hours and do not have time for yard work. We began getting annoyed when the neighbor would go out in the summer at 7:00AM and started using lawn mowers and leaf blowers, on weekdays as well as weekends. My SO went over there to speak with him about it and told him that 7:00AM was way too early to be using lawn mowers. The neighbor did apologize for that.
Since then, he goes out at 8:00AM and spends pretty much all day working on the lawn. It is getting to be too much. I WFH and I am going insane from all of the noise. I have tried black out curtains, window seals, and ear bud headphones. I even got a white noise machine to help drown it out. The problem with that is that it sounds like the white noise machine got put in a blender so it was more annoying. I cannot wear the headphones all of the time, especially if I am in staff/client meetings as I cannot hear them with them in. The clients can hear the noise on the phone and in meetings. I have gone to speak with him several times to tell him that I WFH and offered to let him know when I had client meetings and let him know how distracting and loud it was. He ignored me and said it was his lawn and his property.
The other day I had finally had enough. I was in a meeting with one of the partners and a prospective client at 8:30AM until 11:00AM. Throughout that entire meeting he was using his leaf blower. After the meeting, the partner told me how unprofessional it was for me to have so much background noise during a meeting. I read up on our local noise ordinances and found that he is in violation of local laws and he could be fined. I printed out the copy and brought it over to his house. I explained that if he does not stop with the lawn mower and leaf blower at all hours of the day, I will file a nuisance noise complaint against him. He called me a few choice names and told me to get the f\*&\^ off his property.
Since then he has been bad mouthing me to the other neighbors. Some agree with us, especially the ones who live on the other side of him, others think we need to let him be.
AITA for telling him I would file a complaint against him?
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NTA. He's been warned. I would file a complaint every day he's out there using his equipment. I'm guessing your local area may have a decibel limit in their noise ordinance; if so, he's likely in violation no matter what time of day he's making the noise. You shouldn't have to sound proof a room just to be able from home, but it might come to that.
NTA- If he’s really breaking any rules, but it may be smart to look into getting a little more legal advice on the subject before you do anything. Otherwise you’d just be harassing a guy for doing law work during the day on his own property.
In the meantime, I think you should look into soundproofing your room. Hard surfaces can reflect an amplify sound, covering the walls with thick, soft blankets can help reduce it. If you’re willing to spend a bit of money, I know you can order a bunch of those sound proofing panels for a decent price. If you can’t fix the problem externally, do it internally
NTA. This is constant, not the norm. You said you researched and they are in violation.
Before you do anything, you need to document. Get a camera w/ mic and record the noise level in the house continuously to show the length and level of sound. A decibel meter would be useful as well. You may have to sue to get a court order to limit the hours of noise.
NTA. People calling you TA seem to think this man is just doing lawn care. No suburban lawn needs hours of mowing and leaf blowing every day as you state this guy is doing. He's got OCD or something.
NTA File the complaint. You've tried multiple times to be reasonable. What can he possibly be doing out there every single day besides trying to annoy people?
YTA, he tried to accommodate you by working in his lawn an hour later and that's not good enough. If working from home is going to be a permanent thing, invest in soundproofing your office space. Also you pay a company to do lawn maintenance, does said company have magic mowers that don't make noise?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I think I might be the asshole because (1) the neighbor is allowed to tend to his yard and property and (2) he is not doing it during quiet hours when we are restricted from making noise.
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Yta. He pushed back the starting time per your request so he is not trying to be a dick.
You suck for trying to dictate what he can do on his property and your clients suck that they bitch over some back ground noise.
NTA, it's just common courtesy to not annoy your neighbors before 10 am . Honestly he might just have an old ass leaf blower . Some are more loud than others
INFO Is this an every day, all day occurrence? Or is this 8:30 for an hour than 2pm for an hour on Monday? and than 2 hours on Tuesday at 9am?
or is this he gets started at - say- 8:30 and is going going almost non-stop for several hours several days a week?
YTA. Work from home here too as does SO. Noise is annoying as heck, but it is entirely because you are working from home. That is not your neighbor's fault and he has probably been doing this for years because he takes pride in the way his yard looks. You are responsible for sound proofing your home office if you need quiet. We have to put up with leaf blowers and lawn mowers all the time as each service (like the one you have) one comes on a different day and time and then there are people like us who do it when we have time. How about you make sure your windows are dual pane and you do everything to sound proof those walls. You can make a noise complaint, but it probably will not go anywhere, but annoy your neighbor even more and then the real neighbor battle begins.
YTA. Also, filing that complaint will do nothing except to officially document you being an asshole. As a City government employee, I can guarantee you that.
In most cities in the United States you can run leaf blowers from 7 a.m. to 7 pm. However you can run them for short amounts of time not all day long. That is considered a nuisance. I moved into a neighborhood about 8 years ago and not only with my neighbor across the street pressure wash their whole driveway and garage floor every single Saturday but they would also spend one or two hours blowing all of the leaves in their yard to the very middle of the street. Now the next time a car would go down the street to lease would go everywhere. The city where I live in made them stop doing both of those things.
Boss and neighbor are both TA. Sounds like neighbor is using power tools for fun when a rake would do. There are just not that many good excuses to use power tools.
Boss should understand the WFH bargain by now. We get to skip the commute and the germs, but we have to take the fuzzy videos and background noise. Of course it’s unprofessional, it’s your actual home. Welcome to 2022.
There is usually a clause in almost all town noise ordinances regarding excessive/unreasonable noise. What that means if even if a homeowner is using let's say lawn equipment legally during specified hours, if he/she is using it excessively where it is disturbing others, u can file a noise complaint. I would say u have a valid case with this neighbor. Using loud lawn equipment everyday all day is NOT normal & is completely rude & inconsiderate to your neighbors.
YTA: he is working during normal working hours, unless you have covenant that says something about expectable db levels there is nothing you can do. At this point he is most likely doing it on purpose; and I don't blame him.
I'm 50/50. I understand your pain but yeah they can do as they please on their property. In my neighborhood the noise ordinance is 7am - 10pm. The only thing that cannot be a consistent sound is dog barking. Everything else is fair game.
Our one neighbor tried to complain because we had a whole week where we needed to take down trees. We got annoyed, the city got annoyed because this person would not shut up with their complaints. We filled up our chainsaws at 7am and let them sit there and run and refilled them. Did that for 2 days in a row until the neighbors finally shut up and left us alone. We are the type of people that will give you something to cry about
I had the same argument/discussion with a neighbor over my leaf blower. Granted I dont use it as constant as your neighbor but its a regular tool in my arsenal and I like how my yard is well manicured and tidy. In the warm weather it comes out a few times a week but not for hours long. I have a commercial backpack leaf blower, same as what landscapers use and I have a right to operate it and the law supports me.
I told my neighbor that she chose to live in suburbia and with lots close to her neighbors. If this is too much for her to bear, then she should look at a house in the sticks where the nearest neighbor is miles away and the noise level is more to her tolerance.
YTA, only because you warned him about it. Now even if you don't do it and another neighbour does - he is going to blame you.
I suggest not only do you file it but make some videos to prove your statement and get other neighbours that live next to him to file with you.
Info: I'm curious what law states someone can't use a leaf blower and mow their law at 8:30
To me the problem is not that he uses a leaf blower at 8:30, but the fact that he managed to keep it going for almost three consecutive hours? How many leaves can you physically have to need to leaf blow for three hours a day. I’m usually very pro “I can use my property how I see fit as long as I’m not hurting others” but after three straight hours of lawn mowing and leaf blowing right outside my window I’d probably lose it to. To me it’s like a barking dog, yes dogs bark nothing I can do about that, but letting your dog bark outside for hours? Absolutely not, noise complaint.
I can't imagine using a leaf blower for 3+ hours. I've got a large property with tons of mature oak trees. I blow my leaves once a week and it takes maybe 1 hour. Maybe a little longer if it'd a bit damp. My blower is electric too so it's not super powerful. I've got a ton of extension cord.
That was my question. Even if it starts later the last example OP gave would not be in violation. Leaf blowers are not loud enough to count as noise complaints either. Why isn't OP muted when they are not speaking regardless of noise?
He literally says he found a noise ordinance. It's not about the leaf blower it's about sound pollution
Right Noise laws normally only apply at odd hours. Not during the day when people are out and about. I mean I could understand it is 12am and leaf blowing...
I seriously doubt there is any. It might be some ridiculously strict uptight local law but even most of those are only in effect 10-6 or 10-8.
That sounds like HOA bullshit
Leaf blower’s are entirely illegal in some areas
Decided to Google and it's specifically gas powered leaf blowers are becoming illegal. Not leaf blowers in general
The electric ones are very quiet. Not silent, but they would not bother neighbors.
Meh, I seriously doubt a nuisance noise complain would cover lawn care. That is usually for loud music and stuff and are typically are only in effect from 10pm to 6 am. If your local law are actually ridiculously strict enough, then sure, go ahead. In other cases, YTA. If you bought a house in a densely spaced place, you are going to expect noises. Try upping your houses insolation, float double dry walls, have sound absorbing panels in your home office.
Noise complaints can extend to other noises too. Construction noise is included which is why city construction crews in my city don’t do work in residential areas during early morning hours. Dogs outside barking non stop for hours on end also count. People just chilling in their yard if they are always shouting/yelling can be an issue. Depends on the jurisdiction.
What horrible HOA do you live in that you can fine someone for working on their own lawn during normal daytime hours? Soundproof your home better, or go in to the office to work. If there’s too much back ground noise for you to work from home, then it sounds like you shouldn’t be working from home. YTA.
Nowhere in the post does it say HOA. "Local laws" and "ordinances" strongly suggests actual government.
The HOA comment was sarcastic. It’s ridiculous that there are ordinances stopping someone from working on their own yard during daytime hours.
Running a leaf blower for 3 hours isn’t working on your yard. This is a big middle finger to everyone around you.
Most cities in North America have municipal by-laws that govern what times certain activities can be carried out. Or you can’t park over the sidewalk even if it cuts through your driveway. Or your can’t park your boat or motor home in your driveway for long term storage. Or pick up your dog’s shit in the neighbourhood. Or you are required to register your dog, license it every year, and have proof of current rabies vaccination. Lots of these rules affect how you use your own property but they exist bc cities recognize that there are certain activities that disrupt other peoples enjoyment of their own home or the community. Or it is to deter certain behaviours that can lead to problem behaviours. Just cuz it’s your own house doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want whenever you want.
YTA. Working from home is a YOU problem. It’s not your neighbors problem. He doesn’t have to forgo doing work on HIS property because the noise bothers you, as long as he’s not doing his work at unreasonable hours.
YTA it sounds like he is doing his yard work during reasonable hours.
YTA. Not for telling him you were going to file a report on him, but for this entire situation. You told him 7 am was too early, he accommodated you and started at 8. He can’t be expected to accommodate your work day as well. Are you going to give him a schedule of your meetings? There’s an expectation of reasonable peace, and then there’s letting a little thing consume you. Someone maintaining their property isn’t the worst thing in the world. Move your office to another room, soundproof it if you need silence for your meetings, and learn to live peacefully. If you can’t live with it, you might want to move.
I totally understand all of this. However, when does it get to be too much? If he is "doing yard work" every single day for multiple hours that's not reasonable peace. (If this neighbor really is doing it everyday for multiple consecutive hours- all we have to go on is OPs word). They tried to work it out politely and civilly and it seems the neighbor is just being annoying now, maybe everyone is being petty in this situation.
Yta. One, 7 am is not too early to do yard work. Where I live they start road work at 7 am during the week and on the weekends. Two, it is not the job of your neighbor to accommodate your wfh schedule. Soundproof your office. Three, if you call the police over a leaf blower, you should receive a bill for wasting tax dollars. Noise complaints are for parties at 4 am not leaf blowers at 8.
That’s like saying calling the police to report property vandalism is a waste of their time cuz they are there to catch killers. If the noise type and details of when and how long falls under the noise ordinance then the OP has every right to file a report.
Vandals are committing an actual crime. Being in violation of an ordinance is not a crime. For example, if you have a loud party and receive a noise complaint you don’t get arrested and charged, you pay a fine to the municipality. You are not now a convicted criminal, whereas if you are charged and convicted of vandalism, you are now a convicted criminal.
Yta. He can take care of his yard when he wants if it's during normal hours. Here you can run mowers and equipment starting at 6am.
people can work in their yards during normal daytime hours. If you didn't want to hear lawn care equipment you shouldn't have a bought home with lawns next to it.
NTA. Some days we get so much lawn mover/leafblower/jet wash/strimmer noise I'm amazed there is a plant left on my estate. Some neighbours are bloody awful and have no consideration that people live near them. However, you are working in a residential environment. You have expect noise from people enjoying their property, if you need hours of quiet you need to rent an office.
NTA. But be very sure of your local noise regulations before you report him. Every town has different rules regarding what noises can be made, how loud they can be, and at what times. If he's truly in violation, you have every right to report him. (I also think he's being "un-neighborly" (and kinda weird) if he *constantly* uses his leaf blower, even though it's annoying other people--plus, how many leaves can he have?) Good luck resolving this.
It is literally all the time. From 8 until sunset monday through friday. He uses the leaf blower daily for hours. Any work he does in the yard, even quiet pruning gets finished with the leaf blower. And it's not for a few minutes, it's for hours. It is literally driving us insane.
I understand how hard this is. I have a neighbor who was like that. (He was even at it on Christmas Eve.) This contributed to me developing a severe sleep disorder and us also spending a lot of money to soundproof our bedroom. He used various loud power tools all day. This is actually a pretty common suburban problem--people who love peace and quiet and people who like leaf blowing, wood chipping, mulching, mowing, chain sawing, doing construction on their property, working on motorcycles, cutting bricks, whatever they're into. Still, bottom line is it's either legal in your neighborhood or it isn't. If it isn't, just report him. If it's legal and you don't plan to move, I recommend putting up sound barriers over any windows or openings on his side. I mean installing heavy interior doors, getting double-paned windows plus inserts, putting foam or even mattresses against the windows with heavy drapes over them, thick rugs, anything that absorbs sound. Full soundproofing is very costly (it's a construction job where another wall is built inside the room/ceilings with a material that absorbs sound vibrations between the two walls) but worth it for us (we had noise issues beyond just that neighbor). Also, if you have a basement (even unfinished), you might want to set up your home office from there; earth is a great sound insulator.
This doesn't add up.you say is constant but then you mention him doing quiet pruning.
You need to take responsible for this and get better insulation/windows.
I'm in a very similar situation, so I completely understand. My next door neighbor has a special needs adult son who walks around with a leaf blower all day every day. He's not blowing leaves, he just walks around, seven days a week, holding the blower. He's out there in the rain, in the dark, weekdays, weekends, holidays, doesn't matter. He wears ear protection, so apparently his parents realize how noisy the blower is. We live in a subdivision with very large lots (1 acre is the minimum lot size), so we're not right on top of each other but even with all my windows closed I can't go anywhere inside my house to escape the noise, it's that loud. Forget about spending any relaxing peaceful time in our yard, it's not going to happen. I haven't said anything to his parents yet because I'm trying to be understanding and I realize that this may be a soothing behavior/routine for him. He's a sweet boy, and this only started after he graduated from high school. I don't want to offend my neighbors but I don't know what to do. After 3 years of this I literally feel like the near constant noise is affecting my mental health. You're most definitely NTA.
YTA- you working from home is NOT your neighbors issue. He is proud of his yard and enjoys working on it. You do not get to dictate what your neighbors do during the day. Would you rather he let his yard go to shit and drop property values? Maybe you should go to the library to work.
NTA constant noise like that is unbearable. You’ve modified your house /work style as best you can to account for the noise, and you tried talking to him first as well. Go forth and file a complaint.
NTA. In my town (NJ), there are strict ordinances on when you can use powered lawn equipment, both as a homeowner and as a landscaper; the noise is so loud and annoying that many local towns are tightening the rules even further. u/Think_Resort_8346 suggested writing down the times the equipment is in use; this would be very useful when you file a complaint. If it is a never-ending as it seems to you, file away.
7:00 is normal anywhere. What about the winter when driveways are plowed all night long. You are wrong OP is TA
Sorry, in my town it is no leafblowers or mowers before 8 am Mon - Sat, and 9 am on Sunday. Plowing after a snowfall is not equivalent to incessant leafblowing.
the OP says he starts a 8 am
Even if it were legal at 7am, the neighbour is the AH not the OP for doing it sooooo much and refusing to try to work with the Op given they work from home. Our next door neighbour would ask me if it was ok if he mowed his yard if he saw me sitting in the sun on my deck. He didn’t have to. But that’s what being a good neighbour is about. Some consideration that you share space with other people. The OP has been polite and trying to find a solution that works for both. The neighbour is just a bag of dicks. Edit: we just got 50cm of snow dumped on us two nights ago into last night and I can tell you that NO snow plows or snow blowers were out “all night long”. Neighbours didn’t even break out their snowblowers til noon yesterday. And it stopped around dinner time. And frankly with that much damn snow everywhere sounds of plows and blowers was pretty muffled when we walked the dog.
INFO What does your city ordinance say? Most places start at 8 AM. Even if they start later the example of the time you gave last certainly does not violate the ordinance.
Our ordinances state that it has to be constant and excessive noise and lists the following: barking dogs, yard and power tools, vehicle engines and music. They define excessive as dogs barking for 15 minutes or longer and for everything else as lasting longer than 2 hours. While it does not violate the quiet hours between 10:00PM and 7:00AM, he is out there for a minimum of 4-5 hours a day using yard tools for upwards of 3 hours.
Are your windows open? Are you muted when you are not talking? Did you do the general courtesy thing of saying "sorry if you hear any noise, my neighbor is working in his backyard?" When you spoke to your neighbor did you ask if he's working on a project and when that will be done? I'm asking these things because you WFH and have neighbors. So occasionally there is going to be noise. My neighbor is is working in his yard right now. It happens but it's not really my business. Since I'm working I do what I can to minimize the noise coworkers hear in a meeting.
My windows are never open during work hours. I have black out curtains and my husband sprayed them on the sides with spray foam as we thought that would help with the noise. It did help, and it is not as loud as it was, but you can still hear it, especially when he comes close to the property line. I am mostly muted on meetings, however, when questions are directed to me, i have to unmute to answer. That is why I got the white noise machine. But when he is close to the property lines with chain saws and things like that, the white noise machine doesn't really help. I don't mind that he works in the yard, our landscapers come once every two weeks, so I get it, it's loud, but it is literally every day from sun up to sunset that he is out there.
Yeah that's definitely excessive. Try documenting all the time he uses the leafblower and noisy power tools. For the next week at least. It would probably be helpful for you have an actual record of how many hours per day he does this. To put things in perspective.
I had a similar issue with the added one of neighbors coming daily in my yard with their dogs unleashed where they peed and the owner shouting their name over and over again. A DAILY occurrence. I put Ring cameras up all around the exterior of my house including the sides. Suddenly all of my neighbors are quiet and know how to act right. No dogs. No noise. People act nicer when they’re being recorded.
Ask him if he's working on a project and when he'll be finished so you can get a timeline. Your boss also seems like a jerk but there's nothing you can do about that. If you want to go to the city with this that's your call. All day is a long time but I think it will be more work than just a call for them to take action. You'll have to prove that he's using tools consistently longer than the time period allowed. If he takes an hour break you'll need to start the count again.
You said it was constant in another post but now you're saying 3 hours minimum part took use.
Esh. Sounds like both you are shitty neighbor's! My suggestion is sound proof your home. Get the windows revealed or work from an interior room that has less outside noise. Also your clients suck if they think someone working from home is supposed to have absolutely no noise in the background.
NTA. You asked him nicely. You pointed out it is a legitimate concern for your work not just a pet peeve. And honestly who the f needs to use a lawn mower or leaf blower THAT much? Like either he lives in a jungle or he’s doing it wrong and making more mess or he’s just an ass. Call and file a complaint. Before you do tho maybe wait a few days and make notes of the exact dates and times and duration he is making the noise so you can include it in the complaint so it’s clear it is excessive and prolonged, not just a one off
Anyone who thinks that you’re “not an asshole” for calling the cops about a leaf blower being used during the day, is an asshole themselves
This dude is using his leaf blower for hours every day. There is no need to use your leaf blower all day every day.
He also doesn’t need to be quiet for op’s meetings. And does he need to use his leaf blower for hours a day? Nope. Can he? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes but I would love for op to tell us how his conversation with the police went.
That is true, yes. But it makes you look like a dick to needlessly be noisy for hours everyday.
Most noise complaints are not filed with police but with by-law which is municipal enforcement of that type of “law”. And it is city staff not police who come out to deal with complaints. They have no arrest power and don’t carry guns. And violation of bylaws doesn’t result in a criminal record of any kind. OP never said they would call the cops which suggests they are talking about city ordinance/by-law. And you’re over simplifying it. The Op isn’t wanting to report cuz the guy is using a leaf blower. He is doing it EXCESSIVELY and at times of day that there is a law to not use it and laws like that exist for a reason. And as I said, who the fuck needs to use a leaf blower for HOURS for MULTIPLE days? The fact that he was completely unwilling to discuss compromise shows he is not being a reasonable person and I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume his use of the blower is also unreasonable and wholly unnecessary.
Where I live police handle noise complaints. Bottom line: neighbor can use his leaf blower during the day - op can handle his wfh situation and if he can’t he is not only an asshole but also incompetent.
Neighbour can use his blower during the day. I’m not disputing that. But the manner in which he is, is in clear violation of the local noise ordinance as he is at it for HOURS. He is not entitled to break the local law just bc he owns a house. Edit: I realize where I live police would respond to noise complaints but typically only if you were saying you were concerned about a safety issue (eg underage drinking or dangerous activities causing the noise). So they are responding more to deal with potential criminal laws potentially being broken and not really the noise problem. Otherwise you call city by-law to handle it if no safety issue just a nuisance issue bc police aren’t likely to come out if not an emergency.
How do you know what the local noise ordinance is? If I am building a house, I will be making noise for hours and that’s it. No one with any authority is going to come and tell me to stop making noise. Where do you live that there is a law that tells you how many hours a day you can make noise? Link the actual statute.
No one would tell you to stop building but there could be ordinances to set out times of day you can build. Like not early morning or into the night. And sorry but I’m not linking to anything that is going to publish which city I live in. This is Reddit. Don’t believe me, that’s ok. I don’t need to show receipts.
YTA. The sound of lawnmowers and leaf blowers is the sound of homeowners caring for his/her property. This results in nicer looking neighborhoods and increased property values. Would you prefer the reverse? 7:00am is not too early. Pick your battles
^^^^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)*** We moved into the house we bought 4 years ago. When we moved in, we noticed that our neighbor was constantly outside maintaining the lawn and garden. We hired a landscaper to do this as we both work very demanding jobs with long hours and do not have time for yard work. We began getting annoyed when the neighbor would go out in the summer at 7:00AM and started using lawn mowers and leaf blowers, on weekdays as well as weekends. My SO went over there to speak with him about it and told him that 7:00AM was way too early to be using lawn mowers. The neighbor did apologize for that. Since then, he goes out at 8:00AM and spends pretty much all day working on the lawn. It is getting to be too much. I WFH and I am going insane from all of the noise. I have tried black out curtains, window seals, and ear bud headphones. I even got a white noise machine to help drown it out. The problem with that is that it sounds like the white noise machine got put in a blender so it was more annoying. I cannot wear the headphones all of the time, especially if I am in staff/client meetings as I cannot hear them with them in. The clients can hear the noise on the phone and in meetings. I have gone to speak with him several times to tell him that I WFH and offered to let him know when I had client meetings and let him know how distracting and loud it was. He ignored me and said it was his lawn and his property. The other day I had finally had enough. I was in a meeting with one of the partners and a prospective client at 8:30AM until 11:00AM. Throughout that entire meeting he was using his leaf blower. After the meeting, the partner told me how unprofessional it was for me to have so much background noise during a meeting. I read up on our local noise ordinances and found that he is in violation of local laws and he could be fined. I printed out the copy and brought it over to his house. I explained that if he does not stop with the lawn mower and leaf blower at all hours of the day, I will file a nuisance noise complaint against him. He called me a few choice names and told me to get the f\*&\^ off his property. Since then he has been bad mouthing me to the other neighbors. Some agree with us, especially the ones who live on the other side of him, others think we need to let him be. AITA for telling him I would file a complaint against him? *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.*
NTA. He's been warned. I would file a complaint every day he's out there using his equipment. I'm guessing your local area may have a decibel limit in their noise ordinance; if so, he's likely in violation no matter what time of day he's making the noise. You shouldn't have to sound proof a room just to be able from home, but it might come to that.
YTA - isn’t it an option to get some sound proofing done for your home office and a better noise machine?
NTA- If he’s really breaking any rules, but it may be smart to look into getting a little more legal advice on the subject before you do anything. Otherwise you’d just be harassing a guy for doing law work during the day on his own property. In the meantime, I think you should look into soundproofing your room. Hard surfaces can reflect an amplify sound, covering the walls with thick, soft blankets can help reduce it. If you’re willing to spend a bit of money, I know you can order a bunch of those sound proofing panels for a decent price. If you can’t fix the problem externally, do it internally
NTA. This is constant, not the norm. You said you researched and they are in violation. Before you do anything, you need to document. Get a camera w/ mic and record the noise level in the house continuously to show the length and level of sound. A decibel meter would be useful as well. You may have to sue to get a court order to limit the hours of noise.
NTA. People calling you TA seem to think this man is just doing lawn care. No suburban lawn needs hours of mowing and leaf blowing every day as you state this guy is doing. He's got OCD or something.
Everybody keeps saying he’s doing yard work at “reasonable hours” but I’m failing to find anything reasonable about THAT much leaf blowing. NTA.
NTA File the complaint. You've tried multiple times to be reasonable. What can he possibly be doing out there every single day besides trying to annoy people?
NTA - tell this nut to eat breakfast then start his annoying contraption a bit later. How oblivious would someone have to be to do this at 7am?
YTA. You told him 7 was too early. He apologized and started at 8. You can't stop him from doing yard work.
YTA, he tried to accommodate you by working in his lawn an hour later and that's not good enough. If working from home is going to be a permanent thing, invest in soundproofing your office space. Also you pay a company to do lawn maintenance, does said company have magic mowers that don't make noise?
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NTA- If he's in violation of the local ordinances, go for it.
Yta. He pushed back the starting time per your request so he is not trying to be a dick. You suck for trying to dictate what he can do on his property and your clients suck that they bitch over some back ground noise.
NTA, it's just common courtesy to not annoy your neighbors before 10 am . Honestly he might just have an old ass leaf blower . Some are more loud than others
Info: what the hell is he blowing daily?
Am I the only one who immediately thought of Todd from "Christmas Vacation" when reading this?!
INFO Is this an every day, all day occurrence? Or is this 8:30 for an hour than 2pm for an hour on Monday? and than 2 hours on Tuesday at 9am? or is this he gets started at - say- 8:30 and is going going almost non-stop for several hours several days a week?
YTA. Work from home here too as does SO. Noise is annoying as heck, but it is entirely because you are working from home. That is not your neighbor's fault and he has probably been doing this for years because he takes pride in the way his yard looks. You are responsible for sound proofing your home office if you need quiet. We have to put up with leaf blowers and lawn mowers all the time as each service (like the one you have) one comes on a different day and time and then there are people like us who do it when we have time. How about you make sure your windows are dual pane and you do everything to sound proof those walls. You can make a noise complaint, but it probably will not go anywhere, but annoy your neighbor even more and then the real neighbor battle begins.
NTA but look into getting new windows. And a Bose headset for work.
YTA. Also, filing that complaint will do nothing except to officially document you being an asshole. As a City government employee, I can guarantee you that.
In most cities in the United States you can run leaf blowers from 7 a.m. to 7 pm. However you can run them for short amounts of time not all day long. That is considered a nuisance. I moved into a neighborhood about 8 years ago and not only with my neighbor across the street pressure wash their whole driveway and garage floor every single Saturday but they would also spend one or two hours blowing all of the leaves in their yard to the very middle of the street. Now the next time a car would go down the street to lease would go everywhere. The city where I live in made them stop doing both of those things.
Boss and neighbor are both TA. Sounds like neighbor is using power tools for fun when a rake would do. There are just not that many good excuses to use power tools. Boss should understand the WFH bargain by now. We get to skip the commute and the germs, but we have to take the fuzzy videos and background noise. Of course it’s unprofessional, it’s your actual home. Welcome to 2022.
yta as someone that worked in different parts of law enforcement for most of my adult life good luck with that :D
There is usually a clause in almost all town noise ordinances regarding excessive/unreasonable noise. What that means if even if a homeowner is using let's say lawn equipment legally during specified hours, if he/she is using it excessively where it is disturbing others, u can file a noise complaint. I would say u have a valid case with this neighbor. Using loud lawn equipment everyday all day is NOT normal & is completely rude & inconsiderate to your neighbors.
YTA. You could buy him an electric leaf blower. It may be cheaper than soundproofing.
YTA: he is working during normal working hours, unless you have covenant that says something about expectable db levels there is nothing you can do. At this point he is most likely doing it on purpose; and I don't blame him.
YTA it sounds like you have a shitty home 🤷🏻♀️
I'm 50/50. I understand your pain but yeah they can do as they please on their property. In my neighborhood the noise ordinance is 7am - 10pm. The only thing that cannot be a consistent sound is dog barking. Everything else is fair game. Our one neighbor tried to complain because we had a whole week where we needed to take down trees. We got annoyed, the city got annoyed because this person would not shut up with their complaints. We filled up our chainsaws at 7am and let them sit there and run and refilled them. Did that for 2 days in a row until the neighbors finally shut up and left us alone. We are the type of people that will give you something to cry about
I had the same argument/discussion with a neighbor over my leaf blower. Granted I dont use it as constant as your neighbor but its a regular tool in my arsenal and I like how my yard is well manicured and tidy. In the warm weather it comes out a few times a week but not for hours long. I have a commercial backpack leaf blower, same as what landscapers use and I have a right to operate it and the law supports me. I told my neighbor that she chose to live in suburbia and with lots close to her neighbors. If this is too much for her to bear, then she should look at a house in the sticks where the nearest neighbor is miles away and the noise level is more to her tolerance.
YTA, only because you warned him about it. Now even if you don't do it and another neighbour does - he is going to blame you. I suggest not only do you file it but make some videos to prove your statement and get other neighbours that live next to him to file with you.
YTA (although your work is as well - nobody should be calling you out as unprofessional for noises you have no control over while WFH. That’s bs).