Trying to get people's thoughts on this:
We used to hire a person for our lawn mowing at around 9am in the morning on the weekday. The neighbour complain that it was too early on a weekday so we moved to the weekend. Now they want us to only do lawn mowing post 11am on the weekend to accommodate.
What's the best way to resolve this?
edit: We only call the lawn mower once every 6-8 weeks
next post; neighbour complaining about concrete mixer noise
.
neighbour goes under the concrete first…
neighbour goes under the lawn no need for concrete
neighbour goes under the lawn no need for concrete
*lawn mower.
Pay extra to the gardener, for the off the menu service?
so it not just me with bad neigbours then lol
@redfox1200: One of these, or both could help:
Maybe your neighbour does shift work, and an afternoon time would be better.
A lot of lawn mowing services go mad with very loud petrol line trimmers and leaf blowers. Maybe you can use a service that uses the more expensive, quieter ones and making that effort would be greatly appreciated by a few more than just your complaining neighbour.
Or maybe it's because no-one else has a lawn in your area, so the peace is maintained 24x7? Could be you have the best place in Oz to live!
@resisting the urge: everyone in our area has pristine lawns and most are retired, unfortunately our neighbours think they can control what we do on our property, we have been to court already, some people are just a**holes.
@redfox1200: They have you walking on eggshells?
What do you do when they mow, just accept the noise? Maybe get a noise meter, and keep a little black book to convince the Council its better to side with you ;-)
@resisting the urge: No issues with mowing lol, we built a structure and they just got shitty about it, so we took them to court to shut them up
Put neighbour in concrete mixer first…
Nah, OP is completed entitled to NOT accommodate thy neighbour any further. (see Hithere's comment on time of day).
What's the best way to resolve this?
edit: We only call the lawn mower once every 6-8 weeks
Remember to mow more frequently in summer too! Reason, keeping the garden tidy!
play loud techno or opera music during the lawnkeeping, Reason, accomodate his wish of not being disturbed by the lawnmower
(maybe neighbour works shifts in which case i could understand but usually you're too tired to be disturbed by whats going on outside)
Wow 6-8 weekly!
I mow 2-3 weekly winter and 4-6 daily in summer , also mow in the hour before sunset in summer so it's not so hot.
Must admit hate it when people are mowing early in the day but 1100 hours not so early.
Have been known to whipper snipper the back fence at 9 am when back neighbours have partied loudly until 5 am .
..to make new boots for the neighbour's next swimming lesson :D
Build a wall and get over it :) or harden up, once every 6 weeks!!!! Some people are so entitled
Ahh my dream.
Concrete.. and plenty of it
nah, if the neighbour is greek it might make things even worse. your yard is concrete, theirs is only grass …
https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/environmental-infor…
You've done nothing wrong. You've moved from two different times.
I mean if it's not a big issue to move to 11am, then sure.
Edit: that's victoria, may have to look at your own local protocol
Yeah I'm in NSW and it's 8am for weekends. The things is that we accommodated once and ~9am or so is not even early morning anymore.
This. I wouldn’t let them tell you when you can mow your lawn. It is more than reasonable to do it at 9am. Let them know your lawn mowing service can do 9am or 9:30. They can pick. Who knows what other requests they’ll try to get away with if you agree to their request again.
Not like you do this every weekend.
What is their reason for wanting you to move?
Tell them the options are 9am or 8am.
11am is pretty damn annoying if you have to be home for the service?
and very few ppl would be accommodating their neighbours every wish. I hate early morning mowers and it kills me on the weekends but 9am is pretty "late" compared to the 8am start most ppl seem to love
Me, on my one day off each week. I enjoy evenings more than mornings so rarely go to bed before midnight, it can be 1-3am some days if my anxiety gets in the way. No drinking or partying. A good catch up sleep on a Sunday is nice, so I'll often sleep until 10. Having said that, I wouldn't have a problem with my neighbours having their lawn mowed at 9am on a Sunday.
Us dudes in lockdown land have been doing that for a while
Your neighbour is nuts. Ask them to complain to the Council, which will tell them to shut up and get on with their life.
The best way is to tell them to go sit and rotate.
9am on a weekday is more than a reasonable time to get your lawns done.
What time am I allowed to mow my lawn?
Lawn mowers can emit noise levels of 87-94 decibels of noise which if exposed to for eight hours of more you are likely to have ear drum damage. The lawn mower is more bearable then other noisy devices but it should still be used in the applicable times to keep your neighbours happy.
Noise restriction rules for lawn mowers and other power tool devices vary from state to state.
*Here is a guide of when power tool noise is permitted in every state.
QLD
7am – 7pm Monday - Saturday
8am – 7pm Sunday and Public Holidays
NSW
7am – 8pm Monday - Saturday
8am – 8pm Sunday and Public Holidays
VIC
7am – 8pm Monday – Friday
9am – 8pm Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
SA
8am – 8pm Monday - Saturday
9am – 8pm Sunday
TAS
7am – 8pm Monday – Friday
9am – 8pm Saturday 10am – 8pm Sunday
WA
7am – 7pm Monday – Saturday
9am – 7pm Sunday and Public Holidays
NT
7am – 7pm Monday – Saturday
9am – 6pm Sunday and Public Holidays
ACT
7am – 8pm Monday – Friday
8am – 8pm Sunday and Public Holidays
*correct at time of print.
https://www.viphomeservices.com.au/blog/7/what-time-am-i-all…
I used to work shiftwork on occasions but realising that the world didn't revolve around me I accepted that as long as it was within permitted hours people were free to mow lawns, use a chainsaw, mix concrete, and make noise.
Personally I would have told the neighbour to make love and travel if they'd approached me with their demands.
Yes, if OP gives in to these ridiculous demands, what next? Please only allow your kids to play in the backyard between 4-5pm because their laughter and little shouts are affecting the neighbour’s quality of life?
In Qld it's 0630 for building sites and the like, so I would be surprised if lawn mowers had to be later. And apparently councils are slack in issuing fines (the local one doesn't even have rangers employed on weekends) and the cops won't get involved except for specific noise types. I've had problems with work sites early mornings, truck generators late at night, dogs, illegally parked or speeding cars, etc. and nothing tangible is done to solve problems thru to solution. So you can basically do what you want. Just make sure you get vaccinated, nothing else seems to matter these days.
“Make love and travel” - I’m going to remember that for later use haha!
I had no idea these rules existed. Where are all those people who love to argue about their freedoms when it comes to the pandemic? Surely this is an infringement of my basic human rights.
These are obviously useful limits. Personally, I avoid doing things that might disturb my neighbours until a fair way after 9am on the weekend because that would be my preference in return, so that's the other consideration. However 9am on a weekday is fair game, surely.
https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/noise/neighbourh…
I guess you could invite them to a Mediation that will allow a neutral party to explain
what you are doing is quite reasonable assuming the dBA is within range.
Screw that. Point them at the web site and tell them to take a flying f. He has already been accomodating for something that is infrequent and already being done at appropriate times.
Unless they're a shift worker or have some other reasonable reason I'd just ignore them. Otherwise they will demand all sorts of things.
That's so cool bro
Yes, although it's nice to be accommodating to other people, the reason that shift workers get paid more is that shift working is disruptive to your lifestyle. If your neighbours want it to disrupt your lifestyle as well then they'll need to compensate you.
I'm a night shift worker, usually get to bed at 5am. The neighbours legally mowing their lawn at 7am is MY problem, not theirs.
What??
My solution is easy, I have one of those 75cm industrial pedestral fans in my room. It's great in summer for trying to sleep when it's hot during the day, and in winter I just point it at the wall. Nice amount of white noise, I can't hear my neighbors mowing, or basically anything else happening in the house.
So basically you became your neighbours bitch and somehow convinced yourself you cut yourself a good deal?
@Magnastar: Not all of us are heavy-sleepers like you Magnastar. Some of us are military-like, a broken twig, or a barking dog, or tool noises and we're up, even when we're tired. Value is relative. I valued my rest for that year much more than the $100 it cost me, since I was working odd-hours and studying for exams.
Can you honestly say sleep-deprivation doesn't exist, or a proper rest has no value? I mean, you're literally not willing to spend any money for it. Wouldn't most pillow, doona, and mattress companies be bankrupt already if you were correct?
@Kangal: I live in QLD and can’t deal with the humid summer nights and I run the air conditioner every night otherwise I don’t sleep well at all, so I definitely understand about putting a value on a good sleep.
To me though, there is a difference between paying money to adapt your own home to make getting a decent sleep easier, and being a little bitch and walking up to your neighbour and offering to mow his lawns for him. Plenty of people are reasonable enough to do the right thing by their neighbour if they know they’re a shift worker and mow in the arvo without having to be bribed or have sweeteners, unless you live in a house neighbourhood I guess.
What’s next, you’re going to go outside and pay the wind $50 to next time there is a breeze and the trees rustle and wake you up?
@Magnastar: Fellow QLD'er here, I hear ya. Try getting to sleep at 5am in Summer and waking at 12-1pm, bloody brutal. Feel like I have had a shower without leaving the bed. LOL.
but hopefully if you approached them politely and said i'm a shift worker i know you can mow at 7 but i'd appreciate it if you could do it later they might feel inclined to help you out?
And that would be reasonable, but if you approached them and said you'd appreciate if they did it at 11 then that would be unreasonable. 9am is a reasonable time.
I've talked to the neighbours a few times, and they might even change it for me. But I don't expect my neighbours to change things for me. Also I have no idea what their life is like, maybe they have to mow early before heading out, who knows.
I'm a shift worker, and whilst a 9am lawn mower would annoy me… it's ONCE every month or so, big deal.
I would never embarrass myself asking my neighbour to change the time.
Different story if it was them out there every single morning, needlessly making noise. I would at least explain my circumstances and depending on how well they got on with me would determine whether I'D MOVE or not.
It's certainly not up to the noise maker to overly accommodate others when they are already following the law.
OP… 9am on a weekday is perfectly acceptable.
If they continue to have issues, book them in for 8am.
I think 9am is more than reasonable. In saying that to keep relations civilised with your neighbour i'd compromise and meet them in the middle. Nothing worst than being at odds with the neighbour (i'm thinking of A Current Affair and all those "lovely" neighbour disputes….)
Its likely they are 'those' neighbourts though. Nothing will make them happy.
That’s just life. Have you considered that these people also have work and things on….
So what, gardeners/landscapers now need to half their revenue by only working half days…
Move to an island 🏝
Babies are sleeping, kids at school and people are in meetings.
All those things occur throughout the day - whats your point?
You can't be that thick.
Ironic
I for one, still don't understand your point. Maybe you need to consider the way you're trying to communicate, well if you actually want people to understand your point.
So a tradesperson can only work 2pm-6pm?
It seems you're struggling with it?
It's your job to make a lot of noise and piss people off.
OK,Try mowing the lawn without noise. Even construction, there are hours that they can't make noise and the noise they make have to be within limits. I'd agree with you if it was 7 in the morning every week, but in many councils that's still allowed.
Most lawns it's 30-60 minutes, and he's saying it's about every 6-8 weeks. The neighbour can get over it. Or they can do what shift workers have done for decades, wear a sleep mask and earbuds.
@dizzle: Please I don't want to argue about whether or not a tradie deserves to make noise at any time of the day.
My point is to try and reach a compromise if a person makes a complaint about the noise. If the work can be done later in the day, then that's great, if not we have to suck it up.
Just do it in the afternoon when people are feeling less shitty about waking up.
Sounds like a reasonable compromise
@Orico: Let me tell you this for a fact. It’s what some in the industry call an ‘attitude test’.
If someone approaches in a reasonable manner and says ‘im sorry to be a pain, but i have xyz issue, would it be possible for you to do abc at xxx’ id be more likely to try to accommodate. Noting on the more likely rather than guaranteed. We all have something going on in our lives.
If you approach me with an expectation I’ll meet your demands I will ignore you. Become the neighbour from hell, I don’t care.
But I have an afternoon nap between those times…
Way more babies are asleep at 11am than 9am - my kid is napping right now in the arvo. Kids are generally not in school on a weekend and if they were just as likely in the afternoon. If someone is in a meeting at 9am on a weekend that’s kinda specific to them. I love a sleep in but if it’s 9am really that’s my problem.
If we are using awake babies as a litmus test for when we can mow lawns, all of a sudden people will be mowing lawns at 4am. Clearly this bloke doesn’t have a baby
Not that I own lawn, but I'm up at 6 and don't feel shitty about it.. I'd be waiting around for the afternoon while I have the motivation and want to keep out of the day time sun, you've got to be kidding.
Tell them your lawn guy can do weekday 9am, or weekend 9am.
Pick.
It's not like people mow every week all year.
It's not like people mow every week all year day of the week. FTFY
Six other days to practice on the Drum Kit. :+)
Badly. Get your mates to join in on a violin and a cheap plastic recorder. Even better if they have absolutely zero musical talent and a huge amplifier.
ask them to pay and organise it for whenever they'd like
mow at 11?
Not a great time to cut grass in the blazing sun, I don’t think it’s ideal to do it at 11am for the health of the lawn.
Some people are so friggin entitled and ballsy.
Chalk Outline them! :+)
No chalk stick is big enough to outline their ball sack
ask them to come as early as possible,
Hmmm tell them not to start their car in the driveway Or tell them to buy an electric car as they are destroying our planet :-) if they have an electric tell them to buy a petrol car as digging rare earth materials from the ground creates more pollution ….. hell make any demand just to see how they like it just for shits and giggles .
its all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits.
I like it :-)
Hahahaha… move it to 7am on a weekday or 8am on the weekend… and then post them a copy of noise legislation…
OP edited post to say every 6-8 weeks they get the lawn mowed. Honestly the neighbour needs to suck it up and stop moaning, they are the ones being inconsiderate here.
I've just ignored them. We've previously accommodated by moving from weekday to weekend. It's only once every 6-8 weeks anyways.
People, what a bunch of bastards.
9am on a weekday is not early. What is the reason they want you to do it later? If they don't have a good reason then don't change.
some peeps are just never happy…continue with your mowing…
Concrete.. and plenty of it