Permissible noise

peedoff

Junior Member
Howdy , Sorry to be boring but i'd like a bit of info' please . I'm in England , got a fairly busy drum school as a neighbour-datached but very close , he's obviously got some sound proofing but its not enough .If we're outside we have to listen every night and saturday, it 's not loud but its still there . Whats the rules please--by the way i play geetarr so am not averse to music .

Ta
 
Don't know the rules but I suspect that within reasonable hours he's within his rights to make noise.

You really need to be speaking to him. My drum teacher only allows use of those Flix type brushes on the acoustic kit so noise is really reduced
 
Check with the local constabulary about noise limits, nuisance noise etc. There is no universal law however.
 
There are no precise rules - it's a matter of balancing neighbours' rights to use their property for reasonable purposes, and depends on the area too. If he's running a commercial enterprise from his home, in a residential neighbourhood, it could be that your right (to reasonable peace and quiet) will prevail.

It's the council that deals with noise issues. Environmental Health Department of your local authority. Have a word with them. If they think it's a problem they can come and do some noise testing. Also - they might have had complaints from other neighbours.

It's often a good idea to speak to neighbours first about noise problems. If it was just an individual practising their drumming you could agree times/a schedule - but with a drum school I'm not sure there's much the neighbour can, or will be prepared to voluntarily do about it. And the downside of speaking to them would be that if it then goes to the council, they'd likely know who the complainant was. (The council will NEVER tell them who has made the complaint).
 
I got a neighbor accross the street who is always working on his crotch-rocket motorbikes and revving the engine all the time - I got guy out back that like to run a chainsaw and power tools and another nearby neighbor that blasts bass-heavy music.

At one time I was worried about my drum playing...not anymore...LOL

I play 1 hour everyday between 4-5pm.

If I was your neighbor would you hate me for that?
 
When I was a teenager my neighbor could run a chainsaw anytime of the day but then would call the cops on me for playing drums in my moms garage on Saturday afternoons. The cops would come and shut me down and when I mentioned the chainsaw at 6 am they said it was different because it was necessary noise and mine was not.
 
Howdy , Sorry to be boring but i'd like a bit of info' please . I'm in England , got a fairly busy drum school as a neighbour-datached but very close , he's obviously got some sound proofing but its not enough .If we're outside we have to listen every night and saturday, it 's not loud but its still there . Whats the rules please--by the way i play geetarr so am not averse to music .

Ta

There is not even a slight chance that someone with knowledge of your local ordinances visits this site.

Ask someone locally (in zoning) who knows the real answer.
 
If it's not 'loud' then you probably haven't got much you can do. There are laws here in the UK about noise at night (11pm onwards) but not much for the day.

I can see it panning out like this:

1) you complain to council
2) they write a letter to the school (which may be ignored)
3) you complain again
4) The council will send out someone out with a decibel meter, stand in your garden and measure the noise level, which, by the way you describe it, will barely register
5) You live with it.


I can tell you, from experience, that it has to be pretty loud in your boundarys to be classed as a problem. I had complaints once years ago at a space I used to rehearse in. The Guy came to measure and he said something like this "Hmmm, 76 decibels, you've got room to spare, carry on boys!". Now, the limits may have changed but if it is one of those 'in the background' sounds, you're screwed.

I'd suggest you go and have a (polite) word about a compromise before you get all legal.
 
In Hawaii, the ordinance is largely based on zoning and rarely enforced. Residential areas are limited to 55dBA from 7am-10pm, measured from your property line.
 
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