Just got a noise complaint!

Well I wouldn't guess. I would go somewhere and get the ordinance in writing.

Quote.
Your guess is as good as mine! I suppose they just mean any level of noise that would be deemed unsociable at any time.
 
invest in sound proofing the room and some drum mutes. mutes can be found easy and are inexpensive and you can find sizes for all your drums. theres a 95% sound reduction with mutes so you can play at any hour if theres a problem playing with heads.
 
When it comes to soundproofing on the cheap I highly recommend contacting anyone who lays down carpet in your area. Tell them your situation and ask if they can sell left over scraps for you to soundproof, you don't care about the colors not matching. You should be able to sound proof using carpet padding really cheap this way and help the carpet man sell off excess he couldn't do anything with.
 
Dude I have had this problem too but I have investigated the noise nuisance laws and it seems to me that you are OK doing what you do. The offence in question is one of committing "noise nuisance" and there are fairly specific rules about it.
The council will only take action in cases where a "nuisance" is being committed and that means going on too long, too loud or at unreasonable times like 3 am.
The fact is that noise made "during the working day" which is about from 8 till 6 is allowed so long as it isn't actually ear shattering.
For example there is nothing to stop you from having a gang of builders round with cement mixer and power tools working day after day, so long as it is during the working day. It wouldn't apply on a Sunday because that is not usually a working day. There is nothing to stop you from being in your garden for hours with a strimmer which can be heard over the entire street. Everyone does it.
In exactly the same way, making a noise with a drum kit is not necessarily committing a nuisance so long as it is not unreasonably loud and not outside of working hours.
The garage is probably not the best place because the noise will go straight through the walls and roof as drum music always does. You could put insulation board around the walls, it's only about 75mm thick and costs about £5 a sheet from builders merchants. That would quieten it down a lot and also carpets and other insulation would help. If nothing else it shows you have made an effort.

I would be inclined to ignore the letter from your council. It is not up to "council members" to come along and spy on you and they certainly can't just go off and get a warrant to seize your stuff. In order to commit the offence of "nuisance" you have to be proven to be doing it too long, too loud and/or outside reasonable times. There has to be evidence, not some neighbour's say-so.
There is also a difference between an elected member of a council, a councillor and a member of council staff. The councillor is YOUR representative, you can go and see them about this and ask for their support. Council staff are the ones you have to watch because some of them will be Jobsworths and likely to cause you problems. However as I have said there are rules to be followed and they can't just walk up and seize your gear.

I would ignore the letter from your council. It doesn't warrant a reply as you are not committing a nuisance. One hour every Saturday is definitely not a nuisance in the eyes of the law. Sundays are a bit tricky as it is still officially a day of worship. I'd steer clear of Sundays but you can bash away during the week during normal working hours and that is legal.

If you want to do your own research on this, Google for "noise nuisance" and also look on your council website to see what action they might take. The usual advice given to people with a noise complaint is that people should in the first instance approach the noise maker personally and explain the complaint. A lot of people won't do that they just go straight to the council with some fairy tale.
I'm not a lawyer but I did my own research and after initially getting a letter from my council (which I ignored) I have stuck to one hour a day during the working week and nobody has said anything more. By the way I do play indoors and I have double glazing, shut all the doors and windows etc. but to date there has been no more trouble.

Hope this helps.
 
I may be naive but I get the feeling that since you are willing to meet and talk with your neighbors they will cooperate. I certainly wouldn't put any money into soundproofing or an electric kit until you've exhausted all your resources. In a situation like this, often people are non confrontational. They were afraid to approach you so the went in through the back door and anonymously filed a complaint. Also, as was mentioned earlier, get everything in writing and research your local ordinances. I found myself in a similiar situation a few years back (it wasn't a noise issue) and once we met face to face we were able to resolve everything quickly and with no hard feelings. I'm sure you won't do this because you sound more that reasonable, but when meeting face to face, reign in your emotions and don't be defensive even if they're being jerks. You'll be the better man for it. Good luck!
 
Confiscating your drums sounds like nonsense. Although something similar does happen in the Netherlands: sound installations at parties are taken by the police after multiple noise complaints during the night. Not sure if that's a temporary thing or permanent.

One thing's for sure: they'd need a SWAT team to confiscate my drums...
 
I live out in the country where there are houses within a hundred yards or so, and I've had people tell me that were a mile away that they could hear my drums, and I also play in a garage. Therefore, it could be someone much farther away than you think, because drums do carry quite far, especially playing in a garage. If those nazis are already getting on your case that bad after one complaint, you may be out of luck on this one. You could attempt sound proofing, or contacting neighbors, but you may never find the one that complained, and they may be the type that complains about every noise that's not the typical neighborhood noise. Your best bet would be to either move the kit inside the house where the noise won't carry nearly as far, get sound mutes, or get a rehearsal spot somewhere in an industrial area where the noise doesn't bother anyone.
 
When my neighbors, who are way more annoying than any one I met, 3 in the morning they would yell til about 5, then 6:30 in the morning a car pulls in and doesn't stop beeping for about 45 mins, then in the afternoon all the kids who do drugs go there and yell. I was playing in my garage one time with my amp so I can play along with songs on my i-pod and hear the music. They asked me to turn it down before they cut my drum heads and wreck it. I look at them said no, turn the amp and sound up to 100% and kept playing. Told them to leave my property or Ill call the cops. Never saw them again.
 
that is nuts. if i were in your shoes, i would investigate the laws behind their threat first. that warrant/SIEZE thing sounds like bullsh*t to me. if a homeowners assoc tried to do that to a drummer in the states, there would be a friggin' riot. gets me hot just thinking about it. definitely investigate what the law is & what your rights are...does that council have any REAL power or is it just a community suggestion ? see if it makes sense to appeal this crap or just ignore.

that being said, i have seen some damn nice sound proof plans for the drums where you raise the kit on a platform (helps stop the huge BD soundwave) w/ hanging walls or sounds-proofed walls. one was in MD & should be archived. some are cheap & some are expensive but cool, especially if you record at the home studio.
 
Cheers for the replies everyone, its nice to see I'm not the only one who's been in this situation.

I phoned the council and basically they said that before any action could be taken a member of the council would need to actually hear the disturbance as has been said above but I explained to the guy about me playing for 10 years without problem and I also explained to him I basically play for an hour a week. In his own words he said that was 'entirely reasonable' however I did say to him that I knew drums were loud and that more than anything I'm upset that I've annoyed someone so much they've taken it upon themselves to write a formal letter of complaint.

The next course of action is that I'm actually going to go to the houses in the immediate area, and in a totally non-confrontational manner, ask if anybody has got any objections to my drumming and then if so, hopefully sort it out face to face. After I've done that, I'll write a letter back to the council, informing them that I've done just that (hopefully with no problems), and then hopefully it'll be the last of it.

I'll let you all know how I get on.

Cheers,

Ant
 
Perfect. Sounds like you have everything under control. I really believe this whole thing will die down. The person who complained may have been just having a bad day as we all do from time to time, and perhaps even regrets going off the deep end.
 
Good luck; these things are never easy and seldom work out well. Just understand your bylaws and always act accordingly.

GJS
 
Evening all.

Have some positive news for you.

I did what I said I was going to and went around to the local houses to explain the situation and try and resolve the situation if anyone had any objections.

Lo and behold, it was actually the people directly across the road from me in the house surrounded by trees. I was greeted at the door by an exceptionally unfriendly man who only moved in to the area recently. He basically said it was outrageous that I was allowed to play the drums in a residential area, was being a bit of a tosser in general and was actually about the slam the door in my face at one point.

I didn't lose my rag at any point during the conversation and kept cool at all times and I think it took the wind out of his sails quite a bit. After about 15 minutes of talking with him, I actually had him laughing and joking and I said to him if he wanted to come over and see how much fun drums were, he was more than welcome.

Positive outcome is that I basically admitted that I knew drums were loud and did everything to keep the noise down to a minimum. He said that he hadn't heard me play for more than half an hour anyway and I said that an hour was my absolute maximum and that it would only ever be on a saturday. He seemed okay by this so hopefully that should be the end of it.

One thing was at one point early in the conversation he basically accused me of lying because apparently when he phoned the council, the council said to him there had been numerous complaints about it, and then I counteracted it with the fact that this is the one and only time in 10 years Ive ever had a problem he basically didn't believe me. I'm going to phone the council tomorrow to see if this is the case, and he said he was also going to phone the council aswell.

Anyway, I hope I can get this situation resolved quickly.

Protip - Always be pleasant no matter how much of a tw@t someone else is :)

Cheers,

Ant
 
what time does you and your family leave the house exactly? and for how long?

could you also please leave me your address; it's just that I'm a cat burgler you see and your details would come in very handy.
 
invest in sound proofing the room and some drum mutes. mutes can be found easy and are inexpensive and you can find sizes for all your drums. theres a 95% sound reduction with mutes so you can play at any hour if theres a problem playing with heads.

I agree with Max here, drum mutes are the way to go.

Well Ant, I, like you live in the UK and I know that drumming is frowned upon by many people. It doesn't help that many drummers here live in terraced houses either (me included).

Fortunately, I have never had your problem. But I also use mute pads and believe me they are worth every penny, they don't detract from the feel of playing an acoustic kit, all they do is reduce the sound but by bout 95% which is still more than enough volume for you to hear what you are doing

I think this whole situation is ridiculous, that guy obviously needs to have his head shoved in a bass drum and have a double pedal taped to his ass, with an angry you or George Kolias sitting on a stool directly behind him.

On a serious note though, this whole situation is still ridiculous! I can say in all fairness you will not have your property seized or whatever but I really admire you for staying calm and collected about the whole thing. My neighbours who are very good friends of ours allow me to play 1 hour per day about 4 days a week, on the other days I have band practices. But they have their house up for sale and I really am dreading anyone who buys the house and has a serious problem with my drumming cause I just don't know if I could cope with losing my practice time. Maybe my drumming is putting people off buying =P but yeah you can only do as much as you can before someone becomes very unreasonable.

Most of the time it is them being unreasonable rather than you.
 
I agree with Max here, drum mutes are the way to go.

Well Ant, I, like you live in the UK and I know that drumming is frowned upon by many people. It doesn't help that many drummers here live in terraced houses either (me included).

Fortunately, I have never had your problem. But I also use mute pads and believe me they are worth every penny, they don't detract from the feel of playing an acoustic kit, all they do is reduce the sound but by bout 95% which is still more than enough volume for you to hear what you are doing

I think this whole situation is ridiculous, that guy obviously needs to have his head shoved in a bass drum and have a double pedal taped to his ass, with an angry you or George Kolias sitting on a stool directly behind him.

On a serious note though, this whole situation is still ridiculous! I can say in all fairness you will not have your property seized or whatever but I really admire you for staying calm and collected about the whole thing. My neighbours who are very good friends of ours allow me to play 1 hour per day about 4 days a week, on the other days I have band practices. But they have their house up for sale and I really am dreading anyone who buys the house and has a serious problem with my drumming cause I just don't know if I could cope with losing my practice time. Maybe my drumming is putting people off buying =P but yeah you can only do as much as you can before someone becomes very unreasonable.

Most of the time it is them being unreasonable rather than you.

Yeah I totally understand what you mean. Thankfully it looks like the case is sorted once and for all. I phoned the council today and it was only him that had complained, so his comment of 'apparently you've been informed of complaints on previous occassions by the council' was either a massive misunderstanding from what the people at the borough council had said, or he had completely fabricated the comment on the spot to try and counteract my argument.

In any case I'm planning to go see him tomorrow to explain what the council have told me and basically try to I suppose do the neighbourly thing and try to be a little bit friendly. At the end of the conversation he seemed like a reasonably nice chap, I think the fact he was new to the area and the fact that he has about 40 years on me made him quite hostile to begin with, I suppose to try and establish his authoritar :p

I will go back to playing my normal acoustics just 1 hour a week from this weekend and hopefully that'll be the last of it. 1 Hour of playtime is not unreasonable in my eyes and I've never had the problem before so fingers crossed there will be no more problems.

As I mentioned before - I do also have an electric kit which I can choose to play on at any time but I just like to play my acoustics for an hour a week!

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Ant
 
He basically said it was outrageous that I was allowed to play the drums in a residential area, was being a bit of a tosser in general and was actually about the slam the door in my face at one point.

That line pissed me off. Freakin' rich people often have the least sympathy because they don't know what it's like. Sure, we should all just buy practice space in a non-residential area. Then we can just take our private helicopter there when we feel the need to practice.
 
That line pissed me off. Freakin' rich people often have the least sympathy because they don't know what it's like. Sure, we should all just buy practice space in a non-residential area. Then we can just take our private helicopter there when we feel the need to practice.

Lol I feel you pain. He said to me that I should get the garaged soundproofed so I told him unless he was going to give me the couple of grand to do it, I couldn't afford it :p

Thankfully all sorted now so I'll be practicing as usual on saturday, hopefully this time without complaint!

Cheers,

Ant
 
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