Do It Yourself Building Works

Guidelines:

Consideration -

• Most people have jobs which need doing around the home, especially if they have just moved in, or are redecorating.
• We have to accept that many people have jobs during the day and need to do this DIY in the evenings and at weekends.

Neighbours -

• Noise from neighbours can annoy, cause stress and generally affect the quality of life in a residential area. The best way forward is to avoid causing a problem in the first place.
• However, this does not give them permission to annoy neighbours at all hours of the day and night. We all have to be reasonable to live together.
• It is especially important if young children are involved; we seek to provide peace and quiet in the evenings.

Noisy activities:

Hand Tools
Use of hammers and saws.

Power Tools
Normal hand-held power tools (drills, sanders etc)

Plant
Hires 'professional' equipment such as pneumatic hammers, cement mixers, large power saws and planers, compressors, generators etc. Use of this powerful type of equipment needs greater consideration, as it is identical to that used by professional builders and can be very noisy.

Party Wall and Floors
- Work on the party wall or floor between properties
- Wallpaper stripping or wall preparation
- Work on the floor, such as plumbing, rewiring and (especially) sanding

Working Practices

Have you got the right equipment?
Sometimes the more powerful equipment will actually help solve the noise problem.

Maintenance of Equipment
There is nothing worse than someone using an old piece of machinery that cannot cope with the job. It makes far more noise, and the job will often take much longer, than if you had the correctly maintained equipment.

The Radio
It seems most people want the radio on when they are doing DIY- it eases the burden!. Please keep the volume down, especially in the evenings.