Thread: Garage/Shed Woodworking in the 'burbs

If anyone is whinging, no one can hear them over the power saws.

Lots of people are renovating in my area so the saws/planners/routers just mix in with the birds/traffic/airplanes.

SHMBO is always whinging about the noise in my shop but, as she is not a neighbour, she does not qualify

Hehehe true

What kind of setup do you have at your joint Wayne?
I'm over at Rochedale

I have only ever had one complaint from a neighbour. Fair enough too as I started up a planer and mitre saw at 7am on a saturday morning and went through intermittently till 9pm that night.

She put the difference of opinion forward in person and was very polite. Based upon this a couple of weeks later I followed up with the delivery of a very nice chopping board made of brushbox and redgum with an arty forged metal handle ( I am a great guy - and modest too ).

There have been no complaints since but there have been a few cups of coffess in the workshop looking over project I'm up to (and would like to be up to) Oh yeah - I opt to stick to reasonable hours now and only hand tools on sundays


Try singing this: Neighbours, every body needs good neightbours, with a little understanding, you could find the perfect freind, neighbours, .......

Doorstop,

You are a lovely guy I sure under that gruff exterior beats a heart of pure molten lead

Dean,

I have a shop under the house (post-war on the hill side) with not enough space for the tools I have (and probably never will). I dream of having a separate (sound insulated) shed out the back but that lotto cheque still has not arrived.

Doorstop,

I need your address, I'm looking for a house at the moment and I want to make sure that I don't mistakenly buy the next to you

My neighbour (diagonally over the back) makes rocking horses and I make sawdust. Neither have had any complaints, but we do try to only use machinery during reasonable hours.

Actually, his stuff doesn't sound too loud, so maybe sound soesn't carry to much

We have rules, set by local council for use of power tools and regularly circulated through the community.

Monday-Friday 07:00 - 18:00
Saturday 09:00 - 18:00
Sunday 10:00 - 18:00

I try to stick to these times to ensure neighbourhood harmony. As a result, to date, no issues with neighbours.

Kev

I have been down this road.
Even had the visit from the council inspector who was very reasonable (fortunately).

I didn't think I was that noisy till I stoked up my old delta screamer saw bench with the muffs off.

Firstly you gota understand that I'm a sound man & I value my hearing so I own several pears of verrrry good ear muffs that get a lot of use. I mow the lawn with muffs on.

After some listening to my own machines with muffs off I had to conceed that Yep I was a noisy bugger.

Also understand that I have a farely well equiped workshop that sometimes gets used solidly for weeks at a time. I can understand that nouse can be a problem.

My solution is a major noise abaitment campaign.

Some heafty purchases of quieter equipment and some sound controll issues inside the shed.

Now during winter when I can shut the doors the wife can't hear the saw bench or the drop saw(cutting aluminium) or the compressor over the Cricket on TV.

Choice of power tools is a real saver comparing some of my old tools to the current ones is stunning.

I have been talking to my mate who is/ was some sort of gurno about writing a book about workshop noise control.

One good test is to get a mate to run some work over your gear while you go for a walk and see how far the noise travels.

Rember the current legeslation is complaint driven. If someone can hear the noise & they consider it is a problem an offence exists regardless of measured sound preasure level.

I dream of a stealt workshop where I can rip a great hole in the side of something with a router and the neibours think I makin' nothin But ZZZZZZZZZ.

Shhhhhhh.


cheers

My shed is directly below the baby's (2nd story) window. If I make too much noise I'll hear about it from the wife rather than the neighbours.
Most of the inside walls of the shed are covered in insulation and plaster so that must deaden the noise. But the tools would be hard to hear over the music playing anyway

doorstop, do you know "if is the middle word in life"
none of the neighbers annoy me out in the shed , the misses says i swear to much ! lol keeps the buggers out anyway. lol
seeyasoon mik.

My nearest neighbour is 2km away, still the Mrs though.
As for muff, more of that would be nice...........

Kev

no tools after 18:00? I don't get out to the shed till then as I mainly get jobs done during the week.

What time do most people work in the shed?

GC

Goodness Doorstop, you sound like a bit of an Ogre to me, but I do like the sound of the "Hymn Singing", could you sing me up a nice him, oops I meant "hymn".

I don't have any trouble with my immediate neightbours, the advantage of being a female I guess and also having a lovely brick shed with insulation to work in. A neighbour a bit further down the road can be a problem but that has naught to do with noise! A Doberman could be the answer to him, perhaps Mr. Doorstop could lend me something suitably aggresive.

Originally posted by soundman
I have been down this road.
Rember the current legeslation is complaint driven. If someone can hear the noise & they consider it is a problem an offence exists regardless of measured sound preasure level.
cheers

In WA it is complaint driven but there are also prescribed levels set by the EPA as to how much noise you can make, these levels vary according to the time of day and also day of the week, aslo some types of noise get penalised.

If you keep within the prescribed levels then your neighbours can't do jack to you. The noise level is normally measured at the point where your neighbour is complaining from, but if they want to get technical it can actually be at the boundary of your property.

The only problem is the allowable levels are not very high!!!

Darryn