underused 4th February 2006, 01:54 PM Hello,
Im in Japan, but I think this problem happens everywhere.
Cramped housing, small working spaces and trying to keep noise to a minimum. Always wondering when the complaints are going to stream in about noise.
Does anyones else suffer from this:confused: What ways do You guy's use to keep noise low and neighbours sweet;)
Schtoo, You're in Japan, how do You cope?
I'm a carpenter in My homeland, and have never had to worry about this, being on-site most of the time. But here Im not on-site. Im just working from home sometimes (it's not a full time job for me here)
That aside, I'm going to have a crack at starting a business here, producing simple furniture, and will be looking for premises.
Cheers. Gary.
outback 4th February 2006, 02:32 PM Is noise restricting you?
PARDON :p You'll have to speak up sonny. :D
Just George 4th February 2006, 04:29 PM Find out from the local authorities what the regulations are for your area, it sounds like you will need to find this out for both residential and industrial areas. TritonJapan may be able to help you with this.
la Huerta 4th February 2006, 07:38 PM where i live mate it's a real problem, people live right opossite my workshop window, had to soundproof it as best i could and close the windoow when the machinees are on, i could get twice the work done if noise was'nt an issue, been using a lot of hand tools , there wisper quietness allows be to work any hours, but they use a lot of energy and i drove myself down to the point of exhaustion, what a predicoment !...but at the end of the day i'v got to make the $$$ or i'll be stuck in this crap hole forever (renting), i'll do my best to keep noise nown as much as i can without compromiing my own goals...
la H
Just George 4th February 2006, 08:04 PM where i live mate it's a real problem, people live right opossite my workshop window, had to soundproof it as best i could and close the windoow when the machines are on
la H
The local council by-laws state here that you can use power tools between the hours of 7am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday and 8am to 7pm on Sundays. Your neighbours have nothing to complain about if you confine your work between these hours. There are neighbours who will complain regardless of what time of the day it is. I face a train line at a station where the line separates 4 ways so there is a train every 6 - 7 minutes on average yet I still had complaints made about the noise I was making.
Get a copy of your council regulations and send them a copy, make them something nice a peace offering. I used to work shift work on a 24 hour/7 day roster and no one cared about the noise they made, it's a different story when the shoe is on the other foot.
la Huerta 4th February 2006, 08:17 PM i'm not making gifts for any bloody nieghbour, they can live with it or lump it, i was here first...
not much good at peace offerings...
Just George 4th February 2006, 09:18 PM i'm not making gifts for any bloody nieghbour, they can live with it or lump it, i was here first...
not much good at peace offerings...
Swallow your pride and make something, you're never too old to learn that somethimes it's a good idea to keep your neighbours happy. How's that old say go - "keep your friends close and you enemies closer"! Well, same goes for them...
Schtoo 4th February 2006, 10:26 PM Don't ask me.
I prolly have more space than all the guys posted above.
Combined...
Plus one neighbour loves me, the other doesn't mind what I do, the other is a ricefield.
The 'country side' doesn't have that much going for it around here, but for all it's limitations I think I can handle it. :D
Ian007 4th February 2006, 10:41 PM noise!:D :D :D :D :D
I just came inside from using my 8" jointer at 9.30 at night.
I make some workshop noise after 9pm now and again ( about 20 times a year:eek: ) and have never had a complaint yet.
but thats probably more luck than anything.
One night I even worked until 1am without complaint, running table saw, router, compressor for spraying ect so a fair bit of noise.
I wonder if thats why my bloody next door neighbours have got two yappy little dogs that they let out at about 6am every morning, that then bark non stop.
But thats why I want to apply for a firearms license so I can get a big gun and blow there flaming heads off, Na just joking .........
or am I? (Insert evil laugh here):p :p :p
Cheers Ian:)
Greg Q 4th February 2006, 11:01 PM ;) I have two neighbours, and two doors to my shop. One faces the neighbours whose dog barks all night. Guess who cops it when I have the dusty and planer going? (sounds like an air raid siren).;)
I'm all for the 'good neighbour' policy. I'm even more for 'mutually assured distraction':D
Greg
Skew ChiDAMN!! 5th February 2006, 12:45 AM Get a copy of your council regulations and send them a copy, make them something nice a peace offering.
Now there's an idea. Get a copy of the regs, and frame them! If the neighbours won't accept it as a peace offering :p hang it on the outside of the shed where they can see it every time they look over the fence...
I guess I'm lucky. My shop has minimum clearance to the fence-line as does our neighbours' young kids' bed-room. There's barely room between the two to squeeze a mower, yet the neighbours haven't complained once about the rare occasion when I absolutely have to have a job finished before the sun rises.
I really should make 'em something nice. One day. :rolleyes:
But thats why I want to apply for a firearms license so I can get a big gun and blow there flaming heads off, Na just joking .........
or am I? (Insert evil laugh here)
Ever thought about hooking up the compressor to a 1 metre length of 2" PVC (or gal pipe if you can get it)? Load it up with a spud, point it in the general direction of the moccasin and crack the valve. You can always explain it away as a cleaning device for your DC ducting... "'Onestly ossifer! I was just unblocking my ducts and it went off accidentally!" :eek:
dan_tom 5th February 2006, 09:26 AM We've had some council complaints too, but only from one diagonally facing neighbour with unresolved mental health issues. He is about 50 and still lives with his parents and wears ear muffs around the house (when all you can hear is the crickets and birds??!!). Recently he put in another council complaint about us - well, it was about our dog, apparently it barks from 6am to 6pm non stop and he is getting quite annoyed. This was a mystery to us, as we don't even own a dog:eek: ! In fact, the only pets we have are tropical fish....they are pretty quiet.
We found out the council laws and strictly keep within those times. Actually we don't start power tools on the weekend before around 10am, just out of courtesy and will often pack up tools if someone is having a BBQ/friends over or spending time in their gardens.
We figure that we don't get time to woodwork more than once a month, due to our own busy-ness (I just realised if you type busi-ness, it turns into business and the council already think we are operating a small business:eek: !!).
12 times a year of power tools ain't bad....
I also wonder sometimes if your neighbours don't know what tools you are using and what they are for - maybe it frustrates them because they can't figure out why you are making constant noise. Maybe you could explain what each piece of equipment is for and why some make higher pitched sounds for others and why you use them. Show a piece of timber that you pick out of your pile and then show them a piece of furniture you have made as the end result of the noise.
Cheers
Dan
woodbe 5th February 2006, 10:04 AM I don't have a problem with the people living around us, our place is bounded on 3 sides by road, and the one adjoining property is a long way from the workshop.
My problem is that the kitchen is directly above the workshop. We don't have anything really noisy yet, but the day is coming... Need to think of an effective sound deadening strategy between floors. It's a wooden floor above and you can hear muffled voices and footfalls when in the workshop.
Current plan is to stuff the workshop ceiling with rockwool and line it with the acoustic grade gyprock (after the sparky has laid his cables). Anyone else tackled this issue?
Michael
underused 5th February 2006, 12:32 PM I was thinking about doing some sort of sound proofing, but Im renting, and found out that I can't do anything to the property..not even paint a wall:eek:
Cheers. Gary.
kiwigeo 5th February 2006, 01:05 PM i'm not making gifts for any bloody nieghbour, they can live with it or lump it, i was here first...not much good at peace offerings...
La Huerta, that sort of approach isnt going to get you anywhere mate. Doesnt matter who was there first, neighbours are a fact of of life and often there has to be a little give and take on both sides of the fence. I take the view that having a neighbour as a friend is much more useful than having one as an enemy. A neighbour who you've p*ssed off is less likely to call up the cops when he spies the burglers making off with all your machinery and timber.
I've had problems with noisy neighbours but have always managed to find a solution with talking to the neighbours concerned always the first step of the solution. If you cant supress the noise then the next option would be reaching some sort of agreement on times when machinery can be used.
Hope you find a solution to the problem.
Cheers Martin
AlexS 5th February 2006, 02:19 PM La Huerta, that sort of approach isnt going to get you anywhere mate. Doesnt matter who was there first, neighbours are a fact of of life and often there has to be a little give and take on both sides of the fence. I take the view that having a neighbour as a friend is much more useful than having one as an enemy. A neighbour who you've p*ssed off is less likely to call up the cops when he spies the burglers making off with all your machinery and timber.
Spot on, Martin. I'm in the workshop pretty well full time at home, including jointer/thicknesser, tablesaw etc. My diagonally back neighbour is the same, so potentially the other neighbours could have a reason to complain. However, we both got in first, asked them to let us know if noise was ever a problem, offered to make things if they ever needed them, and offered the gardeners all the shavings they need. We try to avoid using the machines at weekends or at night. Still on good terms with the neighbours, & hope to remain so. It makes life so much more pleasant
underused 5th February 2006, 02:41 PM Yeah, Sundays here seem so quiet, compared to the busy weekdays. I cant bring myself to break the peace:o Im going to have to move out to the country-side/ moutainous area of the city.
ndru 5th February 2006, 03:44 PM Good relations with neighbours are useful for many reasons, so I agree with AlexS and Kiwigeo about keeping on good terms with them. I think your initial reaction to any reasonable and civil complaint should be to try to accommidate your neighbour's complaint if possible.
However, each neighbourhood seems to have at least one person who has social or mental issues. Some neighbours just seem to get their kicks by abusing the perceived power they have found in complaint-based environmental law. Whatever their motive, that minority can threaten your woodworking hobby or business.
Therefore, in addition to maintain good relations, you should also know the limit of your legal obligations in your jursidiction.
It is unreasonable for neighbours to demand that you to make no noise. In this State the environmental guidelines allow you to make noise between 7a and 7p during weekdays, etc. This reflects the reality that powered machinery noise is part of modern life. If not then petrol lawn mowers would be banned.
However, the guidelines are not a licences to make noise. The environmental authorities (eg Councils) can ask a magistrate to deem your noise as being unreasonable. "Unreasonable" is usually determined by reference to factors such as:
- background noise levels (eg residential versus industrial);
- timing, duration and frequency of your noise;
- proximity of the noise source to the complainant; and
- noise loudness (dB), pitch (eg routers and planers are very "whiny").
Unfortunately, "unreasonable" is a subjective term. I'm not sure what others think or have experienced (anyone been to court?), but I would have thought that the hobbyist who is using woodworking machinery for a few hours every odd fortnight would be within "reasonable" limits. Personally, if someone stuck their head over my fence and complained because I made 2-3 total hours of noise every few weeks then I'd advise them of the guidelines or simply ignore them.
If you have a serious woodworking hobby or have a trade which requires that you regularly run noisy machines in your shed most days of the week then I think you're taking a risk. Here is where you need to keep on very good terms with your neighbours, but even the best politicians can't keep all the ducks lined up. Neighbours change location, their attitude and even their mental state.
la Huerta 5th February 2006, 05:49 PM it's ok guys , i'm not really like that, i'm always thinking of other people before myself, including the neighbours and enemies...i try and not make any noise on the weekends, only 9-5 on weekdays and i also try and plan my machine work to get as much done on each machine to last the week in the shortest time possible , that way it's not constant noise , and i close the window when the thicknesser is on (the loudest machine)...
see , i can be nice ...
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