Neighbours with Guitars - what's reasonable?

[bignumber5]

Canvassing opinion:

New neighbours moved in to the flat above about a week ago. Since moving day, guitar strumming starts at about 10ish every morning and lasts for about 4-5 hours per day, with intermittant accompanying singing. It appears to be the same 2 or 3 tunes over and over, although I'm no muso so it may be similar stuff of the same genre. Anyway, 4-5 hours a day. Every day. Today being a saturday, it didn't start until 11.

Now Mrs.number5 and I both work shifts, so need to sleep and work at funny times, and when we're at home we both have a lot of study to do. The guitar from above is quite loud (I think one of the corners cut in our building conversion may have been the sound-proofing between floors) to the point where it is too distracting to get any purposeful study done, or ignore. Night-shifts are coming in a couple of weeks, and the thought of potential sleep-loss is worrying.

Is it reasonable to ask them to maybe do it a bit less? Our odd-houred lives mean that we haven't really got much perspective on what is or isn't antisocial or too much...

What do you think?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Buy them a Burt Weedon Tune a Day - at least that way you'll have variation!

I've had issues with upstairs neighbours but they've always been reasonable when I've had a chat.

Maybe invite newbies in for coffee and explain your situation. Ask if they could play in another part of the flat or offer to buy them a rug to deaden the sound?

[woofmarkthedog]

I live next door to a Violin teacher, she works regular hours & sometimes till 7pm.

It is nice at times but there are the odd cats being slaughtered.

I got used to it quite quickly but it might would be constructive to speak with him to see if music is his job first ! then let him know your work schedules.

Failing that buy a church organ & jam "heavy" with him .

W**F

[daizie]

I dont think there is much you can say . Maybe buy some ear plugs if you need to sleep . But for what its worth , i feel your pain, there is nothing more irritating than a w****r with a guitar !

[SteveT]

Insulate the ceiling of the room he plays in, unless you are thinking of moving, it is best for long term investment. Nothing will stop it completely but insulating will take it further away.

[matthew123]

It's a very difficult one as they may think they are already being considerate by doing it during office hours - and may not buy into a shift system of when they can practice especially as this is probably their own careers (musical) at stake.

The successful approach will of course depend on the characters at play. I think it best you cut to the chase and tell them, as you say, you need your sleep because of shifts and that you are concerned about the level of daytime noise which has come to your attention whilst you have been studying... I think any lesser approach may not be respected.

[Keef]

Is it electric? If so, knock on the door in a friendly way, and ask them to turn down a bit. If it's acoustic, then you're stuck. Just go and have a friendly conversation with them if possible. A few years ago, we were upsetting our neighbours by playing loud guitars in our flat. If they'd come and asked nicely, I would've happily turned down. However, they put a rather aggressive note through our door, and so I turned up. Childish I know, but it was a good few years back, and I was not so considerate.

[sophiesofa]

I think you need to pop round and explain that you both work shifts, any reasonable person would be accommodating. I like the rug and room changing suggestions. Good luck!

[bignumber5]

Keef Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Is it electric? If so, knock on the door in a

> friendly way, and ask them to turn down a bit. If

> it's acoustic, then you're stuck. Just go and have

> a friendly conversation with them if possible. A

> few years ago, we were upsetting our neighbours by

> playing loud guitars in our flat. If they'd come

> and asked nicely, I would've happily turned down.

> However, they put a rather aggressive note through

> our door, and so I turned up. Childish I know, but

> it was a good few years back, and I was not so

> considerate.

Accoustic, unfortunately. We figured that a friendly chat would be the grown up way to go about it, just wanted to see if people thought there was any chance that it'd be worth it. Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Unfortunately we've not yet been up there and they've independently stepped up their game - at about 5pm yesterday, the repetitive accoustic guitar was replaced by loud dance music and what sounded like a lot of dancing (at least we were both out/going out), and someone was hanging out of the window over our backdoor smoking. This morning our back yard (just ours as we're the ground floor) is covered in fag butts. I felt a bit bad about the idea of whinging about someone trying to be a bit musical, but I think this is enough to demonstrate that what we have been landed with is a sodding inconsiderate individual...

[sophiesofa]

No way that is rude of them. The last flat I lived in was a big council/ex-council block and we were on the ground floor with hedge just in front of our door. We regularly found people just threw their rubbish into it from above. The baked beans were particularly pleasant.

Go and have a polite word anyway. Are they renting or did they buy it? Maybe you could speak to the Landlord if they continue to be inconsiderate.

[Applespider]

Might have been inconsiderate guests rather than them - if they haven't smoked outside til now.

I'd have a chat with them and let them know. Even if you can get to the point that if you're on night shifts, they move their playing to a point when you're not sleeping, it would be a start.

I'd suggest having the chat sooner rather than later - that way you can take a pot-plant/wine to welcome them and then drop in the bit about the guitar so it doesn't appear that you're only saying hello to berate them.

[Keef]

Agree with Applespider. Have they bought it, or are they renting? Be as friendly as possible, and if they respond badly, contact the landlords (if there is one).

[Keef]

woofmarkthedog Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I live next door to a Violin teacher, she works

> regular hours & sometimes till 7pm.

>

> It is nice at times but there are the odd cats

> being slaughtered.

We used to have 2 music students (fit sisters as it goes, but I never mentioned that to Mrs Keef) above us, one played cello, the other violin and sax. They also have mates round for string quartet practice. I used to quite enjoy that, but at times they'd practice scales for literally hours on end. It drove me mental... Guess had they not been pretty and flashed little smiles at me on the stairs, I'd have said something. Tough guy me.

[annaj]

I thought I'd reply, because BN5 (aka MrJ) has gone out to work.

They are renting and we do know the landlord. The same guy, and later his girlfriend, had lived upstairs since we moved in three years ago. They've had to move for their jobs and couldn't sell, so have rented the flat still furnished with all their own stuff. We weren't best mates with them or anything, but we did get on well enough and it was a generally nice, friendly, considerate building. Part of the reason I'm bothered by the smoking and the cigarette butts is that I know the landlord never allowed anyone to smoke in the flat when he lived there and it's still furnished with all his own furniture. And it's not as if he's some big couldn't care less landlord, he's just someone who had to move and had to rent out his home.

Anyway, the consensus here seems to agree with our own feeling that the best way forward is a friendly chat. As the more diplomatic half of the BN5/J team (check our posting histories to see if you agree... ;-)) I'm going to go up later.

[bignumber5]

As the more diplomatic half of the BN5/J team...

true story...

[bigbadwolf]

I have to say Anna and BN5 have certainly set a humbling example to all of us in garden fence politics.

Last year the old dear upstairs from me had a massive operation on her chest due to the fact that she'd spent her entire life with either a Senior Service or Capstan unfiltered dangling from her gob. After the operation she was confined to her flat and had to rely on an Iron lung to breathe.

I like everyone else in the building naturally put on my finest of stiff upper lips and soldiered on in our efforts make life seem as normal for her as possible.

One day however...I cracked.

It happened in the early hours of the morning after having spent many restless hours struggling to ignore the incessant squeaking noise made by the valve on her negative pressure ventilator that I was forced to seek revenge on the old witch.

I promptly dragged her from her sick bed, tied her hands behind her back and locked her in the airing cupboard forcing her to endure the slow yet constant dripping noise made by the botched plumbing. It can be rather audible in the dead of night.

Good luck on reasoning with your neighbours guys but remember, if all else fails...I'm available to come round with a roll of duct tape and a knitting needle if you really want me to make them shit themselves rigid.

Sleep tight.

[annaj]

See, there's good BBW and there's bad BBW. And that was bad BBW. Not funny.

Have been up and had a chat, he seemed perfectly nice and reasonable and I'm sure we'll be able to find a compromise of lifestyles.

Thanks for all the advice.

[bigbadwolf]

Oh come now Anna.....I bet even you laughed a little bit when you read that I dragged the old crone from her sick bed.

I wasn't expecting such a prompt reply though.

[annaj]

No, not even a little bit.

Don't read anything into the prompt reply, it's nothing personal.

[bigbadwolf]

Liar.

Oh I wont Anna, but keep 'em coming though eh.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Well done. A UN career awaits you.

[bigbadwolf]

Well I don't know about a career in the U.N or any other politics for that matter Peckham but I'll bear it in mind the next time it's my turn to make the tea.

I am however, rather disappointed by you all...

Annaj (and I suspect that BN5 will poke his beak in at some point) has mounted a rather admirable, if blunt, counter offensive to my confession of cruelty to the aged over a rather trivial affiar.

None of you however, has made the slightest attempt about inquiring about the circumstances of the old dear in question.

Well, I've still got her so to speak but we've come to a rather inspiring compromise.

Since she's 'on her way' I threw up the idea of putting her into some sort of stasis so that she have a bit more time left. Don't ask me how I did it as I was very drunk at the time, but I somehow managed to seal her in Carbonite and pass her off as some bizarre museum piece for my palls to look at.

It's not all bad though. I let her out now and again to stretch her legs but in truth it's only usually for selfish reasons on my part such as when I'm.....well, you know.....'lonely'.

[bigbadwolf]

If any of you have been affected by the above then please don't hesitate to click on the link below.

http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/

[Jeremy]

If you can hear an acoustic guitar that loudly, it must be the flimsiest flat in the world.

SteveT has a point about sound insulation, but this is probably easier to do from upstairs rather than downstairs. And it might be hard getting your neighbour or their landlord to cooperate.

[bigbadwolf]

But if they don't cooperate, you can always push them down the stairs.