To minimise the disturbance caused by DIY and decorating, keep noisy activities to reasonable hours and ensure that the equipment is appropriate for the task.
Be considerate
Restrict your DIY activities to the following hours:
Monday to Friday – 9am to 7pm
Saturdays – 9am to 5pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays – 10am to 2pm
Noisy activities include:
- using and tools – hammers and saws
- using power tools – hand held tools including drills, saws, and sanders
- using plant equipment – this includes ‘Kango’ hammers, pneumatic hammers or vibrators, cement mixers, large power saws, planers, compressors and generators
- partition walls – work on partition walls between dwellings will produce high levels of noise for neighbours.
Avoiding problems caused by DIY
Ensure that neighbours are given advance warning of any work that is being carried out, and let them know how long the works will last. This will help them a better idea of how much noise to expect.
Except in situations where dust and fumes are produced, try to keep doors and windows closed. This will reduce the level of noise caused by tools, radios and stereo systems.
Emergency work
Serious problems such as water leaks, electrical faults and missing roof tiles may create noise. This is unavoidable and does not constitute unreasonable noise.
For more information
Download the leaflet: Noise from do it yourself building works (pdf 25Kb).
(To view this document, you will require Adobe Acrobat, this can be downloaded via the link on the right.)
For general enquiries, call 020 8921 8921 or email noise.team@greenwich.gov.uk.
Related link
How to complain