Unbearable drilling from neighbour's renovation

dpot · Post by **dpot** » Tue, 29 Oct 2013 11:41 pm

Wow, feel really bad for your situation; when his happened at my condo, I would just try to go to the pool, run errands, etc. However, one cannot do this sort of stuff all day, every day. Perhaps this is a good excuse to volunteer some time at a quiet place (library, museum) just to keep your mind quiet.

Beeroclock · Post by **Beeroclock** » Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:14 am

When I saw my condo manager in passing I mentioned to him that the drilling/hacking noise in our building has been going for at least 2-3 months and asked when will the permit be finished as we are getting close to annoyance threshold. He just laughed and says it will never finish, there are always at least 2-3 reno ongoing at any time so we just need to accept/deal with it. Not much empathy but at least upfront!

hairy legs · Post by **hairy legs** » Sat, 02 Nov 2013 10:05 am

No matter how angry you are, NEVER take matters into your own hands. NEVER go over to the work site and fxxk them etc.

A tenant of mine went over to my neighbour's renovation site, ran into a fit and PUSH the site supervisor into the drain..

And I read about this in the New Paper as the police was called in. This happened about 5yrs ago, and he was lucky my neighbour didnt persue the matter or he would have risked his work visa.

I am quit sure if this is to happen today, he would be BBQ by the internet police in Singapore.

Stay cool...

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sat, 02 Nov 2013 10:15 am

In my, long and weary experience, it's best to get others, official channels to fight battles on your behalf.

Colony of 10k crows roosting in a tree next door? Don't contact the land-owner, but report it to NEA, and let them prosecute action.

Same goes for noise from neighbours, or building noise, and so on ... report to council, report to Management office.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sat, 02 Nov 2013 10:34 am

^^This.

AnnabelG · Post by **AnnabelG** » Thu, 09 Jan 2014 2:49 pm

Hello everyone!

Just an update - 2 months after my last post (in fact right at this moment as I'm typing .....) they are still drilling ....

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 09 Jan 2014 3:16 pm

That could indicate several things. a) you are now deaf, or b) you have learned to tolerate, OR C) you found out that wine makes it tolerable!

AnnabelG · Post by **AnnabelG** » Fri, 10 Jan 2014 4:49 pm

Yes SMS, all of the three answers + (d) the drilling noise is so ingrained in my mind I could hear it even when I'm out of the house and sleeping!

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 10 Jan 2014 5:04 pm

Beeroclock · Post by **Beeroclock** » Mon, 13 Jan 2014 9:30 am

Well, if it gives you some hope ours seems to have quietened down lately, although the mere typing of this will probably jinx me !

nutnut · Post by **nutnut** » Mon, 13 Jan 2014 9:57 am

Sounds like a terrible experience. However, I suspect it's within the limits of a permit they have and within the timings of the law, which is unfortunate.

I agree with some of the above, go and speak to the builders, get yourself involved, be friendly, they aren't doing it to annoy you, they aren't specifically out to harm your ears or disrupt your life.

Fact is, the nicer you are to them, the more likely they are to be pleasant back. But, bear in mind, construction/renovation in Singapore is a fact of life, you can't win a fight against them totally, if they turn their drill speed down, they'll be going for longer but slighly quieter, better to be loud and get it over and done with!

So, in short, my suggestion (and what I would do) is to pop over and speak to the foreman, ask how long it is going to take, ask what they are doing, see if they will allow you to see the plans. Ask them to put you in touch with the owner, they may be pleasant, explain the noise levels to them, no need to go all dB's and timings on them just now, see if they are understanding. Ask them if they can give you some ear plugs, they will have them on site I am sure, normally they have a box in a site office.

if they've been drilling for 6 weeks, I suggest they can't be going for much longer, it seems an awful long time... Although, I imagine the hammers will be coming out soon if they've finished, it's the natural order of things

Good Luck!

AnnabelG · Post by **AnnabelG** » Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:25 am

nutnut wrote:Sounds like a terrible experience. However, I suspect it's within the limits of a permit they have and within the timings of the law, which is unfortunate.

I agree with some of the above, go and speak to the builders, get yourself involved, be friendly, they aren't doing it to annoy you, they aren't specifically out to harm your ears or disrupt your life.

Fact is, the nicer you are to them, the more likely they are to be pleasant back. But, bear in mind, construction/renovation in Singapore is a fact of life, you can't win a fight against them totally, if they turn their drill speed down, they'll be going for longer but slighly quieter, better to be loud and get it over and done with!

So, in short, my suggestion (and what I would do) is to pop over and speak to the foreman, ask how long it is going to take, ask what they are doing, see if they will allow you to see the plans. Ask them to put you in touch with the owner, they may be pleasant, explain the noise levels to them, no need to go all dB's and timings on them just now, see if they are understanding. Ask them if they can give you some ear plugs, they will have them on site I am sure, normally they have a box in a site office.

if they've been drilling for 6 weeks, I suggest they can't be going for much longer, it seems an awful long time... Although, I imagine the hammers will be coming out soon if they've finished, it's the natural order of things

Good Luck!

Thanks! I have already contacted the builders. They are all nice about it, and apologetic of course.

But it still does not stop making me annoyed, especially when they told you on Monday that there was no other wall to hack/major hacking to be done for the rest of the permit, then on Wed they started making the hell of a noise. When you called them to ask about it, they said they had another main wall to hack. Their information was always inaccurate.

They told me there was to be no more drilling then they turned around, and said more drilling will be done for another two weeks. Two weeks after, and the drilling continued for another month, and they are currently still drilling.

Up to now, they have been drilling for 4.5 months plus banging, hammering, my husband said if they were to drill for a few months, there would be no house left. Apparently the house is still there; I guess the walls they have are really sturdy (they don't build houses like this anymore) .... I have just learnt to take it in my stride and bear with it till it's over.

nutnut · Post by **nutnut** » Mon, 13 Jan 2014 12:56 pm

Unfortunately, that's what you probably have to do, bear with it until it's over.

As long as you remember, the owners, your neighbours, would more than likely do anything they could to ensure you were not disrupted, so, although it may be hard, there is no reason to feel animosity towards them when they move back in.

Sounds like the builders are not very good at planning if they aren't just lying to you, which isn't a crime, but, doesn't help.

I have lived next to a building site previously and it's pretty awful, I know what you are going through and I don't envy your position

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Mon, 13 Jan 2014 1:38 pm

Agreed with Nut2.

Also note clients of builders' routinely change their mind/specs of the job. It's quite possible they said they wanted ABC doing, and only now have added D etc.

In fact I've met builders who will quote 'pretty straight' on the ABC to get a job, and look to make the real profit on the DEF's that will almost always follow once the job is underway...

AnnabelG · Post by **AnnabelG** » Tue, 14 Jan 2014 9:11 am

nutnut wrote:Unfortunately, that's what you probably have to do, bear with it until it's over.

As long as you remember, the owners, your neighbours, would more than likely do anything they could to ensure you were not disrupted, so, although it may be hard, there is no reason to feel animosity towards them when they move back in.

Sounds like the builders are not very good at planning if they aren't just lying to you, which isn't a crime, but, doesn't help.

I have lived next to a building site previously and it's pretty awful, I know what you are going through and I don't envy your position

Yes, nothing else I can do really. Hopefully it will all finish soon.

My lease is ending in a few months time. I think by the time they move in, I will be out of this place.

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Unbearable drilling from neighbour's renovation

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