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posted by [personal profile] eftychia at 09:25am on 2005-03-02

I didn't sleep enough Monday night/Tuesday morning, and wrote about feeling pronounced symptoms of not having had enough sleep.

Yesterday afternoon and evening, I heard banging from the house where I had/have neighbours. It sounded like hammering. Putting up shelves, perhaps, or replacing moulding. Not quite ignorable, but much less obtrusive than a too-loud subwoofer. I probably could've slept through it if my body had been willing to let me sleep.

Today it's the house on the other side, the one that's been boarded up, that my across-the-street neighbour told me had been sold recently. And it sounds like sledgehammers and prybars and rearranging the walls, and not-consumer-grade power tools that put out lots of low-frequency energy and vibrate against the wall they're working on.

It's not something I can sleep through. And it started at sevenfuckingthirty in the morning. And it sounds like the wall they're working on is the one I share. And last night/this morning, I was still having trouble falling asleep, so it's not like I had gotten caught up on sleep -- not even enough sleep for one night, much less enough to make up a sleep deficit -- when things got Very Loud.

(And as I started typing this, just after nine, they took a break or something ... this would have been a more reasonable time to start, noise-wise. Not as nice for me as eleven, but reasonably sane as a polite guess.)

I know construction folks tend to be morning people, and I know that they really don't want to waste daylight, but dammit, there's a shared wall here, and I am very much NOT a morning person, and the more my sleep patterns get screwed with the worse my fibromyalgia symptoms are. For new construction, or an office or a store, or a structure that doesn't share a damned wall with somebody's bedroom, let 'em start at daybreak. But I do not feel it's reasonable to make that much noise on my bedroom wall at seven thirty AM. (And they didn't even start in the section that would've thrown most of the noise into my kitchen; they started at my goddamned bedroom.)

If I manage to catch one of 'em out front, or at a window, I haven't decided yet whether to chew them out for this or to take a "gentle reminder that someone sleeps here" approach.

Mood:: pretty fucking annoyed
There are 14 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] msmemory.livejournal.com at 02:45pm on 2005-03-02
I recommend "gentle reminder that someone sleeps here." Chewing them out won't get you anywhere, and I think you really do not want sulky construction workers next door. Who will still start at 7 or 7:30 because that's what their crew boss tells them to do.

cellio: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] cellio at 03:57pm on 2005-03-02
Seconded. You can always escalate to chewing out if they turn out to be jerks rather than unaware, but it's genearlly best to start with polite requests.

What a sucky situation to be in!
 
posted by [identity profile] lonebear.livejournal.com at 03:05pm on 2005-03-02
should be findable with a google on "noise rules" +"baltimore city"

find it and talk to the foreman.
 
posted by [identity profile] keith-m043.livejournal.com at 03:37pm on 2005-03-02
finally getting some decent hits on 'noise control statutes maryland', I found this. It defines 'daylight hours' as 7am to 10pm. I'm guessing that this definition hasn't changed since 1974, so the only legal possible legal relief would be to get some dB readings and see if they're being too noisy. Otherwise, since there is a whole crew at work, the noise will prolly only last a few days, so either use earplugs or sleep out for a while.
 
posted by [identity profile] scarlettj9.livejournal.com at 03:55pm on 2005-03-02
Perhaps MovieBear will come over and batt her eyelashes. She can move cranes you know. :)
 
posted by [identity profile] darwiniacat.livejournal.com at 04:15pm on 2005-03-02
My neighbor across the street is a construction worker (and an asshole) and he once informed that city regulation says construction noise may be be within the hours of 7AM-7PM.
 
posted by [identity profile] donnad.livejournal.com at 05:27pm on 2005-03-02
Giving them a reminder that someone sleeps here is not going to change their thumping around at 7:30AM. That is when they work, they can't just suddenly change their hours. But telling them that you work nights and are just trying to get to sleep might make them be a little quieter. Most contractors tend to respect the fact that some people work nights. I suggest ear plugs.
 
posted by [identity profile] old-hedwig.livejournal.com at 05:40pm on 2005-03-02
That just sux. I had a night job once years ago. All the rules are set up for normal 9-5 type folks. Phone call from salespeople and creditors and charities drove me crazy - they can't call at night, which is not a big help if you are trying to sleep at noon. If its a prefessional crew, they are gonna do what their boss tells them, but will be done lots faster than do-it-one-selfers.
 
posted by [identity profile] still-asking.livejournal.com at 05:53pm on 2005-03-02
Since I don't work, I can't tell people I work nights. So I just tell them I don't work days. They assume. And tend to be fairly sympathetic. And then, if later details come out re unemployment/disability, I'm not backpeadling from a lie.

There is also the possiblilty, if budget permits, of small scale bribery - how about you work my bedroom wall area _last_ and we drink some beer together when you guys get off?

Unless they also smoke. Then I guess you could just offfer them the beer outright. Or are you better with smoke than I am? Most people are, tho the Topamax has made it much easier for me to tolerate.
 
posted by [identity profile] darwiniacat.livejournal.com at 08:28pm on 2005-03-02
That's funny that the Topamax has made it easier for you to tolerate smoke. It does the opposite for me. It actually helps me *not* have urges to smoke (good when I'm stills in the process of quitting). Makes smoke (and smoking) vile to me.
 
posted by [identity profile] still-asking.livejournal.com at 09:44pm on 2005-03-02
Well the primary reason I'm on the Topamax is as a migraine preventative, and my primary migraine trigger is tobbacco smoke.... it's not like the Topamax makes me *like* the stuff or anything!

Go you on the quitting!
 
posted by [identity profile] darwiniacat.livejournal.com at 09:47pm on 2005-03-02
Yeah, I knew I wasn't getting the wording right there. LOL

Yeah. I've had two since the End of October. Unfortunately they've both been in the last two weeks so I need to watch myself.
 
posted by [identity profile] malada.livejournal.com at 06:00pm on 2005-03-02
It sounds like they're doing major renovations. Politely asking them to work on another section in the morning could alleviate some of the noise.

Earplugs might help but that would leave you unable to hear important things like smoke or CO2 alarms.

-m
 
posted by [identity profile] colinmarshall.livejournal.com at 04:41am on 2005-03-03
Just a quick note; I've started a community called [livejournal.com profile] vintagecomputer (the name about says it all) and, based upon the fact that you took the time to stick the TRS-80 on your interest list, my vast intelligence network tells me you might like it. Feel free to check it out, or not. Y'know, whichever's cool with you.

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