Oh believe me, even in the midst of my irritation I understood why they want to start that early, and it makes great sense that construction of new buildings or roadways in non-residential areas starts that early. My complaint is that doing so Right Outside Someone's Bedroom Window (and it's only a couple of paces from my front wall to the street, and they were right on the sidewalk) at that hour doesn't seem quite as reasonable -- they're not making the start-time decision in a vacuum.
As someone else pointed out, if they're not allowed to ring my doorbell that early, clearly there is some understanding of the concept of "too early to reasonably disturb people" ... but jackhammers, of all things, get an exception.
Note also that I would have grumbled -- loudly even -- but only at my misfortune and not at the workers' insensitivity and the state of the noise statute, if they'd been doing emergency repairs on a burst water main or something. (Similarly, I don't bitch about fire trucks being allowed to use their sirens at whatever hour they're going to a fire, but I do gripe about 18-wheelers going by in blatant disregard of the signs on Lombard St. that say "No Trucks 7PM-7AM".)
I'm not sure where the balance point is between my reasonable expectation of being allowed to sleep and their reasonable desire to start as early as they can, but I still think that for the case of a jackhammer mere feet from my bedroom window, that balance point is sometime later than 7:30 AM.
(no subject)
As someone else pointed out, if they're not allowed to ring my doorbell that early, clearly there is some understanding of the concept of "too early to reasonably disturb people" ... but jackhammers, of all things, get an exception.
Note also that I would have grumbled -- loudly even -- but only at my misfortune and not at the workers' insensitivity and the state of the noise statute, if they'd been doing emergency repairs on a burst water main or something. (Similarly, I don't bitch about fire trucks being allowed to use their sirens at whatever hour they're going to a fire, but I do gripe about 18-wheelers going by in blatant disregard of the signs on Lombard St. that say "No Trucks 7PM-7AM".)
I'm not sure where the balance point is between my reasonable expectation of being allowed to sleep and their reasonable desire to start as early as they can, but I still think that for the case of a jackhammer mere feet from my bedroom window, that balance point is sometime later than 7:30 AM.