Mom Upset After Neighbors’ ‘Extensive’ Construction Interrupts Baby’s Sleep

A mother is looking for advice after her neighbors began “extensive” construction work on their garage, which has kept her baby awake at inopportune hours and left her wondering if she deserved a heads-up.

The mom asked on the community forum Mumsnet if she was being “unreasonable” for wanting notice ahead of her neighbors’ noisy project.

As the woman explained, she shares a wall with her neighbors, who are getting work done in their garage that “sounds like it’s in the next room to our bedroom and sitting room.”

“There have been jack hammers going since eight o’clock this morning, pretty much nonstop,” the mother wrote. “They KNOW we have a baby, who is unable to sleep and is now having to be taken out for a several-hour drive (old enough that this isn’t dangerous, thankfully!) to catch up on sleep!”

The mother then asked if she was in the right “to think they could at least” have sent a text giving her a heads-up. “It seems to be quite extensive work they’re having done, so god knows how many days in a row my child will be expected to sleep in a car in 25- to 30-degree heat,” she wrote.

Ultimately, the mother got mixed feedback in response to her post, with some writing that her neighbors “should have” offered an explanation, while another user wrote that 8 a.m. is “a reasonable time to start noisy building work.” Others pointed out the intensity of a “jack hammer” sound at 8 a.m.

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“What could you have done differently if they had told you? If it’s possible for you to visit family or something, go round and ask your neighbors how long they expect it to be noisy,” one reader replied. “Otherwise, I’m not sure what good it would have done.”

What constitutes a “reasonable” time to begin construction varies by location. In New York City, residential construction is permitted between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, whereas construction after hours often requires additional authorization.

Another user wrote under the mother’s post that, “in the gentlest way,” the baby’s lack of sleep “is [nobody’s] problem but yours.”

“Do you honestly expect them not to have work done to their garage just because you have a baby who’s a poor sleeper,” they asked. “Does your baby keep your neighbors up at night as well?”

The mother responded: “It would have been nice. Decent, even. Oh well, I suppose it won’t be too much of a hassle now that we stop being decent and helpful in return!”