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EBoard
Member since Feb-2-09
63 posts		 Mar-25-09, 10:29 AM (EST)
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"Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
 
   This is a question for those who do their woodworking in a garage or workshop at home and have neighbors close by.

When do you guys "call it a night," so to speak, as far as stopping the use of noisier tools (TS, planer, miter saw, ROS, etc).

I usually stop by around 8 p.m. just as a courtesty to my neighbors, but I have no idea how loud my tools are to them with my garage all closed up. On weekends, I'll go until around 11 p.m.

I try to plan my work to where I can use the DP or assembly work "after hours."

There are probably laws that govern this sort of thing that vary depending upon locale, but I was just curious what you guys do.

_________

Got wood?


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  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors D Ball Mar-25-09 1
     RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors Triple Freak Mar-25-09 2
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors dbriski Mar-25-09 3
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors deepsplinter Mar-25-09 4
     RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors wisardd1 Mar-27-09 13
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors doug_d Mar-25-09 5
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors rrich Mar-25-09 6
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors woodchuck1954 Mar-25-09 7
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors brburns Mar-25-09 8
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors Sonny Edmonds Mar-25-09 9
     RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors EBoard Mar-26-09 12
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors ShopDog Mar-25-09 10
     RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors MarkAbbett Mar-26-09 11
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors WoodDrummer Mar-27-09 14
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors cowboyup3371 Mar-28-09 15
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors Scott Baret Mar-29-09 16
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors PastorPaul Apr-10-09 17
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors TrevorZ Apr-10-09 18
     RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors country boy Apr-11-09 19
  RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors pgeer Apr-11-09 20

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D Ball
Member since Mar-23-08
242 posts		 Mar-25-09, 10:40 AM (EST)
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1. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   By the time the late hours come, I have drank enough beer that I don't use the loud tools anymore. I am kind of a early to rise early to bed person, so I have it wound down before it is too late. Now when it comes to a pool party or a big football cookout, I try to get everyone quite by 9:00pm. Memorial Day 07 got a little out of hand and the cops showed up. Nothing more embarrassing than having the cops called on the cops.

The pale horse will be ridden by mass media.
Dano


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Triple Freak
Member since Feb-27-09
71 posts		 Mar-25-09, 10:59 AM (EST)
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2. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #1
 
I don't have a dedicated workshop as yet, but I putter around in my detached garage all the same. Since it's not insulated, the noise goes right thru the walls. I try to knock off around dusk.

It pays dividends to be courteous of your neighbors, even if they don't reciprocate. My neighbors are notorious for having large, loud outdoor parties in the Summer time. I find it somewhat comforting to let my table saw rip thru some wet wood (nice & noisy) about 7 AM the morning following one of their parties, when their hangovers are at their worst.
I also try to fire up my compressor & bang out some nails. After I did this to them for 4-5 weekends last Summer, they got the message loud and clear.

Herb G.
Southern Maryland


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dbriski
Member since Jan-26-06
1049 posts		 Mar-25-09, 11:41 AM (EST)
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3. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   I live in a condo and work in my detached garage. We have association rules that say no loud noises in the garages after 9pm. Usually about that time I am tired and want to go in anyhow. If not I try to do glue ups, hand sanding after 9. I also try not to run loud tools before 10am, sometime 9am but not earlier.

David

http://www.briskibusiness.com Custom Made Wooden Pens
http://www.briskibusiness.com/woodworking Custom Furniture and Cabinetry


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deepsplinter
Member since Mar-24-04
1065 posts		 Mar-25-09, 11:46 AM (EST)
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4. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
I never work in my shop past 6:00, maybe 7:00 at the latest.

When I shut down, I usually pop open a cold Bud and putter around a little while longer, sweep, put tools away, just wind down. I NEVER drink and work!

I usually start work around 7:00 AM. My shop is attached and insulated, so if I keep the doors shut, the neighbors can't hear much.

I have good neighbors, we all get along. Especially the ones to the west (in the cemetery).

--------------------

Too much self control
is just another form of excess.

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wisardd1
Member since Oct-13-08
201 posts		 Mar-27-09, 12:03 PM (EST)
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13. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #4
 
   >
>I have good neighbors, we all get along. Especially the ones
>to the west (in the cemetery).


What a crack up!!! I am with you on the hours though. I always keep in mind what would bug the hell out of me, then try to keep with that. If I want to piss someone off, I make it a point to use the planer. Dang that thing is loud!

Hopefully, these gifts will last much longer than I.


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doug_d
Member since Dec-27-04
494 posts		 Mar-25-09, 11:59 AM (EST)
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5. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   If the neighbors complain I kill them next deer season I live out in the middle of nowhere.

When I work on rental houses in town, I usually try to knock off when I see the TV glow coming from the neighbors house. Usually means they are trying to wind down for the day.....need to respect that. Usually around 8:00-9:00, but never any later.

Yes, weekends usually are a little later.

Just my 2 cents.


www.CabinStartup.com
www.ShawneeForest.com


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rrich
Member since Sep-3-04
8972 posts		 Mar-25-09, 12:52 PM (EST)
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6. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   My shop is in an attached large 2 car garage. As a rule, I do not like to turn the lights on in the shop. The garage door faces north and about all of the light that I need is reflected off the concrete driveway or the houses across the street.

Usually I'll knock off about 4PM in the winter and maybe 5:30PM in the summer. I have done some assembly work or removed clamps after dinner but that is rare. The only time that I'll run machines after dinner is when a neighbor needs something done.

Rich
Huntington Beach, CA USA

Help! I've dropped my nail gun and can't glue up.


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woodchuck1954
Charter Member
1813 posts		 Mar-25-09, 01:28 PM (EST)
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7. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   If the local ordinances are enforced, they are usually "Normal Working Hours". In other words, if a construction company is working on your house, noise is between 8:00AM to 5:00PM. When I'm working in my detached garage, at a four plex, with the neighboring residences basically the same, I don't start before 8:00AM and knock off at dusk or no later than 8:00PM. Years ago, in another location, I had a neighbor complain about all the noise I was making, hand sanding, @ 9:00PM.

woodchuck1954
"A legend in his Own Mind"


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brburns
Member since Sep-20-07
1012 posts		 Mar-25-09, 03:46 PM (EST)
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8. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
I'll work till I feel like quitting (or when the wife calls me in). Neighbors can't hear much, but they are at a good distance. They can hear my planner so I have been told, but the meighbors I care about tell me they don't care. I don't think they can hear it in their house anyway, just outside.

Ben

If Global Warming will cause the oceans to rise, then why do the majority of people that believe in it live ON THE COAST???

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day." -- Dean Martin

Change, it's what they'll turn your dollars into.


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Sonny Edmonds
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267 posts		 Mar-25-09, 07:48 PM (EST)
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9. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   I've always asked my neighbors if I bother them. Almost always they have said no.
I did have a minor problem with one A'Hole two doors up in the old house. He'd mow his lawn, then hose all the clippings down the street where it would pile up on the wifes car. She didn't like the crap being in the street, so she would clean up Mr. A'Holes clippings.
Finally, I caught the SOB and made him come down and clean up his own crap.
He told me I better not run my machines at night. (Which I very rarely did anyway.)
So I just killed him, and moved away. One less litterbug to be bothered with.

Haven't had any neighbor problems since that one.
My neighbors have always loved me, for the most part. One day I fell off of a ladder in my shop and it made a big crash. The little gal next door yelled, "Are you alright?"
I thought it was Betty and said "No!" (I had a real nasty deep scratch in my back from a sharp edge. And the wind partly knocked out of me.)
That little gal vaulted the 3' good neighbor divider wall and came running, pregnant belly and all. Her husband was right behind her, but not near as fast.
I was more concerned about her jumping and running than the bleeding rip in my back.
We babysit their little 2 1/2 year old girl now. Skylar calls us Gramma Betty and Papa.
I love my neighbors! And the dead ones don't complain...


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EBoard
Member since Feb-2-09
63 posts		 Mar-26-09, 11:28 AM (EST)
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12. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #9
 
   Lol! People used to ask me why I moved to California from Ohio. I would give them a serious stare and say, "I killed a man back there."

_________

Got wood?


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ShopDog
Member since Aug-21-03
269 posts		 Mar-25-09, 08:02 PM (EST)
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10. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
I don't pay it a whole lot of nevermind. I don't have a bunch of near neighbors - nearest is a quarter-mile away. I don't feel too bad about running a planer at midnight.

Affected by

Posed Dramatic Tress Disorder

~Flambo~


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MarkAbbett
Member since Mar-4-09
14 posts		 Mar-26-09, 07:26 AM (EST)
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11. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #10
 
   I try to be done with power tools by 9pm if possible. The last few years I haven't had the opportunity to do much except on weekends anyway, with deployments and working full time. Plus I don't operate power tools when I have been drinking, and it's usually long before 9pm that I get "Thirsty". It's not that I think I can't run the machines on a few beers, I'm just used to the number of fingers that I have, and don't want to change.

As for neighbors, in Jacksonville I did what I want, and the neighbors got over it. California too. Here, they can move. I think there are six houses for sale on my road. I can only take credit for one of them though, because the rest were for sale before I moved in.

It's amazing how cutting something for someone will put you in their good graces though.


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WoodDrummer
Member since Jan-7-06
1496 posts		 Mar-27-09, 02:16 PM (EST)
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14. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
I have had and will have an insulated garage door. With our last house not a lot of noise escaped the garage door, pretty good seal. I expect the next house to be similar or I'll make it that way. If it's hot, I'll close the door to run a tool and open it back up for quieter work if it's after about 9PM. Even now, in an uninsulated garage with an uninsulated door, I can run the DC and TS/Planer together and you don't hear much outside, let alone indoors next door. And this current house is only about 10' from the neighbors.

Chris

"Come my friends, 'tis not too late to seek a newer world." -- Tennyson


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cowboyup3371
Member since Oct-20-08
84 posts		 Mar-28-09, 09:59 AM (EST)
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15. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   I try to shut down my power equipment around 8 and call it a night about 9 or 10 - depending on what I'm doing. I don't know how well people can hear the tools but the shed is at the back of my property closest to three other houses.

I can't wait until I have my small ranch (40 acre place preferably right now) and can not worry about neighbors.

Cowboy Up or Quit; If you're going to quit, get out of my way


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Scott Baret
Member since Apr-11-08
34 posts		 Mar-29-09, 05:54 PM (EST)
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16. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   If I'm using noisier equipment outdoors (including the lawn mower) I try to finish by 8:00 PM. There are quite a few younger (under 10) children in my neighborhood and I figure many of them probably are heading to bed around then.

I do my woodworking in a garage with a thick steel door. I doubt anyone would really be able to hear the noisier tools from inside their homes but just in case I usually close up shop by 9:00 PM.

Keep in mind when you start working as well. Not everyone is a morning person and may be rudely awakened by your chainsaw on a weekend if you start working at, say, 8:00 AM. If I'm not working on Saturdays I usually hold off until 10:00 AM to start working on something involving power tools.


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PastorPaul
Charter Member
7078 posts		 Apr-10-09, 02:21 AM (EST)
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17. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
Both for peace in the neighborhood, and because of lighting problems in my shop, I try to knock off by sundown. Once in a while, if I'm working on a time-sensitive project, I'll go later. I have two or three contractors in the neighborhood (one right across the street) who seem to do a lot of work around the house, so apparently we aren't bothering anyone.

Pastor Paul

"If they don't have woodworking in heaven, I ain't going!!!"


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TrevorZ
Member since Oct-3-06
180 posts		 Apr-10-09, 09:36 AM (EST)
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18. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
   My workshop is in my two car garage with the DC up in the attic along with the compressor. The attic over the garage backs up to our second story bedroom, so you can hear the compressor and DC in our bedroom. I have to knock off at 09:00 pm or the wife is not too happy with me in the morning.
I'm partly deaf in one ear and my wife tells me my tools are pretty loud outside the garage with the door down. The garage is insulated. Probably need to insulate the attic a bit.

I find the router to be the loudest of the bunch.

Trevor

Weekend Wood Warrior


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country boy
Member since Jan-1-07
85 posts		 Apr-11-09, 05:41 PM (EST)
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19. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #18
 
   LAST EDITED ON Apr-11-09 AT 05:43 PM (EST)
 
Around here, if you're not raining buckshot on your neighbor's yard, you're being neighborly.

Kind of a joke, kind of not, but no shop tools are as load as a big chain saw.


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pgeer
Member since Sep-2-04
1002 posts		 Apr-11-09, 10:32 PM (EST)
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20. "RE: Workshop Courtesy for Neighbors"
In response to message #0
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-11-09 AT 10:34 PM (EST)
 
Where I live the houses are 50' to 80' apart. On the garage side of the house is the neighbors garage so he never hears anything. I don't work late in the shop because I'm an early riser. But around 8:00 PM knock off time is good, although you might get away with 9:00 PM. Morning 9:00 AM seems to be a good startup time since most are out mowing about that time in the summer. That's how I play it, never had a complaint.

Originally joined: Aug 13, 2002.


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