What is a reasonable time to start noisy yard work?

[miso]

In a residential neighborhood on a weekday, what is a reasonable time to start noisy yard work?

For those who need further explication of “noisy yard work,” this includes lawn mowing and leaf blowing.

[knx9211]

I personally think 8 is fine, but 9 is most appropriate.

[clippy]

I would prefer if the poll were in 15-minute increments please.

[meowmaps]

I voted 9:00am or later because not everyone has a traditional work schedule. My husband works nights so he's often asleep until 10:00am. He does wear ear plugs and we have a white noise machine to help muffle outside noise.

[oswin]

7am. And I say the same for weekends. Because yeah, some people might still be asleep then, but it gets brutally hot here and I am not waiting for it to heat up to start. My answer may also be colored by our yard situation, we have a very large lot (so yard work is not quick) and we're far enough from our neighbors that we won't be running the riding mower outside someone else's window.

[sparkythelawyer]

9

I'll tolerate 8 if I have to.

At 7 I'm getting ragey.

[Deleted]

8am is okay. Summer here is loooooooooong and miserable, so I could understand not wanting to start at 10am.

[ssmjlm]

Per our county it's 7am.

Now if I could just get our idiot neighbors to not let the barking dog out at 5am....

[JRo]

It wouldn't bother ME on a weekday at 8 am because I'm already gone for work, but I know that's not true for everyone. My rule would be 9 am on a weekend, so that's what I voted. It's generally not possible to do the noisy stuff here before 9 am because the grass is too wet with dew to mow.

[shamrockshake]

Weekday 7
Weekend I’d say 8, but really 9 would be better. We won’t let the kids in the backyard until 9 because they’re so Loud

[Deleted]

My vote depends on the climate and season. Summer in Arizona is very different from fall in Iowa.

[Nonny]

I think 9 am or later is ideal, because if I want to sleep in, I'm usually OK on whatever amount of sleep I got by 9.  But I won't gripe too much about 8 am during the weekdays since most people are probably up for work, however I am going to want to rage kill you if you start earlier than that. 

I live in the PNW, so it doesn't get hot enough here to justify disturbing the neighborhood for yard noise super early, AND it stays light out until 9-10 pm, so they could just as easily delay it until 7 pm instead.

Anyone doing yardwork at 5 am should be run over by their own lawnmower regardless of the heat.  That's the middle of the damn night.

[Deleted]

7am weekdays, 9am weekends.

[lilac05]

May 18, 2018 12:12:05 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

My vote depends on the climate and season. Summer in Arizona is very different from fall in Iowa.

I had the same thought.  

If the high that day is going to be 100+, I think 7 is reasonable.  If it’s going to be 80, then 8.

[madringal]

I think it's annoying when my neighbor starts his mower at 7 am, but I wouldn't be as bothered by a landscape team or construction workers that early or even earlier. I just assume they want to get these projects done before the killer afternoon heat comes in. My neighbor can usually wait another 30 minutes.

[kath16]

8am - Gotta do what you gotta do to beat rain or heat, or your schedule

Just like I don't expect people to accommodate my kids' early bedtime (7pm), I don't expect them to accommodate late sleepers within reason. It is unusual for MOST people to sleep past 8am on a weekday.

[Aloe Vera]

7am. Most people are already up or gone by that time.

[miso]

May 18, 2018 12:04:15 GMT -5 cubed said:

8:30? Here, people start as early as 7am and I shake my head. But then again, we live in the South so summer time is brutal.

Yeah, I appreciate the need to do this stuff while it's still cool.

I've asked my gardeners repeatedly not to come until 7:30 or at least 7:00, yet they keep starting at 6:30.

I wanted to confirm whether my request was reasonable.

[BaliHai]

8am weekdays, 9am weekends. And I am up every day at 6:30 regardless. I think H starts at 8 on weekends in the summer though, to get out there before it gets torturously hot.

[kath16]

May 18, 2018 12:22:41 GMT -5 miso said:

May 18, 2018 12:04:15 GMT -5 cubed said:

8:30? Here, people start as early as 7am and I shake my head. But then again, we live in the South so summer time is brutal.

Yeah, I appreciate the need to do this stuff while it's still cool.

I've asked my gardeners repeatedly not to come until 7:30 or at least 7:00, yet they keep starting at 6:30.

I wanted to confirm whether my request was reasonable.

oh, yeah. I would hate you if your people were starting at 6:30 a.m. and I'm always up well before then.

[miso]

May 18, 2018 12:26:14 GMT -5 kath16 said:

May 18, 2018 12:22:41 GMT -5 miso said:

Yeah, I appreciate the need to do this stuff while it's still cool.

I've asked my gardeners repeatedly not to come until 7:30 or at least 7:00, yet they keep starting at 6:30.

I wanted to confirm whether my request was reasonable.

oh, yeah. I would hate you if your people were starting at 6:30 a.m. and I'm always up well before then.

My kids typically sleep until 7 or 7:30.

That half hour is precious to me. LOL.

[shauni27]

May 18, 2018 12:22:41 GMT -5 miso said:

May 18, 2018 12:04:15 GMT -5 cubed said:

8:30? Here, people start as early as 7am and I shake my head. But then again, we live in the South so summer time is brutal.

Yeah, I appreciate the need to do this stuff while it's still cool.

I've asked my gardeners repeatedly not to come until 7:30 or at least 7:00, yet they keep starting at 6:30.

I wanted to confirm whether my request was reasonable.

Can I ask a potentially really dumb question? Do they make a lot of noise that it would bother you or your neighbors, regardless of the hour? I ask because my gardeners basically just pull weeds and trim bushes, mulch the gardens, etc. Nothing with noisy equipment. I was just curious.

Regardless of your answer, during the work week I think 7 is fine. Most people are up at that hour.

Weekends I think 9 or 10.

[InBetweenDays]

Our city noise code says 7am on weekdays, 9am on weekends for construction and maintenance activities.

[msmerymac]

I picked 8, but on a weekday especially I could be persuaded the let 7 slide.

6:30 is a no. Our trash is often picked up at 6:30 and used to wake me up. (Now I get up before 6:30.)

[miso]

May 18, 2018 12:29:04 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

May 18, 2018 12:22:41 GMT -5 miso said:

Yeah, I appreciate the need to do this stuff while it's still cool.

I've asked my gardeners repeatedly not to come until 7:30 or at least 7:00, yet they keep starting at 6:30.

I wanted to confirm whether my request was reasonable.

Can I ask a potentially really dumb question? Do they make a lot of noise that it would bother you or your neighbors, regardless of the hour? I ask because my gardeners basically just pull weeds and trim bushes, mulch the gardens, etc. Nothing with noisy equipment. I was just curious.

Regardless of your answer, during the work week I think 7 is fine. Most people are up at that hour.

Weekends I think 9 or 10.

Noisy equipment.

As stated in the question.

[penguingrrl]

My town prohibits it before 8 am, which is reasonable on weekdays, but a tad early to disturb people on weekends IMO. 6:30 is wholly unreasonable.

[AHappierHour]

I would check to see what time the city says they can start working. Most cities it’s 7am.

[Nonny]

I just looked up the noise ordinances for where I live, and they say 7 am for weekdays (which doesn't surprise me, even if it annoys me personally as a late sleeper), and 9 am for weekends (which does surprise me, I figured it would be 8 am).

[pooh8402]

Speaking as someone who has worked the night shift for a while, I still say 8 am is a good start time. It's not fair for shift workers to dictate everyone else's schedule, especially in summer in the south. Shift workers adapt. I have blackout curtains and if I needed them I would use ear plugs.

[candreco]

Is this where I share my disbelief that a neighbor was out in his pj's with a leaf blower at SIX-THIRTY IN THE MORNING, clearing leaves in his driveway that had been shaken loose in a storm overnight.

I get up at 5:30 and wake the kids up at 6:20 anyway, but I was annoyed with that.