I (23F) have a neighbor who moved in a little over a year ago. For the past 7 months, there has been almost constant construction work happening at their house. Honestly, I have no idea what they’re doing because it doesn’t seem to be an extension, and most of the work appears to be exterior.
The work runs Monday through Saturday, usually starting at 8 a.m., and sometimes even earlier. The construction itself is loud, but the workers are also incredibly noisy. They’re constantly yelling, singing, and playing music. If anyone asks them to keep it down, especially early on a Saturday, they seem to take it personally and get even louder.
They’ve also thrown materials and tools into neighboring gardens and then entered those gardens to retrieve them without permission. Their vans frequently block the road when people are trying to leave for work or school, and they get annoyed when asked to move.
Because our houses are attached, the vibrations from the construction have been affecting me physically. The constant shaking from tools has been triggering severe migraines.
A few days ago, my neighbour asked me why there seemed to be so much tension between her family and the surrounding neighbours. I replied:
“Mrs. Robbins, you’ve had loud construction work going on almost every day for the last 7 months. People are tired of it.”
She looked genuinely upset but just said, “Okay.”
A few days later, her husband confronted me. He said I was being a jerk for complaining about construction noise because “of course construction is loud.” He also accused me of blaming his wife for the workers’ behavior, which wasn’t what I was doing at all. He said the work is necessary to make the house livable and finished by saying he hopes my house never needs major construction work.
To be honest, I found that last part kind of funny.
For additional context, several neighbors have already made complaints to the local council. We were told that because the work is being done during permitted hours (8 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturdays), there isn’t much that can be done. The neighbors also have the required permits.
So, AITA for honestly telling my neighbour why there’s tension between her family and the rest of the street?