Acceptable level of noise from housemate early in the morning

F412 · 21-09-2015 02:56PM #1

This I will imagine be a fairly subjective depending on peoples personal routines but I would just like to get an opinion on it.

I live in a houseshare with two other tenants, renting rooms separately from the LL. One housemate gets up and leaves for work very early. So usually up around 6:30 and leaves just after 7. I usually would only get up for work at 8:30 at the earliest but usually approaching 9 or even later on occasion while the other housemate gets up even later.

Thing is the housemate that gets up early makes no attempt to keep noise down in the morning, walking around closing doors at full force (not banging but not gently either), opening and closing doors multiple times (no one else is around so don't know why they have to be closed every time a room is entered or exited), singing away to themselves at a normal conversation level which is loud enough when the house is very quiet at that hour and worst of all operating a very loud blender every morning which really reverberates around the house (kitchen is under my room to make matters worse). So basically I'm woken every morning 2 to 2.5 hours before I want to be. Now sometimes I get back to sleep but still its very annoying having my sleep interrupted (I go to sleep late enough at times as I don't have to be up too early).

It's unlikely I will say anything for the sake of keeping relations in the house friendly but do people think I would have reason to complain or is it just fair game once its morning and not the middle of the night?

CatFromHue · 21-09-2015 03:00PM

Some people are genuinely loud with out meaning to be and once they found out they do make a bit of an effort.

idnkph · 21-09-2015 03:04PM

You can say it to them nicely and keep it friendly. If your flatmate continues to make noise after that then try some ear plugs.
If that doesn't work then its time to move on.

Alanstrainor · 21-09-2015 03:11PM

Ah just mention it, they may be completely oblivious to it.

F412 · 21-09-2015 03:18PM

I have ear plugs and have worn them and they do work but I was finding my ears were sore after them so I had to stop using them.

I suppose it's a bit more highlighted by the fact I've been in the house for over two years and the housemate in question is the most recent arrival, all bar one of the previous tenants got up at a similar time or later bar one who specifically said that he would be getting up early and would make a conscious effort to be quiet (which he did and very rarely woke me).

I understand that people may not realise they are loud but as the housemate in question is a good otherwise (good in that they are sound but at the same time live mostly in their room leaving the common areas free a lot of the time) I am reluctant to create any tension.

Thanks for the replies anyway, I will have a think about it.

listermint · 21-09-2015 03:21PM

Hey sorry to be a pain but can you just watch the doors in the morning some of them are heavy and they will swing and close loudly if not held.

Just it keeps waking me in the morning, again sorry to be a pain but it would help me if you just watched them closing.

cheers

END

People are reasonable for the most part, they may get embarrassed more thatn anything.

CatFromHue · 21-09-2015 03:21PM

You could at least mention the blender.

I'd one before that was like a jet talking off it was so loud.

While it won't be exactly the same it'll be mostly the same if they blend the drink the night before and stick it in the fridge.

Toots · 21-09-2015 03:21PM

Whatever about the doors, using a loud blender at that hour of the morning is a bit much, particularly if everyone else in the house is in bed. Does the other housemate get woken by it also? I'd mention it to them in a friendly way, and hopefully they'll be more considerate in the morning. Is there anything mentioned in your lease about noise?

F412 · 21-09-2015 03:24PM

CatFromHue wrote: »

You could at least mention the blender.
.

Yeah I think the blender is one of the main causes of waking me alright as it really is very loud despite it being a new one which they only purchased recently. Before that I was woken sometimes but not as often.

F412 · 21-09-2015 03:33PM

Toots wrote: »

Whatever about the doors, using a loud blender at that hour of the morning is a bit much, particularly if everyone else in the house is in bed. Does the other housemate get woken by it also?

The other housemate hasn't mentioned it but he keeps fairly odd hours a lot of the time, working very late and sleeping in very late in the morning so may not be as much of an issue for him. He also stays elsewhere a night or two most weeks.

Toots wrote: »

I'd mention it to them in a friendly way, and hopefully they'll be more considerate in the morning. Is there anything mentioned in your lease about noise?

We don't have leases its very much just a casual setup, rooms let separately, one months notice to leave no matter how long you are their and their is a bit of tenant turnover also though with places being so scarce at the moment I don't see much of a turnover in the next while unless one of us is moving to a very different area.

Thanks again for the replies, I just wanted to get a feel if I would be unreasonable to say something as some people can be funny about what they consider early from a noise perspective.

celligraphy · 21-09-2015 03:39PM

Get bit of blue tack or chewing gum and stick it between the side of the door at least it won't make a noise then when it closes.

Also talk to your room mate and of things don't change try using white noise. Had use it before when a very drugged up neighbours would play purple rain over and over again with his speakers right up against my bedroom wall

El_Duderino 09 · 21-09-2015 05:59PM

F412 wrote:

Yeah I think the blender is one of the main causes of waking me alright as it really is very loud despite it being a new one which they only purchased recently. Before that I was woken sometimes but not as often.

They could try putting the blender on a folded tea towel to minimise the vibration against the hard worktop.

athtrasna · 21-09-2015 06:40PM

This housemate is paying to live there too. You say they're not banging doors but they're not closing them quietly. They're not going out of their way to make noise they are just going about their business. I don't think it's an unreasonable time of the morning, 6.30 is fair game IMO.

A towel under the blender is a good idea but blending the night before is not an option for certain ingredient combinations, ingredients won't stay suspended for more than an hour if even that.

Change is rarely easy and you admit OP that this person is new to the house. It takes time to get used to the comings and goings of a new housemate, in time you won't even notice.

Mrs OBumble · 21-09-2015 07:12PM

Were the people in the house described to the new housemate as office workers (as opposed to students or hospitality workers)? If so, then I'd see 6:30am as a reasonable time to start the day, and 8:30 as very late.

I'd say mention one thing or the other (blender or doors or singing) casually, suck up the rest.

miezekatze · 21-09-2015 07:33PM

I assume that this person also goes to bed earlier than you. Do you make an effort to keep the noise down in the evening when he's gone to bed? If not then I don't think it's a good idea to say anything.

I don't think 6:30 is an unreasonable time to be up, and operating a blender at this time should be fine too.

ted1 · 21-09-2015 07:40PM

In a European capital city 6:30 would not be unreasonable. What you could do is also get up and go for a run or to the gym before work.

aunt aggie · 21-09-2015 07:50PM

This is what living with other people is like. I used to rent a room that was next door to a shared bathroom. Wouldn't have thought about asking another tenant not to shower in the morning. Maybe your housemate is actually closing doors loudly in the hope the blender won't be as loud. I agree with another poster, just settle on the issue that annoys you most and mention that to him/her.

F412 · 21-09-2015 09:29PM

Thanks for those who replied I will try to address your questions and suggestions.

athtrasna wrote: »

This housemate is paying to live there too. You say they're not banging doors but they're not closing them quietly. They're not going out of their way to make noise they are just going about their business. I don't think it's an unreasonable time of the morning, 6.30 is fair game IMO.

Change is rarely easy and you admit OP that this person is new to the house. It takes time to get used to the comings and goings of a new housemate, in time you won't even notice.

I suppose I feel that they should just close doors very gently as they know others are sleeping and while I know people will have very different opinions on the topic I do feel blending before 7am (which really is extremely loud) is not really being considerate.

Yes the person is the newest in the house but here for 5 months now and while I was awoken on and off since the start the addition of the blender in the last month or so has made it far worse.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Were the people in the house described to the new housemate as office workers (as opposed to students or hospitality workers)? If so, then I'd see 6:30am as a reasonable time to start the day, and 8:30 as very late.

I'd say mention one thing or the other (blender or doors or singing) casually, suck up the rest.

It was actually me who dealt with showing the room etc as our landlord very much takes a back seat and let's the house run itself.

The housemate in question actually works in a very similar role in a similar but slightly different industry (both highly skilled professional roles). We have a lot of flexibility in our working hours and I choose to start work later while my housemate decides to start very early (I know they could start later, not quite the level of freedom I have but 2 hours later anyway).

Some previous housemates have been in similar sort of roles and most would work a similar sort of timeline to me (hence I thought the current housemate would operate in a similar way) this housemate is very rare from my experience in starting so early my own office only starts getting anyway busy at around 9:30, I mentioned my alarm would be for 8:30 at the earliest but its often later meaning I get woken quite a while before my intended wake up time.

The 3rd housemate is a student but it's been rare to have a student in the house it's geared more towards professionals.

miezekatze wrote: »

I assume that this person also goes to bed earlier than you. Do you make an effort to keep the noise down in the evening when he's gone to bed? If not then I don't think it's a good idea to say anything.

I don't think 6:30 is an unreasonable time to be up, and operating a blender at this time should be fine too.

It's difficult to tell exactly as the housemate spends all evening in his room bar cooking so when they call it a night is hard to say but I can usually hear their tv going until late enough considering the early start and I do make an effort to keep the noise down after 12 and keep the volume down on the tv etc, I certainly wouldn't be blending at 1am that's for sure.

ted1 wrote: »

In a European capital city 6:30 would not be unreasonable. What you could do is also get up and go for a run or to the gym before work.

I have no plans to change my current routine, I hate early mornings (hence why being awoken annoys me) and don't really do the whole gym things morning or evening anyway. I would much rather be able to turn my surround sound system up loud at 1am which I could do with previous housemates operating to a similar timeline but I had to make changes to be more considerate and id consider that someone up early should also do similar when others are sleeping.

aunt aggie wrote: »

This is what living with other people is like. I used to rent a room that was next door to a shared bathroom. Wouldn't have thought about asking another tenant not to shower in the morning. Maybe your housemate is actually closing doors loudly in the hope the blender won't be as loud. I agree with another poster, just settle on the issue that annoys you most and mention that to him/her.

Thankfully they don't shower in the morning or that would be an additional thing to wake me as I'm right next to the shared bathroom and I breathed a sigh of relief when they moved in and I realised they didn't shower in the morning as it reduces my chances of being woken but alas I was wrong.

Overall as I was suggesting in my earlier posts I may say nothing at all but then when I'm woken by the loud buzzing of the blender I'm quite annoyed so if I mention anything it would be just that.

Tarzana2 · 21-09-2015 09:41PM

Just say it to them. I used to have my alarm absolutely blaring in the mornings in a house-share I was in, as I am a very heavy sleeper, and my housemate asked me to turn it down a bit. It was grand, no awkwardness.

Dial Hard · 21-09-2015 09:43PM

F412 wrote:

The housemate in question actually works in a very similar role in a similar but slightly different industry (both highly skilled professional roles). We have a lot of flexibility in our working hours and I choose to start work later while my housemate decides to start very early (I know they could start later, not quite the level of freedom I have but 2 hours later anyway).

Just because they *could* start later doesn't mean they should. I did 7am to 4pm in a previous job for years, could have done 10 - 7, but I didn't want to, because I'd rather start early and finish early. Sounds like your housemate is the same.

As others have said, I think you need to pick the biggest issue for you (the blender, by the sounds of things) and ask them to keep it down as much as possible. But tbh, OP, they're the one keeping more "normal" hours than you and in 99% of other house-shares, you'd be dealing with this noise from a few people.

F412 · 21-09-2015 09:50PM

Dial Hard wrote: »

As others have said, I think you need to pick the biggest issue for you (the blender, by the sounds of things) and ask them to keep it down as much as possible. But tbh, OP, they're the one keeping more "normal" hours than you and in 99% of other house-shares, you'd be dealing with this noise from a few people.

Maybe I've just been lucky in the past but in more than 5 years housesharing in a few different places and with many different housemates there has been very little noise in the mornings, a combination of people keeping it down if up early and most housemates would have been getting up at times approaching 8am or later also.

F412 · 21-09-2015 09:56PM

Dial Hard wrote: »

Just because they *could* start later doesn't mean they should. I did 7am to 4pm in a previous job for years, could have done 10 - 7, but I didn't want to, because I'd rather start early and finish early. Sounds like your housemate is the same.

Sorry forgot to replay to this and the edit function doesn't appear to work for me.

Yes I would be very much the opposite as I would rather be doing the 10 to 7 everytime (or 11 to 8, or 12 to 9 even if possible but I can't start that late unfortunately

). Most in my work place tend to start later and finish later also though so aside from it being the way I like to work it does suit also as we often have meeting etc at the end of the day.

aunt aggie · 21-09-2015 10:10PM

I think I have very normal work hours but I also have an hour commute, so 7am is a very normal start for me. And 6.30 isn't far off that.

Some noise in the mornings is unavoidable. I lived in a house share where a housemate asked me to close the front door gently when leaving. Within two days, she complained that I had left the door open. Slightly old fashioned door that didn't latch unless it was pulled forcibly. SO I had to go back to banging the door and she had to put up with it.

The blender can be dealt with. Opening and closing doors should not wake you up. Any complaining about someone singing in the morning is just mean, but as I write this I realise I complain about my housemate's singing every time I'm hungover. It's all part of living with other people.

Xcellor · 21-09-2015 10:23PM

It's threads like this that make me think thank f*ck I don't live with anyone else.

Mrs OBumble · 21-09-2015 10:50PM

Nichard Dixon wrote: »

What planet do you live on? This is Ireland, in no way is 06:30 normal unless you are going to the airport.

There are council workers who have not only started work but have travelled all the way from their depot to underneath my window by 6:30am! They woke me for the first few months, but now I just sleep thru them. The OP will get used to the blender, too.

moc moc a moc · 21-09-2015 11:14PM

athtrasna wrote: »

I don't think it's an unreasonable time of the morning, 6.30 is fair game IMO.

6:30am absolutely is not fair game. No normal person is awake at that hour. This would be like OP banging doors and blending food at 1:30am and expecting 6:30am guy to be fine with it.

F412 wrote: »

kitchen is under my room to make matters worse

F412 wrote: »

I'm right next to the shared bathroom

Surely then the sensible option would be for you to swap rooms with ridiculously early guy?

F412 · 21-09-2015 11:22PM

moc moc a moc wrote: »

Surely then the sensible option would be for you to swap rooms with ridiculously early guy?

Thanks for the suggestion however my room would be a nicer room, better storage etc and the fact I've spend a few years in it I've made it my own.

But aside from that the other room is down stairs so would actually be worse as its closer to the kitchen. The bathroom is currently not really an issue as I mentioned earlier the housemate does not use it in the mornings (small downstairs one is ok for toilet and teeth washing etc).

athtrasna · 22-09-2015 12:25AM

moc moc a moc wrote: »

6:30am absolutely is not fair game. No normal person is awake at that hour. This would be like OP banging doors and blending food at 1:30am and expecting 6:30am guy to be fine with it.

Almost everyone I work with and close friends are up by 6.30am, 7 at the absolute latest. Nothing abnormal about it. Commuting, family obligations, prework exercise, flexitime or just early morning meetings.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 22-09-2015 05:44AM

athtrasna wrote: »

Almost everyone I work with and close friends are up by 6.30am, 7 at the absolute latest. Nothing abnormal about it. Commuting, family obligations, prework exercise, flexitime or just early morning meetings.

The fact is that while some people are up, not everyone is. Similarly, while some people are still up at, say, midnight, not everyone is. So I would expect the roommate not to be using a blender and singing when he knows people are in bed.

April 73 · 22-09-2015 06:21AM

The OP is a night owl & the flatmate is a morning lark. Difficult when both are sharing the same house. I had this situation years ago in a house share & constantly having your full quota of sleep disturbed is annoying.
Is it that difficult to ask to have a chat and explain that as you both keep different hours, you are mindful of noise late at night & you'd appreciate it if the flatmate could be mindful in the morning? Say that normal noise is fine but the blender is like a 6.30am alarm call every morning. Some juices/smoothies could be done the night before or is it possible for him/her to bring the blender to work? They may not be aware it's a big issue for you.

bonyn · 22-09-2015 07:51AM

Housemates, eh? Can't live with 'em.

Even if your housemate is quiet she's still going to wake you. The only difference is, it probably won't bother you so much because at least she made the effort to be quiet.

Best thing you can do is pop out of your room when she's being particularly noisy (make sure you're wearing PJs) with your eyes half-shut and nicely ask her to keep the volume down.

If that doesn't work, you could move on to the more passive aggressive options like hoovering the stairs at 2 in the morning to show her the other side of the candle being burned.

Acceptable level of noise from housemate early in the morning

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