Can I ask my neighbor to remove their wind chime?

[futurefields]

My neighbors have a tubular wind chime that hangs about 8 feet from my front door/front window. And so I spend about half of my waking hours listening to it make noise. Its not super loud, but I have to admit, it is really starting to annoy the crap out of me. Especially if it is breezy at night. Its in their backyard and they are never even out here.

Would it be "uncool" for me to walk over there tommorow afternoon and very politely ask them if they could remove the wind chime? Or maybe leave a note on their door?

I dont have any relationship with these people, and have never had any issues with them. What do you guys think?


Old thread in which the problem was solved reopened by noob.
admin allisolm

 

[Vic Vega]

Chimes are god awful things. Noise pollution. I'd rather hear open pipes on a Harley (which I dislike).

 

[sixone]

Does it hang where they can see it in the course of their normal daily activities?

 

[futurefields]

It's on the back corner of the side of their house. Honestly I rarely see them out there but it's not like I sit around staring at their backyard either. I just don't want to do anything that pisses anybody off. I just want to politely ask them if they could take it down, explaining that I can hear it at night etc etc... I just dont want to ruffle any feathers either. Its not a huge deal, just annoying.

 

[sixone]

You can ask, but yeah - there's a chance they won't be nice or understanding about it. You won't know until you do it.

 

[Eug]

I put up chimes in my backyard, but said to my neighbours that if it bothered them, I'd take it down. They were fine with them.

I'd go over and ask nicely. There's a chance they won't be nice about it, but there's a good chance they will.

 

[JEDIYoda]

bb gun...shoot the wire that holds the chime!! FTW!!!

 

[Eli]

Hmm. I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that you chose to live a mere 8 feet from your neighbors. Deal with it.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to ask. But.. does the noise of wind chimes really bother you that much?

What type of wind chime are we talking here? I guess I may be able to understand if it's a small chime - small tubes, tinny and rattly, and it happens to be quite windy where you are. But still. One of the many, many reasons I'd never live within spitting distance of my neighbors.

We have about 50' of space between us and our closest neighbors, and it seems awful.

 

[dud]

My neighbors have a tubular wind chime that hangs about 8 feet from my front door/front window. And so I spend about half of my waking hours listening to it make noise. Its not super loud, but I have to admit, it is really starting to annoy the crap out of me. Especially if it is breezy at night. Its in their backyard and they are never even out here.

Would it be "uncool" for me to walk over there tommorow afternoon and very politely ask them if they could remove the wind chime? Or maybe leave a note on their door?

I dont have any relationship with these people, and have never had any issues with them. What do you guys think?

Think of it this way ... a man's home is his castle. If you are losing peace over this then yes, say something to the neighbors. Explain how close it is to your window AND that you hear it all day and night. They will prob be embarrassed and will most likely do whatever it takes to remove the irritant from your life. If they fail to respect your peace-of-mind then prepare for war!

... and remember to report back after you talk to them.

 

[dud]

It's on the back corner of the side of their house. Honestly I rarely see them out there but it's not like I sit around staring at their backyard either. I just don't want to do anything that pisses anybody off. I just want to politely ask them if they could take it down, explaining that I can hear it at night etc etc... I just dont want to ruffle any feathers either. Its not a huge deal, just annoying.

OP, read what you just typed.

You are "annoyed" by the WC but you don't want to ruffle any feathers or pisses anyone off?

 

[Colt45]

about 8 feet from my front door/front window.

broom stick? delete it, they'll get the idea.

things should be illegal.

 

[Conscript]

Don't ask, or you'll be a prime suspect if you need to launch a black ops mission to destroy the chimes

 

[Ruptga]

Don't ask, or you'll be a prime suspect if you need to launch a black ops mission to destroy the chimes

Of course you won't need to destroy the chimes if you ask nicely and they turn out to not be assholes. It seems more likely to me that they will just move it to another part of the house and be done with it.

 

[Brigandier]

Why not ask them to move it to the other side of the house? Compromise!

 

[Colt45]

What is the point of them anyway? irritating as hell. Do people actually like random clinking? does it scare away the goblins or something?

Maybe get a recording of a doorbell, loop it, connected to a big horn speaker pointed at their house.

Or make a gigantic windchime out of a big fan and some beer cans, so it sounds like a wedding car 24 hours a day. I guess they might like that though.

 

[EagleKeeper]

What is the point of them anyway?

They can be a nice white noise.

Depending on the frequency also pleasant.

 

[Murloc]

ask nicely if they can put it on the other side of the house because you can't sleep at night.

They can be a nice white noise.

Depending on the frequency also pleasant.

aren't birds and the wind pleasant enough? Why add more man-made sounds when it's not useful?

 

[T9D]

Unfortunately it's one of those things that could start a war. Some neighbors just plain suck. If you ask them and they get all offended they could hate you forever and start trouble. Then you have a neighbor from hell.

If you don't tell them and they just magically disappear one day they may not even realize it or might not replace it. But then that's kind of wrong too. But at least you have plausible deniability. And then they could replace it. Then you can't go ask them because they will know it's you. Although you could say that you heard others complain also and thought someone must have asked them to remove it.

It could just be a nice and totally clueless neighbor though. My Dad is like that. He puts on a 100 watt bulb in his front yard. I tell him over and over it's not fair to the neighbors to have that blasting in their window. Yet he never changes it. But if a neighbor did come say something he'd never be rude to them and would just take it down I'm sure. But it never in a million years crossed his mind that it might bother someone unless I told him. He's just dumb like that. And most people are unfortunately.

At the very very worst you could take someone to court even if it technically doesn't even break code. A judge can decide if it's reasonable to have it removed. Since we still have to live with each other under different circumstances. If something is causing anguish or health problems you can even sue and win. Say you aren't able to sleep at night. Or you can't enjoy your own backyard.

See I always think of others. I had a metal panel that would bang really hard in the constant wind we have. I just bought the place. It must have banged for 20 years. First thing I did was go fix it so the neighbor didn't go insane. It was down near his bedroom. Why so few people on this planet can't simply think of others is beyond me.

Basically you're rolling the dice any time you have to confront a neighbor

 

[Markbnj]

Get a bucket, spray the inside with silicone, then fill it with a two-part clear acrylic resin. Before the resin starts to set run over to the neighbor's house and lift up the bucket so the wind chime is immersed. Wait for the resin to set up, then remove the bucket.

Of course, the whole "stand there while the resin sets" part of this plan might need some rethinking.

 

[alkemyst]

Hmm. I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that you chose to live a mere 8 feet from your neighbors. Deal with it.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to ask. But.. does the noise of wind chimes really bother you that much?

What type of wind chime are we talking here? I guess I may be able to understand if it's a small chime - small tubes, tinny and rattly, and it happens to be quite windy where you are. But still. One of the many, many reasons I'd never live within spitting distance of my neighbors.

We have about 50' of space between us and our closest neighbors, and it seems awful.

Not everyone is a bohunk that can afford to live in the middle of no-where making practically minimum wage.

Also is sound like your 50' is making you experience even more noise and annoyance than a wind chime, as you said; you chose where you live bro:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2331996

 

[Eli]

Not everyone is a bohunk that can afford to live in the middle of no-where making practically minimum wage.

Also is sound like your 50' is making you experience even more noise and annoyance than a wind chime, as you said; you chose where you live bro:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2331996

I'm not sure if that was an attack or not, but we live in the middle of Portland and my company might just break 6 figures this year.

Looks like it's more like 75 feet, according to Google Earth. That's a pretty big distance to be hearing noises over and in the house.

But if I lived in a subdivision, aka apartment complex with 4-8 feet between units, I would also be more prepared to deal with the consequences of that.

Anyway, fair enough. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to ask. Most likely, you're thinking about it too much and it won't be a big deal. I still don't think a wind chime would ever bother me though.

 

[DrPizza]

Unfortunately it's one of those things that could start a war. Some neighbors just plain suck. If you ask them and they get all offended they could hate you forever and start trouble. Then you have a neighbor from hell.

If you don't tell them and they just magically disappear one day they may not even realize it or might not replace it. But then that's kind of wrong too. But at least you have plausible deniability. And then they could replace it. Then you can't go ask them because they will know it's you. Although you could say that you heard others complain also and thought someone must have asked them to remove it.

It could just be a nice and totally clueless neighbor though. My Dad is like that. He puts on a 100 watt bulb in his front yard. I tell him over and over it's not fair to the neighbors to have that blasting in their window. Yet he never changes it. But if a neighbor did come say something he'd never be rude to them and would just take it down I'm sure. But it never in a million years crossed his mind that it might bother someone unless I told him. He's just dumb like that. And most people are unfortunately.

At the very very worst you could take someone to court even if it technically doesn't even break code. A judge can decide if it's reasonable to have it removed. Since we still have to live with each other under different circumstances. If something is causing anguish or health problems you can even sue and win. Say you aren't able to sleep at night. Or you can't enjoy your own backyard.

See I always think of others. I had a metal panel that would bang really hard in the constant wind we have. I just bought the place. It must have banged for 20 years. First thing I did was go fix it so the neighbor didn't go insane. It was down near his bedroom. Why so few people on this planet can't simply think of others is beyond me.

Basically you're rolling the dice any time you have to confront a neighbor

1st, some wind chimes are incredibly annoying; they seem to be of the cheaper variety. Some of the better ones have much more pleasing tones.

2nd, if a neighbor asked me to remove mine (if I had a neighbor who was close enough to hear them), I'd probably comply.

3rd, if a neighbor took me to court - and presumably lost because it's an idiotic lawsuit - you can guarantee that I would suddenly have dozens of those things in the backyard - placed at about 11pm on a windy night.

 

[alkemyst]

I'm not sure if that was an attack or not, but we live in the middle of Portland and my company might just break 6 figures this year.

Looks like it's more like 75 feet, according to Google Earth. That's a pretty big distance to be hearing noises over and in the house.

But if I lived in a subdivision, aka apartment complex with 4-8 feet between units, I would also be more prepared to deal with the consequences of that.

Anyway, fair enough. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to ask. Most likely, you're thinking about it too much and it won't be a big deal. I still don't think a wind chime would ever bother me though.

Most would think living on 1/2 acre parcels, a weekend party wouldn't bother their neighbor either.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Play the Thief 2 Fan Mission "All for a Night's Sleep". That should give you and idea on how to handle the situation...

Briefing

"I moved into my new Dayport digs not long ago. All's well until my neighbor across the river got a windchime. The damn thing jingles day and night, loud enough to rouse the Trickster, and I haven't had a good night's sleep all week. Tonight, the infernal contraption will disappear. Into the river.

I've scribbled down a hasty map... this is still a new area for me and it wouldn't do to get lost in one's own backyard. This is hardly the heist of the year, so my leftover tools from the last job will have to do.

Well, the neighbor's asleep and I'm wide awake. Time to grab what I need and hit the road."

 

[Crono]

Ask nicely, and if that fails set up a motion activated air horn directed at the front of their house.