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I live in a small city. There's about 20 feet (maybe less) between my house and my neighbor's house (I'll call her Ruth). I like to sit on my porch and read, but Ruth has a wind chime on her porch that I hate. I think she has the right to have a wind chime if she enjoys it, but it would be nice if she'd take it down or put a rubber band around the chimes when she's not home. What do you think? Is that too much to ask?

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carlyhorton 7 May 20
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23 comments

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5

Chop em down. Blame the kids

3

I think you're being diplomatic in your belief that she gets to have them so close to you. Do you think she'd appreciate loud music if that is what you liked.? Perhaps you can ask her if you are allowed to silence them when she isn't home. I'm a strong believer in people are allowed to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't affect somebody else.

lerlo Level 8 May 20, 2018
3

It’s just the cost of living in a world where we share space. I hate the sound of traffic but can’t keep cars off my road.

Yes, and there are certainly noises I’m OK with. People driving by, lawn mowers, birds, cars, the occasional siren. These are all the sounds of the city and I rather enjoy it. But I find wind chimes irritating. They’re just noise for the sake of noise.

3

I read on my porch, and have a couple of wind chimes. I love them!

just put them away when you're done !

2

silence is golden. the birds and the bees and the wind are all I need

2

You live in an urban area and complain about chimes, yet, loud music, noisy cars, barking dogs etc get a pass? If you treasure silence, how can you stand hearing ANYthing that is not by your own choice?

I would seriously recommend a move to the country.

Zster Level 8 May 20, 2018

dogs have to remain quiet OR ELSE

Guess it's a matter of enforcement. Barking dogs and loud (stomping around as well as blasted music) neighbors are what drove us out of town.

Now I get to listen to gun shots much of the time. I think people are rude no matter where.

@zster, I didn’t say anywhere that I “treasure silence.” There’s no reason to think that because I find wind chimes annoying I find ALL sounds annoying.

@zster I moved from the country to the city. I don’t mind city noises: lawn mowers, neighbors chatting, the occasional dog bark, police or fire truck sirens, etc. I don’t even mind wind chimes when I visit people who have them. Sometimes, they’re even nice. But I don’t want them at MY house.

I don’t need silence. I don’t even really want it. But there are sounds that are annoying: people smacking their gum, someone clicking a pen incessantly, fingernails on a chalkboard. Sometimes, wind chimes are like that to me. People who love them need to know that many people don’t share their love of the noise they make. Even if there are countless other sounds in the world we’re OK with.

2

Ruth has the right to have wind chimes on her porch. You know, because it's HER porch.
If you don't want to find another place to read, try wearing earplugs.

so disagree. I'll put my best drum and bass at a good volumn and watch her squirm

@markdevenish That response is like using a shotgun to kill a mosquito.
It's overkill and unnecessary.

@KKGator hold on a second, are you saying I shouldn't be using my shotgun to kill all them mosquitoes?

@mebeb32 No, I'm not saying that at all. How would I know if you like putting holes in your home? I'm just saying it's overkill, but hey, knock yourself out. LOL

And her neighbour has a right to enjoy the silence.

And if she played the radio outside when she washed her car, that’s her right too. If she left the radio on 24 hours a day, there’s a problem.

@GoldenDoll Only to a point. If she's outside, she takes her chances. If she's inside, and can still hear the wind chimes, then she's got a case to make.

@KKGator The "norm" is silence. Anyone who thinks their wishes come above their neighbours is in the wrong. Ask your neighbours if they object - listen to your radio with headphones on, take your windchimes inside and blow on them. The whole world is full of noise.

@GoldenDoll That's right, the world IS full of noise. Which negates your statement about "silence" being the norm. It is not.
If you want to insist that "silence is the norm", then what about mechanical noise, like a/c units and the like? Sorry, you just can't conflate the issue the way you are.

@GoldenDoll No, she has no "right" to silence when she's outside.
No one does.

So I could fill my porch with rotting garbage because it’s MY porch, and if the neighbors didn’t like the smell they could just wear nose plugs?

@KKGator I didn’t say anything about silence. I’m fine with all the normal sounds of city life and nature.

@carlyhorton No. Rotting garbage is a health hazard. Apples and oranges.

@carlyhorton I didn't say you did.

@KKGator Make it a compost pile. Or a pig pen. Or I make my own Limburger cheese on the porch. Whatever obnoxiously stinky hobby you can think of. Would I have the right to tell my neighbors 20 feet away that they just have to live with it? Tell them that they should sell their house and move away if they don't like the smell of whatever perfectly legal stinky thing I have going on? Should I tell them to get nose plugs?

@carlyhorton Still apples and oranges. You are also going to ridiculous extremes. Wind chimes generally do not exceed the decibel levels of regular street noise, and people's a/c units. They aren't compost bins, or pig pens, or anything else that emits an odor. Or could pose a health hazard. They are wind chimes.

@KKGator It's not the level of the noise. It's the actual sound they make. Their ugly sound is as intrusive to me as a bad odor. You just can't accept that some people do not like the sound they make. I welcome every other sound of the city, but I don't like those chimes.

@carlyhorton And that is your personal feeling about it. You don't get to impose that on your neighbors. Wear earplugs.

@KKGator She likes her noise makers. That's her personal feeling. She doesn't get to impose that on her neighbors. She should take them inside.

@carlyhorton They're on her porch. She doesn't have to remove them.
Wear earplugs.

2

I had a neibour who did the same - drove me insane! Almost as bad as people who play music outside. I even had a neighbour who brought his TV outside to watch the tennis! Silence is so rare. And marvellous.

There are people here who would suggest you move to the country if you don’t like hearing your neighbor’s TV droning on for hours. I don’t want to live in the country because I actually don’t like that much silence. I live alone and like the sounds of the city. It makes me feel not alone. But I wouldn’t leave some noise maker running at my house for all the neighbors to hear.

@carlyhorton I DO live in the country! The TV neighbour has since moved to the city, where he'll have plenty of competition for his noise, so will have to turn it up even louder!

2

Just ask. It can’t hurt.

1

I’ll come over tomorrow and steal her chimes! Lol

1

It's not about wind chimes, it's about sharing the space we live in. You feel like it is an intrusion and Ruth probably have not idea it's a problem. A different neighbor and a different result.

Have you tried to talk to Ruth?
Or buy her a quieter chime.
Or earbuds and white noise, nature sounds, soft music.

I’m a little afraid of her, to be honest. Thankfully, the chimes are really heavy and are often silent. A decent breeze, though, and it sounds like someone pushed a xylophone down a never ending flight of stairs.

0

Unfortunately, that is just something you will have to learn to live with.

RJAU Level 4 May 22, 2018

Actually, I looked up our city's ordinances. According to city laws, residents have a right to a reasonable amount of peace and quiet. The key is "reasonable." There will of course be noises in a city. But they do have it written that no one has the right to create unnecessary sustained noise, and wind chimes are not necessary. I suppose a court could decide if her noise is "reasonable" or not.

0

I completely agree this is horrible...BUT...it's her square footage.

And if the sound kept to her property, I'd have zero issues.

0

I used to have some really musical, tuned wind-chimes which didn't annoy too much since we don't get much wind, they were in a sheltered spot, and we don't have close neighbours. But when I am listening to music they sometimes play the wrong note and that really irritates me so they had to go.

0

Have you asked her to do that?

Having wind chimes here would be like having a death metal concert on the lawn.

@nvrnuff ha! Here too! I put up the one I had before I moved to the coast when I first moved here. Didn't leave it up long!

0

Very difficult. If you both get along tell her.

She’s a little scary, actually.

@carlyhorton Well you could fight fire with fire and play loud music when she's home and make a trade when she comes complaining 🙂

0

I don't see the big deal but I live mid-terrace

0

Get yourself a shotgun and a pocket full of shells. While away the time.

0

I voted for zoning laws. My old neighbors wind chimes used to drive me crazy. However since moving away and getting married I have had a number of wind chimes appear, not just in the garden but also the house. Worse than the noise I've learnt not to hear is the fact that every so often I get tangled in the bloody things.

0

Wind chimes are used to keep birds away.
However some people used them to keep evil spirits away. Maybe ask first before smashing them to pieces.

0

Share a video so we can judge for ourselves.

0

You'd hate living next to me. I have two wind chimes.

hahaha.....I have six and I love it on windy days. But there are many, many days that are quite still so I wonder if the issue really is the wind chime. ????

@Lavergne actually, hers is really heavy and it takes a decent breeze to set it off. So it’s not a problem all the time. I guess it’s just the concept of knowing you live very close to other people and thinking “I think I should make some noise for everyone.” Wind chimes make noise whether or not the person who likes them is there to enjoy it or not. There’s no “off” switch.

0

Obviously there is an agenda behind this.

I draw the line at making any CONSTANT sounds louder than birds chirping.....cars & trucks, sirens, and lawnmowers/trimmers, while louder are only temporary.

A wind chime is equal to birds chirping.
If you truthfully are disturbed by a wind chime, how do you deal with birds and crickets?

Cities have noise ordinances...usually constant sounds cannot go more than 50 feet.
But, they also have decibel level laws...and I think Ruth's wind chime falls within the guidelines for any city code.

Wind chimes are unnecessary. The birds are much better musicians.

stuff the guidelines !

@GoldenDoll the discussion isn't about necessity...it's about noise level.

@markdevenish which guidelines? the decibel level or the distance factor?

It’s not the volume level. To me, it’s irritating like someone smacking gum or tapping a pencil incessantly while you’re trying to work. Birds, cars, normal city noises, are all fine. I find all those city sounds to be normal sounds of life. The wind chimes are like fingernails on a blackboard.

I don’t mind them at when I visit other people who have them. But I don’t want them at my house.

@carlyhorton That really seems like a personal issue...unless those are some weird wind chimes, they just can't be louder than birds. I think, unless you get a meter and prove they are above reasonable levels for your porch, you really don't have a case. I'm thinking you need ear plugs? Generally, we are able to ignore background noise like that....it's just white noise. No different than hearing the AC run or cars going by constantly.

@SkotlandSkye They are weird. They aren't a gentle tinkling, they're big wooden things that sound like hollow coconuts rolling down stairs.

@SkotlandSkye For me noise level is a necessity to living peacefully.

@SkotlandSkye, @carlyhorton Exactly.

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