# My MORONIC Neighbor An His Leaf Blower! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 27, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760 "2003-06-27T14:56:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/1 "2003-06-27T14:56:55Z")
Yes, you like to keep your lawn clean…but WHY do you have to run this infernal noisemaker at 8:00 AM EVERY FUCKING DAY?? I’m listening to it now…you seem to take delight in winding the damn thing up! This idiot doessn’t give a crap about the people around him…he just mows his lawn early saturday morning, and delights in running all of his noisey gas-powered gadgets all day long! What an idiot…I hope someday HIS neighbor buys a 500 HP leaf blower-and blasts this guys ears out! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/2 "2003-06-27T15:01:44Z")
How about explaining your viewpoint to him and politely asking him to hold off for a couple of hours? ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/3 "2003-06-27T15:05:53Z")
Or swiping the thing and converting it into a potato gun with which to bombard his home with toads? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/4 "2003-06-27T15:09:16Z")
Might keep an eye out for that. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/5 "2003-06-27T15:24:59Z")
Hey, **ralph**. You live on the other side of my neighbor Bruce? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/6 "2003-06-27T15:42:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Carl\_A\_Norris \* > \*\*How about explaining your viewpoint to him and politely asking him to hold off for a couple of hours? \*\* Or as the biker neighbor of my sensei once yelled, “Hey! Fred! No guns before 10:00!” ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/7 "2003-06-27T15:47:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > \*\*Hey, **ralph**. You live on the other side of my neighbor Bruce? \*\* 😕 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/8 "2003-06-27T16:01:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*Might keep an eye out for that. \*\* You are a horrible person. When I grow up, I want to be just like you. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/9 "2003-06-27T16:38:30Z")
8:00 am is worktime, and its not quiet time. Sleep at your own risk. ---
**Author:** ![Qazzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@Qazzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qazzz)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/10 "2003-06-27T17:20:04Z")
On a Saturday? ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/11 "2003-06-27T22:01:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smiling bandit \* > \*\*8:00 am is worktime, and its not quiet time. Sleep at your own risk. \*\* What if you work night shift? (Not knowing if the OP does or not.) I agree with **Carl\_A\_Norris**. Talk to the guy, if you haven’t already. He may be thinking everything’s hunky-dory with his neighbors if nobody’s complained so far. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/12 "2003-06-28T07:23:05Z")
Wow. I am incensed beyond belief, most of you are right, yet still things suck!! I work quite late, and consequently sleep relatively late. My neighbor (who is a wussy paper-pusher) has decided to re-side his garage and house. He takes mmmm, about 1 hour per siding foot, making as much noise in between as possible. Did I mention that his kids are on summer break, and frolic at maximum volume 2 feet from my window? I have seriously contemplated homicide. My quandry is, how can I go up to this guy and say “I happen to sleep later than you, could you do your shitty siding job at a later time? Also, I would like to render your children mute. By the way don’t park so close to me.” I may hate lots of things, but I actually don’t like being an ass to someone’s face. A polite request seems to be the solution, but given the circumstances it seems it would be asking a bit much. Any hit-men on this board? ---
**Author:** ![Thrasymachus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Thrasymachus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrasymachus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/13 "2003-06-28T18:31:13Z")
I’m noise sensitive, and have had issues like this come up with neighbors every place that I’ve lived. Talking to them almost always helps. Typically people will be huffy and grumbly at first, but eventually fall into being considerate. Human nature I guess - no one likes to be corrected. The occasional bad apples will be all the more noisy out of spite however. Expect kids to do this if they are getting into the teens. Best way to do it is to introduce yourself first, stay calm and avoid accusing, and give \*\* only a specific example or two \*\* of when their noise especially bothers you. Don’t run out there red-faced, waving a bat, hysterical, or ready to read off a manifesto of their infractions - you’ll just get labeled as the local wierdo and ignored. I know it’s tempting when you’re furious, but a little temperance goes a long way. Have a simple specific and reasonable answer ready when your neighbor inevitably asks: “But what do you want ME to DO about it?!?” It may be worthwhile to consider sound insulating a room or two where you can retreat to some quiet. It’s pretty simple to do - sound is just air pressure fluctuation, so if you can seal out air and dampen vibration most of the work is done. A double layer of sheetrock and high quality windows are basically all that will be required - perhaps some weatherstrip for the door. When things were really bad (a large construction project right next door - replete with guys dropping piles of rebar from shoulder height and diesel powered earth moving equip) I rented a small office suite for $200 a month and moved in a handful of furnishings as sort of a poor-man’s second home. Small price to pay for sanity, I reasoned; a good temporary solution for a temporary problem. Hope this helps. It’s a common situation, and although there are no real silver bullet A+ solutions, you can improve things considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/14 "2003-06-28T19:16:48Z")
Let me tell you about _my_ obsessive neighbor: The guy pressure-washes the exterior of his house _once-a-week_. Those compressors are freaking _loud_. Usually, he does it between 10:00pm and midnight. (Personally, I think that he chooses this schedule because his half-a-dozen screaming children begin to trickle inside around then, and the sound of the pressure-washer is probably soothing to him by comparison. I’d complain, but I prefer to remain silent and wait for him to wonder why his house is disintegrating. I live in quiet expectation when the whole thing falls in on itself like the House of Usher, and the whole squalling lot of them are forced to find some other neighbors to vex. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/15 "2003-06-29T00:23:39Z")
I seem to have the opposite problem. Yesterday the cops came to my door asking what I had heard from the _domestic dispute_ in the adjoining unit. I had to say “um, there was a problem?”. I don’t think the cops believed me but these places are double brick and noise just doesn’t travel through. I feel bad that something horrible went on without intervention and I am aware that my older neighbour and I who both live alone are likely to only be found when our rents fall way overdue after falling and breaking a leg a month before but that is the risk we take living here, meanwhile I live 50 yards from a train station and never hear the trains. Bless the building standards of the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/16 "2003-06-29T15:16:53Z")
Those leaf blowers ought to be outlawed on noise pollution grounds. What’s wrong with using a fucking RAKE? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/17 "2003-06-29T18:53:03Z")
Rakes aren’t as good for the economy. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/18 "2003-06-30T15:16:55Z")
I’m with **Neidhardt** on this. I don’t know why the fucking things are even allowed to exist. And I don’t think that gardeners should be expected to get the same results in the same time with a rake. If the property owner wants the lawn to be “leaf blower clean” they can damn well pay the gardener for the extra time needed to use a rake. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-moronic-neighbor-an-his-leaf-blower/184760/19 "2003-06-30T17:10:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neidhart \* > \*\*Those leaf blowers ought to be outlawed on noise pollution grounds. What’s wrong with using a fucking RAKE? \*\* Well, city-by-city they \*did \* start to become illegal. Then something nasty happned- the gardeners played the “race card”.:rolleyes: Yep, here in CA many lawn maint personnel are indeed hispanic. Thus, get this logic- if you ban leafblowers they won’t be able to work as fast- thus they will be able to do less yards, thus they get paid less- thus laws against leafblowers are “racist”. I kid you not. And, Neidhart- it is not only _noise_ pollution- but real honest to goodness **AIR** pollution- those thing pollute something like a hundred times more than a good latemodel car. Someone figured it out- a leafblower or gas-powered lawnmover pollutes more doing one average yard than an average new car pollutes driving from San Jose to Sacramento (about 100 miles). Californians- you know those stupid “smog tests” you hafta take evey 2 years? And that crappy gas we have to pay extra to buy? If we banned all gas powered lawn machines- we could skip all that, and still have cleaner air.