Hi im on a sit and the next door neighbour is doing renovations. The grinding/drilling happens every couple of minutes for a couple of minutes. This is the second day and it’s really getting me down? Fo I mention it to the HO how im feeling?
How annoying, understatement. Did the ho know in advance that this would be happening? If so presumably it wasn’t mentioned to you.
I’m not sure what the home owner can do if you say how you’re feeling. I’d be more likely to tell the neighbour tbh.
Mention it to the HO. Maybe let them know there’s some construciton/renovation going on and ask them if they know about it and maybe if they how long it is going to go on for. Depending on their answer you could determine if they knew about it or not.
It’s possible they knew about it and that’s why they are away so you have to deal with the noise or it could just be coincidence. The former woudl be pretty bad of them and worth a mention in the review.
Regardless you would probably need to see it through. Are you able to be out during the day? Does the noise start/stop at a reasonable time?
There is a chance that the HO wasn’t aware of the neighbours work going on.
Not sure where this sit is occurring but i think ‘noise laws’ in the UK allow noise from 07:00 to 23:00, so probably very little you can do.
Maybe have a polite inquiry as to what improvements they are doing and expected duration?
For what its worth, it would drive me mad too.
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I can totally understand that it is annoying. Asking the host if they know duration is a good idea.
If host can’t help you I would find it perfectly reasonable to ask the neighbor if they can help you with an estimate on when and how long it will go on for. It could make it possible to plan walks/ outings accordingly, and also I find things easier to endure when I know when it will stop.
If this happened at your own home with your own neighbour then who would you talk to about how you are feeling ? Talk to that person and let the HO get on with their holiday.
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If it’s DIY perhaps it will only be for the weekend and stop when they go back to work on Monday .
Definitely suggest talking to them (neighbour) to get an idea of how long it will be going on for . Do they know that a sitter is in the house ? They might think neighbour is away so this is a good time to get these noisy jobs done .
Once you know their schedule could you arrange some trips out of the house ? Even if it just for a few hours to a cafe, museum , library, art gallery , walk in the park or other local attraction . It will give you a break from the noise. If it’s going on until late in the evening you could ask the neighbour to stop by a reasonable time .
Others have found noise cancelling ear buds to be an effective solution ( there is a previous thread about it you could search for 
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Such a horrible situation to be in. I think it’s definitely worth speaking to the neighbour, just to get a sense of what’s going on and, in doing so, it will naturally alert them to the fact you are there and affected by it.
I have been in similar situations before, mainly in places I’ve rented rather than house sits. It is horrendous. I spent several months in a flat in central Reading, where they were building flats on both sides. The constant drilling was very stressful and I found noise-cancelling headphones and a white noise machine to be life savers. I hope you find a solution to make this sit more tolerable for you (and I hope it’s a short sit!)
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