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The main problem with apartments/condos is not their cubicle-like nature, but the lack of sound isolation. Hearing your neighbor as if he were in the same room with you completely kills the "home" ambiance.
Has anyone lived in a really well sound-insulated apartment or condo?
I did. It was a townhouse-style condo with one adjacent neighbor. The other side was the busy street and sidewalk. While living there I gutted the lower level and while open, I beefed up the insulation. I went from hearing everything on the street down to only hearing heavy trucks and motorcycles with loud pipes. On the neighbor side I went from muffled noises down to nothing. That spray foam is wonderful for filling in any crack and crevice. I used it in conjunction with polystyrene foam boards and some of the pink fiberglass.
I did. It was a townhouse-style condo with one adjacent neighbor. The other side was the busy street and sidewalk. While living there I gutted the lower level and while open, I beefed up the insulation. I went from hearing everything on the street down to only hearing heavy trucks and motorcycles with loud pipes. On the neighbor side I went from muffled noises down to nothing. That spray foam is wonderful for filling in any crack and crevice. I used it in conjunction with polystyrene foam boards and some of the pink fiberglass.
That's interesting. How sound-proof a condo or apartment is, is often hard to determine during the one or two visits one may typically make. And unfortunately, excessive street or neighbour noise is one of the most unpleasant things to deal with. I've looked at ground floor apartments, and I've always wished someone could enter the apartment above me and let me determine if I'm going to hear every footstep above, because it would be a deal-breaker for me.
That's interesting. How sound-proof a condo or apartment is, is often hard to determine during the one or two visits one may typically make. And unfortunately, excessive street or neighbour noise is one of the most unpleasant things to deal with. I've looked at ground floor apartments, and I've always wished someone could enter the apartment above me and let me determine if I'm going to hear every footstep above, because it would be a deal-breaker for me.
I agree. Having a neighbor above OR below me would be a deal-breaker.
most new apartments are pure garbage, plain and simple (especially those espousing minimalist design aesthetics, how cold and uninviting). really? living in the middle of a stripped down factory floor / warehouse is "cool"?
yeah, maybe for the builder's who just charged you three times as much for delivering 1/2 of a real unit.
i think the only people who fall for that kind of trash are suburban runaways from ohio.
my money says all of this new rubbish will be dated very soon. much like shag carpeting, floral print wallpaper and pink cultured marble bathroom sinks.
give me a classic home with real character: spanish, art deco, etc.
Not to mention the cost of heating and cooling a cavernous space with warehouse height ceilings. That's so true, less work for the builder or contractor, more money for them.
I live in a high-rise condo, and love it. Sound insulation is excellent. I don't have to mow a lawn or pressure-wash siding. I grow herbs on my balcony. If I need something, I can stroll over to the grocery store around the corner, and if I don't want to cook there's 10 restaurants, plus delis and carry-outs, within two blocks in any direction.
And I paid less than 2/3 what I'd pay for the same square footage in a house. Plus, I get a pool and gym, someone to accept packages for me, my exterior windows washed twice a year, routine maintenance and upkeep, and heat and water paid, for a condo fee that's about what I'd have to pay to get those same things separately in a house.
It's nothing like my office.
I can't imagine why anyone would live in a detached house.
I couldn't live in an apt. now. It was fine when I was just using a home as somewhere to sleep but little else. It could only work now for me if it had a spectacular roof-deck with raised beds/small trees, plus it was huge - perhaps a very large Rosario Candela-designed place. There's a few near my workplace that I can see. I could tolerate them for a while - but they'd set me back 4-8 mill.
As someone else has called hi-rise apartment buildings: "trailer parks in the sky."
I could do an apartment that was insulated well for sound. Unfortunately builders take the cheap way out and then try to be classy by putting in wood floors. What a horrible combination. I'd like to destroy all poorly built multiple housing units in the US and start from scratch using strict guidelines. Life would be instantly better for everyone.
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