Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I had a neighbor like that. It sounded like there was a train upstairs, but it was probably a poor quality elliptical or treadmill. They also had a kid who bounced a ball up there constantly. I complained but there was nothing that could be done about it. I got lucky, though. Their car was broken into several times. They were sure my husband was doing it, because he was always leaving late at night wearing a black jacket and carrying a duffel bag(doing overnight security, didn't want neighbors thinking he did security at the apartment complex, his duty belt was in the duffel). The noisy neighbors made a huge fuss to the staff at the complex, and even called the cops, who told them wearing a jacket and carrying a duffel bag wasn't a crime. So they moved out, and we had peace and quiet for a while.
The only way your noise situation will improve is if one of you moves out.
Condos are better than apartments, but not always. Sometimes they are the same crappily built apartments which have just been turned into condos. Sometimes they are cheaply built new condos whose builders have long since disappeared into the underbrush - and they probably wouldn't do anything anyway even if they were still around.
Most apartments require carpeting. Maybe before you move next time, make sure your new place is one of these. Even some condos require a certain percentage of the floors to be carpeted. These are things you can check beforehand.
It is very frustrating, though. I am telling you all the things you can do beforehand, but we didn't do any of those things ourselves and ended up with a tympani concert overhead. Go figure!
The noise is why I'll never live in a condo. We had a townhouse once and thankfully we were an end unit so we only had neighbors on one side. We heard every single noise. There was a brick firewall, but it didn't stop the noise. Oh we knew when he landed himself a girlfriend. I swear they used screw on the stairs....they sounded like a herd of elephants! We used to joke that it was 5 some because they were soooo freaking loud.
At one point we lived in the first floor of a Victorian flat. It was beautiful! But after hearing our landlords banging away at the crack of dawn, we knew we couldn't stay. We never looked at them the same! We were like old people having sex...GROSS!
I've never wanted a condo - no matter which floor - after these experiences. If it's not noise above or below, it comes from the sides. There's really nothing that can be done unless you want to reinsulate with noise proofing and resheetrock. That would cost quite a bit and probably won't stop all the noise entirely.
We have a neighbor who starts at 8am and blows for at least 3 hours at a time. This morning he was blowing and when I left for work, there were already a bunch of leaves where he blew that morning. I had to laugh. Forget blowing the leaves, they need to be vacuumed. The only way to get rid of them otherwise, you're just moving them around. I see why many communities have banned leaf blowers. They're fecking noisy!
When the OP returns we would all like to know if he/she owns or rents. I'm thinking owns and if that's the case does anyone have any experience with soundproofing an apartment? Seems to me at the very least you could put insulation on the bedroom ceiling and then cover with drywall. It would drop the ceiling a few inches but that's got to be worth it right?
I was only interjecting a little humor in the conversation.
Oh, whoops. Sorry I didn't pick up on it .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
