Can hear the person above me walking around? (house, noise, landlord)
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We live in a house. When I leave the room, the floor creaks so loud, it sounds like an entire marching band. My husband is a light sleeper. I try so hard to sneak to the bathroom without waking him. FAIL !! 30 sonic boom alarm clocks (for the hearing impaired/deaf) would be quieter than my tiptoe across the creaks and groans. He understands. He knows I'm not TRYING to waken him. He knows I'm actually going s-l-o-w - oh, so slow, step (pause) by step - or as he says CREAK/BOOM by CREAK/BOOM. I can't change it - so now I just go quietly without making it a monumental effort.
Some things just are.
Buy earplugs. Put a pillow over your head. Deal.
If it is a carpeted area and there is a crawl space underneath, there is a device you can get that may fix this. It uses special break off screws. You find the floor joist (I think that is the right word for them), and screw down into it, then break the screw off below the level of the flooring. It screws the floorboards to the joist, and can lessen or even get rid of the squeaks. We did this in my house and got rid of all the creaks except one at the front door under tile. You have to go into the crawl space to fix those.
What I get from the post is that the OP isnt complaining really or trying to blame it on the neighbor but looking for suggestions. I agree maybe next time look for a top floor unit, I have had one apartment that was on the bottom floor and I hated it.. top floor is the rule for now on when I look for a place. As far as suggestions, I really dont have any since you already said youve tried white noise items such as fans and lite music even. Sorry hope it gets better.
What I get from the post is that the OP isnt complaining really or trying to blame it on the neighbor but looking for suggestions. I agree maybe next time look for a top floor unit, I have had one apartment that was on the bottom floor and I hated it.. top floor is the rule for now on when I look for a place. As far as suggestions, I really dont have any since you already said youve tried white noise items such as fans and lite music even. Sorry hope it gets better.
Yeah... I'd say that people that are single or childless should try to get something on the top floor, while people with children should be in ground floor units. That arrangement makes for less complaining all around
You don't necessarily have to wait to live on the top floor next time, many landlords will allow you transfer internally if there is another top floor unit available. You'll have to pay your moving expenses and you might have to eat a rent increase. At least around here the top floor is typically the most expensive.
Thanks, Lacerta. That does work for the situation you describe. However, for us, it's not a solution: we live in govt housing on a former army base; it's every floor; there are 4 floors; there is no crawl space; we rent it from a slumlord - your tax dollars at work. We just need to make it to our retirement date.
Thank you for posting this. I just had an experience where I had to call the cops on my neighbor for blaring his music. The only thing he could come up about me were my big feet walking around. What am I supposed to do? Float?
welcome to the world of apartments, other than stomping there is nothing you can do. If it is stomping you can make a big deal out it.
If it is just walking, it sucks but it is just something you have to live with.
I have the same thing at my new place and I'm convinced my upstairs neighbor is mentally ill. She's been pacing, thumping, rolling, even scratching against the floor. Last night she did this from midnight to almost 2am while I was trying to relax in my living room winding down from a long day at work. Luckily today is my day off so it's not such a big deal, but when I work the next day, it is...because my bedroom is almost as loud.
The floor creaks and I just can't relax. I have a white noise machine+white noise audio track+wear earplugs in my bedroom . I once even woke up to droning bass from above even with these sound blockers. Nice people huh? I think it was the adult son who blasts the radio.
The 50 something mom goes outside in her nightgown or housecoat or whatever you call it and worries about hearing alarms. She's deadly afraid of fires even though in the 23+ yrs the next door neighbor's lived there, there's never been one.
How do you avoid living under such kooks in the future? I guess never take a ground floor unit with someone above. You assume that they'll be normal people who go to bed by midnight, then you find out that pacing past 1 is all in a day's work. She's dragged stuff until 3am and my bedroom is no way to escape either. Yet even though I plan on moving again (looking at ads daily), I've never talked to her about it? Why not? Because she's been here 12+ years and I'm the new neighbor so I figure she has seniority. Plus it may just be a lost cause considering her mental illness.
I think my next move would probably be either a rental house or a duplex/townhouse or somethinig like that.
I don't have a problem with someone walking (realistically, no one can just sit in thier apartment) but it's when people get obnoxious and do things deliberately that irks me. You can't complain to the person above you for squeaky floors.That's a structural issue taht should be reported to the LL.
If you decide to move into ana partment underneath another, you run the risk of that stuff. If you come to the conclusion that you don't like it, then consider moving.
People who are sensitive to noise should never
- live below another apartment, particularly in old buildings
- live in apartments with hardwood or tile flooring
I lived in a fancy apartment in Boston once, and the cellar level below my unit had two apartments. One of the apartments was under the study and living room, the other apartment was under the terrace and bedroom.
The people under my living room were incredibly sensitive to noise. Repeated correspondence complaining about foot noise (walking), even called the cops when we were having a dinner party because of "hundreds of feet pounding above them." Of course nothing came of it, but I did receive letters demanding that no shoes be worn in my apartment, etc. I pointed out to these complainers that as the cellar was not designed originally as a living space, there was probably minimal insulation between it and the first floor. But their complaints continued ad nauseum. They once accosted a girl leaving my apartment because of her high heels. Eventually, they moved.
Cities are noisy, wood and tile floors are noisy, and living below someone is noisy.
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