Advice needed: unbearable vibrations in apartment floor, apartment managers refuse to help (2014, lease)

[thangs]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice on how to pursue an issue that just recently came up with my apartment. I rent in the Rancho Bernardo area.

Within the last week or so I have noticed very strong vibrations throughout my apartment which I can feel as I rest my feet on the floor or lie in my bed. The vibrations are strong enough to seem audible and are at a very low frequency (much lower than 60hz so I am certain it's not buzzing or similar from electricity). This makes life unbearable when I am at home, feeling like a constant droning that is giving me headaches and making it impossible to concentrate or even simply relax.

I've tried talking to the apartment managers and they are refusing to help; they tell me they won't do anything unless I can pinpoint the source. They will not help me track it down. I'm not sure how I can manage this on my own. I've already tried turning off everything in my unit (including flipping every circuit breaker to off) and the vibrations persist. I've determined at the very least the source is not my unit.

Just to be clear, I do not experience this outside or in my car or anywhere else. But as soon as I enter my apartment there they are (the vibrations) clear as day.

I am hoping to find some 3rd party who can help me confirm this is happening, preferably someone with a license of some sort which credits them as an expert in such things.

Unfortunately, I am at a loss as to who this might be or which profession could handle such a thing.

If anyone out there has gone through this before or has any suggestions who I might call to help investigate, I would really appreciate some help!

Thank you very much,

Michael

[Cardiff Kook]

Have you considered hiring an exorcist?

[thangs]

This is quite a serious problem for me. I appreciate that you are obviously hilarious and this forum is a richer place thanks in no small part to your contributions, but I am really only interested in serious replies.

Thank you,

Michael

[sdurbanite]

Have you talked to the neighbor below you to find out if they feel what you feel? Could it be the air conditoning unit? I wouldn't give up on the apartment manager. Have he or she come to your apartment so they can see what you are talking about. Be an ass if you have to.

[drabwastrel]

Originally Posted by thangs

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice on how to pursue an issue that just recently came up with my apartment. I rent in the Rancho Bernardo area.

Within the last week or so I have noticed very strong vibrations throughout my apartment which I can feel as I rest my feet on the floor or lie in my bed. The vibrations are strong enough to seem audible and are at a very low frequency (much lower than 60hz so I am certain it's not buzzing or similar from electricity). This makes life unbearable when I am at home, feeling like a constant droning that is giving me headaches and making it impossible to concentrate or even simply relax.

I've tried talking to the apartment managers and they are refusing to help; they tell me they won't do anything unless I can pinpoint the source. They will not help me track it down. I'm not sure how I can manage this on my own. I've already tried turning off everything in my unit (including flipping every circuit breaker to off) and the vibrations persist. I've determined at the very least the source is not my unit.

Just to be clear, I do not experience this outside or in my car or anywhere else. But as soon as I enter my apartment there they are (the vibrations) clear as day.

I am hoping to find some 3rd party who can help me confirm this is happening, preferably someone with a license of some sort which credits them as an expert in such things.

Unfortunately, I am at a loss as to who this might be or which profession could handle such a thing.

If anyone out there has gone through this before or has any suggestions who I might call to help investigate, I would really appreciate some help!

Thank you very much,

Michael

Ugh, sorry to hear this. If you have any direct neighbors, maybe start there -- someone could be running an A/C unit or some such that's causing vibrations. (Though I'm not sure how they'd feel about turning it off anytime soon...)

If that fails and the apartment manager still refuses to help, try the regional manager. If you raise enough hell, eventually they'd probably just let you out of your lease.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by thangs

This is quite a serious problem for me. I appreciate that you are obviously hilarious and this forum is a richer place thanks in no small part to your contributions, but I am really only interested in serious replies.

Thank you,

Michael

Sorry, but your OP almost made it sound like you believed it was something paranormal so I couldn't resist. I would definitely talk to your neighbors and see if they are experiencing something similar

[thangs]

GMUAlum08,

Thanks for the reply and I am sorry for being so snarky back to you. I was having a heck of a time getting to sleep when I posted and I was pretty grumpy. However, that's no excuse for being rude. I really can see how my original post could come across that way and after re-reading, your comment was pretty funny.

Again, I am sorry for being rude.

Also, thank you and everyone else for the suggestion to start with my neighbor. I will try that and hopefully it turns out to be as simple as an AC unit.

Thank you!

Michael

[tickyul]

I had that problems before.....it was some dude, 2 floors below, running his ghetto-blaster on high.

And no, management did not care.

[PolarNettles]

Is the vibration the same intensity and frequency 24/7? Are you able to hear/feel it on the outside of the building?

Low frequency vibrations can travel a long distance so it could be an AC unit/pool pump on the other side of the building or underground power transformers, and your apartment just happens to get constructive interference due to its location in the building.

[Pneuman77]

Thangs, I just read your post from last year. I hope you get this. I have been going through the exact same "thang" since May of this year. I see your original post here was from 2014. I hope things are going much better for you now. After wrangling with my Manager for a month, he finally did an inspection of the apartment below me. Nothing unusual was found. Finally they identified the source of the vibrational currents to a faulty AC atop my roof. I am in fact on the top floor (third floor) of my apartment building, and there are ACs and compressors directly above my bedroom on the rooftop. Whereas at first I thought the vibrational currents and pulsing were emanating upward from below me, they were and are, in fact, emanating from the faulty AC on the rooftop and vibrational currents are cascading downward through the walls and joists of my apartment, accounting for the eerie vibrations. For me they are off and on but mostly on as my downstairs neighbors use their ACs seemingly constantly, even on cooler Michigan evenings, and these neighbors are uncooperative (One said to me, "Don't tell US about it"). I have felt the vibrations in bed and even pulsing at times.

The thing is, I live alone and it is difficult to explain to a Manager or anybody how disruptive this has been to my whole life---you can hardly think straight when your floors are vibrating and there is no where you can set or lye in your apartment to relax. A person would almost have to live in the apartment for a day or at least several hours to know what it is like. I too would like further corroboration of the vibrations (The man from the AC co. was only here a few minutes). I too have heard the offhanded jokes, even from close friends .

At least now I know the source of the problem, which is almost half the battle. The AC vendor here did some adjustments to the ACs on top of this building, but they really need to buy a new one. Also, one of them roars like a helicopter. The noise had also been an issue, but the freakiest part of this whole situation has been the vibrational currents. I was offered an open lease by the Manager after much complaining, before they located the source of the vibrations and noise. Or I could just tough it out for a few more months, the summer-like weather is shorter here in Michigan.