Condo noise advice v. hardwood floors above me are insanely loud (real estate, apartment) - Austin - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

senormatt · 05-09-2009, 03:59 PM

So the owner sold his unit above mine and put down new hardwood floors in the process a few months ago. Now I can hear every step of the guy above me and it's unreasonably loud and vibrates my ceiling. As in, if he wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and get a drink of water, it'll wake up my girlfriend.

We hear every step it takes and it drives us crazy. It's embarrassing when we have people over too - they can't believe we can hear every step so loudly. We've talked to him before but there's nothing he can do besides change his floor. I talked to the HOA and they say I'm on my own and they have no rules (nothing in the by-laws) or power in the situation.

It seems like the wood floors were installed without any sound deadening. I wrote him a letter about us paying for sound deadening with no reply. Since we own the condo this is bad news because we're now looking to sell it or rent it out so it'll probably give us trouble in that process.

Somebody save me please. Some sort of law, ordinance, advice.

Zzyzx · 05-10-2009, 07:30 AM

I can understand your frustrations, it would make me go insane as well. This is a quality of life issue no doubt. When I'm at home, I want it to be my sanctuary and unwanted noise ruins it.

If you choose to rent it, you might have to deal with tenants complaining or leaving because of the noise. That would create an additional headache. For me personally, I would sell it.

Call me Gina · 05-10-2009, 08:18 AM

I understand your frustration. The same situation happened to us, except we were renters and the guy above us had children. We were unable to find any information that could help. We ended up breaking our lease. And like Zzyzx said above me, if you rent your condo, your tenants could end up unhappy and want to break their lease like we did. It is maddening to hear every single footstep. Does he have any rugs on the floor?

Ted White · 05-10-2009, 09:39 AM

What you're describing is the worst type of sound isolation project. There is just so much vibrational energy introduced into system in such a small surface area. Think about the cross sectional size of a heel hitting the floor.

Success will come from a multi-discpilinary approach. Here's an article that gives you some understanding of what you're up against and some options:

http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/solutions/neighbor_noise/neighbor_noise_ceilings (broken link)

CptnRn · 05-10-2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senormatt

So the owner sold his unit above mine and put down new hardwood floors in the process a few months ago. Now I can hear every step of the guy above me and it's unreasonably loud and vibrates my ceiling. As in, if he wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and get a drink of water, it'll wake up my girlfriend.

We hear every step it takes and it drives us crazy. It's embarrassing when we have people over too - they can't believe we can hear every step so loudly. We've talked to him before but there's nothing he can do besides change his floor. I talked to the HOA and they say I'm on my own and they have no rules (nothing in the by-laws) or power in the situation.

It seems like the wood floors were installed without any sound deadening. I wrote him a letter about us paying for sound deadening with no reply. Since we own the condo this is bad news because we're now looking to sell it or rent it out so it'll probably give us trouble in that process.

Somebody save me please. Some sort of law, ordinance, advice.

My guess is that your neighbor is not going to voluntarily go through the disruption to their lives that would be necessary to tear up the floor and install some sound deadening material, without some substantial motivation. I seriously think you need to consult a lawyer about this and explore what legal recourse you might have against them.

centralaustinite · 05-10-2009, 10:06 AM

Can you treat your ceiling?

I pity you. I once lived in an apartment built right at the end of the 80s boom as things were crashing. We were told that the quality of construction materials declined as the builders tried to finish everything. Anyway, we could hear every footstep of the guy above us! Including his feet hitting the floor in the morning, the click of the toilet lid going up, ugh! Not fun. At least it was a rental and our next apartment was older and much better built, no side to side noise and just extreme noises from the units above.

good luck!

austin-steve · 05-10-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

I seriously think you need to consult a lawyer about this and explore what legal recourse you might have against them.

I agree. There are in fact laws against disrpupting the "quiet enjoyment" of others in the privacy of their homes. There are noise ordinances as well (I wonder what the decible level is of the walking noise?). The most common example is barking dogs, about which you can file a complaint with the city and a ticket will be issued.

It is encumbant upon the owner of a unit with shared walls and floors to take into consideration the sounds they create, whether intentional or not. If that means certain types of flooring product can't be used, then that's the way it has to be.

I would start a diary of the noise. Purchase a sound activated digital recording device and leave it on 24/7. It will activate and record when sounds are detected, and you'll have a time-stamped record of both the sounds made and the number of occurances that were sufficient to activate the recording. Of course you'll have to do this mainly when you are not home or sleeping, or when you are otherwise remaining silent during a noise episode so your own sounds don't confuse the matter.

Once you have enough data/evidence to prove your claim, have an attorney send a demand letter to both the owner and the HOA demanding the action you want (remove and replace flooring with quiet flooring), or check with the city about how to file a noise complaint.

You can't simply learn to live with it because someday you'll want to sell your unit and you'll have to disclose this condition or risk being sued by your new buyer after they learn of the noise.

Good luck,

Steve

BentBow · 05-10-2009, 11:47 AM

He may have broke city noise ordinance building codes. There are restrictions, and systems allowed, and some not allowed per multi level, multi residence building codes.

senormatt · 05-10-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Call me Gina

Does he have any rugs on the floor?

I think he has at least a rug in the living room, but don't think rugs would work unless he had them all over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by austin-steve

You can't simply learn to live with it because someday you'll want to sell your unit and you'll have to disclose this condition or risk being sued by your new buyer after they learn of the noise.

Good luck,

Steve

Yeah we're looking into either selling it or renting it out really soon. I guess all options at this point are pretty expensive and time consuming. Maybe I'll just wait till I rent it out - and if my tenant finds it unlivable I'll have a much easier case to get it fixed with a lawyer.

I also noticed the guy who lives there just walks really heavily. There are stairs outside my condo and he's the only one we can hear walking up and down them. So maybe when he moves it'll be a non-issue. If I sell it without saying anything the new owner wouldn't have a strong case for suing me I don't think.

austin-steve · 05-10-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

If I sell it without saying anything the new owner wouldn't have a strong case for suing me I don't think.

Not correct. The condition you are describing, if as bad as you describe, would be of material concern to a potential buyer and would affect their purchase decision. You would lose in court if it became a case. It's always best to disclose everything you know when selling real estate.

Also, I would take action immediately, tomorrow, and not wait at all. Time never makes these things better and you only allow your case to be weakened by putting up with it longer. This is just my personal opinion.

I'm very Type A, but when someone is threatening my economic security (i.e. property value) and not responding to reasonable attempts at dialog, I go directly, without further delay, to the legal equivalent of a punch in the nose and a kick to the nads, which would be a demand letter from you or your attorney specifically demanding that the owner cease and desist with the noise.

Steve