Noisy Neighbors-HELP!!! (Ina: HOA, houses, tenants)

[vb808]

I totally feel your pain. When I first moved to Chicago for school, I was clueless on what to expect when it came to noisy neighbors. I rented a studio in a vintage courtyard building and had the opportunity to get a top/3rd floor unit, but went for the middle floor. When I initially arrived, no one was living above me but the peace and quiet ended soon after someone moved in. I was so mad at my friend who didn't warn me of these potential issues as I came from a city that does not have vintage residential buildings and I had never lived in one.

It was awful, the upstairs neighbor was a "clomperella" who would wear shoes in her apartment all the time; the units had hardwood floors which made matters worse. I left a couple of notes for my neighbors above me which helped a little, but in the end ear plugs were my saving grace. It wasn't perfect, but it did help a little.

After I graduated, I moved in temporarily with a friend who also lived on the second floor of a vintage courtyard building. Her neighbor above was a divorced father, who had the kids every other weekend. Same exact situation as you, kids would start running around at the crack of dawn screaming, bouncing balls and dropping toys. It was so annoying that finally one morning she stormed upstairs and confronted her neighbor; the situation never really improved. Inconsiderate people suck and some parents have zero control of their kids.

There are noise abatement options out there that can significantly deaden sound. I'm not sure stomping and running can be fully resolved between floors in a building with wooden joists. I say start by approaching your neighbors with your concerns, hopefully they are considerate enough that things will change. At the same time reach out to the guys below and get their professional opinion, from what they state it looks promising. Best of luck!

http://soundproofchicago.com/ceiling...soundproofing/

[Tessssah]

Thank you everyone for your responses! We've gotten some good advice and are very grateful. For now, we are going to check with the owner of the condo to see if there is something in their lease that says they are supposed to have a certain amount of floor coverings. In addition we are going to try to talk to the parents at a time when the daughter isn't with them (or perhaps write them a note) so as to try and not rouse their parental anger, and politely inform them of the noise. This weekend they have been extremely noisy once again so we are getting quite fed up.
Thank you all again!!

[SubconsciousMe]

We live in the ground unit and have a 3 year old and 1.5 year old upstairs. It's painful sometimes, but after living there almost a year, we are almost used to it. We rent, but we are saving for a mortgage (ideally, single family home). We have never brought it up to the family as we know how difficult it is to tame toddler--and it won't do much good long term other than making them upset at us. As such, we have learned how to cope best we can. Headphones, turn up volume on TV if it is an appropriate hour/at an appropriate level, etc.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by SubconsciousMe

We live in the ground unit and have a 3 year old and 1.5 year old upstairs. It's painful sometimes, but after living there almost a year, we are almost used to it. We rent, but we are saving for a mortgage (ideally, single family home). We have never brought it up to the family as we know how difficult it is to tame toddler--and it won't do much good long term other than making them upset at us. As such, we have learned how to cope best we can. Headphones, turn up volume on TV if it is an appropriate hour/at an appropriate level, etc.

I would think that you could, in a sympathetic voice, at least ask that they not wear shoes in the house, something along the lines of, "Hey, I know having a toddler frazzles the hell out of you and there's not much you can do to keep him/her quiet and I'm not going to harp about that. There is one thing that might improve things a little downstairs, though, if you could not wear shoes in the house, it might soften the footfalls a little."

I think if you approach them sympathetically you can avoid making them too defensive and maybe at least get them to leave their shoes at the door, which might help some. Since they have the same layout, if you're feeling generous maybe you could offer a rug to cover whatever the worst spot seems to be.

[SubconsciousMe]

As a long-time nanny, Aunt, babysitter, childcare provider... lacking shoes doesn't help. (haha). Rugs, playmats that are like thick yoga mats... those help. Even the playmat with a rug on top of it if you don't want to look at the playmat all day is an option.

[xsboost]

Originally Posted by emathias

I think if you approach them sympathetically you can avoid making them too defensive and maybe at least get them to leave their shoes at the door, which might help some. Since they have the same layout, if you're feeling generous maybe you could offer a rug to cover whatever the worst spot seems to be.

Best (and cheapest) advice IMO.

Unless you're absolutely in love with your unit, the only other solution would be to tear down the ceiling and add some heavy dampening material. A second layer of drywall may work, but if it doesn't, you'll have to tear that down to do it correctly.

[Mordin]

Invite one of them downstairs to your place while the other parent allows their child to carry on upstairs. Then they might have a fair idea of just what you have to go through.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by Tessssah

Thank you everyone for your responses! We've gotten some good advice and are very grateful. For now, we are going to check with the owner of the condo to see if there is something in their lease that says they are supposed to have a certain amount of floor coverings. In addition we are going to try to talk to the parents at a time when the daughter isn't with them (or perhaps write them a note) so as to try and not rouse their parental anger, and politely inform them of the noise. This weekend they have been extremely noisy once again so we are getting quite fed up.
Thank you all again!!

Tape the noise you hear, and take it with you when you confront them to prove how noisy they are.

[Anne C M]

I'm going to be the bad guy.

You have much greater recourse with neighbors who are renting than if these were the owners. These people have a lease, which, presuming it is legitimate, will contain language saying something to the affect of "No noise or other sound is permitted which disturbs the other occupants from quiet enjoyment of their apartment of common areas of the property."

Your homeowners association rules and regs/bylaws almost certainly have similar language, which applies to all owners and their tenants. And, of course, the lease these people have (if legitimate) will contain language that tenants must comply with all HOA rules and regulations.

Document the noise. Keep a log with dates/times and a description and record any especially egregious noises. You can completely bypass the tenants and go directly to their landlord. Let the owner know about every noise that disturbs your "quiet enjoyment."

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by LiveLoveLaugh

Seriously....start saving for a house!

YUP. this type of nightmare scenario is why I would NEVER live in a condo.