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.
Hey everyone,i own a co-op here in queens.
So back in July I received a letter from management that my downstairs neighbor filed a complaint against me for making too much noise. I covered 80 % of the apt with area rugs so the inspection passed. Last week, she filed another complaint about the noise so they came to inspect the apartment again. It turns out i have a squeaky floors or whatever. I live in a prewar building so this building is pretty old.One of these days, they are gonna send a floor specialist to look at it and see what can be done. My question is whos responsible for making those type of repairs.
Thanks
Hey everyone,i own a co-op here in queens.
So back in July I received a letter from management that my downstairs neighbor filed a complaint against me for making too much noise. I covered 80 % of the apt with area rugs so the inspection passed. Last week, she filed another complaint about the noise so they came to inspect the apartment again. It turns out i have a squeaky floors or whatever. I live in a prewar building so this building is pretty old.One of these days, they are gonna send a floor specialist to look at it and see what can be done. My question is whos responsible for making those type of repairs.
Thanks
Legally I don't know the answer. But I know (as an owner of a 1940's coop) that I would never agree to pay to have squeaky floors fixed. If someone else is bothered by them, fine, I could allow them to be fixed but I'm not going to pay for them unless they sue me to do so.
Squeaky floors are a fact of life in a prewar building. If someone is bothered, let them move out and into a new building.
Hey everyone,i own a co-op here in queens.
So back in July I received a letter from management that my downstairs neighbor filed a complaint against me for making too much noise. I covered 80 % of the apt with area rugs so the inspection passed. Last week, she filed another complaint about the noise so they came to inspect the apartment again. It turns out i have a squeaky floors or whatever. I live in a prewar building so this building is pretty old.One of these days, they are gonna send a floor specialist to look at it and see what can be done. My question is whos responsible for making those type of repairs.Thanks
I would imagine that it would be your responsibility. The floors are in your apartment, not in a common area. Doesn't your co-op have bylaws? If you don't have a copy, I suggest you obtain one.
Googling around I see some coops resolved it with a 3 way split of the costs between the board , the owner and the complainer
That's interesting. That seems like a very amicable way to keep everyone happy. I'm curious about this myself. I have been speaking with various people about the whole covering the floor 80% because I HATE carpeting or rugs and have no interest in either. Previously I have lived in apartments that have floors made of tiles and not wood. My thinking was to allocate monies to have brand new flooring WITH soundproofing, thus no carpeting or rugs needed (and yes I know the cost associated with that), but I've been hearing that some co-ops may not even go for that. How true is this and why wouldn't they? Years ago I was apart of a project where the owner of a co-op combined two apartments. He was a well known musician, so he played music. He opted to have soundproofing put in and we had a meeting with the co-op board about the whole thing, and while they seemed horrified at the idea originally, ultimately they agreed to it.
Some co-ops that I looked at will allow cork flooring to be installed in lieu of carpeting but on a cursory search, I found it to be expensive and unattractive. I am in an 80% required co-op and I just went with wall to wall. There are really nice hardwoods under my carpets that would have been beautiful with a refinish but I didn't want to pay to refinish them and then potentially end up needing to get carpets installed anyway. And large area rugs are expensive.
Some co-ops that I looked at will allow cork flooring to be installed in lieu of carpeting but on a cursory search, I found it to be expensive and unattractive. I am in an 80% required co-op and I just went with wall to wall. There are really nice hardwoods under my carpets that would have been beautiful with a refinish but I didn't want to pay to refinish them and then potentially end up needing to get carpets installed anyway. And large area rugs are expensive.
Expensive compared to what? Cork is fairly competitive price wise, not unless you're getting something like carpet.
I live in a co-op also, 1925. My bedroom floor squeaks in some places. I have also installed way back when I moved in (1989) new wood floors on top of the original ones, because they really were in a state of disrepair.
My neighbor under me has never complained in all the years I have lived here. If I'm at the bedroom closet, standing deceiding on what to wear, or putting away clothes, obviously your body rocks back and forth in movement, thus the floor squeaks, I hate hearing it myself, or if I go to the windows in the bedroom, the floor squeaks there also.
There is nothing that I can possibly do. I have already installed new wood floors that are glued to the original ones.
But, in a co-op, we all know its shares owned, but with fire insurance, and I'm using this as an example, so please don't use my statement as gospel, and feel free to correct me, but, should their be a fire, the co-op is responsible for everything other than your possessions. The co-op pays for walls, pipes, windows and things like that, where as the condo, you have to pay for that, so I'm thinking the co-op would be the ones to pay fix the squeaky floors. You should NOT have to pay for that at all, I don't think you should have to pay for it, and I wouldn't.
I remember my father fixing our kitchen floor in our house as it squeaked, and, what he did was put shims in between the floor joists and floor / ceiling, but he was able to do this because our laundry room was under our kitchen and there was no ceiling, the plywood of the kitchen floor was the ceiling of the laundry room, so he had easy access to that area.
Now, in co-ops today, while I'm sure this method would work, this would require the removal of the tenants ceiling below, which means plaster and lathe, etc, and remove everything until they are able to get the shims in between the tenants above floor joists.
This is a lot of work, very labor intense, and I doubt seriously that any tenant below will NOT want their ceiling to be ripped apart to the state it needs to be in, in order to do the necessary repairs. I dount the co-op mgmnt wont wanna do this, etc
so you get the idea.
This squeaking noise is not your fault, and there is nothing you, as the tenant above can do.
You can put wall to wall carpeting and the squeaks will still be there.
Sadly, and I'm sure living under someone can be trying at times, this is something that the tenant will have to get used to, or they will have to move.
You, since you have received letters regarding this can go down to her / him and explain, there is nothing I can do about this situation etc...or write them a letter what ever you feel more comfortable doing, and explain that you are not doing this on purpose.
Its a hard situation, but honestly it isn't your fault, and you really cant help it, unless of course you were purpously standing there making it squeak....
Also, did she have this problem with the tenant that lived there before you?
Last edited by nightcrawler; 12-10-2019 at 11:48 AM..
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.
