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I'm planning to retire in Tucson and I will only buy one of those slump brick townhouses built in the 1960's/1970's. So what if I have to rewire the place, put in new plumbing, it would be worth it, as well as feeling like you're living in an oven in the summer time!
When reading about old towns sometimes they would say how they were first built out of wood. Then the whole town would burn down on more than one occasion. Somewhere along the line they started rebuilding with brick which seemed to stop the spreading infernos. While brick, and masonry works wonders with fire, they tend to crumble when earthquakes are involved . Oh well, if it isn't one thing it's three, lol. We've got to build them out of something.
I've read that some ancient home walls in Jerusalem are 3 ft thick. That is pretty neat. It would help to moderate the temperature. Kind of like living in a cave, or an underground home.
I had this problem before - in my previous life.
If you live in apartment building, pick the upper floor only.
I doubt you can get rid of this noise. They would probably get quieter after you talk to them, but you will still hear them walking all the night long. Then they will gradually return to their "normal" level of noise.
When reading about old towns sometimes they would say how they were first built out of wood. Then the whole town would burn down on more than one occasion. Somewhere along the line they started rebuilding with brick which seemed to stop the spreading infernos. While brick, and masonry works wonders with fire, they tend to crumble when earthquakes are involved . Oh well, if it isn't one thing it's three, lol. We've got to build them out of something.
I've read that some ancient home walls in Jerusalem are 3 ft thick. That is pretty neat. It would help to moderate the temperature. Kind of like living in a cave, or an underground home.
After the Great Fire in Chicago of 1871, where a goof portion of the city burnt to the ground, it was then mandated that all new construction be of brick. And how long did that last, when you're rushing to build housing for the homeless!!!
After the 1906 Quake in San Francisco (The resultant fires did most of the damage, not the Quake itself), it was to be mandated that all new construction be of concrete or steel. And, again, with people crowded into the undamaged tenement buildings in the Tenderloin District, and given that concrete construction takes longer to build, how long did that last!!!
Now, they're building these 4-5 wooden structures all over the Mission Bay district and elsewhere!
Never mind, the lumber companies laugh all the way to the bank!
After the Great Fire in Chicago of 1871, where a goof portion of the city burnt to the ground, it was then mandated that all new construction be of brick. And how long did that last, when you're rushing to build housing for the homeless!!!
After the 1906 Quake in San Francisco (The resultant fires did most of the damage, not the Quake itself), it was to be mandated that all new construction be of concrete or steel. And, again, with people crowded into the undamaged tenement buildings in the Tenderloin District, and given that concrete construction takes longer to build, how long did that last!!!
Now, they're building these 4-5 wooden structures all over the Mission Bay district and elsewhere!
Never mind, the lumber companies laugh all the way to the bank!
O.T. ^^^^^ Good post. I had run across the wood to brick info when researching different towns to move to. I've seen it very often.
I noticed the crumbling of unreinforced masonry during earthquakes more recently. Thinking of the photos I've seen of quakes in different parts of the world like Italy, and others where people mostly died from collapsed unreinforced masonry buildings. But even reinforced concrete freeway sections have collapsed in California, as an example. The following blog on that type of building in the Seattle area is very interesting. Although I think you may be fine where you are moving to. Anywhere can be earthquake country.
I live on the bottom floor of a condo complex, where I've resided for over 4 years. About 3 months ago, new upstairs neighbors (a couple) moved in. I've been having an issue with...you guessed it - lots of noise. Now, the floors in the building are sensitive and do creak excessively. Note however, that I've never once had an problem with the previous owner being too loud out of the years I've been here.
The big thing is that the new neighbors start to get extremely active at around 11 PM during the week, and will constantly walk back and forth until about 4 or 5 AM. It's very abnormal. Whoever it is will walk from one side of the condo to the other, stop for 10 seconds, return, then rinse and repeat. Often mixed in this, I will hear them loudly having sex. It shakes the ceiling loudly over my head. These things will continue on all night/morning, with little interruption. Now, I have a normal 9-5 weekday job where I have to get up at 8 AM to get ready for work. Because of the noise, I am generally getting 3 or so hours of sleep. Often, I just give up and pull an all nighter. To make matters worse, on the weekends they appear to have an opposite pattern and go to bed earlier/wake up earlier in the morning. They then choose to do renovations at this time, so along with the walking I get the added bonus of drills, hammers and sawing. This basically forces me to go to bed early on the weekend so I cannot even go out if I expect to have any sleep in my life at all.
I think this is beginning to effect my health as I've been getting comments on my appearance, that I look pale and exhausted with bags under my eyes. Also, aside from feeling lethargic, I've begun to develop major headaches and feel lightheaded all the time. I've started calling out of work once every few weeks in an attempt to get some additional sleep. This has been a MAJOR disruption in my life.
I've tried earplugs, noise cancelling headphones, a white noise machine and a fan, but since much of the walking creates vibrations, these methods have been ineffective. I'm not a confrontational person (or any good with talking to/approaching people), so I haven't spoken with them yet. There is also the issue that I'm really at their mercy since I can't really tell them not to or how to walk. But I think I have to say something, because the only other option for me is to move out. This is not something I am prepared for financially, but if I have to, I will do it.
Do you have any advice on how I can approach these people, and ask them to be quiet in the late evening and early morning hours? I am concerned that they will take my asking them the wrong way, and become passive aggressive which would make things worse. If you have any other information on how I may be able to block out the noise, that would be appreciated as well. I'm sorry for the long post, but I am just at my wits end and needed to put this out there to see if I can get any other suggestions.
I almost thought that perhaps they have a baby but then you said they don't do the walking on weekends but I know of no instance where a baby would know what day of the week it was. A possibility is the ripped up the carpets and haven't replaced them or replaced them with wood flooring. I would speak with them about the walking back and forth they are doing after midnight and let them know that due to the construction of the building you hear every movement they make and it is waking you up. The construction/renovation unfortunately you can't do anything about other than ask them if they try to keep the noise lower in the earlier hours since weekends you like to sleep in. It is hard to demand they not begin until much later than that because apparently they only have.
As you said, there's not much you can do about how or when someone walks around! And "quiet hours" are irrelevant, since most bylaws/HOAs don't consider WALKING (or even having sex) to be excessive or unnecessary noise... only things like loud music, construction, etc, would fall under that category. And while I do sympathize with you, I also sympathize with the neighbor, since I have "weird" hours myself. What I am supposed to do - fly from one end of my place to the other, or change my entire lifestyle/schedule to suit the neighbors? Nope. All I can do (when I was living in stacked housing) is be as respectful as possible, while also respecting that MY neighbors are clomping around & playing music during the hours I am trying to sleep. 'Tis life in apartments/condos, which is why I recently moved to a duplex.
Sorry, can't offer much beyond that! Maybe leave a note on their door, just asking them to keep noise levels to a minimum? And just because the hours seem weird to you, that could be when they're working (from home). So you really can't ask for much more, since he/she isn't going to quit their job or change their sleep schedule to accommodate a stranger.
There are people (NOT speed freaks) who keep "weird" hours, like myself! I don't use anything except pot, which usually has the opposite effect - LOL. I just work later hours than most, am naturally nocturnal, and don't require much sleep to function... so typically I'm home around 10-11pm, stay up until the crack of dawn, then sleep maybe 4-5 hours before waking to get ready for work. And while I do spend most of my late-night hours "vegging" on the couch, I'm restless and arthritic, so HAVE to move around frequently. I also have 3 very demanding cats (and one less demanding dog), who keep similar hours and are constantly begging for food/treats/etc.
Also, maybe s/he works from home and deals with overseas communication? Pretty sure that was the deal with my old neighbor, who'd wake around 4am, and often be on calls (assuming work-related) between 4:30-8am. Makes sense if you work in finance, since that's about when Asian workers are heading home. When my brother worked in finance, he had to be in the office by 5am most days! And this neighbor DID pace back & forth while on the phone, including cigarette breaks on the balcony every hour or so. It was a little annoying since I typically go to sleep around that time, but eventually it just became like ambient noise to me.
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. Oh well, if it isn't one thing it's three, lol. We've got to build them out of something.
