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My bldg is 5 yrs old and they really skimped on the sound proofing to the point that I have to move out already. I knew within the 1st mth of moving in I had nade a big mistake due to the lack of pricacy. My biggest complaint at the moment is that my neighbor snores at night and it's keeping me awake lol. There's no privacy at all and if you stand in the hallway you can hear conversations drifting from the walls of every apartment. I wonder if they purposely did that so the super can wander down the hallway and keep tabs on everyone? It's really horrible and borderline criminal imo because I wonder how many times in a years time the police are called because of neighbors complaining about noise levels. I also wonder how many times in a 10 yr period that the owners have to deal with neighbors compalaining about one another's noise, have tenants like myself move out because of it, or have to pursue evictions all because they have a bldg with paper thin walls. It seems to me the added cost of constructing a building with adequate sound proofing would save the owners money in the long run and I'm perplexed as to how short sighted they are when it comes to it. Right now I'm learning polish since my new neigbor calls her mother in Krakow every night between 1 and 2am yacking it up for about an hour. After that she goes to bed and snores like a hog.
My bldg is 5 yrs old and they really skimped on the sound proofing to the point that I have to move out already. I knew within the 1st mth of moving in I had nade a big mistake due to the lack of pricacy. My biggest complaint at the moment is that my neighbor snores at night and it's keeping me awake lol. There's no privacy at all and if you stand in the hallway you can hear conversations drifting from the walls of every apartment. I wonder if they purposely did that so the super can wander down the hallway and keep tabs on everyone? It's really horrible and borderline criminal imo because I wonder how many times in a years time the police are called because of neighbors complaining about noise levels. I also wonder how many times in a 10 yr period that the owners have to deal with neighbors compalaining about one another's noise, have tenants like myself move out because of it, or have to pursue evictions all because they have a bldg with paper thin walls. It seems to me the added cost of constructing a building with adequate sound proofing would save the owners money in the long run and I'm perplexed as to how short sighted they are when it comes to it. Right now I'm learning polish since my new neigbor calls her mother in Krakow every night between 1 and 2am yacking it up for about an hour. After that she goes to bed and snores like a hog.
Probably because apartments are designed to maximize profit so a lot of things we would take for granted in a single family home are skimped on in apartment construction. This seems to be especially true in newer buildings. My dad is a civil engineer and has his finger firmly on the pulse of the construction industry in Dallas and knows for a fact that many apartment buildings nowadays are built with less insulation than a decade or two ago.
When I went looking for my stopover home (what I'm calling my rental), I deliberately did not even consider newer apartments, townhomes, and condos. I can sometimes hear the neighbors thumping up and down their stairs, but only if I'm in the master bathroom or bedroom...and they only do this around 7am when I'm up anyway so it doesn't bother me. I try to keep the noise down at home but nobody has complained about it. I can't hear either of my neighbors except for the stair thumping in the morning and the occasional incidence of slightly-too-loud music coming from the same neighbors. I can only hear the music if I'm in the bedroom and they've never done it past 10pm during the week and 11pm on weekends. Since I go to bed later than that almost every night, I rarely suffer.
I'd look at older, refurbished units for your next rental; you may get better insulation and soundproofing. Landlords don't care about that since most apartment dwellers are temporary residents staying 1-3 years maximum and most of them don't complain since they know they'll be leaving soon enough. It sucks though.
My bldg is 5 yrs old and they really skimped on the sound proofing to the point that I have to move out already. I knew within the 1st mth of moving in I had nade a big mistake due to the lack of pricacy. My biggest complaint at the moment is that my neighbor snores at night and it's keeping me awake lol. There's no privacy at all and if you stand in the hallway you can hear conversations drifting from the walls of every apartment. I wonder if they purposely did that so the super can wander down the hallway and keep tabs on everyone? It's really horrible and borderline criminal imo because I wonder how many times in a years time the police are called because of neighbors complaining about noise levels. I also wonder how many times in a 10 yr period that the owners have to deal with neighbors compalaining about one another's noise, have tenants like myself move out because of it, or have to pursue evictions all because they have a bldg with paper thin walls. It seems to me the added cost of constructing a building with adequate sound proofing would save the owners money in the long run and I'm perplexed as to how short sighted they are when it comes to it. Right now I'm learning polish since my new neigbor calls her mother in Krakow every night between 1 and 2am yacking it up for about an hour. After that she goes to bed and snores like a hog.
Obviously you can't reverse the deficiency of poor construction. However,
in the past I have found the following helpful:
1. Try to arrange your furniture so that heavy items such as bookcases or
dressers can be placed against the noisiest wall.
2. I have hung tapestries on walls to deaden the sound. It might also be
worth a try approaching the landlord to use similar techniques in the
noisy hallway you mentioned.
3. Keep music or background noise that you like, i.e. ocean waves, on a low
level to distract you.
If you relocate to another rental, try to select the top floor or end unit. Also, do not agree to a rental contract until you have spent time in the unit during peak hours neighbors are home watching TV, etc. Don't let the landlord distract you with a conversation, just listen quietly. I hope this helps even though it is not going to substitute for a well-built home.
Tapestries or full wall drapes are excellent in attenuating sound. So is overstuffed fabric upholstered furniture.
Also, wall to wall carpet with a minimum of 6lb re-bond commercial pad does wonders.
In my area, the trend is back to hardwood floors... beautiful to look at but nothing but trouble in multi-level apartments. The newer floating Hardwood Floors are better sound-wise than the old-fashion hardwood strip and nail.
Yes I'm going to be looking for that elusive top floor apartment in the corner of bldg next time. I figure if I find one and really like it I could put down carpet and padding to isolate myself from the people downstairs if necessary. The walls in my current place are so thin when the guy next door sneezes I almost feel obligated to say gazoontike but I wouldn't dare do that because it wouldn't take much for him to put a fist through it either, you know, to thank me.
I have an upstairs apartment on one of the busier roads in my town. It has double-paned windows and pretty decent insulation inside, as it was built to a good standard in 1962.. but the hallway is fully exposed to the elements, and it's all stone. So even though the speed limit is 30 miles an hour, it sounds as bad as my workplace which is right next to a busy freeway. Privacy comes at a high price around here.
At every apartment, I've needed a medium-sized appliance for white noise.. either a fan or an air purifier. It works better than earplugs.
I sleep with a fan on as "white noise" to try to drown out the sound of my neighbors yelling at each other. I sometimes wonder if these people ever sleep! And contrary to popular belief about older buildings being more soundly constructed, this building was built in the 60s, and has almost no insulation! I can hear my downstairs neighbor coughing. I've been here for ten years, and would love to move, but I can't afford to give up my relatively low rent due to rent control (to move anywhere else in the same area would cost me $300-$400 more per month). Oh, well.... Who needs sleep, anyway, right????
I know one early morning in my apartment sometime ago I was up getting something to drink (about 2am) and below me I heard a couple below me doing their thing (if you know what i mean....)
Yeah I have never been a fan of apartments. If you want true privacy its better to have your own home, but I know everyone isn't in that position.
I have lived in apartments in Mexico and Europe, and was rarely even aware of anyone else around. In the U.S., however, I think apartments are generally sheer hell. I am presently living in a 20 plus year old apartment in Gilbert, AZ (though not for long,) and four other apartments have common walls with mine. During the day I have TV noise. At night in the apartment below just sliding the closet door is enough to wake me, plus a lot of coughing, and frequent pounding with a hammer at 1 AM. Right on the other side of the wall are that neighbor's washer and dryer, and they like to do their laundry in the middle of the night or at 4 in the morning. This requires a lot of laughing and yelling. If they leave the bathroom door open,-- I can hear everything. In the back are children screaming and crying.
At least try to have as few shared walls as possible, or find a duplex with garages in between.
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but I wouldn't dare do that because it wouldn't take much for him to put a fist through it either, you know, to thank me.
And contrary to popular belief about older buildings being more soundly constructed, this building was built in the 60s, and has almost no insulation! I can hear my downstairs neighbor coughing. I've been here for ten years, and would love to move, but I can't afford to give up my relatively low rent due to rent control (to move anywhere else in the same area would cost me $300-$400 more per month). Oh, well.... Who needs sleep, anyway, right????
