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I wasn't aware that anything can be done about a neighbor making noise when they walk, other than capets. Like someone else said, most leases include a carpet clause. All rooms except the kitchen and bathroom are suppossed to be covered at least 70% with carpet. The management should make sure that your neighbors did install the carpeting/rugs. Other than that, what do you expect your neighbors to do? It's not like they are playing their TV or music loudly at inappropriate hours. I can hear my neighbors walking a little bit, but it doesn't bother me. I can even hear their TV sometimes, but they don't play it loud after ten, so I don't complain. Don't forget, your walls, ceiling, and floors are all connected to your neighbors.
I don't understand what sort of action you expect the landlord to take. Upstairs neighbors are something you have to deal with when living in an apartment.
Your upstairs neighbor isn't being a nuisance, she isn't creating a lot of noise. Do you expect your landlord to tell her to stop walking around? Would you accept such an instruction from your landlord if your downstairs neighbor complained about you?
I'm not saying that this wouldn't tick me off as well. But I just don't see why your landlord should be responsible.
Because the noise is excessive.
Talked to the neighbor yesterday, she says no one ever contacted her about it and I showed her the video I made, she was not amused to say because I basically can track every movement of hers throughout the apartment, not much privacy for her.
My downstairs neighbor does not hear anything from me, none of the neighbors here anything from anyone above them either with the excpetion of a few squeaks and thumps.
I have lived in nothing but apartments in my life and the noise here from the floor is the worst I have ever heard. I am going to get a DB meter and record it as well.
The neighbor appears is taking great pains as to not walk on the excessivly noisy floor areas, it has to be a pain for her as well.
We are both going to the manager tomorrow and complain and make an official joint complaint as well. She has an issue with privacy (I can tell when she goes to the bathroom, go to bed, sit on her sofa, how many people are over, about everything) and I yet again am going to point out the noise then invite the manager over to listen for his self.
The landlord is repsonsible because it is a maintenance issue, the floor needs to be fixed as it is not normal. My floor does not do it and none of the neighbors floors do it as well. The noise is very loud, I should post it on a site and show a link just so people can hear. The nopise drowns out my TV and when tlaking on the phone, people on the other end can hear it quite well.
The landlord can do somethign about excessive noise but ZI really doubt the laost of privascy in that her heavy walking as you descibed it makes you able to track her. As you said you don't have the same problem with thsoe below.Noise liike plumbing from upsatirs aprtment for examp0le from pipe running dsoen the walls is just bacilly part of living in a apartment. apartments wil lnever have the privacy odf separate structures. Be advised that the noise as listed in amny city codes in DB is pretty load and reallt depends on the time of day most often.For example a lawnmoer is too load after dark in most cities but is normal and Ok during the daylight hours.
Look, I can give you both sides of your situation by looking back on an apartment I had.
The landlord bought a triple decker in Worcester, MA. Now, triple deckers are old, three story houses built, probably, 100 years ago. ALL wood.
Anyhow, the LL lived in the first floor, renovated the second, including stripping, sanding and refinishing the hardwood floors throughout the second floor, and also renovated the third floor, also re doing the hardwood floors in dining room and kitchen but laying down CHEAP carpet in the bedrooms.
So, I, along with my husband, and 18 month old son, move into the second floor.
Soon after that, my brother and sister in law moved into the third floor.
We never wore shoes in the house, and unless we had something going on and had to run from one end to another, could not really be heard walking. My son, on the other hand, was a runner. Once he learned how to walk, there was only one mode of transportation, running. I could stop him for the moment, but as soon as he wanted to get somewhere else, he ran. The LL complained, as it was irritating her. I tried to get him not to run, but short of tie him down, there really wasn't anything I could do to get him to stop the running. I did my best to curtail it. (looking back, I am sure there was nothing I could do, he was naturally a runner, I have since had another child, who walks everywhere, she really never runs for no reason)
At the same time, my sister in law upstairs walked around like an ELEPHANT. I mean, she is 5'6" and probably 125 lbs, and sounds like a three hundred pounder. She washed laundry at 10Pm, my brother in law would come home at 9pm and wrestle with his daughter, throwing himself down onto the floor, shaking the whole house. Anyway, it really annoyed me until I just got used to it, got over it and moved on.
Well, the LL didn't get used to it, she would call us at 7 pm to complain. Blah blah blah. She eventually just asked us to move. Basically threw us out because, hmm, how did she put it, oh I cannot remember but somethng like constant inconsideration on our part. So, fine, we moved to a first floor apartment (she however got a series of non paying renters and eventually lost the house to foreclosure, unfortunately for her). The place we lived in we had another lady living above us, and we could hear her walking wherever she went. She wasn't even walking heavy, just again, a wood house. We never dreamed of complaining, we were just so grateful to be in an apartment where we werent being treated like crap just because we had a toddler acting like a toddler. That lady could have done jumping jacks I woudn't have cared.
the point is, in our situation, the lady REFINISHES HARDWOOD FLOORS then rents to people with an 18 month old. Frankly, if we wore our shoes in the house, then she would have also complained. God forbid she had my mother living above her, who wears 3 inch heels to work every day and races around in them after work trying to get dinner made.
Anyhow point of the story is, you have to get used to it like I did. Especially if the lady is just walking. Really, if you just let it go, stop letting it irritate you, you will not notice it as much.
Once in a while, if the inlaws upstairs were making too much noise, I would bang on the ceiling with a broom. If it makes you feel better, do the same. If she complains, just say you were hammering something into the ceiling.
My LL just was pissed about my son. And she let it get to her. Her husband didn't have nearly the problem with it that she did. He was a little more laidback. She wasn't, and I think that was what really did her in. Once she thought about it and was annoyed, she let it get the better of her.
If you are irritated by the noises above and you let it get to you, every little sound will be magnified till it sounds like a trumpet in your ears. It will drive you nuts and there may be absolutely nothing you can do about it. That is the sucky thing about renting and may be something you remember to ask before you move somewhere again. Who lives upstairs, how long have they lived there, can you talk to the previous occupant to see if the person upstairs was noisy or not......
Concrete shouldn't creak by the way. maybe your floor is concrete but hers is wood. I've been in concrete apts before and we couldn't hear a thing from upstairs or down.
Sorry, I know it must drive you crazy, but you really probably just have to get used to it. Or, take it up with your LL under a false advertising kind of complaint. Have you ever lived near a train? It drives you nuts at first and can wake you from sound sleep but after a while it may pass and you didn't even realize it...
Location: Oklahoma(formerly SoCalif) Originally Mich,
13,387 posts, read 19,424,518 times
Reputation: 4611
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommytotwo
Look, I can give you both sides of your situation by looking back on an apartment I had.
The landlord bought a triple decker in Worcester, MA. Now, triple deckers are old, three story houses built, probably, 100 years ago. ALL wood.
Anyhow, the LL lived in the first floor, renovated the second, including stripping, sanding and refinishing the hardwood floors throughout the second floor, and also renovated the third floor, also re doing the hardwood floors in dining room and kitchen but laying down CHEAP carpet in the bedrooms.
So, I, along with my husband, and 18 month old son, move into the second floor.
Soon after that, my brother and sister in law moved into the third floor.
We never wore shoes in the house, and unless we had something going on and had to run from one end to another, could not really be heard walking. My son, on the other hand, was a runner. Once he learned how to walk, there was only one mode of transportation, running. I could stop him for the moment, but as soon as he wanted to get somewhere else, he ran. The LL complained, as it was irritating her. I tried to get him not to run, but short of tie him down, there really wasn't anything I could do to get him to stop the running. I did my best to curtail it. (looking back, I am sure there was nothing I could do, he was naturally a runner, I have since had another child, who walks everywhere, she really never runs for no reason)
At the same time, my sister in law upstairs walked around like an ELEPHANT. I mean, she is 5'6" and probably 125 lbs, and sounds like a three hundred pounder. She washed laundry at 10Pm, my brother in law would come home at 9pm and wrestle with his daughter, throwing himself down onto the floor, shaking the whole house. Anyway, it really annoyed me until I just got used to it, got over it and moved on.
Well, the LL didn't get used to it, she would call us at 7 pm to complain. Blah blah blah. She eventually just asked us to move. Basically threw us out because, hmm, how did she put it, oh I cannot remember but somethng like constant inconsideration on our part. So, fine, we moved to a first floor apartment (she however got a series of non paying renters and eventually lost the house to foreclosure, unfortunately for her). The place we lived in we had another lady living above us, and we could hear her walking wherever she went. She wasn't even walking heavy, just again, a wood house. We never dreamed of complaining, we were just so grateful to be in an apartment where we werent being treated like crap just because we had a toddler acting like a toddler. That lady could have done jumping jacks I woudn't have cared.
the point is, in our situation, the lady REFINISHES HARDWOOD FLOORS then rents to people with an 18 month old. Frankly, if we wore our shoes in the house, then she would have also complained. God forbid she had my mother living above her, who wears 3 inch heels to work every day and races around in them after work trying to get dinner made.
Anyhow point of the story is, you have to get used to it like I did. Especially if the lady is just walking. Really, if you just let it go, stop letting it irritate you, you will not notice it as much.
Once in a while, if the inlaws upstairs were making too much noise, I would bang on the ceiling with a broom. If it makes you feel better, do the same. If she complains, just say you were hammering something into the ceiling.
My LL just was pissed about my son. And she let it get to her. Her husband didn't have nearly the problem with it that she did. He was a little more laidback. She wasn't, and I think that was what really did her in. Once she thought about it and was annoyed, she let it get the better of her.
If you are irritated by the noises above and you let it get to you, every little sound will be magnified till it sounds like a trumpet in your ears. It will drive you nuts and there may be absolutely nothing you can do about it. That is the sucky thing about renting and may be something you remember to ask before you move somewhere again. Who lives upstairs, how long have they lived there, can you talk to the previous occupant to see if the person upstairs was noisy or not......
Concrete shouldn't creak by the way. maybe your floor is concrete but hers is wood. I've been in concrete apts before and we couldn't hear a thing from upstairs or down.
Sorry, I know it must drive you crazy, but you really probably just have to get used to it. Or, take it up with your LL under a false advertising kind of complaint.
Quote:
Have you ever lived near a train? It drives you nuts at first and can wake you from sound sleep but after a while it may pass and you didn't even realize it...
I can verify that, I live less than 500ft from a train track and next to a crossing where the horn is blown everytime it passes. I was use to it within the first month.
Not to condone anything, but one reason some people get so irritated, is because after the first time you hear an annoying sound, you start listening for them. Most people don't realize they do this. I've had to break myself of it.
I once lived in an older building with hard wood floors. My kids were 5 and 7 at the time. We were really only there at night. My husband and I were working full time and I was going to school at night. The kids would stay with my husband's mother until one of us was able to pick them up. I thought we were being considerate. I never let anyone wear shoes in the house. The apartment was also a long stretch. I remember one night yelling at my son because after taking a bath, he darted from one end of the apartment to the other. The girl downstairs from me called the police on me. when the cop came, he laughed and even went downstairs to talk to the girl.
Again as someone else said -- if it is creaking and squeaking, it is not concrete. I don't care what they told you, it's just not. It's wood.
Have you ever heard the sidewalk creak and squeak? LOL ... no.
The squeak is caused by the sounds of the wood boards touching each other, and mostly moving up and down in the nails that hold them in. It can't really be fixed. It's part of having wood floors. Concrete is one entity all smushed together, there's no noise that can be made from that.
I am an assistant property manager...nothing can be done legally, but what you can do is go ahead and talk to the regional, if that gets you no where call corporate. They should allow you to transfer without charging you extra fees if you complain enough.
Excessive noise would be more like if the neighbor was doing it on purpose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav
The landlord can do somethign about excessive noise but ZI really doubt the laost of privascy in that her heavy walking as you descibed it makes you able to track her. As you said you don't have the same problem with thsoe below.Noise liike plumbing from upsatirs aprtment for examp0le from pipe running dsoen the walls is just bacilly part of living in a apartment. apartments wil lnever have the privacy odf separate structures. Be advised that the noise as listed in amny city codes in DB is pretty load and reallt depends on the time of day most often.For example a lawnmoer is too load after dark in most cities but is normal and Ok during the daylight hours.
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