What should I do to get rid of noises which are made before a quiet time from my above neighbors?

Question

I live in a three floor apartment. I am on a second floor. My upper neighbors are very careless. I always hear loud noises from the neighbors before a quiet time from 10:30 pm because they let their children run and jump freely in their unit until the quiet time. I talked to my manager and also wrote two complaint letters to the manager, but she said she can not do any thing because the noises are not made in the quiet time. I also talked to my neighbors, but it didn't work, and they has done it more often. What should I do now when my neighbors always make loud noises before the quiet time?

Answer 1

You get what you pay for in life. Apartments are cheaper for a reason--you have to put up with living in close proximity to people. I've learned to live with it... I live in an apartment that shares our bathroom with our the neighbor right next to us. (Its an old building) They NEVER clean it either.

I've also had noisy neighbors above me who would play their music really loud. I went up there one time to introduce myself and had a quick look through the door to note where their speakers were. They were the large wooden speakers that sit right on the floor. Later that night, I cut a hole in the ceiling of my living room and found the spot where the speakers were by feeling the vibrations through the floorboards above. I then took a power drill and drilled a hole straight up through the subfloor, the carpet, and the bottom of their speaker. I then bought the biggest, grippiest lag bolts I could find at the hardware store and threaded them into the hole effectively securing their speakers to their floor. I then patched up the hole in the drywall, sanded and repainted (drywall was my trade in construction). My landlord never found out and I moved shortly after. My only regret was I never got a chance to see the looks on their faces upstairs whenever they moved and tried to lift the speaker and ended up eventually ripping the bottom off and probably destroying the entire speaker. Better.. the confusion of seeing three half inch by 8 inch giant screws coming up through the carpet and wondering what the hell is going on. ...and probably having to pay for the damages. I know I sure didn't.

Quiet revenge is the name of the game.

Answer 2

They sound incredibly unreasonable, so it sounds like even if you or the management approach them with reason that they will probably still bang and complain. I had a similar problem - we had a cat, and that cat running down a hall would cause our downstairs neighbor to complain. A cat running isn't loud at all, but then it was an old building. What we did was try to reduce the amount of noise as much as possible with carpet underlay coupled with rugs on the floors. It was tacky, but helped dampen the noise. Maybe a thick rug under the treadmill will help cut their thudding too. I'd keep on living as you are though - you do pay, and you're not doing anything unreasonable. Maybe the management will ask them to cut down their noise, which sounds much more disruptive. Perhaps keep a record with what you did (eg: "walked across floor in socks") and how much they banged as a result (5 loud bangs), and give this to the management. Or maybe even provide a video. I think they will be sympathetic, and may end up with your neighbors getting a warning to cut down on their banging.

Answer 3

i'll share with you want i was told, i also live in an apartment...when you live in a apartment complex, there are going to be noises..because many people live in a confined area..also children are going to make noise, laugh, play run, scream..etc...as long as they follow the rules set forth by the apartment complex,and are quiet at the time set.. there is nothing that can be done, you must deal with this, or move to a place with no neighbors...


i had this same problem,,and unless you move your stuck with the noise, i moved to the 3rd floor no more banging on my ceiling. :)

Answer 4

If it is before the quiet time you can't really do anything. Its not easy raising kids, chances are they are doing their best. However I have a reccomendation: try earplugs. I have a lady downstairs from me who gets loud sometimes and I just use those things. You can buy them at any drug store.

Answer 5

Go for a walk during the time the children are noisy. listen to a walkman, or whatever a personal stereo is called these days. Absent yourself from concentrating on their noise, for your own peace of mind.

Answer 6

Play Classical music just loud enough for them to hear at that very time when they're being noisy and see if it calms the children.

Answer 7

there is no reason why you should have to put up with that even if it is not the quiet time. your manager should be taking the complain seriously. if not they are breaking there contract by not doing something about it, and you can move out.

Answer 8

I had the exact same problem. We finally moved. It's a crappy situation, but short of sabotaging them there is really nothing you can do. When I confronted him he was most discourteous so I wished him "Ill will" and sure enough he was being hauled away by the cops one day.

Answer 9

Dude, as they said, it is before the quiet time.

Answer 10

Sorry, but you don't do nothing I have same problem.