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November 10, 2008
Noise Issues
Wondering if anyone has advice on dealing with extremely loud neighbors. Our neighbor has a drum set in his basement, which is not soundproofed. When he plays, it sounds like he is in our apartment! Its very disturbing and sporadic - it would almost be better if he had some sort of schedule so we could at least expect it. He once began playing at 9:00am on a weekend morning--there is little regard for neighbors, and my boyfriend and I have frequently knocked on the walls and even his front door to let him know the noise is intrusive and excessive. Do we have any recourse? Is it appropriate to ask him to soundproof his basement?
Comments
Start inviting all of your friends with kids over at 5:30 am every weekend. Let the kids run around and scream and bang on his walls. Do this on a Saturday morning and a Sunday morning. After the kids leave on Sunday, knock on his door and ask him if he is ready to negotiate.
Posted by: lechacal at November 10, 2008 12:13 PM
I'm wondering if we have the same neighbor...
Have you tried going through your landlord? If they are small rental buildings, they might know the owner of your neighbor's building and can bring it up as an issue.
Posted by: mksk at November 10, 2008 12:47 PM
unfortunately we rent, he owns.
Posted by: bkln77 at November 10, 2008 12:53 PM
Are you saying that you try to contact him when he's playing, and he doesn't respond? Or have you actually had a conversation with him?
Try to talk to him or leave him a note. Then just call in a noise complaint. Anyone playing drums in their house will probably expect a noise complaint at some point-
Posted by: Park Place at November 10, 2008 1:08 PM
9:00 Am??!! Are you going to fucking work you Douche??!!
"unfortunately we rent, he owns."
Go back to OHI FING O!
The What
Someday this war is gonna end...
Posted by: Return of The What at November 10, 2008 1:46 PM
i would counter it w/ noise of my own. have a few midnight polka parties and wait for him to come to you.
Posted by: slick at November 10, 2008 3:27 PM
What's post should be the QOTD!
Posted by: denton at November 10, 2008 5:00 PM
A classic response is to record your neighbors noise and play it back LOUDLY when he's likely to be sleeping.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at November 11, 2008 12:34 PM
You could smash a hole in his wall when you know he's not there and bend all of his cymbal stands and smash his drums. Then just nail plywood back up over the hole.
Posted by: werner at November 11, 2008 3:41 PM
What - 9am on a weekend is not a time when most people would be going to work.
bkln77 - I echo Park Place's question: have you talked to the person directly, or just knocked and not gotten a response?
Posted by: cwbuecheler at November 11, 2008 3:43 PM
Call 311 EVERY TIME he plays the drums. You will get a record of your complaint in the mail and he will also get a letter stating people have been filing noise complaints. Start a paper trail. Also get your other neighbors involved. Surely they are also hearing the disturbance? Sometimes it takes a village, so talk to them. And oh yeh, have you approached him directly? You have only yourself to blame for your misery if you can't man-up to this guy.
Posted by: bowl of dicks at November 11, 2008 5:30 PM
First of all--my deepest sympathies on your situation. I myself have lived next to loud neighbors, so I know how unbearable it is.
But there are solutions. And as a tenant, you have certain rights. You have the right to have your Warranty of Habitability honored, which basically entitles you to a peaceful home. So my first question would be, who do you rent from? Is there a management company you can complain to? Is the guy below under the same management company? In other words, is there a middleman in your building, whose obligation it is to satisfy all tenants? Most buildings have noise restrictions in place, such as playing instruments too early or too late in the day and at excessive volume.
If there is someone you can complain to, then I would suggest writing a letter (typed) describing in detail when and how the noise occurs. This helps start a paper trail.
The other potential solution is to address this directly with the neighbor. It might require some courage, but it'll be worth it in the end. There's nothing worse than sitting there, feeling powerless. By confronting the situation, you will at least get some sense of control over it. So I suggest, knocking on his front door one evening (when you think he's home) and politely bringing up the noise issue. Explain to him just how audible it is and that it often interferes with your activities and prevents you from enjoying your home. It's not unlikely that he has no concept of just how loud his drums are.
Try to negotiate a solution with your neighbor. Suggest for him to install soundproofing. Remind him that drums are a very loud instrument, and it's simply imperative to protect your neighbors from that kind of noise. Let him know that you would like to be on good terms with him and that this issue, if unsolved, could lead to a conflict you want to avoid. Next, ask him what his schedule is--when he likes to play drums, and try to arrange some kind of situation with him, where he'll either alert you to when he's about to play, or he'll play when you guys are not home, etc.
If all this fails, and he's hostile and unwilling to change, then you still have options. You can call 311 and file noise nuisance complaints, which will lead to the DEP showing up in your building and doing an inspection. They will most likely find that sound proofing needs to installed and they could potentially fine your neighbor, which will obviously get him to change his ways. You can also call the police. And finally, your last resort is taking him to housing court.
I hate to tell you, but simply knocking on walls and doors won't do much. If he's not answering his front door when you knock, then write a letter explaining your situation and put it under his door.
Good luck with your situation. Remember, you have a right to a peaceful home. Let that empower you and give you the courage to change your situation.
Posted by: jgbk at November 11, 2008 5:38 PM
Knocking on the walls only escalates the situation. You guys have a conflict: he wants to bang his drums when you want silence. You could ask him to soundproof, but that's really expensive. Better is to tell him when you are definitely not home and he can bang on his drums like they were his boss's head. You can also reasonably ask him to wait until, say, 10 a.m. on a weekend. But you will be asking. You have no "rights" here, so be nice.
Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at November 11, 2008 7:37 PM
"You have no "rights" here, so be nice."
What do you mean, no "rights"? Not true. There is such thing as a noise code that applies to everyone, one that was made more strict last Summer btw.
But knocking on walls doesn't do anything it's true. They need to talk to him and negotiate something about times he plays and how long, or they have to start calling 311 if he's not helpful and doesn't care.
Posted by: traditionalmod at November 12, 2008 11:49 AM
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