News   Nov 08, 2024
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Noisy Condo Tenants

I was among the first occupants in a converted building on Charles St. just east of Church. The soundproofing was non-existent. I could hear my neighbour crying, having sex and tapping her toothbrush against the sink. I couldn't wait to move out of there.

Perhaps recording these noises and playing back, at mid night, would have stopped these noises:)
 
I was among the first occupants in a converted building on Charles St. just east of Church. The soundproofing was non-existent. I could hear my neighbour crying, having sex and tapping her toothbrush against the sink. I couldn't wait to move out of there.

Is this the building?

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At least resale buyers can SEE and HEAR. If you have your eye on a place, look around. Ask around. I am amazed at how many people buy housing with less care than they get gym memberships. In and out of a staged open house and boom!

As for new places, every time I am on the Gardiner, I can see straight into people's bedrooms and kitchens. I cannot understand breathing exhaust fumes, cleaning the dirt and dust and OMG, the noise.

Thing is there's not a lot of information out there and some people have different tolerances of noise levels. One person may be extremely sensitive to sound while the other may not be. I lived/owned a condo with terrible soundproofing. Hated it. I rented it out and have not heard any problems from my tenants. They have all stayed for years.

As for new condos there's really no way of doing your research on something like this. You can buy a penthouse unit or one next to a stairwell or an exterior wall, but there's really no fool proof plan of avoiding a poorly soundproofed unit unless you soundproof it prior to moving in.

That said, there are certain builders I will never buy from. Streetcar is notorious for sound issues. Would never buy from them so I guess there is some info out there. It's just not that easy IMO.
 
Well, it lasted a year but my silent nights are over. New tenants moved in to 3 adjacent units to mine. That's one on each side and above.
Before, it was just one on my bedroom side making noise. Now, they all do.
I've already filed formal complaint/letter to the management. Having gone through this before, I know what to do. That's a plus. And I know that this won't get resolved any time soon, that's a minus..
Seriously thinking about installing soundproofing but then I read that this can be a bust/waste of money if not done fully.
 
Well, it lasted a year but my silent nights are over. New tenants moved in to 3 adjacent units to mine. That's one on each side and above.
Before, it was just one on my bedroom side making noise. Now, they all do.
I've already filed formal complaint/letter to the management. Having gone through this before, I know what to do. That's a plus. And I know that this won't get resolved any time soon, that's a minus..
Seriously thinking about installing soundproofing but then I read that this can be a bust/waste of money if not done fully.

So, what are the best options to soundproof (as much as possible) condo units? (Are there any viable soundproof options?)
 
Well, in my case, I'd have to find out how much insulation is in the wall first; if it's lacking insulation, fill that in.
Then double up the drywall with green glue (simplest). Would be smart in the long run to decouple the wall also.

http://www.tmsoundproofing.com/decoupling-explained.html

On the matter of noise coming from the 'new' neighbour,
There is this soft rattling / humming noise coming from their side. It sounds like a machine, maybe a heater, humidifier of some sort.
I can only hear this in my bedroom which has the only adjacent wall (other than bathroom) with them.
I've been living here close to 9 years now and never heard this before. Funny thing is, I've only heard this 3 times so far, each time right after I made noise complaint against them, late at night. Coincidence? :rolleyes:
Question is, how do I go about finding out where/what is causing this noise? It would be simple if I could go into their unit when the noise starts.
I'm trying to get a floor plan of their unit from management but it's been slow process.
Currently all I can do is, when the noise starts again, have the concierge listen to the noise from my room and convince him to talk to the neighbour to find out what's causing it. :(
 
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Thanks! Hopefully you find a solution to your noise problems. Since you're living in a condo how are you planning to decouple the wall and see what levels of insulation are between your and your neighbor's condo units?
 
@CITY_LOVER Just cut it open I guess. It's just drywall - I did punch through my bedroom wall, it's empty inside, couldn't see any insulation.

@TheKingEast Noise does come from above as well. Left (bedroom), right (living room), above (everywhere). But not everyday. Guess I should be thankful(?) for that.
 
@CITY_LOVER Just cut it open I guess. It's just drywall - I did punch through my bedroom wall, it's empty inside, couldn't see any insulation.
I'm in rhe condo construction products biz. I recall my surprise when I first started in the role when visiting job sites, and saw that all the walls, including the exterior hallways were made from simple 3/8" or 1/2" drywall inserted into steel track at the floor and ceiling with thin metal vertical studs. Living in a 1920s semi, to me exterior walls should be two or three layers of brick, and the wall between semi units should be solid or cinder block.

If you wanted to break into any condo all you'd need was one of these, a common drywall saw, to cut a hole beside the doorknob and reach through.

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A cordless Dremel with a drywall blade would do it in less than a min.

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That is my concern, if I were to do this, I would have to go all the way..

They were jamming again last evening (7ish) for about an hour.
This was from the neighbour on the living room side, so bedroom was 'detached' from their unit. But it was still loud enough to be heard inside the room with door closed.
I had to go out for a bit because I just didn't want to deal with it at the time..

I've already talked to the tenant in person over the weekend (blasting it in the morning then).
Response was 'ok' with an 'are you kidding me?' look on her face. No apology.
Music didn't stop right away but it did eventually stop. But she picked it up again later that evening, lasted longer to make up for the morning session cut short.

What is the psychology behind these type of people? Don't they have any respect? Courtesy?
Is it because they're young? I'd like to think not because I sure as hell wasn't like that and neither were my friends when we were younger.

I'm a reasonable person. If they're playing at a volume that I can hear from my side faintly that's ok as long as it doesn't last all day.
When the volume is so high that it drowns my dryer and washing machine running together, that's a problem.

How do you deal with noise? Do you go talk to them? Do you call the security? Police? When is it acceptable and when do they cross the line?
 
They were jamming again last evening (7ish) for about an hour.

When the volume is so high that it drowns my dryer and washing machine running together, that's a problem.

How do you deal with noise? Do you go talk to them? Do you call the security? Police? When is it acceptable and when do they cross the line?

You don't call or talk to the tenant. You send a written complaint to the manager with a copy to security. You need security to be ware of your complaint.

List all the incidents as described here: http://www.condomadness.info/bad_neighbours.html

You see if your neighbours are preventing you from peacefully ejoying the use of your unit, it is their landlord who has the problem, not the renter. If the board ignores your complaints, then they will have the problem.
 

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