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Thank you for your responses JCParalegal. Personally we have an apartment above us which was purchased by someone for subleasing. The apartment complex has an 85% carpeting rule but it's very hard to get anybody to enforce it. A year ago when the landlord was going to re-rent the apartment I asked him to put down the carpeting but he refused. We suffered for a year now with very noisy neighbors who keep walking with shoes and dragging furniture around. Today they finally moved out and it took them 2 days to get their stuff out. No wonder they were making so much noise--looks like they spent a year filling the apartment up and now moved because they probably just ran out of space in the little 1 bedroom apartment...
So now is my opportunity to request that this landlord (who is bound by the rules of the complex) really does put down padded carpeting. I was trying to see if NJ has some law about it as the management doesn't really seem to act on their own rules... But it looks like they don't. I thought maybe my town Teaneck does but I suppose not. It only costs about $1000 to carpet the apartment. It's kind of frustrating that because someone wants to use the apartment for some extra income, we need to suffer. It mostly bothers my mom who has a hard time falling asleep and it really disturbs her in the morning...
How is walking a possible noise complaint Walking is a normal life noise. If the person on the first floor can't deal with it they need to not live on the first floor. I've lived on everything from ground to top floor apts. Guess what? Walking over your head is what happens when you live below someone. It is life. I can't get over how self centered people are when it comes to this issue. I think some people expect individuals who live above them to actually have work/social hours that accommodate their lifestyle too! And FTR - right now I live on the first floor below a super heavy walker who wears heavy boots on hardwood floors. Guess what? I adjusted because that is the right thing to do.
If there is not enough insulation between the floors or the person is a heavy walker there is excessive noise.
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Originally Posted by pchs
Walking is a normal life noise.
Walking on the sidewalk, in public places, etc is a normal life noise. Hearing stomp stomp stomp boom stomp stomp over your head to the point where it wakes you up, prevents you from going to sleep or otherwise disrupts your life is not at all normal. People pay for quiet enjoyment, not for Riverdance II over their heads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchs
If the person on the first floor can't deal with it they need to not live on the first floor.
If so many landlords and condos didn't try and skimp when it comes to things like properly insulating between units and using adequate padding under carpeting instead of the cheapest of the cheap, a lot less people would be complaining. It's not unreasonable to expect peace and quiet in your own residence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchs
I've lived on everything from ground to top floor apts. Guess what? Walking over your head is what happens when you live below someone. It is life.
Walking, of course. It's the fact that the person below can hear it and that it is loud enough to be disruptive that is the problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchs
I can't get over how self centered people are when it comes to this issue.
Wanting peace and quiet in your own place and not to be woken up or prevented from going to sleep really isn't self-centered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchs
I think some people expect individuals who live above them to actually have work/social hours that accommodate their lifestyle too!
No, most of us just expect that they be considerate of others, that buildings be properly insulated so that you can't hear every little thing, and that adequate padding be installed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchs
And FTR - right now I live on the first floor below a super heavy walker who wears heavy boots on hardwood floors. Guess what? I adjusted because that is the right thing to do.
How thoughtful of him to be a heavy walker and wear heavy boots on a hardwood floor! I suppose you send your neighbor who blasts his 100 watt stereo a thank you note for sharing his music with you too.
I understand the concept of proper insulation. I ALSO understand that walking is a normal function of life and for me to think I should dictate if an individual wears shoes in their house or that they retrain their walking style is the height of presumptuous. Bottom line is if I can't handle the normal sounds of my neighbor walking about in his home then, I shouldn't live on a ground floor. End of story. Walking is not the equivalent of blasting your stereo in the middle of the night or putting on a Riverdance festival, and it is NOT reserved for just the outside sidewalk. Anyone who believes that needs to find a place to live that does not involve shared quarters, like an apartment building. Again it is the height of self - centered to attempt to manage someone's walking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCParalegal
If there is not enough insulation between the floors or the person is a heavy walker there is excessive noise.
Walking on the sidewalk, in public places, etc is a normal life noise. Hearing stomp stomp stomp boom stomp stomp over your head to the point where it wakes you up, prevents you from going to sleep or otherwise disrupts your life is not at all normal. People pay for quiet enjoyment, not for Riverdance II over their heads.
If so many landlords and condos didn't try and skimp when it comes to things like properly insulating between units and using adequate padding under carpeting instead of the cheapest of the cheap, a lot less people would be complaining. It's not unreasonable to expect peace and quiet in your own residence.
Walking, of course. It's the fact that the person below can hear it and that it is loud enough to be disruptive that is the problem.
Wanting peace and quiet in your own place and not to be woken up or prevented from going to sleep really isn't self-centered.
No, most of us just expect that they be considerate of others, that buildings be properly insulated so that you can't hear every little thing, and that adequate padding be installed.
How thoughtful of him to be a heavy walker and wear heavy boots on a hardwood floor! I suppose you send your neighbor who blasts his 100 watt stereo a thank you note for sharing his music with you too.
I understand the concept of proper insulation. I ALSO understand that walking is a normal function of life and for me to think I should dictate if an individual wears shoes in their house or that they retrain their walking style is the height of presumptuous. Bottom line is if I can't handle the normal sounds of my neighbor walking about in his home then, I shouldn't live on a ground floor. End of story. Walking is not the equivalent of blasting your stereo in the middle of the night or putting on a Riverdance festival, and it is NOT reserved for just the outside sidewalk. Anyone who believes that needs to find a place to live that does not involve shared quarters, like an apartment building. Again it is the height of self - centered to attempt to manage someone's walking.
That's your personal opinion of the way things should be. Fortunately for people who suffer because of noise issues, there are legal avenues available to address their complaints.
Yes I'm sure there are all kinds of legal avenues available for those who want to pursue someone for walking in their own home...Eviction due to walking I love it, especially given that NJ is such a landlord friendly state which makes it so easy to evict people .
The landlord's only problem would be having to put up with such a complainer! What's next, eviction due to snoring, due to work hours, due to social hours, due to breakfast time not being compatible with the rest of the tenants. Maybe we should evict people who have a baby b/c it cries at night. Hearing other people's daily living related noises is part of what life is like living in shared quarters. Noise violations pertain to excesses. If someone can't understand that they need to grow up. And please don't try to tell me that your bosses have given you paperwork to handle for evicting someone due to walking. If anyone believes that I have a bridge to sell them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCParalegal
That's your personal opinion of the way things should be. Fortunately for people who suffer because of noise issues, there are legal avenues available to address their complaints.
Unfortunately I have a the very same issue.....it is really a hard thing to work through. My upstairs neighbor works late and comes home at 11:30 pm at night, an hour after I have laid down and finally have fallen asleep after reading/tv. His living room/dining area/office is right over my head and he is up for 3hours until about 3am walking, dropping pens, moving in his office chair, laughing at the tv, shredding paper, snoring (obviously not all these noises in one night, but a few), floor boards creaking everyone move of the way. I have trouble falling asleep and am woken up a few times a night. At least 4 days out of the week I am not getting a full nights sleep and am probably not even sleeping soundly and well rested even when I think I slept through the night. Unfortunately I suffer because I can't tell him to change his lifestyle. So I am sleep deprived and grouchy for work etc. Oh well...... And then when I try to take a nap the next day he is now up at that point and moving around again so.....
I've considered moving the bedroom to the other side but there is another man up against that wall that plays a drum, listens to music and has people over, and the hallway is right outside the door so I get all the hallway traffic noise coming through...What do you do....suffer.
I can't wait to by into this mess we call house buying.
You are just totally missing the point here. The reason people rent separate apartments is because they want a quiet environment, otherwise we could all live on one floor and hang curtains in between. The problem is that many apartment buildings were built so cheaply that the floors amplify and radiate sounds instead of absorbing and dissipating them. The floor above is a sounding board. This is why many apartment complexes have RULES that specify that upon a noise complaint 85% of the floor must be carpeted with padding. The rule is there because carpeting and padding does help muffle most of the noise. The issue is usually that the neighbors or their apartment owner don't feel like spending the $1000-$2000 to do what the rules require.
Nobody is talking about retraining anybody to walk differently or to tell someone to not move around. In well-built buildings this problem doesn't exist since the floors do not radiate the sounds of walking feet. Of course you wouldn't expect your upstairs neighbors to have a daily dancing party on your head and you would expect them to at least not wear heavy boots around the apartment, like you would expect them to to blast the stereo anytime they feel like it. That is why there are rules limiting playing loud music or having dogs bark at night time hours. Telling someone that if they don't like noise they should simply not live under someone or move to a house is crude and silly since often this is not an option due to location or income.
Throwing insults, laughing at people's suffering and using descriptions such as "self centered" is simply uncivilized, unconstructive and unacceptable. The discusssion of rules, laws and avenues for enforcing/legislating them is what is needed.
You are just totally missing the point here. The reason people rent separate apartments is because they want a quiet environment, otherwise we could all live on one floor and hang curtains in between. The problem is that many apartment buildings were built so cheaply that the floors amplify and radiate sounds instead of absorbing and dissipating them. The floor above is a sounding board. This is why many apartment complexes have RULES that specify that upon a noise complaint 85% of the floor must be carpeted with padding. The rule is there because carpeting and padding does help muffle most of the noise. The issue is usually that the neighbors or their apartment owner don't feel like spending the $1000-$2000 to do what the rules require.
Why should the neighbors have to foot the bill? It's not their fault the building was poorly made.
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