TV noise from rented bed-sit

ajbaker

Hi all.

I would appreciate a little advice on the following:

I currently own a terrace house. My bedroom is on the first floor, and the bed head is against the wall seperating my property from the neighbours. The neighbours property is a shop on the ground floor and rented bed-sit on the first floor. Due to the layout of the bed-sit a TV is situated against the same area of wall as my bed head. The person currently renting the bed-sit works unusual hours and often has the TV on between 2300 and 0100. Unfortunately I can often hear it, and sometimes it is so loud I can hear every word. It does sometimes disturb my sleep.

I am considering the purchase of some sound insulation materials - there are plenty of other threads relating to this, so advice not required.

While not being close friends we do get along with both the person renting the bed-sit and the person who owns the property. On the odd occasion that I have had to ask for the TV to be turned down it has been done; albeit begrudgingly.

I guess the advice I require is what shold be done to find a more permanent solution. Should I expect the owner and/or tenant to do something or is my only course of action to install sound insulation? Is hearing a TV after 2300 considered a noise nuisance or is it simply a part of terrace living? I have no desire for this to become a dispute but I would love to have a peaceful nights sleep.

Thoughts? And thanks in advance.

heybigspender2006

Nuisance. It's too late for loud TV like that, if they have a problem hearing it they can invest in a pair of headphones. Might be worth having a quick chat with the guy/girl see if they would be willing to do something like that. I have exactly the same problem except I don't get on with the geezer with the loud TV.

Heath_Robinson

Thing is though, in the circumstances you describe a TV wouldn't have to be on very loud for it to be annoying. I used to have an upstairs flat where my lounge was above the downstairs flat main bedroom, I always tried to be considerate, but you've got to get on with your life as well.

Soundproofing may help, but it has to be done well, or you might as well not bother.

Is it more general TV noise or bass that you can hear?

tipsychick

What about investing in some ear plugs?

jockettuk

does your bed have to be on that wall? i would speak to them explainging that you have no problem with the tv on but that late could they take into consideration your probably in bed and could they turn it down a little.. mabey suggest the headphone thing and offer to buy it..

ajbaker

Cheers for the response. It is correct to say the TV does not have to be loud to be annoying, but neither have I said I am unwilling to accept being able to hear it at all. The occasions it becomes really frustrating are when I can identify each spoken word. It is not the full audio range I can hear; not just the bass.

What exactly do you mean by 'doing soundproofing well'? Is there anything specific I should be aware of?

Unfortunately I do not like ear plugs. I find it hard to understand why I should make all the effort to avoid the disturbance.

It is possible that the bed could be moved. However the room is only slightly wider than the bed is long so would make it very awkward to walk to the other side of the bed. Perhaps something I should consider though.

Both I and the person renting are reasonably young (late 20s, early 30s). If someone suggested I use headphones I would probably laugh (I dislike them similar to ear plugs). I therefore cannot expect the other to do this.

Obviously speaking to them is the first step...

Poppycat

Have you tried wearing earplugs? I use them myself to get to sleep and often they work but there are occasions they fall out. It may be a very cheap solution as they only costs a few quid for a couple

Its very difficult and expensive to cut noise down to a acceptable level, I have been there and tried it

Wig

If you get on well, have a word with the landlord and ask that he puts in on that wall insulated plasterboard with 40 mm of insulation stuck on to it, the stuff is glued to the wall. If you then do the same on your side the problem will be greatly reduced.

or look at this site for ideas on what specialised products to use.

http://www.soundservice.co.uk/Soundproofing%20Materials.htm

ginger_nuts

can they move the TV away from the adjoining wall . I watch my TV at night in Bed but I keep it away from the adjoining wall .

culpepper

We did a science experiment when the kids were younger ,they had to make a paper tube and put one end to their ears and the other touching the table then roll a coin along the table,the sound was enormous compared to not using the tube.
My point is,it needs you to be in contact with the surface the noise is reverberating off to make it much louder,
so , you could ;
move the bed,
have your head at the other end,
ask them to move the TV ,
put something to dampen the noise between you and the wall
or all of those things.

kittiwoz

I used to live in a terrace house and could regularly hear every word of prayer meetings going on in the room next door simply because the guy leading the meetings was a good orator and ennunciated clearly although he wasn't shouting or speaking overly loudly. You shouldn't start a dispute with a neighbour over them watching TV late at night, especially if they work shifts. It's the type of thing that is likely to result in far more agro than you currently get from their telly since both parties will probably feel justifiably agrieved.

Culpepper is quite correct. Sound is a physical compression wave and travels through solids (e.g. the wall and the bed) much more effectively than gasses (e.g. the air in your room and your neighbours room). If you can move your bed away from the wall and/or request your neighbour to move the TV it should help a lot.