No Soundproofing in New Council Property: I'm living in a prison!

adouglasmhor

I lived in a flat for nearly 20 years and the soundproofing was appalling there and sound did travel, despite that me listening to TV or radio at a slightly lower volume or speaking on the phone or on Skype did not cause any significant noise in the bedroom of my upstairs or downstairs neighbours. My upstairs neighbour was deaf (but her son who stayed with her wasn’t and he slept on a pull out in her living room) and I could hear sometimes her telly quite clearly in my living room but she did go to bed early. In your own place is not the same as your parents or a shared flat TBH.

The complainer is being very unreasonable in my own opinion and if they took steps themselves to minimise any disturbance instead of harassing others it may get better results.

Fire_Fox

adouglasmhor wrote: »

I lived in a flat for nearly 20 years and the soundproofing was appalling there and sound did travel, despite that me listening to TV or radio at a slightly lower volume or speaking on the phone or on Skype did not cause any significant noise in the bedroom of my upstairs or downstairs neighbours. My upstairs neighbour was deaf (but her son who stayed with her wasn’t and he slept on a pull out in her living room) and I could hear sometimes her telly quite clearly in my living room but she did go to bed early. In your own place is not the same as your parents or a shared flat TBH.

The complainer is being very unreasonable in my own opinion and if they took steps themselves to minimise any disturbance instead of harassing others it may get better results.

Every property is different, different frequencies of sound travels in different ways or are amplified or muffled depending on the specific construction. Here we are very lucky and can hear very little. A couple of top volume parties on a different floor, my last neighbours high heels clicking on the laminate and sometimes them chopping food in the kitchen! Why we can hear those relatively quiet noises but not speaking, TV or anything else who knows.

It should not be the same in your own place as in your parents house ... but here it almost is, due to circumstances outside the control of both parties. The neighbour clearly can hear because they are coming up to complain about specific things, those complaints appear to fit in with the activities that are actually taking place.

Again why does it have to be black and white, all or nothing? Why can't both parties be reasonable and compromise? As I said to refuse to do your noisier leisure activities an hour or so earlier just to make a point is inconsiderate. It doesn't affect your quality of life, whereas clearly not showering, tiptoeing about and whispering 24/7 does. Whatever happened to people being community minded and caring about those who are sick and vulnerable?

Norman_Castle

The complainer is being very unreasonable in my own opinion and if they took steps themselves to minimise any disturbance instead of harassing others it may get better results.

How should they minimise the disturbance?. By spending their lives wearing earplugs?.

Norman_Castle

You do use a headset, you still have to speak at a normal volume for the microphone to pick it up, and you are not seriously suggesting that someone should not talk in their flat at certain times are you?

Call of duty looks popular with gamers. Do many people speak normally in a fantasy warzone?. A lot of people speak very loudly when on the phone without realising.

adouglasmhor

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Every property is different, different frequencies of sound travels in different ways or are amplified or muffled depending on the specific construction. Here we are very lucky and can hear very little. A couple of top volume parties on a different floor, my last neighbours high heels clicking on the laminate and sometimes them chopping food in the kitchen! Why we can hear those relatively quiet noises but not speaking, TV or anything else who knows.

It should not be the same in your own place as in your parents house ... but here it almost is, due to circumstances outside the control of both parties. The neighbour clearly can hear because they are coming up to complain about specific things, those complaints appear to fit in with the activities that are actually taking place.

Again why does it have to be black and white, all or nothing? Why can't both parties be reasonable and compromise? As I said to refuse to do your noisier leisure activities an hour or so earlier just to make a point is inconsiderate. It doesn't affect your quality of life, whereas clearly not showering, tiptoeing about and whispering 24/7 does. Whatever happened to people being community minded and caring about those who are sick and vulnerable?

Maybe my "noisier" but not really "noisy" leisure activities require me to be in contact with people in other time zones on occasion so it would affect my quality of life. Maybe someone being so rude and self centred as to complain about someone using a hair dryer during the day should look to themselves not outside.

I would be contacting the council or a lawyer, the husband of the couple sounds a bit of an overbearing bully from what I have read from the posts. You seem to be the one who sees things in black and white to be honest.

The neighbour is coming up to complain about specific things that really do not bear up to a beligerant complaint. Also if they find the flat so noisy they have had 7 years to move as they are clearly going to have this problem with every and any occupant.

adouglasmhor

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Call of duty looks popular with gamers. Do many people speak normally in a fantasy warzone?. A lot of people speak very loudly when on the phone without realising.

I tend to speak very quietly and clearly - but I am a former Royal Signals bod (I know my old boss would be shocked how bad my typing has become), I have heard people get exited and loud - but it tends to distort what you are saying and is counter productive.

culpepper

Our first house when we married was a cottage with very thin walls.
We could hear almost all that was said next door,it was quite irritating because it was almost all about us.
If the neighbour has health issues exacerbated by the flats being notoriously noisy no matter who is in residence,then they should appeal to the council to re-home them in a less noisy flat or bungalow,or possibly sound proof that one flat. I don't see why it should be every other residents problem and the council shrug it off.
If you appear sympathetic and suggest (to them) that the council really aught to find them a quieter place due to her condition,you are on her side and not in confrontation.
If they are causing you stress by knocking and knocking at all hours, keep a pair of earphones handy and just ignore them. They will eventually stop but if they manage to catch you off guard and complain that you don't answer the door, you can explain that you now wear earphones constantly so that you can listen to your music or TV without disturbing them and of course, that means you cant hear the door.
We used to live in flats when I was a child. Thick slippers are just as good as a new carpet and much cheaper. If there are certain bits of furniture that create noise,then a carpet off cut under the item can help.
An elliptical machine is going to be noisy wherever you use it. We had an ordinary exercise bike when the kids were little and you couldn't use it downstairs when they were in bed because of the sound,it is the rhythm as much as the hum or grind that becomes annoying.
For things like bike maintenance, outside is going to be better if there will be noise.
You cant help some sounds,drilling for a shelf or banging in a nail but you can make sure that it isn't constant or at antisocial times.