Neighbours showering at 1am - what can I do?

cymruchris

I'd be making lots of noise when their house was quiet (likely they'd be asleep) if talking politely gets you nowhere. 

MoonChild91

SallyDucati said:

MoonChild91 said:

lookstraightahead said:

3 unis - are you in Birmingham op?

I'm more northerly but good guess!

My vote goes to Manchester!  

OP - if there is only one gobby one try talking to the others, my may at least stop shouting up and down the stairs with her at 2am.

Oooh close but not quite!

I'm not sure on the others, I think they one who sings is different from the mouthy one but they look very alike! If I can catch one of the others in the garden I might give it a go. 

Hannimal

If someone came to complain to me about showering too late, I would tell them in no uncertain terms where to shove their complaint. It's intrusive to complain about this, showering at any time of the day or night is a part of normal life. You'd better get used to it or move elsewhere. I understand it can be a pain but, for example, women who get UTIs should wee and shower after penetrative intercourse, someone might have IBS or similar problems and want to shower after using the loo. Someone might just need to shower because they are sweaty and smelly. It is really not something you need to be justifying to a neighbour. 

TBagpuss

OP, I think it's worth making a polite request - I'd approach it as "Unfortunately the sound insulation is crap, ad I know you're not being intentionally anti social, but I'd really appreciate it if..." and then ask if they can try to avoid singing in the shower, or  shouting up and down the stairs to each other, between (say) 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

I think they are less likely to be hostile if you are framing it as something which is the fault of the builders / landlords rather than blaming them for doing normal things (al be it at unusual times!) 

It does sound as though really what need to happen is your landlord and their to look at better sound insulation, but  I suspect that's unlikely to happen, and longer term your best bet is to look for somewhere else to rent. 

Have you asked your landlord about improving the soundproofing on your side? I think that it is possible to get soundproofing 'wallpaper' but I have no experience as to how effective it is,  or whether there is anything similar but removable which you might be able  to use for yourself.

I think it was suggested earlier but it's worth trying white noise _ I used to have similar issues with noise due to poor sound insulation and noisy neighbours, and I found that oscillating white or brown noise (so more like waves on the shore than a constant noise) was quite effective - I used a free app on my phone, and did find i had to experiment a bit to find the most effective frequency ( the app I used offered 'pink' 'brown' and 'white' noise - I found 'brown' worked best for me!) 

lincroft1710

MoonChild91 said:

a solid attempt at singing Mariah Careys back catalog,

. 

If this isn't a criminal offence, it should be made one!

moneysavinghero

My vote goes on Liverpooool

Skiddaw1

Or Leeds possibly? Failing that, Lancaster?

moneysavinghero

Skiddaw1 said:

Or Leeds possibly? Failing that, Lancaster?

Can't see Lancaster having 3 uni's

MoonChild91

Hannimal said:

If someone came to complain to me about showering too late, I would tell them in no uncertain terms where to shove their complaint. It's intrusive to complain about this, showering at any time of the day or night is a part of normal life. You'd better get used to it or move elsewhere. I understand it can be a pain but, for example, women who get UTIs should wee and shower after penetrative intercourse, someone might have IBS or similar problems and want to shower after using the loo. Someone might just need to shower because they are sweaty and smelly. It is really not something you need to be justifying to a neighbour. 

How is it any more intrusive to complain about the noise they're making than it is for them to keep me up 4 nights a week? I've already said it isn't just the shower but also the slamming, shouting, and singing that goes along with it - which certainly isn't a 'normal part of life' for most people at 2 in the morning, so I don't understand the need for such an aggressive response.

MoonChild91

TBagpuss said:

I think it was suggested earlier but it's worth trying white noise _ I used to have similar issues with noise due to poor sound insulation and noisy neighbours, and I found that oscillating white or brown noise (so more like waves on the shore than a constant noise) was quite effective - I used a free app on my phone, and did find i had to experiment a bit to find the most effective frequency ( the app I used offered 'pink' 'brown' and 'white' noise - I found 'brown' worked best for me!) 

Thanks! I'll have a look for a similar app - I didn't think of this and would rather not fork out for a white noise machine in case it doesn't work. Do you remember what the one you used was called?

I have spoken to our landlord about it, but he just dismisses it by saying the house is old so the walls are thin - he's quite bad at making any improvements to the house unless they're a legal requirement so not holding out much hope on that front.