Offensive neighbours decibel level

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filter_7
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Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by filter_7 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:45 pm

Searching around I discovered that 45 dB measurement in the daytime is sufficient to pursue a neighbour that is causing problem with annoying music loudness.

Can someone confirm that news?

And if you know from experience what is the limit and the legal soundproofing that a neighbour must have (for example a gym in a condominium). Thanks

fishmonkey
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by fishmonkey » Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:13 am

it's going to totally depend on where you live and the local regulations there.

Richie Witch
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by Richie Witch » Wed Sep 09, 2020 11:14 am

Laws are different everywhere, but in my case, it came down to "reasonable accommodation".

I had been living on the top floor of an urban loft complex for a year and a half when a dance club moved into a vacant space on the ground floor of a building that backed up to mine. Although I had never heard any sound from the club that had been in that space previously, the new club supposedly invested $4 Mil in a new sound system. Apparently, there were some foundational structure we shared because I could hear the bass in my apartment, all night long, until 2 AM. You could put a glass of water on my bed frame and watch the water shimmer to the thud of the bass.

I took my fight to the building owner, the neighborhood, and the city. Eventually, the club owners sent an audio engineer to my apartment and they did sound checks in the club while they put microphones around my loft. After spending several hours working with the club to rearrange and reposition speakers, the audio engineer looked straight at me and said "you're f*cked." There was nothing they could do. The city felt that the club had made a reasonable attempt to accommodate me, so the case was closed.

The building owner offered to move me to another unit at a discount (but was much larger and out of my price range even with the discount, alas)

After four months of sleepless nights, I moved. The club went on to be hugely successful and has now been in business for 9 years, much to my chagrin. Most amazing loft I've ever lived in ....
"Watching the Sky" ~ A 4-track EP of piano, strings, and Native American flute

filter_7
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by filter_7 » Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:08 am

Hello Richie, thanks for the answer.
Of course laws are different but I hoped to hear more responses about the topic, especially in this forum.

I'm pretty sure that many people here have a studio, and they wanted it to be soudproof for 2 reasons: don't hear other noise and don't be heard.
I think there is a reasonable dB limit that can't be tolerated.

Maybe in your case the bass was not in the dB measurement, but in the "earthquake" measurement zone, but I don't understand how they won, instead of being obliged to make the club soundproof.

If I can't win, I will put a stereo from my house to the windows of their gym, playing metal when they want to dance with Mozart.

If there is someone else, maybe a winner of a lawsuit, or an example of dB limit applied, let me know.

fishmonkey
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by fishmonkey » Sat Sep 12, 2020 9:30 am

it's extremely difficult to make any room or building "soundproof"; doing it well requires building a floating room within a room, which is usually impractical and cost prohibitive. bass is also extremely difficult to control.

Tarekith
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by Tarekith » Sat Sep 12, 2020 12:21 pm

The biggest issue is just enforcement more than anything. Even if your city has a noise ordinance with a specific dB cited as "too high", often times it's near impossible get the authorities to actually come to your place and take a reading while the noise is happening. That's really your only option for getting the issue addressed though, so you're going to have to look into the nuisance laws in your town start from there with regards to what is and isn't allowed.

There's not general purpose answer about what dB is too loud that is going to help in your situation, you need to prove the business is violating and actual law before anything else. Even then, with all thats going on in the world right now, it's likely going to take a long time and a lot of nagging to get this changed. Especially if it's a business like a gym that relies on music. Frustrating, I know, it something I've dealt with in a couple different places I've lived due to late construction noise or noisy neighbors.
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filter_7
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by filter_7 » Sat Sep 12, 2020 8:48 pm

@ fishmonkey: the word soundproof is wrong, you're right. They just need to put the volume down.
Or even better, to use earpods and listening like a silent disco.

@ Tarekith: I'm sorry to hear your negative experiences.
If I want to stay positive I think that the measurement should be done testing the dB volume of my complaint.
Meaning that on my balcony I measure near 70 dB, so the authority needs to put the volume to that and judge this event.

Human beings are not very human when they need to make money, trampling other people, that for a strange coincidence are not their children.......

fishmonkey
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by fishmonkey » Sat Sep 12, 2020 11:58 pm

i do feel for you though. i've had to deal with some extremely inconsiderate neighbours over the years, including stuff like having PA systems running in their yards all night one or two nights every week in summer, and anxious dogs that bark and whine for 8 hours straight. this may be karma for having owned and played acoustic drum kits in the past.
Last edited by fishmonkey on Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

jestermgee
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by jestermgee » Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:44 am

Yep, really depends on where you live.

In Australia here, during the daytime you have almost zero chance of getting something done from police about things like loud music or machinery. Even over extended periods.

The best course of action especially if your issue is with a business is to gather some evidence (get a sound meter and video camera) and take measurements over a few weeks/months and then start constantly contacting your areas council (or whatever body manages your local suburb). They can enforce the sound laws for you but can take some persistence.

But if it is just your neighbour likes to blast some loud music every now and then in the afternoon, that's almost impossible to get shut down and more likely a friendly knock at the door and asking them to turn it down is more effective, my solution beyond that tho is to use pull my DJ PA system and Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" album and have a nice afternoon of my own out the back at full volume. It tends to work pretty effectively but helps to have 4000w of audio power too.

fishmonkey
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by fishmonkey » Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:49 am


jestermgee
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by jestermgee » Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:21 am

fishmonkey wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:49 am
reminds me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalch4QXtKc
Ha, I had one of these situations living in a small block of flats when I was studying engineering.

I lived in a block of units when I was 18 at the end unit with 4 units downstairs and 4 above. No one living next to me at the time but there were 2 lesbians that lived directly above me and they were rude as shit to everyone in the complex and were watching some TV show at 11pm full blast almost as if they were trying to piss off all the students doing end of semester exams trying to sleep.

i'd had enough by midnight and had these massive custom speakers i'd built to DJ back yard parties which I laid on their back pointing at the roof/their floor and got out the Pantera and hit the volume and bass to max then shut my bedroom door and let the CD play for just 10 minutes. Shook the crap out the whole building but when I stopped it the night was dead silent other than some dogs barking. Solved that problem and now it's my go to solution for similar issues.

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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by Tarekith » Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:47 am

I had a neighbor back when I was first getting into making music who would play his radio really loud during the day when I was trying to work. Wouldn't even talk about it, just a rude ass who didn't care no matter how nicely I tried to approach him.

One day I realized I likely had better speakers than he likely did, so just started playing REALLY loud 20-50Hz slow sine wave sweeps. You could barely hear it but it did this weird thing to the air and made the building rattle weirdly. It was disconcerting for quite some distance :)

A couple days of that and he stopped real quick.
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filter_7
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by filter_7 » Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:15 am

Good examples guys!

Since the gym is classical-dance-oriented they surely will not like Pantera full blast over their crappy piano songs.... :twisted:
Just imaging it make me smile, thank you.

I will let you know how the story continues....

jestermgee
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Re: Offensive neighbours decibel level

Post by jestermgee » Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:00 am

Tarekith wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:47 am
I had a neighbor back when I was first getting into making music who would play his radio really loud during the day when I was trying to work. Wouldn't even talk about it, just a rude ass who didn't care no matter how nicely I tried to approach him.

One day I realized I likely had better speakers than he likely did, so just started playing REALLY loud 20-50Hz slow sine wave sweeps. You could barely hear it but it did this weird thing to the air and made the building rattle weirdly. It was disconcerting for quite some distance :)

A couple days of that and he stopped real quick.
:D

Luckily in my neighbourhood where I live now I have none of these issues. Love the occasional Saturday night party and have no problem with any of the neighbours cutting loose every now and then but when it's ongoing and the source of the problem is just rude and ignorant then plotting some revenge using ingenuity is a sweet thing.

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