# I did it . . . called the cops on my upstairs neighbors re: noise **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044 "2014-07-14T02:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/21 "2014-07-16T05:21:58Z")
> [@FBJJ](#): > > you end up hearing it just not right away. if you set your alarm for 7am you hear it at 7:20 Which would seriously annoy neighbors sharing a bedroom wall. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/22 "2014-07-16T11:36:01Z")
Another, ahem, plug for ear plugs. I discovered them about fifteen years ago (thanks to Nicholson Baker), and they changed my life. You can get a box of hundreds of pairs through Amazon. I wear each pair for up to a week. Never had an issue with failing to hear an alarm (just put your phone under your pillow). If the party animals in your building thump around, the vibrations through the floors might still wake you up sometimes, but other than that, you will be a much happier person. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/23 "2014-07-16T11:51:04Z")
> [@seanette](#): > > which would seriously annoy neighbors sharing a bedroom wall. bonus!!! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/24 "2014-07-16T12:21:14Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > But it’s also true that some people don’t have a normal tolerance for sounds. If you can’t stand hearing normal people making normal noises during normal hours through cheaply-constructed walls and floors, then don’t rent from a cheaply-constructed apartment complex. Rent from one with thicker walls and floors, or rent a standalone unit (like a house). If you can’t afford that, well, beggars can’t be choosers. So even with layers of contractual obligations, laws on the books, and social norms, it comes down to “fuck you if you’re poor,” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/25 "2014-07-16T14:41:16Z")
Dude, rent a house. Older Houses in my neighborhood rent for not much more than an apartment. At least then you have 30 feet between your house and the neighbor. I hear music occasionally out on my deck. From houses on the street behind me. But just barely. The biggest noise offenders are the assholes playing music in their cars. I can hear the bass thumping as they drive by, even inside my house. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/26 "2014-07-16T15:27:13Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > But it’s also true that some people don’t have a normal tolerance for sounds. If you can’t stand hearing normal people making normal noises during normal hours through cheaply-constructed walls and floors, then don’t rent from a cheaply-constructed apartment complex. Rent from one with thicker walls and floors, or rent a standalone unit (like a house). If you can’t afford that, well, beggars can’t be choosers. Most municipalities have generic wording in their noise ordinances, using terms like “reasonable enjoyment of the property” or some similar terminology that allows for a sane assessment of what is and is not a nuisance. Children playing outside in the middle of the day, or a person using a lawnmower on a Saturday afternoon, or roofers doing your shingling can be very loud things but they’re not reasonably avoidable. One has to live with other people making noise. The scenario described in the OP is well beyond reason. Late on a Sunday night in an apartment complex you should not have your music cranked up. While it is true the OP can avoid more noise in a house and we do have to tolerate a bit more noise in an apartment (depends on the place though - my condo is quieter than my fiancée’s house)\*\* the reverse is also true\*\*. A person in an apartment has an obligation - in mot places, a legal obligation - to modify their noise levels to account for the fact they are sharing a building with others. It might be quite okay for me to use a cordless drill in the basement of my house at 11 PM if it’s not very audible to my neighbours, but using the same drill at 11PM in an apartment is totally inexcusable. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/27 "2014-07-16T18:50:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Another, ahem, plug for ear plugs. I discovered them about fifteen years ago (thanks to Nicholson Baker), and they changed my life. Heh. 🙂 I might take this up. In the ongoing saga, guys came home last night at 2:15AM . . . woke me up thumping and shouting up the stairs, but again, that’s the stuff I’m just resigned to. The kicker was then drinking a beer on the front porch (outside my bedroom window), knocking over their charcoal grill, I think one of them was having a fight with a big flower bush that grows along the porch, and just being a nuisance for about 15-20 minutes. Again, nothing extreme, but basically daytime-level activity during non-sleeping hours. Not for too long, but long enough to be completely disruptive. **aceplace57** , I totally would if I could afford it, and have decided to keep my eye on craigslist. My town has notoriously high rents, and affordable places like the one I have (a little more than $500 a bedroom, sharing with a roommate) that aren’t the size of closets or health hazards are few and far between. A small two-bedroom house would probably almost double my rent. I think I need to stick with the (relatively) cheap rent so I can save money towards buying a place in a few years rather than use the money to solve this issue in the short term. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/28 "2014-07-16T19:15:14Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Have you complained to the apartment management? And if so, what was their response? > > I’ve noticed something obnoxious about apartment management and noise: They seem not to care, even if they say they do. > > \ You are so right! I once found a letter from one Rental Management Association President to another. It discussed tenants. Among other things, the lady who wrote this letter claimed that people in their 30s were the worst kind of trouble makers she had ever experienced. That may be true (in her experience). However, I was pretty much stunned by what I considered to be the extreme ignorance of the writer of this letter. It was a jaw dropping experience for me. I would encourage you to use the Internet to find other people and associations that may be able to help you find out how to deal with this situation. I think the best approach is to research how other people have dealt with this kind of problem and then to try and use the most successful approach you find. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/29 "2014-07-17T01:33:03Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Which would seriously annoy neighbors sharing a bedroom wall. Who cares? It’s about you being able to sleep at night ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/30 "2014-07-17T01:34:28Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Heh. 🙂 I might take this up. > In the ongoing saga, guys came home last night at 2:15AM . . . woke me up thumping and shouting up the stairs, but again, that’s the stuff I’m just resigned to. The kicker was then drinking a beer on the front porch (outside my bedroom window), knocking over their charcoal grill, I think one of them was having a fight with a big flower bush that grows along the porch, and just being a nuisance for about 15-20 minutes. Again, nothing extreme, but basically daytime-level activity during non-sleeping hours. Not for too long, but long enough to be completely disruptive. > > **aceplace57** , I totally would if I could afford it, and have decided to keep my eye on craigslist. My town has notoriously high rents, and affordable places like the one I have (a little more than $500 a bedroom, sharing with a roommate) that aren’t the size of closets or health hazards are few and far between. A small two-bedroom house would probably almost double my rent. I think I need to stick with the (relatively) cheap rent so I can save money towards buying a place in a few years rather than use the money to solve this issue in the short term. so when are you getting the ear plugs? ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044/31 "2014-07-17T01:35:29Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Another, ahem, plug for ear plugs. I discovered them about fifteen years ago (thanks to Nicholson Baker), and they changed my life. You can get a box of hundreds of pairs through Amazon. I wear each pair for up to a week. Never had an issue with failing to hear an alarm (just put your phone under your pillow). If the party animals in your building thump around, the vibrations through the floors might still wake you up sometimes, but other than that, you will be a much happier person. I didn’t say you don’t hear the alarm, I said you don’t hear it right away [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-it-called-the-cops-on-my-upstairs-neighbors-re-noise/693044.md?page=1)