I hope my upstairs neighbors die

The BBQ Pit
1

Three nights in a row now one or more of them has been playing their shitty music, not loud enough for me to make it out, but loud enough for the goddamn thumping bass beat to come through the floors and start vibrating things. This has happened as early as midnight and as late as 4:00 AM. So last night at around 8 PM they start blasting it loud enough so that they can hear it down the stairs and in the back yard, which means it’s blaring through every room in my apartment. I go out and very politely ask them to turn it down, and they’re like, “dude, we asked you about your schedule” and “dude, it’s not even ten o’clock, it’s not curfew.” WTF? What kind of brain-damaged trog thinks it’s OK to blast someone out of their apartment because it’s early in the evening? I’m just like, “I need for the music all the time to be low enough so that I can’t hear it in my apartment” and they act like I’m the asshole for expecting to be able to watch my television in my own house in some semblance of peace and quiet.

Can anyone explain to me when we as a society began believing that expecting other people to be courteous was rude?

2

I think it happened at the same time the boy bands became popular. Everyone knows music reached perfection in 1969.

More for Gore or the son
of a drug lord/none of
the above/f*** it cut the
cord-
Lights out/Guerilla
Radio

3

Dude, don’t live in an apartment.

There are rules about noise during lat hours, but 8PM is not one of them.

Move.

Yer pal,
Satan

http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif

Still not smoking, but away from my meter!

4

Otto, I did move because of two neighbors playing music very loudly. I wish that I didn’t have to, but reasoning with them didn’t work.

Satan, I hope that’s just flippancy. “Don’t live in an apartment–move.” That’s not always one’s choice. I can’t find a house to rent in my area that I can afford and I don’t know if my position is stable enough to make me want to buy one.

How about this–Nobody really wants to hear anybody else’s music.

I don’t want to have to turn the TV on just to drown out the bass from your rap music or house industrial. I don’t want to have to drive to the library to read because things in my house are shaking. I don’t want to hear your Travis Tritt album or Rickey Nelson or whatever. The reality of apartments often sucks, and sound is a big reason for this.

If they want their music loud AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY they should either insulate their apartment or THEY should move.

Bucky

5

Bravo Bucky! Well said.

I do not understand the need for some people to “share” their music with the neighbors. Believe it or not, it is actually possible to play music at a level that does not make the walls vibrate. I do it all the time. Lots of people do - I’m sure Otto does.

There seems to be some urge among some people to play music LOUD. That is a preference, not a right. They are not deaf, they can still hear it perfectly fine at a more reasonable level. (Of course, if they keep on blasting their eardrums with music that loud, their hearing as probably being compromised. But that’s no excuse…self-inflicted hearing loss is idiocy.)

They don’t have to expose the neighbors to it in order to enjoy it. No one is asking them NOT to play music, they’re just asking them not to play it for the neighbors as well!

6

I every once in a while get the urge to crank up the music, but I don’t do it that often, and turn it down if asked to. There are a lot of people who have the idea that they should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and have no compassion or consideration for others. Jerks.

Minor hijack: On the other side, I live in a college house (my college doesn’t have traditional dorms; there are houses with from 12-60 women living in them) and we have one woman here who seems to think that it should be silent 24/7. One of my good friends lived in the room above her last semester and would get a phone call every time she made the slightest bit of noise; for example, her bulletin board fell off the wall one time, and this woman actually CAME UPSTAIRS and knocked on her door to complain about it. Jeezus! Get over yourself, woman!

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.
Mark Twain

7

My last stay in an apartment was much the same. Except for the fact it was their crappy car alarm going off every fricking night whenthe trains rolled by.
finally had to crawel under their car and cut the fricking alarm siren wires.

I do so hate inconsiderate bastards.

8

I know how you feel…

I’ll tell you what we did with our obnoxious upstairs neighbor… when it got too loud (late in the evening), we would go out to the main breaker for the building, and throw the switch!

:wink:

Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?

9

Otto, I feel for you. Bot you of all peopel know that people are basically assholes. Unless they break the law, Satan’s right–you’ll need to find better neighbors or a house to rent. It sucks. :frowning:

But it does remond me of a story. In the last apartment I lived in (before joining the ranks of mortgage slaves), I had elephants living above me. I knocked on their door several times, asking favors ranging form turning down the stereo (at 5:00 am) to turning down the TV (at 3:00am) to not nailing down loose carpet on their floor (and my ceiling. At midnight).

One night around 11:00, I heard the most amazing sounds from above me. It sounded like the upstairs neighbors were dropping barbell weights. One would fall, then another, then a third. Then silence for several minutes, just long enough for me to think “ok, then” and begin to doze off.

Then, of course, THUD . . . THUD . . . THUD . . .THUD . . .

And silence.

By the fourth iteration, I was pissed. It had been a long day, these people obviously had no concept of courtesy, dammit . . . I grabbed a handy broom and jumped on my bed and pounded on my ceiling to get them to please, please, PLEASE, shut the hell UP!!!

And the broom handle went neatly through my ceiling, through the floorboards, and throught the carpet, extending a full foot into the apartment above. Right between the legs of the person who was, indeed, dropping weights (working out sloppily, I guess).

I was mortified.

He was terrified.

I never heard from them again.

-andros-

10

Getting a house doesn’t necessarily solve your problem. We live in one, and we have neighbors who seem to think it’s appropriate to have parties, with a live band, about every 2 weeks. Drums, bass, etc. Can’t hear the pitch of the bass, but we can feel it, like pencil erasers on the eardrums. And the parties spill out into the front yard, laughing and screaming. The police, when called, join the party briefly and then tell us to get over it. Yes, there is a noise ordinance, but try to get it executed.

I refuse to be run out of my house. We moved in 10 years ago because this was where we wanted to live. So it looks like we’ll be going to the trouble and expense of soundproofing the bedrooms. There’s a site I found on the net that looks like it will be of help.
http://www.soundproofing.org/sitemap.htm

11

This noise problem can be solved by calling the police, and calling the landlord when the noise is going on. I’ve called mine at 3:00 a.m.

The noise curfew is in effect 24 hours a day, contrary to popular opinion.

The one thing it does not apply to is household appliances such as dishwashers or vacuum cleaners.

There is a jerk next door to me who plays his music too loudly at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Funny, he feels differently when my High Power Vacuum is running and he wants to sleep.

But seriously you can call the cops, and file a civil complaint, if the landlord won’t be a man and step in and say turn it down, that should be in any lease, and take the creep to court. Paying a few hundred bucks in fines is a small price for ruining one’s peace.

There were some jerks here years ago who were pests.

A neighbor keyed the heck out of their cars, and he told them he did it and that next time he would use a baseball bat. They moved.

lindsay

12

Satan

I’ve lived in apartments in this town for seven years and this is the first time I’ve had consistent problems with noise. Usually it’s some jackass driving by blasting his shitty “music” (at least I assume it’s music, the bass is literally so loud that I can’t hear anything but it, so for all I know it’s just a beat), or it’s someone visiting who sits in his car blasting it. the neighbors have been pretty decent up until now. Someone new moved in a couple of months ago and the volume’s been steadily increasing. I have called the cops on the visitors a few times, and I’ve also walked over to them a few times and asked them to turn it down. That usually nets me dirty looks and snide comments. I’ve started taking down license plates and dates. I’d prefer to handle it without involving the law.

Moving isn’t an option. I have this thing called a lease, and legally the situation with the upstairs neighbor has not risen to the level of interference with enjoyment which would allow me to break it. I will be moving but not until August. I just want to be able to live in peace and quiet until then. Ideally I should never hear noise from another apartment. I know that’s not possible and there have been plenty of times (like the new guy’s birthday last week) when I’ve been patient. My patience is about up. I do expect people to conduct themselves in a mannerly fashion and I don’t appreciate their trying to make me feel like expecting that makes me rude.

jakrabit

I did something like that once. I control the thermostat for both flats and after a bizarre incident (by the new guy, who the neighbors actually asked me to rent one of my rooms to!!!) I turned the heat down, in February, to about 50 for two days. I knew they couldn’t use space heaters (they blow the breakers upstairs but not down here) so I was toasty while they froze. Then my conscience got the better of me and I turned the heat back up.

13

Apropos of nothing, why the FUCK is it that when a neighbor decides to blast music, it is never music that sounds really goodwhen played loud. Like Glenn Gould playing the “Goldberg Variations”, or the Beatles’ “Revolver”, or anything by The Monkees? (did i say that aloud?) :o

Why is bass-heavy-loud-neighbor-music always played on such shitty speakers that it sounds like an elephant farting in a minefield?

And did you ever notice…

Oh. my gods, I’ve turned into Andy Rooney!!! Shoot me now. Better yet, shoot Andy Rooney.

You can call me the King of Futility
There’s a purpose to my actions, I just haven’t found it yet
You can call me the Crown Prince of Irony
It’s a crown I wear with dubious pride; it keeps falling down as I swim against the tide

14

I guess I must elaborate here.

While shooting a blanks-loaded machine gun in your apartment for an hour will get you in trouble no matter what time it is, in most jurisdictions the rules are quite different as to what constitutes intrusion and not at 3AM and 3PM.

For example, in Raleigh, they have a curfew in effect which says between the hours of 11PM and 7AM, it’s quiet time.

During “quiet time,” if a police officer is caklled and hears “any noise coming from the apartment,” they will get warned and eventually ticketed.

However, during the rest of the time, it is “up to the judgment of the officer(s) as to whether it’s excessive or not.”

I know this very well because I had a dickhead who lived below me for a long time. This asshole came up to my apartment four times the first week complaining about something or another.

The first time, it was music, and I apologized, not knowing what was going to come. The next time it was “music in the morning,” which turned out to be my alarm clock at 8:30 AM. I told him, sorry, but I gotta get up. The third time, he came up when a friend of mine was here and we were talking.

Yes, talking.

Not yelling, not having a chat over some pmping bass. Just sitting across the room from each other and talking in a reasonable tone.

This started off some major animosity between he and I, and he was quite frustrated that the landlord and the police - who he called several times - always said that I was okay and he needs to deal with it.

It culminated in he finally snapping, threatening me and my friend (yes, the same one), and me filing a complaint against him for threats. I never went to the court that day, because I didn’t want him to get arrested. I wanted him to leave me the fuck alone.

He was a real asshole, and as he was leaving a couple of months ago, it took great restraint to NOT play “Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, GOODBYE!!” at the highest volume possible as he packed.

So, I learned quite a bit about the laws and rules from the other side - from a manipulative asshole who complained if I farted too loudly.

Ultimately, I won. Everyone saw him for the jerk he was. Everyone saw me as someone who was going above and beyond to be a good neighbor - All speakers were off the floor, and I used headphones at night. And he got his lame ass out of here.

So there is allowable noise and not. If the person is making allowable noise - like I was - then moving is your only recourse.

If, however, it is more than allowable, check rental agreements for property policies on those matters, log everything in writing, keep your landlord involved on everything, and call the police if all else fails. They will either tell the guy he needs to chill, or you that you’re wrong.

Good luck, but I stand by what I said in abbreviated form: YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT! What else did you expect?

Yer pal,
Satan

http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif

TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING:
Two weeks, four days, 21 hours, 18 minutes and 3 seconds.
755 cigarettes not smoked, saving $94.44.
Life saved: 2 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes.

15

If you have a problem, and no one else can help, maybe you can hire… the A-Team.

16

Satan,

You’re talking about laws. I’m talking about manners. As I said, I’d prefer not to involve the law or the landlord unless it’s necessary.

I understand that there are noise statutes and that in some jurisdictions the allowable noise changes based on the time of day. Not relevant to my particular situation, since I’m not planning on calling the cops on the neighbors. But legally, there is something called “interference with enjoyment.” The landlord has a positive duty to make sure that nothing over which he has reasonable control interferes with my enjoyment of my contractual rights under the lease. I’ve used this previously with this landlord when a former roommate allowed two people to squat in her room for months (and even them I ignored until they began stealing from me and breaking my things) and again when another roommate (who, judging from her meds, was schizophrenic) became verbally and physically abusive. Were I a bastard as opposed to the basically decent sort that I am, I could have the upstairs neighbors evicted if they continue what they’re doing. Or I could attempt to break my lease and stick my landlord with my damages in locating and renting a new place. But I’m, again, not talking about the legality of the situation. I’m bemoaning the fundamental lack of manners which would lead my rat-bastard upstairs neighbors to think that playing their music loud enough to be heard in every corner of my apartment was appropriate, regardless of the time of day.

17

Damn those loud, obnoxious, piss-ant neighbors!

I share the same problem. I live in an apartment populated by college students. Rich college students. They don’t have to work (apparently even have to study). They have money to party and drive brand new $25000 vehicles. (yes, I am jealous!)
I try to be real nice about their parties. They cook out all the time and as long as I keep the windows closed I don’t breathe in their nasty cigarette smoke and as long as I have the TV on I don’t hear them. I never complain before 12 p.m. at night when they make noise. One week I had worked 60 hours, came in on Friday and went to bed. They were outside on the patio talking. Yes, just talking–LOUD in the way drunks do. I asked them to move indoors. NO dice. They don’t smoke in their apartment. I called the cops. After the cops left they threw things at my door. Scared the hell out of my–these are big–very big boys. I called the cops again–they finally showed 1 1/2 hours after I called them. After I went out and talked to the cops, the cops talked to them. Don’t know what they said, but these kids haven’t had a party since. If I am outside, they will ask if they are too loud. I feel like the meanest bitch in the world, but heck–I think I ought to be able to sleep in quiet after 12 pm at night :slight_smile:
I think the cops didn’t take me seriously until I actually talked to them one-on-one and they saw I wasn’t Gladys Cravitts.

18

Otto: Well, we all would like people to be well-mannered and considerate, don’t we? Doesn’t always work out that way.

This leaves you a couple of options, sir. You can go the legal route, which is there BECAUSE nothing else works, or you can seeth, let it fester, only venting on a message board, until you explode.

I didn’t want to press charges against the dickhead who lived below me, and as I said, I didn’t even go to court afterwards, since I accomplished what I wanted, which was for him to leave me the fuck alone.

Mission accomplished.

Yer pal,
Satan

http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif

I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
Two weeks, five days, 14 hours, 30 minutes and 52 seconds.
784 cigarettes not smoked, saving $98.02.
Life saved: 2 days, 17 hours, 20 minutes.

19

I have a noise problem too, but its not the music. Its the FREAKIN FLOORBOARDS of my upstairs neighbor. At one point, I was up at 4 am every single morning (even on a Sunday) because of the creaking floor above me. It was loud as hell, and annoying as fuck at 4 am. It’s a little better lately though (maybe b/c its warmer out and it doesn’t creak as loudly, or maybe I just got used to it…)At times it sounded like they were just pacing and pacing and pacing the entire length of their apartment. And dropping things, they’re good for that as well.
The worse part about it is, is that I cannot do a thing about it.

What can you do for creaky floors, BTW? Other than putting a new floor in…

“I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t, i mean s-m-a-r-t”

20

I feel your pain. When I was in college, I lived in a small apartment building that had become the overflow annex for my school’s version of Animal House. (Or perhaps it was where they sent the frat brothers that even they could not stand… I’m not sure.)

My upstairs neighbor was a lad we referred to as the Elephant Man. He wasn’t a very large individual, in height or weight, but he made up for that in the pounds per square inch of his stride. Just walking across his living room (something he did often, and with great vigor) could cause the pictures to fall from my walls, and the cabinet doors to swing open by themselves. It was like living with a poltergeist, only warmer. He also had a propensity for sleeping with lots of very young girls, some of whom had relatives that showed up banging on MY door in the wee hours, by mistake. I took up practicing my bass, often and at high volume on mornings when I knew he had entertained his equally lead-footed friends late into the night before, but alas, it did no good. The final straw was when he left for the weekend, and left his toilet plugged, and running. The monsoon that came through my bathroom and closet ceiling was quite spectacular. Unfortunately, the entire building was on one water main, so service had to be disconnected for everyone, for the whole weekend. When he finally did return, his “brothers” took care of the problem for me. :smiley:

All in all, though, I suppose he was better than the bunch who lived there before him. They tried to barbeque an entire lamb on a spit, on their wooden balcony… but that’s another story.