We've just purchased our first home, and our worst nightmare has come true: Our neighbours play their bass-intensive music all night and all day.
Aside from calling the cops (or the bikies - they're too busy attending to other Ozbargainer issues), I want to know if anyone has used secondary/double glazing in their house to drown out noise? And if so, rough costs you paid, and if it worked. The music itself isn't (usually) invasively loud, it's the bass that's driving us mental.
@Kilgharrah: understand there are various reasons but chances are 1/100
The council rates are legal documents that you may need at certain tines and do need to be accurate
For example CGT exemption, proof of address, voting, etc
This. Noisy neighbours are the kind who trash the place they are renting. Many owners will be grateful to find out they have nightmare tenants and will evict.
Record their noise and play it back to them as soon as theirs stops (preferably when they are going to bed with a hangover). How do you complain about your own noise?
This is how I handled the barking dog next door:
Recorded its barking, lowered the pitch to sound like a bigger dog, looped it indefinitely and left it to play while I was out. When I returned the dog was so worn out it could only emit pathetic squeaking sounds. And after another application the next day, the mutt shut up.
This is absolute genius. I think you've just invented something there…
poor dog. cant tell if youre joking though
This is genius. I will save this for that bad day.
This is absolute genius! I salute you!
I wish this would work for the class 7 yapper, over 65 metres from my place (7 doors down) - being up 2 floors SUCKS for noise travel.
Have a chat with their neighbours, I'm sure they'd appreciate this remedy too. :)
i genuinely pity you
noisy neighbours are the worst thing
That's simply not true AIDS and zyka are worse;)
nope, you can get noisy neighbours more than once !!
paper cuts are pretty bad too.
True, I'll update the list;)
Add Trump too.
lol zika is not that bad.
Are the neighbors renting or own? If they own, perhaps turn your place into an investment and buy somewhere else?
My sister and her husband are the annoying neighbors you're talking about. Every time I visit I turn the music down so I can actually talk to them and hear what they say. Somehow the volume slowly works its way back up again as time goes on. I constantly complain about it to them, and they just don't get it, they don't think it's loud.
I don't know how people do it.
They might be using their music to drown out the sounds of their neighbours
Thia is why I hate people.
People are the worst!
Thia
Who's that?
Thia
= This
Sigh, schooling today. Who told you that a=s? Thia might be a typo for This, but it isn't equal.
@Euphemistic: you are dumb to assume that thia actually means this. Ofcourse that was a a type by op and = sign meant that op had a typo and meant to type this instead of thia. secondly letter A & S are side by side on the keyboard, so ofcourse op had typo. It is so pathetic that people have no common sense. THIS is why I hate people.
Neighbours, neighbours, neighbours. Give me one reason I shouldn't go under autarky and move to a rudimental hut in the amazon
Coz then you'd have no-one to impress.
For NSW but should be similar in other states:
Talk to people
Contact a Community Justice Centre
If the noise continues, you can contact a Community Justice Centre (CJC). These are government-funded but independent centres that specialise in settling differences between neighbours without entering into complicated legal processes. A CJC will suggest a mediation process. This is where you meet with the people who are making the noise, together with a CJC representative, to try and solve the problem. This process will not cost you any money, and has a high success rate.
If your neighbour will not attend a mediation session, and the noise continues, you can do the following:
- Contact your local council
Under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act), local councils can serve various notices on people occupying homes and businesses, requiring them to control offensive noise and advising them what noise levels are acceptable.
A prevention notice contains conditions on ways of preventing or stopping noise, and is issued under section 96 of the POEO Act.
A noise control notice sets an acceptable noise level for a specific item of noisy equipment, and is issued under section 264 of the POEO Act. Councils can serve notices covering noise from animals and from a wide range of appliances, including air conditioners, swimming pool pumps, heat pump water heaters, radios, sound reproduction equipment, musical instruments, power tools, lawn mowers and burglar alarms. The notice can require the noisy activities to be restricted to certain times of the day or certain days. If the notice is not complied with, the council can issue a fine or prosecute.
People who receive a notice can appeal against it.
- Seek a noise abatement order
If your neighbour is continually being noisy, has a noisy animal or is using noisy appliances, and you decide to take action independently of the local council or other regulator, you can seek a noise abatement order under section 268 of the POEO Act. To apply for an order, contact your local court (listed under 'Local Courts' in the White Pages). You may also consider asking your legal adviser for help. You can contact the registry staff at your local court who will explain the process to you. There are fees for applying for a noise abatement order.
If the court is satisfied that the neighbour is causing an offensive noise or that the noise is likely to recur, it may order them to stop the noise or prevent a recurrence. If the person fails to comply with the order, they could be prosecuted.
And 3 years later, just as you are about to succeed in this lengthy and costly (to your mental health) endeavour, they move out.
At my old joint I had people like this.
I the cracked it one night and rolled out my 2x 100 watt Marshall quad boxes and 200watt amp and plugged my 7 string ibanez into and placed it infrog of said amp for some (profanity) up feedback. After 30 mins they got the picture.
Everyone got the picture and it was like an old western town, they see me and piss off.
like a baws, i love it
Damn your neighbours are slow if it takes them 30 mins to realise!
no no it took them about 5 mins to pickup on it then around 25 mins of me threatening them that if they do it again ill cut the power off their house and throw the meters away.
not hard when your a level 2 service provider.
I feel for you…. I used to have horrible neighbours in previous house. They are the scum of the earth, instead of working they play music all day. If they are musician they should get an insulated music room. Complain but it might become unpleasant (it did for me when I did)
I don't get it
Are you his neighbor?
You really think his neighbours deserve a new half price stereo for being obnoxious? #gobsmacked
Ummmmmm….. I'd try this just for pure giggles.
http://lifehacker.com/5852903/silence-noisy-neighbors-by-traā¦
brilliant… you could send them absolutely nuts with this. So much fun to be had
When we lived in Elwood (near St Kilda) in a townhouse, we shared a wall with someone who's bedroom was next to our living room. After 9pm she'd crack if we even watched TV on low volume.
Eventually she came over and I told her that we were allowed to enjoy the comfort of our living room after 9pm and that it was her problem and I suggested white noise like we used at the time. She tried it an it helped her immensely.
We ourselves have used a white noise sound since living in Elwood to block out external noise and grown to love it. We live in a much quieter neighbourhood now but still use the white noise.
Takes a few nights to get used to but becomes a must have if you have noisy neighbours and sleep is important to you.
Ahhh Elwood. Same problem. Don't miss that place
Great idea about the white noise. That's what I have done in the past as well. It not only can block out the annoying sound to some degree but more importantly can distract you so you don't focus so much on it.
How do you produce the white noise? Stereo/Hi-Fi? I have used a noisy cheap pedestal fan in the past but in winter it's not so good. :-)
We use a phone app that plays the sound of rain, it's really soothing. I got my boyfriend used to it too and now he's more reliant on it than me haha.
We just keep the phone plugged into the charger and have it playing on speaker.
I can't believe all the people advising you to play loud music back at them or be loud in some other way. You than become a fwit like them.
Had this same problem twice before. First time I put up with the noise for months after politely asking them to keep noise down. Than one day just snapped.I had no family to worry about a retaliation at my house so just went over with a baseball bat and casually informed them to turn the music down or it was going to be a problem. Noise stopped from them other than the occasional one off party. Which is acceptable just not everyday.
Second time different house.This time i had a family and wife was too scared about retaliation if I went down the baseball bat route again. I went over and politely asked them to keep the noise down. One guy went crazy and starting abusing me, making excuses and waving weapons around. I let him finish and told him IDGAF about your problems just keep it down and left. His girlfriend turned it down but he went crazy again and turned it back up. So the next week they played it louder and more often.
I had enough so I contacted the police a few times. Make sure you ask them for a incident number each time for proof. Police would come out sometimes and tell them to keep it down. They would turn it down but as soon as the police left turn it up again. So police are no help in these matters but you might need the incident numbers to get a council environmental officer to investigate. I than brought a property report from landgate I think for $30 for their property to see who the owner was and if it was a rental. It turned out to be a rental but when I tracked down the owner he said he couldn't do anything. Which is wrong you can be kicked out for being a noisy tenant. So he was no help. Than I called up all rental property businesses around us to find which one he was using but had no luck there. Then contacted a council environmental officer and made a noise complaint. I needed 3 police incident report numbers and a hand written complaint with a noise diary over two weeks. After that the environmental officer came out and put sound recording device in my house for 3 days to see if their noise was too loud by their guidelines. After he analysed the data he agreed it was too loud and sent a letter to the owner saying if he didn't sought out the tenants he would be liable and they would take him to court.
After this happened the house was quiet for two weeks then they moved out. The owner called me up and gave me his number and said if any other tenants that moved in were being noisy contact him straight away and he would evict them.
Finally we had peace again but doing it this way takes a lot of time but there will be a end in sight.
I hope this makes it quicker for you to get back to a peaceful life again. Good luck
P.s was trying to do two things at once so I hope it makes sense but I just had to tell you my story because I am sick of inconsiderate people. Ban the bass
ive never had any issues with bad neighbours touch wood but its always been a fear in the back of my mind.
Thank you for the detailed write up! Now i'll know what to do!
So you are saying playing loud music back would be a fwit move, but you stroll over with a bloody baseball bat? Who's the real fwit?
Besides the baseball bat, this seems like the most effective way OP is going to have this issue resolved
I agree with this. Although I was on the receiving end this one time and renting, I moved out and retaliated before I left. An inconsiderate couple living in a tiny 2br unit with THREE DOGS. 2 inside 1 out. Outside dog barked incessantly, inside dogs were small and not much of a hassle except they would occasionally fight for 5mins in the wee hours between 4 to 6am waking me instantly {the walls are thinner in units)
This person was asked oppositely but as I've learned over the years… The hard way… People are just inconsiderate and don't really care for the comfort of others. In addition to this problem and soon after my partner and I complained, the owner started waking up between 5 to 6am, despite not leaving for work until around 8m and blowing their nose and scream-sneezing (the type of crap that shakes walls). It was that bad and that frequent the inside dogs were no longer the problem. Was he allergic? No. I couldn't figure out why this happened 3 to 4 days of the week. Anni so, my retaliation may be seen as foolish to most, but that I thought was a classic…
In our 2nd room next to their master bedroom, I compiled a sound file with some of the most gruesome nose blows, sneeze variations, sniff backs and throat clears… Looped the audio file for 4 to 8 has, cranked my speakers and let them rip one Saturday evening when we were both leaving for the night. The point that wasn't really well take N so we repeated this for 3 more weeks (only on weekends) until we moved. They hated us, but the feeling was mutual.
Gotta say, the reason I don't like approaching neighbours because of noise is that if they don't stop and I call the cops all of a sudden they pretty much are certain which neighbour called them in. Makes it awkward when getting the mail!
I also find it best to not identify yourself as a lot of people won't stop the noise just because you asked, then they will try to get revenge on you anyway they can. Just ring the cops from the payphone and don't leave a name or number. Failing that there are other things you can do under the cover of darkness.
Haha gotta say thinking about it now it sort of reminds me of the general plot of 'bad neighbours'. Seth Rogen gets pulled into shit after the cop rags him in!
ai dont even know where a local payphone is these days… :s
You can ring from an old mobile phone without the simcard in it. Better than risking the cops dropping you name.
Keep an eye out for large subwoofer deals.
Keep calling the cops
You've just gotta suck it up and go over there. Tell them its to loud and its annoying the f%$*k out of you. You'll need to be stern and very direct. Being to nice will give them the impression you're a push over and they'll walk all over you. Sometimes a bit of fear is the only thing that works.
Call the cops! After the cops leave and the idiots turn it up again, call the cops back!
It is the only way…
Call the local cop shop directly not 000
Some just tell you to call 000.
you have a right to peaceful enjoyment of where you live, ring the police, it is the only way…
i had a similar situation before and i tried something which is really helpful.
I did quite a bit research on how to isolate the noise, the permeate isolation solution just need too much effort. But one thing draw my attention, the White Noise "sound mask".
The mechanism is: Human ears are more sensitive to the change changing noise than the static flat noise,and are more sensitive to bass than high nodes. The white nosie mask is a constantly flat noise to cover the changing bass noise.
What you can do: play the white noise sound track. Turn it loud enough until you cant hear the bass noise from your neighbor. The white noise will be like a running fan. Then you will get use to it in about 5 to 10 minutes and wont notice it anymore. When i use this sound mask, i sometimes need to turn down my volume to check if our neighbor still playing bass because i cant hear them at all.
Hope this helps.
Have you tried offering to have their volume control fixed on their bass?
Wondering if you seriously think the volume control was broken? They just didn't want to tone it down for sure
theres certainly no shorage of pricks in this world. British Special Forced have been reportedly using directonal speakers and bollywood music to assault ISIS compounds and dugouts. Supposedly very effective as they find hindi music especially offensive.
Ah, so I'm not the only one with a dislike for that kind of music!
This link might be helpful its re what you can do about noisy neighbours in Vic - http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/noise/residentialā¦
LRAD is what you need.
Okay, I haven't tried this myself. How about installing a water feature in that side of the house Or one inside the house if feasible ? Heard soothing noise like this takes out the background noise but not sure it will work with cutting out the bass.
Pay to get the bass knob/function fixed. Cheaper than soundproofing
Why would he get the bass knob fixed ??
I feel for you OP. As others have said your first option is to just ask them not to play it so loud. People always say "oh, maybe they were genuinely unaware of how loud they were being" but I don't buy that. It is just that they don't care until someone confronts them. In short they'll keep doing it if they think they can get away with it. Remember: you're not the one being unreasonable & selfish, they are.
Good luck. Let us know how it works out.
Confront them, don't let their shitty music leave you out of pocket.
Just say you feel uncomfortable with the level of music and want it turned down.
We are living in a unit a and one of the unit next to us using as a Airbnb or holiday accommodation.
HOw do i know it , as the people inside the unit always different.
Please still chatting on the balcony and making loud noise at night after 11pm even on weekday.
i have approached them couple of time during the first few instances , people are generate good and will quiet down.
As the people are keep on changing , I decide to call the police, police came on number of times and then the owner sold the unit. I think after multiple noise complaint the owner will be contacted and if this things continue they will be liable for the fine.
So my advice is, write letter to them nicely, if it is not improving, then keep calling the police, tell the police that they will turn it down when police arrive and after 5 mins they put it back up, if police catch them doing this, they should give them a direct fine.
Let your body corporate know - pretty sure that AirBnb-ing will be against the rules.
Anything with strata will be a long process, first they have to give warning for about month or two then if no change it goes back to the committee to decide if NCAT will be needed this may take months.
I think call cop will be faster , more than three time the owner will get fine or the people who hire the place will get fine and reported back.
my old neighbour had a garage band that was total rubbish, and annoyed me endlessly on sunday arvo.
I just started playing slayer at 4am with my amp pointed at his window
problem solved
I vote take up a new hobby, I suggest motorcycle riding.
Just tune the bike up, each night and random intervals. I heard you can hear the engine better at 2AM.
Just curious, as my bro is building in a new estate, what sort of distance between your wall and your neighbour's wall?
The distance won't make that much difference - as air is a great conductor of sound. What's between the walls is much more important.
Pull out the bandsaw every time the music cranks up and do some cutting of firewood. Everyone needs firewood.
Do you mean chainsaw or dropsaw? Band saws would have to be one of the quietest powered saws there are.
First record some of the evidence during the day and night from the inside and outside of the house for a few days.
Then call the police and let them know, the police will issue a Noise abatement order, which they must comply within the next 7 days, if they continue to do so within that 7days, the police will have the power to seize any equipment or a fine will be issued by the court.
Here's the link to clarify it.
http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/services/Make_a_noise_complaint
Whirlpool forums have this:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1947686
Also, just go straight to the cops, your neighbours already know they are loud assholes so any logical discussion with them will have them pissing all over you. Don't waste your time.
In all seriousness I would try this first.
If that didn't work I'd experiment blasting bass back in to their house, not just to be a nuisance but to try and create destructive interference to stop the peak of the bass entering your house. It'd be more an experiment than a solution but I'd imagine it would be quite easy to set up a microphone that tracks the beats per minute of the bass and it's frequency and then blast that out your own speaker towards the source of the music. This is the kind of result that you would be hoping to create.
Sounds like an awesome party your neighbours are having. Maybe they should have one of those Facebook party invite. Gatecrashers are so unpredictable. Maybe everyone in your street should keep their cars in the garage just for that night. Maybe include certain upstanding groups to that place. I can imagine the smiles on all the people that couldn't get in. Just a thought.š
Nasty: Go crazy ass on them and borrow a LRAD and blast them back.
Nice: Buy them a decent set of headphones from OzBargain (they are always on here)
I'm amazed only one person has mentioned a noise abatement order.
It's a piece of cake and will sort them out
Hi.
Double glazing is worth investigating. Although if you've just bought your first house it'll be tough to find the money to have effective double glazing.
It does work, I've stayed at airport hotels and have hardly heard the aircraft taking off.
We've installed double glazing twice.
The 1st house we did was a learning experience.
Had an aluminium window replaced with a UPVC frame with 6mm glass 15mm argon and 6mm glass to a window 1.7m wide by 2.15m high. Cost us $2000 for a single pane in 2014, which I think is good value for Perth. Noise reduction was slight but not effective. The biggest benefit was keeping the room warm in winter. Beforehand we told the salesman who visited our home we wanted noise reduction and he didnt mention we would need to upgrade to get this.
The 2nd attempt was successful.
In 2015 we were renovated an old house and we requested noise reduction from a different company.
The window was 1.5m wide by 1.4m tall and had one pane of laminate glass (10mm?), 10-15mm? argon and a 2nd pane of glass (6mm), cost $1600 including cedar frame and awning sash. We can still hear if the neighors are playing loud music but it's reduced to background noise.
I think the most effective and cheapest way would be with magnetite or similar.
Other factors to consider are changing the external appearance of some but all windows on the same side of a house which may devalue the property when you come to sell.
The wider the air/argon gap the greater the noise reduction.
Hope this helps.
There are other reasons for having a different postal address though. For example, I now get my mail sent to my parents house because I'm fed up with it being stolen.