Sign up with GoogleI think the point is that this neighbour is that guy already.
So I would still tell them to get screwed
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Neighbour complaining about aircons
- Thread starter mugikhan
- Start date
I think the point is that this neighbour is that guy already.
So I would still tell them to get screwed
I would love to solve it amicably but he complained the moment we moved in and started renovations. He complained about the noise and distance from the boundary wall even though we had city approval. Now he's found something else to complain about. This to he complained about us making noise while there was a house about 1 plot further away doing renovations and making the noise, he apologised for that one thiugh.
And if I could move or install the aircons anywhere else I would but there really aren't any better spots for them.
Other Pineapple Smurf
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18BTU is loud
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It's two of these one, 18000btu and one 12000btu. They are really quiet, I mean I'm 25 years old so I'd hope my hearing is still good and I can only hear the fan spinning lightly when I stand underneath it.
I have a 9BTU Daikin inverter and it is also loud even though a premium brand. We have a 12BTU York non-inverter which I can hear from the opposite side of the house.
Keep in mind hearing something is not the same as noise nuisance.
The first rule of being a good neighbour is to be a good neighbour. Place a trellis by your boundary wall to deflect some of the sounds for example.
I've got a 5.5kVA generator at home to use during business hours and I've put a great amount of effort to not disturb the neighbours, and it did not cost me a cent as I just moved it around the yard to find a good spot. I always ask my neighbours if the noise disturbs them.
Good fences make good neighbours but sometimes you just need to set boundaries when it comes to bad neighbours.
Nemesys
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I would tell him apologies for the disturbance. To enable you to do something about it you need a certificate to prove the noise level is more than 5dBA above the ambient noise level inside his house. The certificate would be for you to take up the problem with the supplier/installer of the air cons. If he cannot supply you with such certificate he will have to live with it.
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WollieVerstege
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Yeah, I'll just always try to keep my side of things amicable even if only for my own sanityI think the point is that this neighbour is that guy already.
So I would still tell them to get screwed
WollieVerstege
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Yeah I speaking more in general terms. If it was me I'll just continue to be my friendly self within the law and let the universe sort him out. It is not worth souring your own life over other peoples problems.
We have a dog, he's very calm and only barks when there are people at the gate. I know if we had a rowdy dog they would complain instantly.
Craig_
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Yes, this. And then call his wife when you know he is home alone and complain about all their sex noise.
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Yeah, I'll just always try to keep my side of things amicable even if only for my own sanity
Nah. Sometimes you need to show you have teeth. Otherwise neighbours like this will just walk all over you.
DA-LION-619
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This seems funny at first, until you have to deal with a neighbour that has domestic issues…
It's a delicate balance between just flicking the neighbour away and saying you won't do a thing (as many here have advised) and finding a way to live in peace, and if possible on good terms, with the neighbours. OP, you don't sound like the kind of person who just can't and won't be bothered with caring about that neighbourly relationship... which is, after all, why you even started this thread.
If I remember correctly, you said that you're in your 20's, so while you physically probably hear very well, you're in a life phase in which noise doesn't tend to bother one as much as it does twenty or thirty years down the line. That's one of the reasons that old[er] toppies who can still hear well don't actually want to go to loud discos and concerts as much, or can't bear to stay there for as long. One's sensitivity to noise changes as one ages. If your neighbour is a few decades older than you, that could explain why the aircon doesn't bother you at all, but sounds noisy to him.
In any case the fact is that - at least from your neighbour's subjective perspective - you are bothering him, and he feels this quite apart from any reality or measure of how loud the sound of the aircons actually is. Therefore, if you're going to achieve anything towards fixing the problem, you will need to reach him on this basis.
It's a good idea to measure the actual level of noise of the aircons, and to find out whether or not they are within the legal limits. If not, go back to the people who installed them and ask them to fix that. And even if the noise is within the permitted limit, you could still ask the suppliers for all their advice about dampening the sound emissions.
The tips to put up a sound-dampening barrier, or sound absorbing screen or trellis are very good and some version of them is probably fairly easy to put into practice. Also consider a hedge or other dense, leafy shrubbery that will break some of the sound.
Most importantly, tell your neighbour the truth: that you yourself can barely hear the aircons and would never have thought of them as loud, yet you do hear him that this is an issue for him. Tell him you're not really sure how much you're going to be able to reduce the sounds to a level that will not impinge at all, but that you are undertaking some things, and trying to find out about options.
Say that you have... for example... spoken to the installers/manufacturers and obtained a tip to do x and y (small actions you can quickly do before speaking to him, such as checking that there is no loose, rattling grill or cover, or something along those lines), and that you will be finding out about possibilities for a screen next to each device. All along, make it clear that you're investigating, and not yet making promises that you will carry out all of the options, since of course you have limited resouces in terms of time and money. Tell him that you're getting advice on a trellis with plants or a hedge within your property, to break the sound. Ask him what he'd think about his perhaps raising the fence between the properties (but first find out the municipal by-law about that... so you know how high he is and is not allowed to build).
If I remember correctly, you said that you're in your 20's, so while you physically probably hear very well, you're in a life phase in which noise doesn't tend to bother one as much as it does twenty or thirty years down the line. That's one of the reasons that old[er] toppies who can still hear well don't actually want to go to loud discos and concerts as much, or can't bear to stay there for as long. One's sensitivity to noise changes as one ages. If your neighbour is a few decades older than you, that could explain why the aircon doesn't bother you at all, but sounds noisy to him.
In any case the fact is that - at least from your neighbour's subjective perspective - you are bothering him, and he feels this quite apart from any reality or measure of how loud the sound of the aircons actually is. Therefore, if you're going to achieve anything towards fixing the problem, you will need to reach him on this basis.
It's a good idea to measure the actual level of noise of the aircons, and to find out whether or not they are within the legal limits. If not, go back to the people who installed them and ask them to fix that. And even if the noise is within the permitted limit, you could still ask the suppliers for all their advice about dampening the sound emissions.
The tips to put up a sound-dampening barrier, or sound absorbing screen or trellis are very good and some version of them is probably fairly easy to put into practice. Also consider a hedge or other dense, leafy shrubbery that will break some of the sound.
Most importantly, tell your neighbour the truth: that you yourself can barely hear the aircons and would never have thought of them as loud, yet you do hear him that this is an issue for him. Tell him you're not really sure how much you're going to be able to reduce the sounds to a level that will not impinge at all, but that you are undertaking some things, and trying to find out about options.
Say that you have... for example... spoken to the installers/manufacturers and obtained a tip to do x and y (small actions you can quickly do before speaking to him, such as checking that there is no loose, rattling grill or cover, or something along those lines), and that you will be finding out about possibilities for a screen next to each device. All along, make it clear that you're investigating, and not yet making promises that you will carry out all of the options, since of course you have limited resouces in terms of time and money. Tell him that you're getting advice on a trellis with plants or a hedge within your property, to break the sound. Ask him what he'd think about his perhaps raising the fence between the properties (but first find out the municipal by-law about that... so you know how high he is and is not allowed to build).
It's a pity the neighbour is not on the forum. There are always two sides to every story.
In an air-conditioned room you tend to keep the windows and doors closed (blocking out your aircon noise), whilst the neighbour without aircon would have open windows some of the time.
Two fairly large aircon units (18000 & 12000 BTU) that are only 1.5m from the boundary wall - it is not inconceivable that they do make noise for the neighbour.
In an air-conditioned room you tend to keep the windows and doors closed (blocking out your aircon noise), whilst the neighbour without aircon would have open windows some of the time.
Two fairly large aircon units (18000 & 12000 BTU) that are only 1.5m from the boundary wall - it is not inconceivable that they do make noise for the neighbour.
Of course, there are lots of YouTube videos about reducing the noise of an aircon. I found this one rather good, perhaps more so because of the comments, which deal with various scenarios and explain why some measures taken will, or will not, likely help.
Somewhere someone pointed out that the gap between the house with the aircon and the neighbour can work as an amplifying chamber, in itself, which could also explain why the noise sounds louder on the other side of that gap.
I'm not suggesting that one must pander to every whim of an unreasonably moany neighbour, but sometimes it's worth taking a range of DIY measures in case, ideally, they really do help, and also in the hope that being visibly solution-oriented will, in itself, relieve some of the tension in the neighbourly relationship.
Somewhere someone pointed out that the gap between the house with the aircon and the neighbour can work as an amplifying chamber, in itself, which could also explain why the noise sounds louder on the other side of that gap.
I'm not suggesting that one must pander to every whim of an unreasonably moany neighbour, but sometimes it's worth taking a range of DIY measures in case, ideally, they really do help, and also in the hope that being visibly solution-oriented will, in itself, relieve some of the tension in the neighbourly relationship.
rh1
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@mugikhan You are a bad neighbour, your neighbours like the little children they are, are demanding attention. You
as a good neighbour should/must give them something to complain about.
Something that makes them scream/shout as you finally give them the attention they deserve.
My suggestion something over 110 decibels @ 0h00am every night.
Show them how much you care.
as a good neighbour should/must give them something to complain about.
Something that makes them scream/shout as you finally give them the attention they deserve.
My suggestion something over 110 decibels @ 0h00am every night.
Show them how much you care.
Dairyfarmer
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Me too. Only noise will be from the shooting range, all day, every day
Craig_
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At least then his focus might be on his wife.
purple face
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I have very noisy neighbours that are up all night I know this because they wake me up