Dealing with a Noisy Neighbor: Tips for Handling Loud Music from Afar

[MrPickle]

My neighbour is playing their music far too loud and it's been going on for weeks.

Is there possible some way I could make something to screw with their radio from a-far? Only about 10 meters.

I could just ask them to turn it down, but that's not nearly as fun

 

[Pinu7]

When they are not by their radio, steal it.

It's going to be funny.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

The police usually have a non-emergency number where you can file noise complaints. That's not as fun as having magic powers to screw with their radio, but it will shut them up.

Mind you, if you actually want to stay friendly with your neighbors, you should go yourself and ask them if they could turn it down.

 

[Evo]

Ack, noisy neighbors. I've owned my own house for ever, so never had to deal with it until I decided to move into an apartment a couple of years ago. The new people upstairs sound like a herd of elephants, but luckily there is no music or tv that I can hear and they go to bed early.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

My son tells me there's a way you can interfere with the operation of a radio using a Glock.

 

[BobG]

Transmit your own radio signal on the same frequency (against FCC laws, by the way).

On the other hand, a glock will interfere with their CD player as well as their radio (strangely, there are no FCC regulations dealing with glocks).

 

[Pupil]

Mind you, if you actually want to stay friendly with your neighbors, you should go yourself and ask them if they could turn it down.

Well, that depends. How many neighbors do you have, MrPickle? If you have a few or more you could simply play innocent and say you didn't do it if they ask. It'll be like a game of Clue -- only real life and no one gets beat to death with a candlestick!

 

[vociferous]

You could go out and buy a 500 watt subwoofer, place it against the shared wall, turn off the speakers to your amp, and play rock or rap music (sans speakers) whenever they play their music too loud (you might want to go out for an hour or so, least the bass make you nauseous).

 

[Topher925]

Are you sure they are actually playing music from the radio? I didn't know people still did this.

I like the glock idea. I vote for that.

 

[robertm]

Well, you could be nice about it and go with the "friendly neighbor" approach, but that wouldn't be any fun at all.

You could combat sound with a louder sound of your own, but I think that is kind of self defeating. Physically destroying their stuff is a good route to go, but could be difficult. Do you have access to their power supply? Shutting down their electricity every time they even think about turning it on would probably get your point across.

I say you combat an offense to your senses, with an offense to another of their senses. Find a discrete location with an influx of air (laundry outlet, vents, cracked window, chimney, drafty attic, etc...) and use that to pump in the most god-awe-full smelling substance you can muster up. If you can time it well with the music, then I think they will probably connect the dots.

If all else fails, you could just put their house up for sell for really cheap in the classifieds (Foreclosure Sale! Must Go!); and schedule an open house for the same time they usually play the radio.

 

[BobG]

Well, you could be nice about it and go with the "friendly neighbor" approach, but that wouldn't be any fun at all.

You could combat sound with a louder sound of your own, but I think that is kind of self defeating. Physically destroying their stuff is a good route to go, but could be difficult. Do you have access to their power supply? Shutting down their electricity every time they even think about turning it on would probably get your point across.

I say you combat an offense to your senses, with an offense to another of their senses. Find a discrete location with an influx of air (laundry outlet, vents, cracked window, chimney, drafty attic, etc...) and use that to pump in the most god-awe-full smelling substance you can muster up. If you can time it well with the music, then I think they will probably connect the dots.

If all else fails, you could just put their house up for sell for really cheap in the classifieds (Foreclosure Sale! Must Go!); and schedule an open house for the same time they usually play the radio.

The open house has some real merit. Likewise, if you can get their name (from their mailbox, perhaps), you sign them up for every free offer that generates loads of e-mail. The more offensive the free offer, the better.

I wouldn't dismiss combating with a louder sound so fast. You just need the right sound.

Buy an elliptical reflector dish and start dating a loud girl friend. How could creating a louder sound than your neighbors not be fun?

 

[Moonbear]

It's been going on for weeks and you haven't said anything to them yet? Maybe they've assumed the houses are all well insulated and it's not bothering the neighbors, since nobody has come over to say anything. If you don't say anything, how should they magically know it's bothering you? Save the evil plots against their radio or noses for after you let them know it's a problem if they continue doing it.

 

[Pengwuino]

It's been going on for weeks and you haven't said anything to them yet? Maybe they've assumed the houses are all well insulated and it's not bothering the neighbors, since nobody has come over to say anything. If you don't say anything, how should they magically know it's bothering you? Save the evil plots against their radio or noses for after you let them know it's a problem if they continue doing it.

I agree, how childish. You haven't even talked to them? There are apartments that are well insulated and maybe you don't live in one of those such apartments and they may have before.

 

[lisab]

Weird...I thought this thread would be about something different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5KeGccP9Jk

 

[Math Is Hard]

Weird...I thought this thread would be about something different.

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

 

[MrPickle]

They're not apartments.

They're in their garden blasting it away. It's obviously to loud as they have to shout to talk to each other.

 

[Proton Soup]

My neighbour is playing their music far too loud and it's been going on for weeks.

Is there possible some way I could make something to screw with their radio from a-far? Only about 10 meters.

I could just ask them to turn it down, but that's not nearly as fun

high pressure water hose

 

[moose]

My neighbour is playing their music far too loud and it's been going on for weeks.

Is there possible some way I could make something to screw with their radio from a-far? Only about 10 meters.

I could just ask them to turn it down, but that's not nearly as fun

Stop being so passive aggressive, grow a pair, and talk to them about it if it's a legitimate problem.

However, I never understood why people have problem with other peoples music. When I hear music in my apartment coming from elsewhere, I either enjoy it or if I don't I just put my own music on or ignore it. I don't understand what the big deal is, since I like to be able to play my music loudly as well.

EDIT: Whenever I move into a new apartment, the first few days I play music louder than I usually would just to test out what my neighbors can handle. That way for the rest of the year I know how loud I can play my music without bothering them. If none of my neighbors come over and complain, then I assume there's no problem. If someone had never come up to me and told me my music is too loud, then tried to mess with my equipment, they would have serious problems coming to them.

 

[rootX]

I don't understand why loudness fascinate some people. It just give me headaches. My music is rarely audible to the person sitting a few distance away from me.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I agree, how childish. You haven't even talked to them? There are apartments that are well insulated and maybe you don't live in one of those such apartments and they may have before.

What kind of apartments have you been living in? I've worked at relatively nice places and no regular apartment walls, even well insulated, will stand up to music with heavy bass cranked up really loud. Not going to happen.

At my job I am not at all nice to these people who blast their music and say "oh we're not being that loud are we?" Those people are the oblivious, immature, disrespectful, jack***es I have to go back and tell to shut up (though not in those words precisely) time and time again. They're the ones that don't get a hint until the cops have shown up a few times or they have had to pay a few fines.

My roomie was like this. No matter how many times I told him to turn down the TV or went and turned it down myself every single time he went and turned that TV on he cranked the volume all the way up.

 

[lisab]

What kind of apartments have you been living in? I've worked at relatively nice places and no regular apartment walls, even well insulated, will stand up to music with heavy bass cranked up really loud. Not going to happen.

At my job I am not at all nice to these people who blast their music and say "oh we're not being that loud are we?" Those people are the oblivious, immature, disrespectful, jack***es I have to go back and tell to shut up (though not in those words precisely) time and time again. They're the ones that don't get a hint until the cops have shown up a few times or they have had to pay a few fines.

My roomie was like this. No matter how many times I told him to turn down the TV or went and turned it down myself every single time he went and turned that TV on he cranked the volume all the way up.

Totally agree here...do some people really think that sound waves cease to propagate, after they have reached the intended target (i.e., their own ears)?!?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Stop being so passive aggressive, grow a pair, and talk to them about it if it's a legitimate problem.

However, I never understood why people have problem with other peoples music. When I hear music in my apartment coming from elsewhere, I either enjoy it or if I don't I just put my own music on or ignore it. I don't understand what the big deal is, since I like to be able to play my music loudly as well.

EDIT: Whenever I move into a new apartment, the first few days I play music louder than I usually would just to test out what my neighbors can handle. That way for the rest of the year I know how loud I can play my music without bothering them. If none of my neighbors come over and complain, then I assume there's no problem. If someone had never come up to me and told me my music is too loud, then tried to mess with my equipment, they would have serious problems coming to them.

Some loud music, particularly with heavy base, can feel rather oppressive when coming through a wall. All the person on the other end gets is the vibrations and some only partly coherant sounds. It can be rather annoying.
And most people do not complain. Like I tell the people I talk to at my work, they shouldn't have to complain. You should be a respectful neighbour to begin with.

 

[Huckleberry]

Man up and make your complaint clear to them. Don't expect complete silence, but demand a reasonable volume at appropriate hours. If it is still a problem then talk to your neighbors and see what they think. Call the cops or something. Don't go playing pranks and starting conflict. Save that for your friends.

I've worked nights for most of my life. Noise has always been a bit of a problem for me. While I'm sleeping in the daytime people are mowing their lawns and playing music and television and making a general racket. Nothing I can do about it, and I still have to stay kinda quiet at night so I don't disturb them. Sometimes you just have to learn to live with a bad situation. Messing with them won't improve anything. Keep your expectations reasonable.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Man up and make your complaint clear to them. Don't expect complete silence, but demand a reasonable volume at appropriate hours. If it is still a problem then talk to your neighbors and see what they think. Call the cops or something. Don't go playing pranks and starting conflict. Save that for your friends.

This is the way to go. If you're not worried about retaliation then talk to them yourself. Otherwise call security if you have security (call the office or answer service to see if you do) or make a complaint to management. Most of the places I work fine people if they receive more than one or two complaints in a short period of time. And if all that fails call the police and do so every single time they are being a legitimate problem. I stress the 'legitimate' because otherwise the cops will see you as a problem and you can even get fined yourself if you make too many complaints over things that are seen as non-issues.

I've worked nights for most of my life. Noise has always been a bit of a problem for me. While I'm sleeping in the daytime people are mowing their lawns and playing music and television and making a general racket. Nothing I can do about it, and I still have to stay kinda quiet at night so I don't disturb them. Sometimes you just have to learn to live with a bad situation. Messing with them won't improve anything. Keep your expectations reasonable.

YES! Lawn mowers and kids! They drive me nuts. The only other thing that has ever driven nearly as mad as either of those were people whooping and hollering over the superbowl. That day I actually went and slept in my car someplace.

 

[Fenn]

I would recommend calling them on their noise. It's unfair to you and everyone else.

If you want to mess with them, steal their dog and dye its fur purple using food coloring.

If they don't have a dog, buy them a dog as a peace offering. Then, when they're not looking, steal their dog and dye its fur purple using food coloring.

 

[moose]

Some loud music, particularly with heavy base, can feel rather oppressive when coming through a wall. All the person on the other end gets is the vibrations and some only partly coherant sounds. It can be rather annoying.
And most people do not complain. Like I tell the people I talk to at my work, they shouldn't have to complain. You should be a respectful neighbour to begin with.

You should also take into account that I've lived in college apartments that tend to have reputations for being partying apartment complexes. What I don't like is that there are PLENTY of apartments with a similar distance to school, lower rent, more amenities, etc, that specifically say that they are quiet apartment complexes. Yet for some reason there are always people who decide to move into the party complexes and then complain/call the cops when there is rather minimal noise.

In that case, they are the ones being disrespectful neighbors because I want to enjoy myself and so does everyone else in the apartment complex, yet those specific people want to ruin that for us, even though they KNEW it would be loud in that complex. I can't stand being in a quiet apartment, I go crazy. I don't like that the people who want it quieter absolutely always without exception have the deciding vote in terms of acceptable volume. I've had the same neighbor complain when it was a Friday at 5pm and my music wasn't even that loud. Come on!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

You should also take into account that I've lived in college apartments that tend to have reputations for being partying apartment complexes. What I don't like is that there are PLENTY of apartments with a similar distance to school, lower rent, more amenities, etc, that specifically say that they are quiet apartment complexes. Yet for some reason there are always people who decide to move into the party complexes and then complain/call the cops when there is rather minimal noise.

In that case, they are the ones being disrespectful neighbors because I want to enjoy myself and so does everyone else in the apartment complex, yet those specific people want to ruin that for us, even though they KNEW it would be loud in that complex. I can't stand being in a quiet apartment, I go crazy. I don't like that the people who want it quieter absolutely always without exception have the deciding vote in terms of acceptable volume. I've had the same neighbor complain when it was a Friday at 5pm and my music wasn't even that loud. Come on!

I've always thought it would be nice to have apartment complexs where people can be loud late at night if they like. If someone moves into a place where they are told to expect lots of noise then they should not complain.

I also am well aware of people who are just overly sensitive. I've had to tell off people for complaining about nothing many a time aswell. One night I had to tell a couple that I was not going to respond to any more calls about their neighbour doing the dishes at 10pm.

 

[Phrak]

And now, more bad advice...

Simple FM transmitter.

for your specific application, C1, R1 and the Mic are superfluous.

 

[Huckleberry]

YES! Lawn mowers and kids! They drive me nuts. The only other thing that has ever driven nearly as mad as either of those were people whooping and hollering over the superbowl. That day I actually went and slept in my car someplace.

Funny you should mention the superbowl. There's been several times where the neighbors have kept me up while watching some sporting event. It is a bit grating, but I have to let it slide. It's not an every day occurance so it's tolerable, and I can understand their excitement. Perhaps it's just a part of my personality, but the emotions of others are infectious in me. I have to laugh at the irony that I'm enjoying a game I can't see while I'm upset about being kept awake by it.

This reminds me of some neighbors I had while I was living in Norfolk Virginia. They would blast the music late at night a few days a week. At the time I was just grateful that I didn't have to sleep in a coffin rack in a room with 100 other guys. It seemed a small price to pay. When I left the military and was preparing to move I had an extra bottle of sambuka and some food that I didn't want to take with me. I gave it to them. They said if they had known they had such cool neighbors they would have been quieter. Since I had never asked them to keep it down before I enjoyed that response. Then I hung out at their place for a while and got drunk with their friends. Not quite my crowd, but a nice way to say farewell and following seas.

For the OP, you might want to try a bit of kindness. Make them a tray of brownies or invite them over for some BBQ and suds. Get to know them better. They are your neighbors so it is in your best interest to get along with them. If they don't view you with derision then they are more likely to be respectful of your needs. Do what you can for a peaceable solution first.

Sucks you had to sleep in your car. I've done that plenty of times while traveling and it's never very comfortable. I used to keep my navy blanket in my car just for that situation. It's come in handy several times. As uncomfortable as those nights were I remember them fondly.

 

[Blenton]

Turn the power off at the switchboard? Or rig up some sort of emp generator.

 

[BobG]

Some loud music, particularly with heavy base, can feel rather oppressive when coming through a wall. All the person on the other end gets is the vibrations and some only partly coherant sounds. It can be rather annoying.

Subwoofers should be banned from both housing units and vehicles. There's absolutely no escaping or ignoring them. The subwoofers cause permanent hearing loss to the people using them, turning them into chronic "loud music" abusers.

Alternatively, all digital sound media could be banned. Back in the days of the phonograph, it was impossible to generate the low frequencies that subwoofers amplify so well (which is probably why subwoofers didn't become so popular until CDs replaced vinyl records).

 

[Moonbear]

YES! Lawn mowers and kids! They drive me nuts. The only other thing that has ever driven nearly as mad as either of those were people whooping and hollering over the superbowl. That day I actually went and slept in my car someplace.

Lawnmowers don't really bother me, because from inside, it's usually just a steady hum that I hear. People who let their kids go out shrieking in a common yard do drive me nuts though! If you live in an apartment and the kids want to be noisy, there are usually plenty of parks and playgrounds they could go to.

I have lived in some fairly well insulated apartments, especially in MI where it's an energy-saving necessity, and when I lived in ones that were far enough from campus that it was mostly working adults living there, not students. But, even good insulation, as has been pointed out, won't stop that irritating thumping and vibration of bass from subwoofers from penetrating the walls/floors. It actually is less irritating to just hear someone else's music than to only hear/feel that thumping that gives me a headache.

And, there are some times of year that you know people have a big parties going on and just suck it up knowing it's going to be loud. I think everyone understands that it's going to be noisy on New Year's Eve, and really only says something if the noise continues past 1 or 2 AM and you're already hungover before they've turned down the noise. But, I don't know why a SuperBowl party needs to be noisy. They're just supposed to be watching a game, not blasting music and such.

My own rule of thumb when having parties in apartments, and what I also appreciated if my neighbors did, was just to go let the neighbors know you were planning one a day or two ahead of when you were actually holding it, and give them your phone number to call if the noise bothers them...or even invite them to the party. As long as it isn't every weekend, people tend to be much more charitable about noise if they know ahead of time and were even invited to join.

I actually somewhat like the idea of an apartment complex near a college that promotes itself as allowing noise. I just think they should make sure it's not just spread by word-of-mouth that it's a party complex, but the managers should emphasize that they don't enforce noise rules unless they disturb people outside the complex before people sign leases so they are aware of what to expect. I do think a lot of students would go for it, while others who want quiet would know to avoid the place. Of course, it would be desirable if it was located someplace where there were no other nearby houses or apartment complexes...maybe with a freeway as a buffer between the complex and any other homes...so they don't drive other town residents mad. We do have one apartment complex like that here. It's buffered by a large parking area, road and business zones (primarily fast food restaurants, bars, bowling alley, other stores that close early, etc.), so nothing else residential is nearby to be bothered. That complex even has late-night pool parties that they sponsor complete with DJs, so it's frequent that you'll drive past on weekend nights and hear the party from the road. But they won't even lease to anyone who isn't a student, so there's never someone new to town who doesn't know any better and accidentally rents there expecting a normal, quiet apartment complex.

 

[BobG]

Lawnmowers don't really bother me, because from inside, it's usually just a steady hum that I hear. People who let their kids go out shrieking in a common yard do drive me nuts though! If you live in an apartment and the kids want to be noisy, there are usually plenty of parks and playgrounds they could go to.

Living downstairs from a couple that babysits their grandchildren, but keep them trapped in the house all day is fun, too. It's no wonder the kid would throw temper trantrums in which she screams and kicks her feet up and down on the floor.

Living downstairs from someone who feeds their dogs on the slatted balcony because their eating habits are a little too exubriant for indoors is fun. Every balcony below theirs gets pelted in dog food when they eat. But, I'm sure it must easier for them than having to sweep the kitchen floor after every feeding.

(I live in a house and don't have to deal with that stuff, but I'm extra glad not to be in an apartment with every bad neighbor story I hear).

 

[junglebeast]

My son tells me there's a way you can interfere with the operation of a radio using a Glock.

Are you talking about the handgun?

 

[fleem]

You could go out and buy a 500 watt subwoofer, place it against the shared wall, turn off the speakers to your amp, and play rock or rap music (sans speakers) whenever they play their music too loud (you might want to go out for an hour or so, least the bass make you nauseous).

Lawrence Welk music would be a better choice, here.