Noise Etiquette

[smidsy]

Following on from Tigers thread about noise and neighbours, what exactly are the rules?
I live in a complex of 25 units which are arranged in pairs, I have the upstairs part of this unit and my connected neighbour is downstairs.
Because of health issues I keep some strange hours and at night I'm generally on the pc, among other things watching vid files.
I thought I was being a good neighbour but my neighbour told me the other day she could hear me at 4am.

So now it's head phones at 4am, a pain but I try to be a good neighbour.
So when is it acceptable to make "normal" noise, not construction or loud music, but normal noise - bear in mind I know I have hearing damage from years of power tools and road crewing bands so my normal may be a tad louder than others.

[Bob38S]

Following on from Tigers thread about noise and neighbours, what exactly are the rules?...........


I thought I was being a good neighbour but my neighbour told me the other day she could hear me at 4am.

..........

Could hear you......... Did she say that this was a problem?

Let's face it, living in a block on the Sunny coast, there will always be some noise at all times of the day/night. It definitely calls for a live and let live approach. Without getting too personal with the neighbour, if you share the info you have shared with us then most reasonable people would not have a problem.

Perhaps the only time you should really be concerned is if a complaint is made to the body corporate. I think it is great that you feel concerned for your neighbour and suggests that you are a reasonable person who thinks that there may/could be a problem and are happy to try and solve it.

[ian]

she could hear you = she was awake and could hear you.

as Bob said that is not the same as you woke me up with your noise.

Perhaps she's trying to befriend you ?

You should ask if she heard you just moving around or sound from the vids and was she disturbed by the noise.

[dabbler]

I don’t think you have a real issue, other than how you feel about your neighbour and any grief they want to create. Just be polite and everyone else will be on you side. You have already modified your activities so remind people about that if they get pushy. Time of day has little bearing on the activities you describe. A night working neighbour would be just as disrupted at 11am, as your nighbour was at 4am.

Bob is right, the greater concern is body corporate and or any rental agency if they are involved too. As private individuals who want to keep the majority happy, it’s my experience they can be more difficult than council because at least council work by known rules and laws, or can be made to acknowledge those rules and laws.

For what it’s worth, here is the Sunshine Coast specific info.
http://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=noise-light

My experience with noise complaints (as the one lodging the compliant) is 15-20 yrs old, but at the time it was very much a state law issue with some tinkering by local councils. I doubt if that part has changed. Housing type and proximity has little bearing too, just the noise level you create.

Good luck with any future encounters.