Topic: Noisy neighbours

[nickjtc]

Feed back please. I know this isn't as serious an issue as some that are going on with forum members at the moment. Actually on some levels it would be funny if it wasn't so irritating.

We live in a condo townhouse complex. It's very nice and we have the carport and 1 1/2 car garage I've always dreamed about. Not having to do garden work, or shovel snow is a real bonus. The fly in the ointment is the rude, uncaring, foul mouthed, inconsiderate individual who lives next door. We share a wall between our homes.  He owns his property.

The problem is simply that of loud music at inappropriate times. When we watched him move the biggest home theatre/stereo system I have ever seen into his home (after having lived here for six months and having to endure his noise) we knew we were in trouble. One of the occasions (4.00am on a Thursday morning) it was so loud that no-one could hear when I knocked on the door (except his bulldog.....but that's another story) that I dropped a polite note into his mailbox.

Here it is, 3.30am on a Wedenseday morining and I'm tippy tapping this having been woken up and not able to get back to sleep.

I just committed the cardinal sin and went next door to confront him, while the noise was happening, which was a mistake. Either he's pissed or high. Some of his pithier comments:

"You're a pussy for sending your wife to complain before." (I was out of town; she had no choice)
"You need to get a dick." (For sending the wife to complain)
"Why aren't you man enough to talk to me instead of writing letters and dropping them in my mailbox." (Tried to explain why, with no effect)
"This isn't my weekday, so I'll do what I want."
"I own this place so will do what I want."
"I don't need you barking at me because I'm doing what I want to do."
"F@ck you."

Door slammed in face.

Retribution isn't one of my goals and we've tried reasoning. Just curious for comments.

[750goes]

report him to the local police for noise....
call a police hotline and say you think he is dealing drugs...
piss on his lawn....
throw rocks on his roof....
eggs on his car....
brake fluid on his car... with nicely spelt words has worked for me....

arrange contractors to re-roof his house in his name of course...
order lots of take away food to be brought to his house......

then sit and watch the fun - and make sure you have a vicious guard dog and a shotgun.....only if this makes you feel safe......have an NRA sign in your window...

[nickjtc]

report him to the local police for noise....call a police hotline and say you think he is dealing drugs...piss on his lawn....throw rocks on his roof....eggs on his car....brake fluid on his car... with nicely spelt words has worked for me....arrange contractors to re-roof his house in his name of course...order lots of take away food to be brought to his house......

then sit and watch the fun - and make sure you have a vicious guard dog and a shotgun.....only if this makes you feel safe......have an NRA sign in your window...

Thanks for the input and suggestions.

Remember, I'm a pussy and don't want to inflict retribution

He's been reported to the police before (not by me)
Hmmmmmm, dealing drugs
His dog already does a good job of pissing on his lawn (which is common property anyway)
Roof...ditto
Eggs/brake fluid...no retribution, remember (and I'm a pussy)
The roof is part of the strata
Take out food.......hmmmmm

This is Canada, so no NRA. And I'm not a dog person.

[troppo]

OK so you say you dont want retribution, i guess thats due to his follow on.
Try the police, call EVERY time this goes on, and call if they dont respond to complain.
You say your not a dog person, i think i read somewhere that dogs love chocolate, but it gives them the #$%*s....... Sprinkle sone dark chocolate around the lawn before he lets it out to pee just make sure you break it into small pieces...
And failing all that the police hotline call about drugs should do something, tell them he has visitors at all hours of the day and night, they never seem to stay long......
Cheers
Troppo

[slabbedask]

Get a lot of empty boxes marked "Danger, explosives" and be sure your neighbour sees you carry them to your house. Or get a big axe and sit on the porch every day polishing it while giving him the evil eye....
Or even better, get a T-shirt that says: "I was released from death row, and all I got was this crappy t-shirt...."
Another option is of course to try to beat him at his own game. Get a huuuuge stereo and wait until you see him coming home from a moist evening on the town. Wait for five-six hours, his head should be pounding by itself by now. Then start playing some extremely irritating music REALLY loud. A squealing Bulgarian womenschoir, Scottish bag pipes or Norwegian folk music filled with fiddles soudig like cats being pulled through an exhaust pipe are good choices. (I can probably help you with that last one.... )
Now sit back and watch as he comes running out with a "For sale"-sign and puts it on this lawn.......


Calling the police and claiming that your neighbour runs a gay prostitution ring from his house could also help.....
...or deals in child porn......

[Steve F]

Get a lot of empty boxes marked "Danger, explosives" and be sure your neighbour sees you carry them to your house. Or get a big axe and sit on the porch every day polishing it while giving him the evil eye....
Or even better, get a T-shirt that says: "I was released from death row, and all I got was this crappy t-shirt...."
Another option is of course to try to beat him at his own game. Get a huuuuge stereo and wait until you see him coming home from a moist evening on the town. Wait for five-six hours, his head should be pounding by itself by now. Then start playing some extremely irritating music REALLY loud. A squealing Bulgarian womenschoir, Scottish bag pipes or Norwegian folk music filled with fiddles soudig like cats being pulled through an exhaust pipe are good choices. (I can probably help you with that last one.... )
Now sit back and watch as he comes running out with a "For sale"-sign and puts it on this lawn.......


Calling the police and claiming that your neighbour runs a gay prostitution ring from his house could also help.....
...or deals in child porn......

You crack me up!  I'm sitting here at work chuckling to myself, and getting funny looks from co-workers.

[slabbedask]

Thanks Steve! I'm sitting in an auditorium at school being bored while reading for an exam tomorrow. Getting back to school after twenty years is tough....!
And boredom (or alcohol) spawns creativity......

[750K2]

i'm hoping that there's a homeowner's association that you can plead your case to.  there must be bylaws concerning rights to peaceful enjoyment and while no one hopes for confrontation you may have to plead your case several times in order to have any effect on the board.  in addition, talk to the neighbor on the other side of his unit if there is one.  if the police have been called by other parties, it's evidence that there are others who share your concerns.  you must band together to increase your effectiveness.  aside from those measures and calling the police i'm out of ideas and wish you luck!

[UnCrash]

This guy isn't going to change his behavior.

You need a long term plan to make his condo living so annoying that he'll move.

[edbikerii]

People who were raised like that will never change.  At best, it will be a constant issue with this guy and his family.  No matter how things improve, they will always push it too far every once in a while, and that will drive you nuts.

Consider yourself lucky that you are only renting.  You won't lose a ton of money in commissions, attorneys and closing costs when you move.

BTW, if you want peace and quiet, don't ever think about a townhouse again.

[754]

Maybe it is time to bring over the Sansui twins for a few day, just need a bigger set of speakers..

[tramp]

its combat time
get a larger system and more friends
just kidding
if he's a jerk you can't expect him to listen to logic
ignore him

[Cvillechopper]

I like the fire with fire idea.  Just make sure to put the speakers right up to the common wall (that faces the bedroom if possible), turn it up so loud it hurts you, then walk outside with a video camera and sit in your parked car to tape the entire thing in case he gets stupid. 

Oh, make sure you lock your door so he'll have to break in if he wants it turned down.  Then you can get him arrested.  It's war but you can win without doing anything illegal (or getting caught at least).

Personally, I'd have already come to blows with the guy.  People like that don't deserve the oxygen they consume.  Sure it sounds horrible but he needs to be beaten half to death to have anything stick in the remaining brain cells.  Good thing for him he's got a nice guy for a neighbor.

[upperlake04]

People who were raised like that will never change.  At best, it will be a constant issue with this guy and his family.  No matter how things improve, they will always push it too far every once in a while, and that will drive you nuts.

Consider yourself lucky that you are only renting.  You won't lose a ton of money in commissions, attorneys and closing costs when you move.

BTW, if you want peace and quiet, don't ever think about a townhouse again.

  I agree.  Check the noise bylaw in your community. Talk to neighbors who might also be affected and then work it through the legal channels (police).   By your description, this guy is a nutcase.

[Raul CB750K1]

Forget about law and police. Fight fire with fire. If he plays music at 3 in the morning, he must sleep in the morning hours. That's when you will play your music loud. You have to go to work? No problem, you know what kind of music he likes. So choose the opposite style of music, insert the CD in your player, select "repeat track", crank up volume, press "play", leave to work and imagine how his day will be listening to the same song over and over.

Logic will not work, nor will police. If you call police you are sending him a message you need somebody else to deal with your problems. The only way he will respect you is showing him you are meaner than him.

[cbass*gxc]

^^ I agree with them as well.  He has to sleep sometime so you should do the same thing to him.  See if you can go in to work late one day and fire up a stereo against the wall to his place and let it play.  If you have a camera put it somewhere out of sight but still be able to record, in case something happens.  Talk to all your neighbors and see if anyone else is having the same problem and if so, have everyone do it and see how it turns out.

[upperlake04]

Forget about law and police.....  The only way he will respect you is showing him you are meaner than him.

  Cowboy Raul - Nick lives in Canada

[jdigga]

I think this forum is a good resource: Neighbors From Hell

[Raul CB750K1]

Forget about law and police.....  The only way he will respect you is showing him you are meaner than him.

  Cowboy Raul - Nick lives in Canada

Does it make any difference? His neighbour doesn't care for him; his pleasure is first, before his neighbour rights. He will only respect other's rights when his are not respected.

The appartment besides mine is for rent; I own mine. I have had almost every kind of neighbour. We had a couple that fighted quite often. Once it was at 2:00 AM. I was worried he could abuse her. I ringed his doorbell, and when he opened, I told him something in the line "listen, I don't have any interest in your private life, but have into account that I can't help but listen all your fight. I just wanted to tell you that at these hours everything you are shouting is heard by everybody. Why don't you cool off a little? The guy apologized and the fight ended. Fortunately they moved short afterwards.

In another apartment I lived long ago, somebody in the building used to drag furniture at 23:00 and so. One night I got out and went upstairs, putting ear to door until I knew who it was. It was too late to ring the door so I just decided to wait for a "casual encounter" to bring the topic.

One afternoon somebody ringed my door phone. I asked who it was and an unknown voice told me: "Why don't you #$%*ing stop dragging furniture at nightime?" I replied: "listen, I don't know who you are, but if you would have done what I have done, that is, getting out of your house and checking where the noise comes from, you would have known it is two stairs above. Furthermore, you could have just knocked at my door, I don't bite". Even when I was not to blame, it pissed me that people wouldn't talk face to face.

Living in the same apartment, the neighbours besides had a 15-year-old daughter. I was 24 at the time. One afternoon she was having a fight with his boyfriend. I knocked at the wall just to let them know they were heard, and the guy started shouting "#$%* you, came here if you have balls" or the like. I admit it enraged me, so off I went and knocked at their door telling "here I am, now let's see if you have balls too mother#$%*er". The guy tried to save face but it was clear he didn't expect such a reaction, while the girl was trying to avoid an scandal -her parents probably didn't know she was bringing his boyfriend home when she was alone-. I was cool so I told her to tell his boyfriend not to have such a big mouth and that was it.

I never leave notes; when I have an issue with a neighbour I always knock at his door and talk politely. It has always worked. If you want to be respected you have to be better than the good ones, and worst than the bad ones. Don't show weakness or they will never respect you.

[burmashave]

Forget about law and police. Fight fire with fire. If he plays music at 3 in the morning, he must sleep in the morning hours. That's when you will play your music loud. You have to go to work? No problem, you know what kind of music he likes. So choose the opposite style of music, insert the CD in your player, select "repeat track", crank up volume, press "play", leave to work and imagine how his day will be listening to the same song over and over.

Logic will not work, nor will police. If you call police you are sending him a message you need somebody else to deal with your problems. The only way he will respect you is showing him you are meaner than him.

+1 This worked for me with an albeit smaller problem while renting. The offenders cranked their music at 2:00-3:00 AM on weekday mornings when I had to be up before 7:00 AM the next day. I started waking up with music (Dead or Alive, Husker Du, etc.--this was the early 80's) at 6:45 AM. The problem evaporated.

Your neighbor has to sleep. He won't enjoy being woken up. As for what type of music, I remember a funny story about a judge who had a unique punishment for noise ordinance violators. He would make them listen to one hour of easy listening music. The music of choice was Barry Manilow. The judge says he has had few repeat offenders. This has worked elsewhere. Man, I'd be ready to kill after listening to "Mandy" for the third time at full gain.

I also think that rounding up the neighbors is a good idea. I would guess that he is annoying folks beyond you and his other immediate neighbor. At a minimum, I would notify my other immediate neighbor, if possible, of my plan. I know we have some acoustical engineering types, mebbe they can help to achieve maximum effect while annoying your other neighbors as little as possible.

Failing that, would the moderators please merge this with the "Kill a Beaver" thread?

[nickjtc]

Consider yourself lucky that you are only renting.

Alas, I'm not. I own the house. Well, the credit union does and I'm paying them for the priviledge of living there.

He was right on one count. I am a pussy, and will avoid confrontation at all cost. (Does that mean I'll be shunned by this forum..... ) This morning was the last straw. However, reverting back to my 'pussyness', I cannot bring myself to stoop to his level and do the same thing back at him.

The city bylaws cover noise disturbance, but of course there is no by-law official on the job at 3.30am. The police are indifferent. At the next strata council meeting I'll investigate our by-laws.

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. I guess there is always earplugs and the hope that he'll piss off more people. I'll do the rounds of the neighbours in the vicinity.

Thanks for your inputs guys/gals. Appreciated.

[mark]

.......... Then start playing some extremely irritating music REALLY loud. A squealing Bulgarian womenschoir, Scottish bag pipes or Norwegian folk music filled with fiddles soudig like cats being pulled through an exhaust pipe are good choices. (I can probably help you with that last one.... )
Now sit back and watch as he comes running out with a "For sale"-sign and puts it on this lawn....... ...........

Pop had a similar issue with a neighbor ages ago. The weapon of choice was an LP of train sounds. The steam-powered freight side was great. With the thingy on the turntable lifted up the record would play over and over.................

The loud neighbor moved out at the end of the month.

[edbikerii]

Well, if you have a noise ordinance, just call the cops.  There is no need for any "official" to interpret the law.  Once the cops get there, they will interpret the law -- that's their job.  Don't relent, either.  Every time he violates the noise ordinance, call them again IMMEDIATELY.  The cops will get there, hear the noise and enforce the law.  The cops will get sick of him, and they'll be less polite each time they have to pay him a visit.  He'll get the message sooner or later.  If the cops don't do anything, then it is time to escalate to the town council or whatever you have up there.

That is what you pay taxes for, isn't it?

Who cares what he thinks of you?  You're a citizen and you have the right to ask the police to uphold the law -- end of story.

[mrblasty]

When calling the police about noisy neighbors I always make a point to say "I thought I would give you guys a chance to handle the problem before I did."  That has been the most effective line in getting a quick response from them, The last time they were out in under 10 minutes.   
  To relate a story that happened last weekend in my apartment building, some new neighbors had been raising hell in the parking lot around 1130, they were egging somebody on to do something so I was looking out my window to try an figure out what was going on.  Thats when I saw a naked dude across my parking lot hitting all the door buzzers on the apartment buildings and running around to my building, so I waited at my security door for him, as I heard him come through the bushes and hit the sidewalk in front of my door I smashed through the door with the intention of hitting his cock and nuts with the door knob, I'm, not sure if I made contact with his junk but he stuffed into the door hard.  My initial plan was to pepper spray his wang but I didn't have time to get to the spray.

[burmashave]

[snip]
He was right on one count. I am a pussy, and will avoid confrontation at all cost. (Does that mean I'll be shunned by this forum..... ) This morning was the last straw. However, reverting back to my 'pussyness', I cannot bring myself to stoop to his level and do the same thing back at him.
[snip]

Let's start out again. YOU ARE NOT A PUSSY. Not all of us are cut out for confrontation. Imagine for a moment what our world would be like if we all were. Disliking confrontation **does not** make you a pussy. You know what it makes you??? It makes you Nick. Period.

Give up on the whole pussy idea because it will only make it more difficult to solve any probs. Also, note that each member here would choose a solution to fit him or her. This is based on who we are. We do not strive to all be the same. We do not all ride cafe's, we do not all ride stockers.

O.K., so the constraint is to avoid direct confrontation. I would purchase the earplugs and look at the problem as a longer term one that **will** be solved.

If you can find a good noise meter relatively cheap, use it. Keep a log. Document, document, document. Use your wife as a witness for a journal. Keep a good log of dates, times and levels. This will especially help when it comes before an association meeting. It will also help you if you wish to file a formal complaint. In my experience, people are generally too undisciplined to keep excellent documentation. On the other hand, detailed documentation can be your best friend at the right time. It has worked for me.

I might try rounding up the other neighbors who are affected. This avoids immediate and solo confrontation. Also, I might start looking at this in the longer term. That is, I'd try to strike up casual conversations with as many neighbors as possible. Firstly, this will allow you to say, "Hey Bob, did you hear the noise last night?" Secondly, when this comes before the association, you'll have allies on your side.

You may also wish to report him to the police **every** time he goes beyond a certain level. If the police don't get annoyed with you, they will get annoyed with him.

If he's renting, you may wish to contact the owner. The type of fellow who behaves the way he does is not likely to take care of rental property. Again, log everything. Take notes each time the police visit him. If I were his landlord, I wouldn't want to hear that the police were visiting my tenant on a regular basis.