What would interfere with a neighbours loud stereo noise?

[Kevboy73]

Hi all. I realised most of you love cranking up the volume and listening to the clear notes of your favourite tunes on your sound systems. My problem is so does the students next door but at all hours of the morning. We live in a mature residential area and new tenants have moved in next door to us in a terraced estate. I love loud music as much as the next guy but these guys are blaring everything from novelty songs to the worst dance and rave music I've ever heard at 2, 3 and 4am. My first reaction was to do the same back or get a loan of a huge amp from a friend and blast them out of it. That only turns up the general noise level when our family are trying to sleep and it's not fair on my nice neighbour on the other side of me. There is nobody in the house on the opposite side of the noisy neighbours so I'm the only complainer. One of them is the landlords daughter. (It's actually her grannies house) and he thinks the sun shines out of her a**. Although, I know he was delighted to get her out of the house. The police won't do anything, they say it's a civil matter and neither will the local council as they only look after industrial noise pollution. I'm at my wits end and this is really getting to us. My wife is pregnant, we're both trying to keep a job and the constant blaring means we're hardly sleeping at all and she's already exhausted as it is.

What I'm looking for is something that would interfere with their stereo more or less silently and that I can turn off when their music reaches a reasonable level. The idea is I'd turn this on anytime the music is blaring and turn it off again when the noise level goes back down. Hopefully they'll think there's something wrong with their stereo when they have the volume up full blast and learn to keep it down or else they get interference through the stereo.

I know many different things can interfere with the quality of sound coming from speakers including interference from walls, other electrical equipment and electromagnetic waves. I have been told that a CB radio with the antenna placed against the wall might interfere with the broadcasting from next door. I wondered if anyone here could shed some light on this before I purchase one or if any of you guys could come up with another effective solution? I'd considered putting in sound-proofing but where the joining wall is would make the job quite a big one with no guarantee that it would work as the door frames prevent any decent amount of insulation being applied.

Does anyone have a solution?

Thanks

Kev

[Rich-n-Texas]

You'll never be able to out-annoy a teenager. Whoever told you it's a civil matter is dead wrong. It's a public nuisance matter that the local police MUST address. Demand to talk to a supervisor. Those are the only authority figues these kids will listen to. In general, teenagers will look at anything you try to do on your own as a challenge. It won't go well for you.

Just my opinion... good luck.

[poppachubby]

Have you made any attempts to speak with them? You need to ask yourself firstly, where in this situation is the compromise? Thinking they will just fall in line is not reasonable. The early AM stuff must stop, but daytime usage will probably be hard to curb.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Ever see "The Sopranos"? Blast some Dean Martin at 7:00 am for a hour or two each morning.

[Worf101]

I deal with this matter at work so I'm offering my semi-professional advice. Usually I'm working with gas compressor stations and their noise impacts but noise is noise.

1. Get the town ordinances, determine if there is a noise ordiance for your location. In most cases, there is. Usually its a DBA limit at the property line or nearest occupied structure keyed to time of day

2. Once you've determined the legal limits, go to your locka Rat Shack, get a cheap SPL (Sound Pressure Level) meter and take measurements at the property line, on your deck and inside your residence, windows open and closed, and include the time of day and night measurements were taken (important).

3. Armed with a copy of the law and your measurements approach the following individuals:

1. Police.
2. Police Chief or Sgt.
3. City Councilman or other elected representative.
4. Mayor
5. Local news stations.
6. Sue in civil court for damages.

Alll of this is assuming you've tried to talk to these kids and they've blown you off.

If you're rich you can build a sound barrier, they make temps and position it between your house and theirs. Hope this helps.

Worf

[poppachubby]

Ever see "The Sopranos"? Blast some Dean Martin at 7:00 am for a hour or two each morning.

See Rich's post.

[luvtolisten]

In general, teenagers will look at anything you try to do on your own as a challenge. It won't go well for you.

Just my opinion... good luck.

I agree, you'll simply become their entertainment(let's bug old man so & so). Talk to them directly. Then their parents if need be. You have to do it in steps, not come in like gang busters or you will get retaliation.

If that doesn't work, I would focus on the parents, not the kids. You need to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey.

[poppachubby]

I deal with this matter at work so I'm offering my semi-professional advice. Usually I'm working with gas compressor stations and their noise impacts but noise is noise.

1. Get the town ordinances, determine if there is a noise ordiance for your location. In most cases, there is. Usually its a DBA limit at the property line or nearest occupied structure keyed to time of day

2. Once you've determined the legal limits, go to your locka Rat Shack, get a cheap SPL (Sound Pressure Level) meter and take measurements at the property line, on your deck and inside your residence, windows open and closed, and include the time of day and night measurements were taken (important).

3. Armed with a copy of the law and your measurements approach the following individuals:

1. Police.
2. Police Chief or Sgt.
3. City Councilman or other elected representative.
4. Mayor
5. Local news stations.
6. Sue in civil court for damages.

Alll of this is assuming you've tried to talk to these kids and they've blown you off.

If you're rich you can build a sound barrier, they make temps and position it between your house and theirs. Hope this helps.

Worf

Excellent. I would add video recording the measurement process and results with the camera's time stamp feature engaged.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I agree, you'll simply become their entertainment(let's bug old man so & so). Talk to them directly. Then their parents if need be. You have to do it in steps, not come in like gang busters or you will get retaliation.

If that doesn't work, I would focus on the parents, not the kids. You need to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey.
I'm a gun owner.

It's my gang buster.

I'm just kidding.

[luvtolisten]

I agree, you'll simply become their entertainment(let's bug old man so & so). Talk to them directly. Then their parents if need be. You have to do it in steps, not come in like gang busters or you will get retaliation.

If that doesn't work, I would focus on the parents, not the kids. You need to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey.

Just reread the the OP's note and realized they are students, not kids. Have you called the cops when the noise it's at it's peak at 4 A.M.? You could remain anonymous that way. I would keep calling until you become a pain to the cops. Who knows, if they can't bust them for playing loud music, maybe for something else (drugs, underage drinking etc.).

[luvtolisten]

I'm a gun owner.

It's my gang buster.

I'm just kidding.

Works for me!

[bfalls]

Ever see "The Sopranos"? Blast some Dean Martin at 7:00 am for a hour or two each morning.

I like this idea. Anyone blasting music until 4:00am would be trying to sleep at 7:00am. I'm thinking maybe some Leon Redbone, or maybe Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" just might do the trick. Anyone blasting until 4:00am isn't likely to listen to reason, unless there's something in it for them. Promising not to use "Chewy, Chewy, Chewy" by Ohio Express as a wake-up call just might be the correct deterrent.

[atomicAdam]

i, personally, am very fond of fire.......

[luvtolisten]

Yeah, FIRE! FIRE!

[atomicAdam]

but if you don't want to be that extreme/risk burning your own home down/ and you feel the legit be legal ways of dealing with this are getting you no where, i would suggest finding the fuse box and pulling the fuses. if it is located on the outside of the home. typically where there is techno at 4am there are other things, call the cops and report smelling some pot drifting over the fence.

there is also the alternatives, move, quit your day job and start partying like you are 18.

I'm a bit confused when you say landlord, is this landlord the lord of both properties. if so, contact the apartment assoc. in you area and see if you can w/hold you rent until the issue is resolved.

you could also, since you said you wife is preggers, have her approach the police/other authorities. it could be your mannerisms didn't go over well for whatever reason and a preggers woman might get more sympathy.

Good luck, i've got a similar problem across the street from me. we did the police, we talked to them, my landlord sent their landlord a letter, and short of burning the place down, we got ear plugs and shut the window.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I deal with this matter at work so I'm offering my semi-professional advice. Usually I'm working with gas compressor stations and their noise impacts but noise is noise.

1. Get the town ordinances, determine if there is a noise ordiance for your location. In most cases, there is. Usually its a DBA limit at the property line or nearest occupied structure keyed to time of day

2. Once you've determined the legal limits, go to your locka Rat Shack, get a cheap SPL (Sound Pressure Level) meter and take measurements at the property line, on your deck and inside your residence, windows open and closed, and include the time of day and night measurements were taken (important).

3. Armed with a copy of the law and your measurements approach the following individuals:

1. Police.
2. Police Chief or Sgt.
3. City Councilman or other elected representative.
4. Mayor
5. Local news stations.
6. Sue in civil court for damages.

Alll of this is assuming you've tried to talk to these kids and they've blown you off.

If you're rich you can build a sound barrier, they make temps and position it between your house and theirs. Hope this helps.

Worf

This is great advice right here!

[GMichael]

I'm all for having the wife talk to the police in person. Some things need a ladies touch.

[Kevboy73]

Thanks for the many suggestions. I have tried talking to them and the parent. Their father owns the house and we own ours. If they were council tenants, the council could do something. I've tried reasoning but the father thinks his daughter can do no wrong and just blanks my conversation now. I'm surprised there aren't more technical/soundwave/interference answers. I can't blast music back as we have another neighbour on the other side of our house and it really wouldn't be fair on him, so that's why I was thinking of maybe something less intrussive?

K

[bobsticks]

How about a thin coating of Vaseline, nail polish remover and ricin on the doorhandle...

...well, it is less intrusive.

Actually, until you've exhausted every option offered by Worf I would follow that plan.

[GMichael]

Thanks for the many suggestions. I have tried talking to them and the parent. Their father owns the house and we own ours. If they were council tenants, the council could do something. I've tried reasoning but the father thinks his daughter can do no wrong and just blanks my conversation now. I'm surprised there aren't more technical/soundwave/interference answers. I can't blast music back as we have another neighbour on the other side of our house and it really wouldn't be fair on him, so that's why I was thinking of maybe something less intrussive?

K
There is insulation that could help, but you're talking quite a bit of change. I doubt that you are looking to spend the kind of coin required to soundproof your home. Think thousands, and then add multipliers.
Maybe you could try sleeping with your music on just loud enough to block out theirs.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Thanks for the many suggestions. I have tried talking to them and the parent. Their father owns the house and we own ours. If they were council tenants, the council could do something. I've tried reasoning but the father thinks his daughter can do no wrong and just blanks my conversation now. I'm surprised there aren't more technical/soundwave/interference answers. I can't blast music back as we have another neighbour on the other side of our house and it really wouldn't be fair on him, so that's why I was thinking of maybe something less intrussive?

K
I don't think there are, unless they're using wireless speakers, if there even is such a thing. Short of cutting power to their house, there probably isn't much you can do from the standpoint of introducing interference, as far as I know.

[Kevboy73]

Nice suggestion Bobsticks!
I'm sure there's something legal and wave-orientated that could do it. If your mobile/cell phone goes off near your TV or Stereo while they're on, you get that horrible buzzing sound through the speakers. I'd like to do something like that. I've heard a CB radio will interfere with speakers if the aerial is close enough to the stereo or speaker.

[pixelthis]

MOVING IS THE ONLY SOLUTION.
Some battles arent worth fighting.
Students tend to get treated like royalty in a college town, daddies money and all,
and they dont care about you're money, they care about a student boycott.
BACK WHEN I lived in apartments I sometimes had this problem,
but victories were short lived, and quite often the police wont do anything.
Find a place with a bunch of settled married people, then all you have to worry about will be the occasional domestic violence.
And be advised that even tho the police wont do anything against them, doesnt mean they wont do anything against you.
No, that is not fair, but I HAVE SEEN people kicked out of their unit for complaining
about noise from other people.
Even if you could get these peeps to leave(they wont quit partying) you'd just get
another set that might be worse.
always check to see if they are student apartments before you move in, a
housing project is preferrable.
Druggies respect my 10mm, students dont respect anything:1:

[Kevboy73]

Thanks but I have no intention of moving. I've lived here 5 years, it's a mature residential area and we like the house that we have bought.

[Worf101]

I gave you a step by step method of handling this thing legally and I don't understand why you still seek some exotic noise cancelling solution to your problem. Your problem is NOT noise but the people creating the noise. That's why noize ordinances were invented. Go to your local library, do some research or hire an accoutic engineer to take the measurements for you then do your do dilligence.

Worf

[basite]

follow worf's suggestions...


if none of these work, find a way to cut their power off.

you cannot "interfere" with their music, well, maybe if their gear is cheap and unshielded, something that would simulate a cellphone could do some 'interfering' (as in cellphone noise), but those things are pretty much illegal to own yourself, as you'd be blocking the cellphone traffic too...

go to the cops, call them when the noise is actually there, keep calling until they show up. They should...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Geoffcin]

There's an old saying; "Don't **** where you sleep" Seems like these kids are ****ting, and why would anyone let them continue to sleep?

Rent some BIG PA speakers. A little Foghat at 115dB at 7:00 AM should do the trick.

[GMichael]

There was a poster on here a few years ago who was experimenting with a noise canceling system. He asked a few questions but wouldn’t say much. It was to drowned out the sound of jet engines or something. I don’t know of any commercial application other than for headphones.

Edit: Here is that thread. It was for a cruise ship. http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=27605&highlight=oval

[basite]

There was a poster on here a few years ago who was experimenting with a noise canceling system. He asked a few questions but wouldn’t say much. It was to drowned out the sound of jet engines or something. I don’t know of any commercial application other than for headphones.

Edit: Here is that thread. It was for a cruise ship. http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=27605&highlight=oval


won't work. you'll have to play exactly the same frequencies at exaclty the same moment, in contra-phase.

Okay, it will work. if you find a way to accurately record the music and immediately (without delay, okay, this is hard...) replay it their way, contra-phase.

chances are you'll be able to dim the sound a little, your neighbors won't thank you though (both sides...

[GMichael]

won't work. you'll have to play exactly the same frequencies at exaclty the same moment, in contra-phase.

Okay, it will work. if you find a way to accurately record the music and immediately (without delay, okay, this is hard...) replay it their way, contra-phase.

chances are you'll be able to dim the sound a little, your neighbors won't thank you though (both sides...
He could make a much smaller one, just for their bedroom. How loud could he need it to be? If he's getting 70 db, he'd only need 50 db to get it down to 20 db. Not sure where to get the software to make it work though.

Edit: It wasn't very hard to find. This is just one of the many sights that came up. http://download.cnet.com/Noise-Cancellation/3000-2170_4-10729657.html

[pixelthis]

I gave you a step by step method of handling this thing legally and I don't understand why you still seek some exotic noise cancelling solution to your problem. Your problem is NOT noise but the people creating the noise. That's why noize ordinances were invented. Go to your local library, do some research or hire an accoutic engineer to take the measurements for you then do your do dilligence.

Worf

Well, there are the way things are supposed to be, and the way they are.
All of your "due dilligence" will probably do nothing, if the landlord wont,
as its his property.
EVER HEAR THE PHRASE"you can't fight city hall"?
At my local university a frat was dealing coke, even had a ":drive through".
These were the sons of governors, senators, big businessmen, etc, and
they only got shutdown when it got crazy outta control.
WE'RE talking about dealing coke, not a little noise.
HERES' YOUR PROBLEM, you have got to find a civil servant that cares more about your problem than his pension, good luck on that.
Some of these students have rich daddies that will stomp on you at the drop of a hat,
just look at his little angel the wrong way.
What have you got to offer that will make you're complaint worth the trouble?
THEY TURN THEIR NOISE UP...turn yours up.
Or get some of that pink panther insulation.
AND GET EXTRA TIRES, so when they get pissed at you and cut yours you wont miss a days work.
Which could happen if you cause too much trouble.
I dont fight people with more money than I HAVE, same reason I dont kick bears in the nads, doesnt do much but guareentee I will get some exercise in.
AND dont ask how I "KNOW" ALL THIS, I was police for fifteen years, theres the way the world works, and the way its supposed to work.
NEITHER LOOKS ANYTHING LIKE THE OTHER.:1:

[Feanor]

I'm a gun owner.

It's my gang buster.

I'm just kidding.
I parked in an underground garage years ago under my apartment building. The passenger in the Buick parked to the left of my Volkswagen used to toss open his (or her, never saw the person), and put a little dent in my VW's door almost every day.

I put some masking tape in the affected strip on the side of my car; this reduced damage and clearly showed what was happening -- to no avail.

One day, returning from the gun club, I took a used target with some very nice wadcutter holes, folded it and wrote on the back, "Please be award that your passenger often dents my car which parks next to yours. Please ask him to be very careful opening his door. Thanks very much". There was never, ever another dent after that.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Funny stuff Bill. :)

How 'bout this... get you a big-ass 220 volt motor that sprays lines of flux 1000 feet! Maybe that'll give 'em a buzz. OTOH it may give everybody cancer, but hey, "small steps" right?