Dear Ethel & Hyde
Our elderly neighbour keeps calling noise control. Even when we are not having a party noise control have come and checked and said we are fine with our noise level. What can we do to stop the neighbours complaining?
- Annoyed, Not Noisy
Ethel and Hyde is brought to you by the Student Support Centre. They advise you to take Ethel’s advice.
Send your questions to:
ethelandhyde@ousa.org.nz
Ethel says:
It sounds like it’s time to do some bridge building, even though it may be tempting at this point to try and avoid any further contact as I am sure it’s very annoying to be in your situation. Have you introduced yourselves to your neighbours? This is a great thing to do, particularly if the flat’s next to a non-student flat. If you didn’t do this at the beginning, it’s never too late, and might be helpful in avoiding future issues with neighbours. When you meet your neighbours you can give them the contact details for one or more of you, so they can contact you directly if they are having an issue. You could also offer to put out their rubbish for them on rubbish day, to help them see you are valuable members of the community and try and break down some of the stereotypes about students they may have. On a practical level, making sure that the windows on the side of the house they are on are closed when you are home in the evenings will help to reduce noise travelling.
Hyde says:
Sounds like a house needs sound proofed. You’ve heard of the room within a room to keep the noise in right? Well, cos you ain’t makin’ that much noise - big ups to noise control for being on your side – the neighbours need to have the sound deadened to their delinquent ears. Cardboard helps with sound-deadening. Boxes made of cardboard are everywhere, collect them, flatmates can collect them, friends can collect them, and in a short time you’ll have enough to build a hovel around their hovel. It’ll work best to build it in five sections separately and finish the construction deep in the darkness by placing each piece in position and fixing them together. Handy tools for your arsenal are a staple gun and gaffa tape; you’ll need these time and again for important projects like this. Given the delusions your neighbours clearly live with, they might not even notice their new bubble, especially if you have a couple of halogen lights in strategic places to simulate daylight. Give them a door? Or not.