Problem With Upstairs Neighbours Young Child

Sounds like a bad situation.

Unfortunately you may have to move, even if you get them evicted (I doubt it) you may have equally noisy people move in instead.

Once you are sensitive to noisy neighbors you will find even normal noise irritating.

My gf and I lived a converted victorian house with flats above and below.
Was great at first but new neighbors upstairs were very noisy (music and parties)
Would sometimes quiet down if I asked, but would do the same the very next night.
After a few months of that the slightest noise had my gf crying as soon as they turned the stereo, even before 11pm or weekend.
A few times when they wouldn't answer the door I turned the power off to their flat, that shut them up for a bit. But the Op can't do much about noisy children.

Had to move out in the end, luckily we were only renting and now own a detached house.

Seriously think about moving.

If your already desperate enough to pay their rent then you need to get out of there.

Good luck.
 
Sorry for your situation OP. I have been in the same place - partly it is a matter of mindset - this noise isn't going away any time soon, if you start thinking of the noise as a big negative then it can quickly escalate in your head to the point you are subconsciously stressed waiting for it and then when it comes it is more and more aggravating.
You have to deal with that emotional bit and accept that it is going to happen and make it as small in your mind as possible.

If it is a 1900's conversion I suspect you have reasonable headroom? If you do there are lots of pretty cheap ways you can insulate your ceiling as others have said - especially when you compare them with paying the rent for upstairs as you are also increasing the value of your home and saving money on heating etc.

You could fight fire with fire - get some half decent speakers and some drum and base - put it on for the half an hour after they make all the noise at 2am and see how they like it?

Alternatively get to bed early and make 2-3am wakes up a good excuse for sexy times...

I'm afraid I get up before 6am most days now - changing how you live to make the most of your environment includes the noises from next door.
 
This is the problem with purchasing property in converted houses. Did you check to see if the noise survey had been done when the conversion happened? Recently helped a friend turn a commercial property into two residential flats and the council as part of the regular insisted on a noise level being adhered too from one flat to the other, luckily nothing more than the insulation already in place deadned the noise so it passed with flying colours.

Maybe your conversion skipped this test, sure sounds like it? We can play music loudly in the upstairs flat and not hear it downstairs and vice versa.
 
Ben3991 said:
Hi,

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Very thankful of any ideas or help from anyone!

Thanks
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I would take advantage of the high ceiling and look into some DIY even a small space can reduce the volume significantly. Basically your ceiling will be 6" lower. I also once read and heared that if you make a complaint about noise you are obliged to tell any future buyers of the problem - failure to do so could be nasty.
 
scotty365 said:
I would take advantage of the high ceiling and look into some DIY even a small space can reduce the volume significantly. Basically your ceiling will be 6" lower. I also once read and heared that if you make a complaint about noise you are obliged to tell any future buyers of the problem - failure to do so could be nasty.
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Won't address flanking noise from impact all that well I am afraid.
 
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As others have suggested you could just rent your place out and rent somewhere else for the same money - or get a slightly cheaper place and profit.

I am pretty certain with the right amount of thought it isn't going to cost $$$$$$ to sound insulate the ceiling, but it wont be cheap and working above head height is always super tiring. There is a company called the green glue company who do a sound dampening glue product which would allow you to glue a sound deadening layer that shouldn't be super expensive.

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Existing Ceiling
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Bubble Wrap Packing Or Rockwool And/Or Clips to drop ceiling a few inches
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Thin Plyboard screwed up/or attached to floating ceiling lines to provide layer to glue to.
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Green Glue Layer
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Fire Proof Sheet rock material
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Paint

That is not a massively cheap solution and while I would be confident it would help nothing is going to eliminate that type of noise unless you also soundproof the walls as the noise is going to transmit along the floor joists and into the walls as well. It shouldn't cost thousands though.
 
I think offering the Landlord some cash to end their contract might be worth a shot (in addition to covering any gap between tenants), I'd be tempted to put in a layer of insulation anyway too if I was in a ground floor flat. Having a kid making noise is probably quite standard but the parents letting them run around at 2am isn't.
 
Freefaller said:
You can try sound proofing if you have the height - I did this in my bedroom of an old victorian mansion conversion,

It's one of the disadvantages of flat living unfortunately :(
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I was going to say is it a conversion or a modern purpose built? Because theres a world of difference between the two. I've lived in conversions in the past, never again. Moving into a purpose built its heaven by comparison. Floors above are concrete and not an inch or so of timber between you and the neighbours. It doesn't eliminate noise completely but its oh so much better. I'm also on the ground floor this time and not sandwiched in the middle with neighbours above and below so that makes a difference too.

When you've been in flats for a while you'll know to look out for these things if you want to make your life bearable.
 
Ben3991 said:
As mentioned, we have only been in the property less than 2 years. We wouldn’t lose any money but it doesn’t make financial sense for us to move, although it is a longer term option.

Plus, its principle, we love our little home, it doesn’t seem right that we should move through the disrespect of others. We fully accept we are going to hear noise from above, but late at night, early in the morning and all day is simply crossing the line.
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You won't lose any money, but it doesn't make financial sense to move? Those two statements contradict each other... especially as your solution for staying seems to be paying the rent of the family above when they move out, which is just pretty financially pretty bat**** crazy unless you are so loaded that money simply doesn't matter to you. It wouldn't then make financial sense to stay, either.

What about a move making sense from the perspective of your quality of life and sanity? This all sounds like pure emotional thinking, not rational, and there is a point where principle is cutting off your nose to spite your face

Why don't you offer to pay for thick carpets for the family? Failing that, and the parents, landlord or council doing nothing, your only option is to move.
 
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Richdog said:
You won't lose any money, but it doesn't make financial sense to move? Those two statements contradict each other... especially as your solution for staying seems to be paying the rent of the family above when they move out, which is just pretty financially pretty bat**** crazy unless you are so loaded that money simply doesn't matter to you. It wouldn't then make financial sense to stay, either.

What about a move making sense from the perspective of your quality of life and sanity? This all sounds like pure emotional thinking, not rational, and there is a point where principle is cutting off your nose to spite your face

Why don't you offer to pay for thick carpets for the family? Failing that, and the parents, landlord or council doing nothing, your only option is to move.
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We wouldn't lose money, but leaving it a few more years before we move is what we need to do as we can't borrow enough so need to pay some more off our mortgage to release equity.
 
Ben3991 said:
We wouldn't lose money, but leaving it a few more years before we move is what we need to do as we can't borrow enough so need to pay some more off our mortgage to release equity.
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What about selling the place and then moving to a family member for a month or so until you find something then you would be able to use the equity for a new place?

Failing that, I would try speaking again to the family. Write a letter using Google translate if you have to, so that you can explain how much it is affecting you.

If worst comes to worst, make your own noise at unsociable night hours and see how they like it.
 
LionOfJudah said:
kids will be kids. we were probably like them when younger. hopefully soon enough they learn to behave.
as a parent it is hard in every instance to stop the kid having fun running around. of course you can't let them go OTT but still.....
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He is not saying the kid can't make noise in any instance, but what he is describing is clearly excessive and at unsociable hours. Saying "kids will be kids" is not an excuse for not moderating their behaviour.
 
Kronos said:
Ah the joys of inconsiderate neighbours, the ones above decided to lay laminate flooring, cheap laminate flooring with little of no sound insulation. And then the daughter had a child and it is now at an age where it runs everywhere and when it comes to stay overnight with the grand parents they deliberately keep it up late so that it will sleep late in the morning something they both like to do.

I tried the friendly approach because as I suffer from various medical conditions I tend to retire around 8pm I asked if they could stop the child running up and down the hall and playing in the bedroom. Pretty much told me to where to go. Tried that approach once more but no joy. So now if they annoy me I screw a sander to the ceiling and leave it there transferring it to the living room ceiling once I have disturbed their sleep.

This has been most effective but they still need their memory refreshing now and again.
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A true OCUK approach to a problem if ever I've seen one. Well done! :D
 
HAHA, good luck with trying to get someone moved out or anything like that.

We were in a council a ground floor flat, in a block of six everything was good for 5 years then some moved out and some else moved in next door. Then it started! Late night parties, strangers, trying to break into our flat and knocking on the daughters bedroom window in the middle of the night scaring her! People starting fires in the common area, cars getting keyed oh god the list goes on. Everyone in the block complained daily, to the council and police would be round at least every other day to one of the other flats in the block due them complaining.
The council asked us all to keep a diary each of the events and time. I even got a sound level meter and recorded the dB readings when such events started. One neighbour fitted CCTV to his car and in there windows. After a year of this nothing happened and we gave up and we moved! As we couldn't take it anymore.
I would recommend trying the above, giving you some evidence to produce to the landlord and hope that they see your point of view. But kids will be kids and they make noise. Its not as easy as some people think to teach them to play quietly, they just want to play.
 
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