Apartment dwellers hear noises through vents

“I live in a super old apartment with very thin walls and floors. I also live in Oregon, and the complex doesn’t get a lot of sun, so it’s a recipe for mold and mildew. We have a mold addendum as well, so I absolutely understand the importance of running an exhaust fan. Our complex even requires us to run the fan for at least 20 minutes after showers, and that’s never been an issue for me. My downstairs neighbors’ bathroom exhaust fan is on 100% of the time, and it’s LOUD. It vibrates the whole f”

“Hi guys, I live in a fairly new apartment building which has poor insulation. My bedroom is beside my neighbors living room and kitchen. For the past couple of months I have been hearing his cabinets, doors, footsteps, and pretty much any thumping noise through the wall. I could even hear him talk. I knocked on his door to ask him if he could just keep it a bit quiet during quiet hours but nothing seemed to improve. At last, I decided to move my bed into the living room and my couch into the bed”

“I live in a one-bedroom apartment with fairly high ceilings. There's a small hallway with a lower, drop-tile ceiling consisting of about 3–4 acoustic ceiling tiles and a return-air grille with a filter (pictured). Directly above the ceiling is the AC unit, with roughly 1–2 feet of open space between the return grille and the unit. There's no visible ductwork connecting them, so I assume the ceiling cavity itself serves as the return-air plenum. The system is incredibly loud when running.”

“Hello! I have bad isolation of the door and I can hear all the things happening outside. Little bit of air could come inside the flat. Main issue - sound isolation - it seems not to exist at all. Will changing the “rubber” for larger one will solve the issue? Can you recommend something? submitted by /u/paskalnikita [link] [comments]”

“We live on the last floor of the condo, we have been having issues with a noise coming from a certain spot on the roof, it turns down sometimes but it’s mostly on. Seems like it goes up as the pump starts to work. Management was just ignoring until a random technician that was visiting 6 months ago told me it’s the heat pump but he doesn’t know what’s wrong with it. So I insisted it’s the heat pump and they turned it off and the noise went away during the summer. They have now switched to heat a”

“I just recently moved into this apartment about a month ago and their have been many problems with us including this insanely loud banging coming from the bathroom/laundry room area that happens periodically at random points throughout the day. I would like yalls opinion on this before I bring it up to the property manager because they have been anything less than helpful so I would like to have an idea before I just get shrugged off again. Thank You!!! submitted by /u/BigCheese99969”

“We live in a semi detached home and our neighbours who recorded says this is coming from us. We barely hear it. Never did untill they said it. Thought it might be extractor fan or geyser, but we tested and nothing...3rd option we think it might be toilet pipes but this to me sound like refrigeration system like fridge or freezer. Its like between our walls theirs and ours and we dont know what it is. We not 100% sure but flushing the toilet might trigger it, but then again it could be them. But”

“Recently my hall way has turned into a bunch of loud noise slamming doors and people partying, i can hear every noise and sound amplified x100 especially thru my ring camera, Is it a reason for me to be scared or should I be afraid something bad will happen or they will bother me? Someone help me reason this out I know it sounds stupid submitted by /u/hazeleyed_beauty [link] [comments]”

“What can I do to dampen all the hallway sounds I hear everything really sharply and the constant partying in the hall that echos down submitted by /u/Top-Illustrator-9573 [link] [comments]”

“My kitty keeps getting inside there and you can imagine how impossible it is to get her out. Is this something I should let maintenance know so they can cover it up? submitted by /u/TeqkoiSnow [link] [comments]”

“I live in an apartment that is unfortunately very poorly designed. Namely, there is a vent that goes directly from my room to my roommates room, and all the walls are just a single sheet of uninsulated drywall. As a result, literally EVERY noise I make picks up. Talking at a regular volume on a call? They hear it. Playing music on my phone at the second lowest volume setting? They hear it. Walk around? They hear it. Eat chips? They hear it. Type something on my keyboard? Yep, they hear that too.”

“I live in an apartment building and no one lives above me. Randomly last night there started to be a loud "buzz" coming from my ceiling vent. What is strange is that the buzz is still there when the power is cut and no heat or AC is running so I'm not sure what to do. I was considering bothering my landlord about it do you think that is appropriate? submitted by /u/No_Job8951 [link] [comments]”

Do you have access to the boiler or any control over who works on it?

“My boyfriend and I just moved into a new apartment and noticed this noise coming from behind the wall. We thought it had to do with the sink, as it would sometimes happen after we used the kitchen sink, but that seemed to be a coincidence and it has happened a couple of times randomly throughout the day. It also doesn’t correlate with the AC. It happens less and less every day but it is rather aggravating. Does anyone know what this could be? submitted by /u/GraceM100517 [link]”

“I’m seriously confused and wondering if anyone has experienced something like this. The unit directly above me is vacant, and the unit next to that one is also vacant. But I keep hearing noises that sound like someone’s dropping sth on the floor (and it bounced) coming from my ceiling. What makes it even weirder is that this has only started happening frequently recently. I’ve lived here for over six months and basically never heard anything like this before. There is another occupied unit upsta”

“So I am in a rental (just moved in) and the furnace(?) is in a small utility closet near the living space. The air return vent is on the wall. The problem is that it is SO SO loud. Not rattling or anything like that - just majorly whooshing. Other than filling my space with furniture and such is there anyway to dampen the sound? It’s driving me bananas. submitted by /u/lalaluna1 [link] [comments]”

“Bear in mind that most bathroom fans are deliberately noisy, to mask bathroom sounds. One can get quieter fans (compare CFM and noise on a bathroom fan vs a cooling fan for AV equip or computers).”

“you can also install a vent in the door - although sawing the bottom off might be easier, unless it gets blocked with a towel/throw rug.”

“Me and my roommates got super unlucky and are living in quite possibly the worst apartment in our complex. My room is right across from the main door to enter our building, almost eye level, and I can hear everyone’s conversations, door slamming, and loud footsteps. Above our apartment is a stairwell and I can hear every step, plus it squeaks when people walk right above my bed. I’ve already had a meltdown from the noise because I’ve always been terrible with loud noises. Is there ANY way to mak”

“i moved into my first apartment a week ago, and it’s an old factory converted into lofts with ~12ft high ceilings. my apartment is in a weird spot in the building and doesn’t actually even share the walls with anyone else, my walls are all against the hallway or the outside. i’m also on the first floor, so i don’t have any downstairs neighbors. since i’ve been here, i have heard people in the hall right outside my door and i’ve heard footsteps from upstairs, but i haven’t heard any TV, talking,”

“I have been living in my apartment for just over a year and it had been peaceful bliss. Rarely heard anything sound from upstairs. And suddenly about 3 weeks ago, the acoustics suddenly changed and I now hear everything. No new tenants same neighbors I hadn’t been hearing a peep from for over a year. Closers opening, sliding doors, chairs scraping footsteps, toilet seat being put down, doing the washing up. It’s driving me crazy. It sounds like I have suddenly gained roommates. Has anything like”

“Video linked to hear the sound (plays sound at link): https://imgur.com/a/ApywaAN Landlord claims this wall doesn't have space for an animal to get inside due to construction style. 3rd floor (top) exterior wall of brick 3-flat. No attic, just flat roof directly above. Heard this inside the bedroom wall (an exterior wall) for about an hour on & off at 8pm (after dark). Tried banging on the wall to scare whatever it is but didn't seem to affect it. Landlord claims we must just be hear”

“I have a very strange question. I live in a very old building that has twelve floors with nine units on each floor. My bedroom and bathroom share a wall with the elevator shaft. I also hear a lot of noise in my bathroom presumably through vents. My issue is that late at night I’ve been hearing verbal fighting and it does not sound good. I have also heard what I think has been a physical altercation (very clearly heard “get off me”) at least once. Now I’m one who’s not typically bothered by noise”