# problem with neighbor



## lbrown1

so - I'm in the burbs at the north end of Oshawa.....and my house is pretty close to my neighbors (8 feet between houses) - as all houses in the burbs are.

well - apparently the noise is just too much for the neighbor to take....I guess she doesn't like the blues 

and this is coming from just my practicing alone......all windows shut - in the basement.....let's not even get into the issue when full out band practice is going on.

anyway - I think in order to keep a good neighborly attitude going on my part - I think it might be best to maybe find some good jam space somewhere.....what do you folks do - rent a place? - banquet hall, school gym, formal rehearsal space at a studio (i.e. "Rehearsal Factory")......looking for something inexpensive ....no need to store our stuff there......anyway - just trying to get some ideas


thanks all


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## Guest

lbrown1 said:


> formal rehearsal space at a studio (i.e. "Rehearsal Factory")


All my years living in Toronto that's what I did with bands. Usually Cherry Beach. I miss it. Ottawa seems void of such spaces -- I guess the abundance of "suburb" here lessens the demand. But there's nothing quite like a well equipped rehearsal space. It was always worth the $50/3 hour rate and Cherry Beach. Plus: when you're paying for it you take it way more seriously.


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## shoretyus

Nobody in Courtice / Hampton area that you know? 

There's that Rawkspace in Peterborough but they want $12 per hour. 

http://www.rawkspace.com/?mpf=frame&


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## mrmatt1972

Paul said:


> One of my bands uses a church to rehearse in. In exchange, once a year we play for free for a fundraising dinner/dance. They feed us and feed us well at that event.
> 
> It's a good trade for us.


The irony here is palpable! LOL Crap - can I say that without getting this thread nuked!

Matt


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## lbrown1

shoretyus said:


> Nobody in Courtice / Hampton area that you know?
> 
> There's that Rawkspace in Peterborough but they want $12 per hour.
> 
> http://www.rawkspace.com/?mpf=frame&


yeah - there's a "Rehearsal Factory" in Oshawa in the south end....I'm gonna call 'em up today to see what their rates are. $12 per hour seems reasonable enough if they're close to the Peterborough facility rates.....(I used to live in Peterborough in another life...).. - split between 4 or 5 guys it amounts to coffee money........I see in rehearsal factory their rooms are all equipped with amps, drums (although by the looks on line - not sure if our drummer would be satisfied with the drum kits provided......he needs "more cowbell!")

anyway - I'd prefer something a little less formal - so I'm going to call some community centres as well - see what gives - who knows - maybe the school would even allow use of the gym or auditorium after hours for a fee

thanks for the ideas folks........a church would be an incredible place to rehearse I'd think.....great acoustics


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## Rick31797

*space*

What about sound proofing.. maybe the Habitat stores would have something to damping the sound.. that's too bad, but i guess i can understand where the neighbor is coming from. 
We had a neighbor with a Barking dog, ( they moved ) and for many years that's what i heard at 2 am., and then 4 am

Rick


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## lbrown1

Paul said:


> The best solution is to turn down.



well - I know that ain't gonna happen 


Soundproofing hasn't seemed to help - well - I mean - the room isn't sound proofed - that would cost a fortune - but acoustic insulation is in the walls and ceiling as well as a barrier between the drywall and the studs.- as this room doubles as the home theater as well.......it's the bass - it penetrates everything including the 8 feet of earth between our houses.....

now - the neighbor IS overreacting - she's like that with everything ...her husband rolls his eyes every time she opens her mouth......but I suppose I can't just ignore it


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## david henman

lbrown1 said:


> now - the neighbor IS overreacting - she's like that with everything ...her husband rolls his eyes every time she opens her mouth......but I suppose I can't just ignore it



...for people who hate electric music like rock and roll, it really isn't an issue of loudness. just the fact that they can hear it at all gets their kickers all tangled up in their...well...you know...

-dh


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## Rick31797

*neighbor*

Your right the Bass can go through anything. The only alternative , is if your neighbor has a child interested in drums , bass or guitar, sneak him free lesson's, and once he gets rock"in, the focus wont be on you anymore 

Rick


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## mrmatt1972

I learned a long time ago that some people are only happy when they're angry. Sounds like the neighbor lady is one of them. Tell her to call the cops. You can make all the noise you want between 7am and 11 pm. 

Matt


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## Ripper

How about just asking her if there is anytime during the week that they are away and schedule your band time around that.


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## shoretyus

Paul said:


> Not in Oshawa:
> 
> http://www.oshawa.ca/documents/Noise112-82.pdf


*Shudder* things have changed.


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## Robert1950

Paul said:


> Not in Oshawa:
> 
> http://www.oshawa.ca/documents/Noise112-82.pdf


And you live in SW Ontario??? Man, you do have time on your hands.


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## ukee

Used to get notes on my front door from the neighbour telling us to turn down. Others would walk by and stare into the basement window and enjoy the music so there you have two extremes. Being a good citizen I follow the law, if they can hear you inside their house after 11 pm you can get fined, so I try to get everything done by 9-9:30 pm , sort of keeps everybody happy.


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## mrmatt1972

Clause 3f (thanks to paul)
the making by any person upon his own property of noise which is reasonable and 
necessary for his enjoyment and use of such property provided that such noise is not 
_audible at a distance of twenty-five feet from the limit of such property and provided in _
addition that such noise does not interfere with the enjoyment of any adjoining property 
owner. 

-you're good. As long as the cops can't hear it from the street.

matt


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## shoretyus

mrmatt1972 said:


> Clause 3f (thanks to paul)
> the making by any person upon his own property of noise which is reasonable and
> necessary for his enjoyment and use of such property provided that such noise is not
> _audible at a distance of twenty-five feet from the limit of such property and provided in _
> addition that such noise does not interfere with the enjoyment of any adjoining property
> owner.
> 
> -you're good. As long as the cops can't hear it from the street.
> 
> matt


25' ... that would almost put you to the NEXT house.


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## lbrown1

just at my practice volume - which I didn't find excessive being right in the middle of it - my wife could hear me coming up the street......so looks like my 25 ft have been exceeded.....

tried the whole "let's schedule for when you're not home" thing with the neighbor........she's always home - so I guess we'll have to wait till the summer when she's up at their cottage all weekend before we can resume.....

checked out Rehearsal Factory ....$450 per month for a monthly room.....no hourly rooms in Oshawa there.......the search continues


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## Rick31797

I dont get it that way... 25 feet from the property line.. the houses are 8 feet apart.. noise is noise
I put up with a dog barking for years.. why.. i don"t know why.. tryed to be a good neighbor.. i suppose.

A dog lover tells me that's what dogs are suppose to do.

Rk


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## lbrown1

my dog always barks at this neighbor too.....


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## ne1roc

Honestly, if your wife can hear you coming up the street,
1) Your house is paper thin.
2) You guys are too loud.

I visited my brother-in-law this weekend and his band happened to be practicing. It was unbelievably loud!!!! Cranked JCM800 and Hiwatt Custom 100,
doing Judas Priest and Metallica. No need for that in residential basement.


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## Chito

Had the same problem here in Ottawa (Stittsville) with my next door neighbour. The bylaw here states that amplified music should not go over 55decibels at the neighbours property line. 55db is the volume of 2 people having a conversation outdoors. So what we did was we got ourselves a decibel meter and made sure we were not over the 55 decibels at their property line although we did go over at some points I suppose . We had bylaw officers come visit us a few times, each time we tell them, "look we monitor our sound" showed them our meter (I've not seen them bring a db meter once) and tell them we have not been over what the bylaw states. They once told us that our neighbour have complained about us numerous times as in about over 20 times sometimes when we are not even home. Eventually we told the Bylaw folks that if they continue to come over, we will have no choice but to claim harrassment. And it worked and they never bothered us again. Fortunately the neighbour moved out late last year.


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## Guest

-whoops double post-


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## Guest

mrmatt1972 said:


> Clause 3f (thanks to paul)
> the making by any person upon his own property of noise which is reasonable and necessary for his enjoyment and use of such property provided that such noise is not audible at a distance of twenty-five feet from the limit of such property *and provided in addition that such noise does not interfere with the enjoyment of any adjoining property owner. *
> 
> -you're good. As long as the cops can't hear it from the street.


_And_ his adjoining neighbour's enjoyment of _their_ property is not impacted by said noise. So, no, he's not good if the cops can't hear it from the street. If she can hear the noise, and it makes dwelling on her property unpleasant, it's a problem.


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## lbrown1

the part I'm perplexed about......for the latest complaint.....

I was playing - in the basement - backing tracks - so no full band compliment - through the PA - which is 150 WATTS - I had it turned to 3 or 4 - very little bass comes out of this thing - it's just a little Fender passport.

the guitar amp was the only other thing on - the Traynor custom special 50 - operating in 15 watt mode with volume at roughly half

so if I can't even play that loud - I guess it's headphones at home - and loud practice somewhere else


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## Robert1950

Paul said:


> I've had a neighbour that created, (to me), excessive and unwanted noise, and had to deal with a city that chose to ignore it. It was a backyard neighbour, and the music was 95 dB in my front yard, and the cops said they would not respond. The noise ended when the loudspeakers became *suddenly non-functional*.


Hmmmmmmmm.


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## Rick31797

*neighors*

All i got to say, is if you want to complain about the neigbors, just realize, that once you complain. there will always be something between you.. 

Its a you got me i get you situation,... I would not want to live like that.. too many screw balls out there.

It reminds me of the neighbors down in the USA.. A fireman was always at the kids next door. because they liked to play basket ball , and the sound of the ball hitting the pavement bothered them.

On Newyears , the kids set off some fireworks around midnight. the fireman came out of the house and shot 5 kids and killed 3 of them.

Things like this can get way out of hand.. especially if neighbors are at each other throats for a long time.. it builds up..

Maybe a Jam space would be a good thing, share the cost and then you don't have to think about what might happen., then or the next day.

I really couldn't have a good jam knowing i was bothering somebody.

We never had any problems with music, but the Dog was annoying.. A nice summer night, with a nice west breeze blowing through the bedroom window and then it would start.
I would have to shut all the windows and turn on the air condition because the house would get too warm with the windows shut.
Costs me money for them to have a dog..

so i know what its like to have your quiet space invaded.

RK


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## shoretyus

Paul said:


> Noise travels. Don't whales communicate over miles? They have much less that 150 W of audio power, I imagine.


I heard an interesting thing on CBC the other day. Some guy figures that the bounce signals off underwater ridges. So several hundred miles.

edit 
and quote 
Part 3: Whale Music


David Rothenberg

We heard the sound of a humpback whale, recorded by a whale enthusiast in the waters around the Virgin Islands in February, 1992.

Whales are capable of producing an incredible range of sounds, some of which can travel hundreds of kilometres underwater. The sounds are part means of communication, part biological mystery, and part pure beauty.

Until the late sixties few people knew that whales made any sound at all. They were primarily thought of as a source of meat and heating oil.

But when the first underwater recording of whales was made it had a profound effect on the world. Some even credit it with kicking off the 20th century's environmental movement.

David Rothenberg has spent the better part of a year on boats around the world, listening to whales' songs and piping his clarinet music into the waves below.

He's a philosopher and a musician and he wrote a book about his musical journey called Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound. It comes with an audio CD with his musical collaborators -- the whales.

David Rothenberg joined us from New York City.


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## Starbuck

shoretyus said:


> I heard an interesting thing on CBC the other day. Some guy figures that the bounce signals off underwater ridges. So several hundred miles.
> 
> edit
> and quote
> Part 3: Whale Music
> 
> 
> David Rothenberg
> 
> We heard the sound of a humpback whale, recorded by a whale enthusiast in the waters around the Virgin Islands in February, 1992.
> 
> Whales are capable of producing an incredible range of sounds, some of which can travel hundreds of kilometres underwater. The sounds are part means of communication, part biological mystery, and part pure beauty.
> 
> Until the late sixties few people knew that whales made any sound at all. They were primarily thought of as a source of meat and heating oil.
> 
> But when the first underwater recording of whales was made it had a profound effect on the world. Some even credit it with kicking off the 20th century's environmental movement.
> 
> David Rothenberg has spent the better part of a year on boats around the world, listening to whales' songs and piping his clarinet music into the waves below.
> 
> He's a philosopher and a musician and he wrote a book about his musical journey called Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound. It comes with an audio CD with his musical collaborators -- the whales.
> 
> David Rothenberg joined us from New York City.


Awwsome! you get the award for most....kkjwpw Great article! (why does off topic guy look mean?)


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## nitehawk55

Sell your house and get the F*ck out of Dodge . Move out in the country , I could not stand having a house that close to me , hell you may as well live in a friggin apartment they put these houses so close together !!


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## Robert1950

Or, this, could happen to the neighbour's house:

[youtube=Option]9LYeShF6wxU&e[/youtube]


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## Ripper

Sound travels incredibly well through the ground, have you tried using a room upstairs? I know it isn't always an option, but it might be something to try.


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