A heavy-footed family

The first and second floors in this building are constructed of solid concrete and are about 20 cm thick. Before the arrival of nfh, sounds produced by everyday activities such as walking and normal footfalls were not transmitted through my ceilings or, at most, were purely background noise

22nd July 2008   « Nasty neighbour
[Published originally in January 2008]

The march of the elephants

When nfh arrived on this estate in the late 1980s, her family consisted of a 'man-friend' and two children aged about 6–7 years old. Soon, the sound of the footfalls of adults walking and the running and jumping of children was transmitted through my ceilings in all areas of my home and at virtually any time of day.
      The adult members of this family appeared to walk heavily, even when walking slowly throughout their flat. Normally, it was possible to 'trace' the journey of these adults as they walked through their home. This intrusive noise possibly was exacerbated by inadequate floor covering and this intrusion was even more of a nuisance in those areas above both my kitchen and bedroom, where their floor covering appeared to be either hard and insulated inadequately, or non-existent. On rare occasions, footfalls were less intrusive when walking normally, and it was possible to ignore them and to recognise this as normal background noise.
      Noise produced by their two children, however, increased the intrusion substantially The intrusion increased substantially when the children started a ‘running and jumping’ session which often continued for several hours when they started a 'running and jumping' session which often continued for several hours, usually in the evenings after about 6:00. It became difficult to listen to music, watch a film on television or hold a normal conversation in my home without interruption from the heavy-footed walking of adults and their children's 'activity session'. Although this was incredibly disruptive, I didn't complain about it to anyone.
      This was during the period they played music so loudly it could actually be felt in all areas of my home.
      Throughout the occupancy of nfh, objects appeared to be dropped on these hard floors occasionally during a 24-hour period. This usually was incredibly loud and intrusive, as though someone present in my home had struck a hard object very heavily.
      From the mid-1990s, these incidents increased and it was not unusual at night to be startled or awoken from sleep when something was dropped on the hard floor in the area above my bedroom. Furniture, which appeared to be chairs or tables, was dragged on hard floors, creating an extremely irritating scraping sound which was most intrusive in the areas above both my kitchen and bedroom. This has occurred at any time of day and the incidence of this particular sound appeared to increase from the late 1990s.

Phantom headphone haven

By the early 90s, I had had enough of this intrusion and in November 1991 bought the biggest, most expensive set of headphones available at Argos. They were Sony's MDR CD750, and cost the princely sum of £72.99.
      This appeared to me a reasonable outlay to ensure the films and music I loved were enjoyed with the least amount of interference from this noisy, inconsiderate family.
      For the first week or so, while listening to music with these headphones, I often heard 'bangs' and other non-music sounds and assumed the source to be within the headphones. I was convinced they It became clear these headphones didn't insulate sound from external sources and allowed the intrusion of this noisy family to continuewere faulty and considered returning them to the shop.
      One day, however, when nfh played their music at the usual nuisance level, I realised these other sounds were produced by their intrusive lifestyle and it became clear these headphones didn't insulate sound from external sources and allowed the intrusion of the family of nfh to continue.
      When I telephoned my complaint about their playing of music loudly to Brent Council in March 1996, I didn't mention the noise created by their children's running and jumping, but this noise, including the loud music, stopped abruptly a week or so after I made this phone call and this appeared to be their reaction to my complaint of loud music. The transmission of footfalls from heavy walking and noise from the dragging and dropping of objects, however, continued unaltered.
      nfh had another two children after coming to this estate and, as they become more active and heavier, the sound of their running and jumping perceptibly become more intrusive from about the mid 1990s.
      Now, the feeling soon that I might be exposed to the level of intrusion which existed until March 1996 was frightening. I was determined to prevent the removal of the relative peace which prevailed recently.

Gordon Bennett!

Consequently, I wrote to Brent Council's 'housing service' early in October 1996 seeking guidance on what it regarded as an acceptable level of neighbour noise from this family, in particular the sound of running, jumping and heavy walking transmitted through ceilings.
      I had a reply dated 23-10-1996 from the Council employee Eulyn Bennett, describing herself as a 'customer services officer', suggesting I talk to the neighbour about it.
      My personal feelings towards nfh were deteriorating dramatically because of their refusal to behave more considerately and I was reluctant to approach these people about this issue because any contact with them previouslyThis nuisance stopped abruptly in July 2004 when some members of this antisocial family moved out of the flat had proved completely useless. Furthermore, mustering the detachment and calmness required when raising with them my concerns related to intrusion or nuisance was getting very difficult.
      By 2000, the intrusive noise created by their two younger children had grown to the levels created by their two older children prior to March 1996. This nuisance stopped abruptly in July 2004 when some members of this antisocial family moved out of the flat, but the heavy footfalls of adults continued until late spring 2006.
      The prolonged, continued forced awareness of the presence of outsiders is taxing on the natural resources of virtually anyone. This 'burden' is multiplied many times over when the source of this intrusion has shown nothing but complete indifference openly bordering on disdain since the late 1980s, and with no apparent intention of compromise.
      Prolonged exposure to noise at this level, and not merely background noise, created by members of a single, multi-floor household would not be acceptable. In such cases, householders are likely to take decisive measures to create a remedy. This is not normal background noise, and will not be accepted as such.

Incompetent Council employees

Between the late 1990s and 2003, several Council employees claim to have visited the home of nfh to investigate my complaints of nuisance from this family. One of these complaints related to nuisance caused by the transmission of intrusive sounds through my ceilings from the dragging and dropping of objects on hard floors, the heavy footfalls of adults and the running and Several Council employees claim to have visited the home of nfh jumping of children. Apart from the source of these intrusive sounds from the home of nfh, this nuisance arose mainly from either the absence of insulation of hard floor coverings or the inadequate insulation of these floors.
      It is reasonable to expect so-called professional Council employees to identify likely causes which give rise to complaints of this nature when conducting an investigation of noise nuisance transmitted through floors. As far as I am aware, these issues were not raised with nfh and I must ask why the Council failed to use this opportunity to resolve this source of complaint during visits to this family?

This thread is continued in Misusing their balcony.

Related posts

Loud music nuisance   Interfering with my telly   Litter and filth   Misusing their balcony   Washing machine noise   Soiling my windows   A neighbour from hell A catalogue of nuisance   Hell twice over


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