Soundproof Condo Chiang Mai

[ThailandRyan]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:06 AM, Sticky Rice Balls said:

I always get the top floor--it is hotter but I have ac and is worth it compared to noisy thais....

That's why a penthouse in an older condominium unit is great, the walls and the floors are also thicker than the new ones being built.  Sliders are double glazed with tint in between and of course even though the walls are thick the heat does penetrate and therefore why the Aircons are running in order to keep the unit at 26 or 27, now that we are Ordered to stay inside here in BKK.  Sure the electricity bill is a little more but not hearing noise from others is a bonus.

[Mac Mickmanus]

20 hours ago, EricTh said:

What do you mean by cutting steel?

 

Using one of these 

 

To cut one of these taking 10 inches off each end 

 

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

There was a local young lady staying in a condo four doors away on the other side of the corridor and she spoke non stop on her telephone and she put the phone on loud speaker  and the guy who she was speaking to on the call , even his voice was so loud  that I couldnt hear Youtube videos on my computer , that's four doors away on the other side of the corridor and with two front doors closed .

   I told her that they didnt need telephones and they should just stick their heads out their windows and just shout to each other   

[The Theory]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:14 PM, Decaptcher said:

I don't need to know what everyone else is doing all the time.

I live in an apartment, top floor and corner unit. The last 3 floors are completely empty due to higher rent. Lower floors have some tenants. I can hear when they drag their chairs from 3 floors upper. There is no way to soundproof your unit, but if you have problem only with one side perhaps you can lower the noise by some soundproof materials, but you still will hear their feet, chairs, or if they drop anything on the floor. 

[EricTh]

20 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Using one of these 

 

To cut one of these taking 10 inches off each end 

 

 

No, what I mean is that why would one be cutting steel everyday when it's supposed to be a residential house and not a factory.

 

If they are using the house as a factory, then it is illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

Edited July 24, 2021 by EricTh

[Mac Mickmanus]

6 minutes ago, EricTh said:

No, what I mean is that why would one be cutting steel everyday when it's supposed to be a residential house and not a factory.

 

If they are using the house as a factory, then it is illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

I think that some Thais find out where felangs live and then all chip in together and buy a hand held grinder and they pass it around to each other and find something to cut every day  making sure that the felang can hear it  .

   Thats the only explanation that I can think of 

[samtam]

I don't know what it is about dragging chairs and other furniture. Dining chairs in and out from a table possibly, but otherwise, why the need to move furniture around so frequently? The solution is to put fitted felt pads on chair legs. Offer to do that for your noisy neighbours.

 

In my last renovation (completed at the end of 2019, thank God), I "soundproofed" the party wall in the main bedroom, and the ceilings in the two bedrooms. It has improved the noise quotient considerably, but not 100%. But in other areas of the flat (235sqm), I do hear "noises off", and cannot tell where they are coming from, (think it's upstairs, normally the cause of most noise, but it transpires it could be from any direction). Luckily it's infrequent, and there are not that many residents in the building, (with only 4 units per floor).

[Decaptcher]

7 hours ago, nickmondo said:

the noise you describe is the reason why i would never live in a condo here.

my Spain appt is exactly the same.

it is virtually impossible to sound proof a condo.

if you build a new partition wall, you need a gap between the new and the old.

noise will still pentetrate through electric sockets, down the pillars, etc, etc.

You need to move to a detached house, on a Moo Ban, (a village) in a good location with security.

I rent such a place in Hua Hin, a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fully furnished detached house for 11,000 a month, and I am never disturbed by a dog, music, or anything.......oh.........I tell a lie........there is a young Thai girl that screams a lot with excitement.........why do young Thai girls always scream?????

In the meantime, buy a couple of noisy fans and have them near your bed.

Saves money on aircon, and the constant noise of the fans is the same as White Noise

also, the ear plugs you can buy, the orange, squidgy ones.

 

This is actually a very good recommendation, thank you!

 

And the investment is even more contained that some condos that wouldn't solve the problem at all. I think I'll give it a thought.

 

Regarding tiling a wall, I thought about it, but it's probably not the best place to do so. I wouldn't mind having an entire room tiled in a house, but for a corner office in a Condo it seems too much. Also investigated other options (Mobile soundproof curtains, indoor boxes for meetings, etc.), but they looked like too much trouble too in comparison to just renting a house. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Decaptcher

[Decaptcher]

4 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

I actually lived in D Condo for several months.. there was some noise but not too bad and predictable in timing.. one family would let the little children run and scream down the hallway on the way to scxhool in the morning - but I was awake and it was brief... and at night there was some music late but not long and I have no idea where it was coming from...

 

I did find an older very quiet friendly building in town... pm me if you want info..

 

my larger issue w/D Condo was no convenience store nearby... and it was a long way to go around the block.. and walking to Central for some milk was also inconvient.. 

That's great.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I lived in an older condo before, but I think I'll go for a house and be done with it.

 

Regarding the convenience store, I know what you mean. They actually opened a 7 eleven right in front of the condos last year, it was a blessing! Nonetheless, I usually use grab/foodpanda for deliveries and everything always arrive in 20-25m.

[Stubby]

I agree with what others have said, and from experience.

Consider a corner unit, as you only have neighbors on one side. Also, some end units have emergency exits (stairwells) on their inside, so there are no connecting neighbors. And, if you're on the top floor, well, you won't have to suffer creaking bedsprings from the strangers upstairs, either ????

[SomchaiCNX]

11 hours ago, EricTh said:

No, what I mean is that why would one be cutting steel everyday when it's supposed to be a residential house and not a factory.

 

If they are using the house as a factory, then it is illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

You must be joking, right? Or did you arrive last week? Residential area in town? Plenty of shops in CNX and even mobaans that have these small shops next door.

 

[Dante99]

20 hours ago, EricTh said:

If they are using the house as a factory, then it is illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

In England or America?  Surely you do not mean in Thailand.

[rcuthbert]

Check out "the Smith Residence Chiang Mai."

 

The aforementioned "corner suite on the top floor" is good advice.

 

I would remember that currently  it is a buyers market; consequently, I would  make my needs known, and I would conduct noise tests.

[canthai55]

18 minutes ago, rcuthbert said:

and I would conduct noise tests.

Spend 6 months in it, and if quiet, decide.

But no telling what the future will hold

[SAFETY FIRST]

On 7/24/2021 at 10:21 AM, lopburi3 said:

Trust you mean acoustic tile rather than what most of us think of - ceramic tile.   Living in a bathroom is not my idea of quiet.  Years ago I did tile with burnt cork but that was messy to the extreme as decayed over the years.

No, ceramic tile.

Just tile the wall that has the noise. 

Easy and cheap. 

[Mac Mickmanus]

4 hours ago, rcuthbert said:

Check out "the Smith Residence Chiang Mai."

 

The aforementioned "corner suite on the top floor" is good advice.

 

I would remember that currently  it is a buyers market; consequently, I would  make my needs known, and I would conduct noise tests.

Isnt the Smith residence a rental facility and not possible to buy there ?

[canthai55]

https://www.hometips.com/buying-guides/soundproofing-insulation.html

[1FinickyOne]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:10 AM, BritManToo said:

It's odd reading these posts because I've never had a noise problem anywhere I lived (12 years, 6 residences). The odd barking dog for a night or two, but that's about it.

If I am reading this correctly, the noisy people see you and move out? Even the dogs after 2 days? 

 

I think you can make good money hiring yourself out.

[rcuthbert]

4 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Isnt the Smith residence a rental facility and not possible to buy there ?

Rental.

[trevoromgh]

I'd suggest buying lots of large rugs (slip resistant type) and heavy curtains which will absorb a lot of the noise.  Might also be worth investing in a pair of good quality over the ear wireless headphones so you can listen to music or TV as loud as you like whilst also nullifying any external noises. Then at bedtime a loud aircon unit or  'white noise' generator (as suggested earlier) will mask out most disturbances. 

[searcher22]

On 7/23/2021 at 11:43 PM, 1FinickyOne said:

I actually lived in D Condo for several months.. there was some noise but not too bad and predictable in timing.. one family would let the little children run and scream down the hallway on the way to scxhool in the morning - but I was awake and it was brief... and at night there was some music late but not long and I have no idea where it was coming from...

 

I did find an older very quiet friendly building in town... pm me if you want info..

 

my larger issue w/D Condo was no convenience store nearby... and it was a long way to go around the block.. and walking to Central for some milk was also inconvient.. 

You live next door to the huge Central mall but complain the walk is too long? Your avatar (FinickyOne) suits you perfectly LOL!

[1FinickyOne]

5 hours ago, searcher22 said:

You live next door to the huge Central mall but complain the walk is too long? Your avatar (FinickyOne) suits you perfectly LOL!

it says "lived" not live - and for a few months only - I had spent 2 months in and out of the hospital and needed to be in easy access to the hospital... I was in recovery mode but the lovely pool, exercise room and nice gardens all assisted w/a difficult time in my life...

 

And since you are on Avatar patrol, Mr. Searcher22... keep looking and I hope you find compassion and kindness... a touch of good humor might help you along..  

[searcher22]

57 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

it says "lived" not live - and for a few months only - I had spent 2 months in and out of the hospital and needed to be in easy access to the hospital... I was in recovery mode but the lovely pool, exercise room and nice gardens all assisted w/a difficult time in my life...

 

And since you are on Avatar patrol, Mr. Searcher22... keep looking and I hope you find compassion and kindness... a touch of good humor might help you along..  

I was just taking a friendly jab at you, just teasing. A lot of people would love to be just steps away from a major mall. I wouldn't have posted that  had I known what you had gone through. Anyways, I wish you the best health in these difficult times.

[Decaptcher]

Thought I'd post an update.

 

Of all the proposed solutions, I chose to rent a detached house and will move out soon. It will be a PITA, but hopefully worth it.

 

What comes next is mostly me complaining about construction ????.

 

The situation has become unacceptable. I've received a lot of recommendations regarding how to deal with neighbor noise, but again, just in case it wasn't clear, this is not about noisy neighbors, but very normal daily routine sounds.

 

To give you an example, typing at the computer or even the click of a mouse is something that can be heard between the units. I rely a lot on the computer, and lately I can't even do that past 19PM. In my book, that's not my fault or the neighbors, but of whoever built the condo like this to turn a cheap profit.

 

It's sad, because a very good condo, with well-maintained facilities, perfect location, reasonably priced, it's completely ruined by this huge problem. At least in my case, knowing this, I would never invest in a condo in the future and certainly stick to a house.

 

Thanks for all the recommendations!

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 hours ago, Decaptcher said:

I chose to rent a detached house

Can't wait for your next post. 

I've been living in a detached house in a gated village for the last 20 years. 

Detached houses come with a whole lot of noisy issues, you're in Thailand, good luck mate. 

[Decaptcher]

8 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Can't wait for your next post. 

I've been living in a detached house in a gated village for the last 20 years. 

Detached houses come with a whole lot of noisy issues, you're in Thailand, good luck mate. 

Let's see how that plays out. I'm not bothered by neighbors' noise, and use headphones most of the day. The problems are mostly related to privacy, and of course freedom to do what I want without having to worry about bothering a neighbor for taking a late call or typing too loud.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Decaptcher

[OneMoreFarang]

On 7/23/2021 at 12:01 AM, EricTh said:

There's no such thing as soundproof condo because the condos are linked together top, bottom and adjacent.

Sure they are linked. But there can be still a relative good sound isolation.

 

I live in an older condominium in Bangkok. I didn't hear anything from my previous neighbor. Now there are new tenants and they like to shout at each other and sure I hear that. But most of the time I hear nothing - and I am sure the neighbors are in their apartment and I would be very surprised if they try to be quiet. The existing sound isolation seems to be good enough against everyday noise.

[GammaGlobulin]

It is actually not difficult to find a very quiet condo anywhere in Thailand.

 

It is even possible to find a condo which is virtually without noise/sound of any kind detectable by the human ear.

 

Step One:  Buy the condo building.

Step Two:  Dig a cellar in the building, down to about 20 meters. And, make sure you use a diaphragm to stop water leaks intruding from underground water sources, especially from encroaching sea water in BKK.

Step Three: Use a minimum of one meter of concrete slab above your underground condo suite.

Step Four:  Install  a light transport system, such as heliostats, light pipes and fiber optics to bring sunlight to your underground suite so that things will not get too dark.

 

Step Five: Enjoy your peaceful existence underground.  And, say, "Bye-Bye" to the sounds of roosters, all the livelong day.

 

Step Six:  Invite your noisy friends for an underground rock concert.

 

NOTE: Without any facetiousness, whatsoever, I dream of a quite space such as we see in this image.  I am sure that there are many in Thailand would would be happy to move to a place like this, tomorrow, or even tonight.