A question for condo dwellers

[tropo]

6 hours ago, ThaiBob said:

The old condos were simple concrete buildings, the new condos use prestressed concrete construction. One difference between old vs new is less concrete, less costs and thinner floors. Most  highrises here don't use steel frames(unlike Bangkok) , if this were a seismically active fault zone then Pattaya would have a big problem. 

 

Thanks for your input - you obviously know a lot about construction. I'm guessing this building is about 20 years old. It looks very solid.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, JimCrane said:

i have never had a noise problem between floors.

 

its the units on either side between walls where things are heard and noise can be an issue. corner units are best because you only get "one wall neighbor".

 

have had problems with sexual sounds with bedrooms butting up wall to wall. it can even be worth checking the unit setup next to you if possible.

 

sounded like a two headed monster especially late/early mornings.

3

We had a lot of "sexual sounds" in a place we used to rent, but it was a multi-level townhouse converted into units.

 

The one I'm contemplating doesn't have any side neighbours.

[JimCrane]

4 hours ago, tropo said:

We had a lot of "sexual sounds" in a place we used to rent, but it was a multi-level townhouse converted into units.

 

The one I'm contemplating doesn't have any side neighbours.

without side neighbors noise from other people in the building is a non-issue. good luck with the new place.

[lamyai3]

9 hours ago, JimCrane said:

i have never had a noise problem between floors.

 

its the units on either side between walls where things are heard and noise can be an issue. corner units are best because you only get "one wall neighbor".

 

have had problems with sexual sounds with bedrooms butting up wall to wall. it can even be worth checking the unit setup next to you if possible.

 

sounded like a two headed monster especially late/early mornings.

 

 

This has been my experience staying in various places in Pattaya too. Definitely a risk of through wall noise, never had a problem from a different floor. 

[KittenKong]

15 hours ago, JimCrane said:

i have never had a noise problem between floors.

 

its the units on either side between walls where things are heard

 

My experience is the exact opposite. Nearly all noise in my unit comes from above, and it depends entirely on who is the occupant. Some (most) people are inaudible but some (those with flat feet) sound like elephants on the march.

 

Mine is an older building.

[wpcoe]

23 hours ago, tropo said:

The building I'm going to inhabit is an older structure, so maybe I'm lucky.

 

Are there any short-term rentals (even though illegal) in the building?  Might be worth renting for a week or so.

[zoza]

20 hours ago, Basil B said:

When I had a condo noise was rarely an issue, occasionally I heard furniture being moved, or the odd door slam  when the wind blew it closed,  the occasional domestic that normally security soon sorted out.

 

I doubt short term lets are a problem as many are vacant for most of the time, and not all tenants are that bad.

 

Building work was controlled, only allowed week days, 9-5, no holiday working and had to use the service elevator, if there was a noise problem it was sorted quickly (contractors or occupiers).

your description is similar to what some tell me from other condo's but we do get the walker/liquid thrower not every month as he changes to dragging furniture around

for hours on some weeks but then totally disappears for a month or two, and he is

easily told (by note under his door)

the short term lets are the biggest problem as they act crazy for their full three weeks

and they even manage to keep my Thai wife awake when they have their nightly party

of 4/5 of them and one lady, ( last year they were tasered by security/police after a week)

and try telling your missus that its not a problem they are only here for three weeks and

will be back in a few months....lol.

the contractors/builders work when they want with Saturday/Sunday treated as a normal

day but they do finish around teatime.

one of the reasons that things do not get sorted might be the timing of the annual meeting

when you get your invitation the day after its finished.

our condo is in a great location but the same goes for the morons but after high season we

can relax and get ready for the next short let invasion.    

[JimCrane]

21 hours ago, wpcoe said:

 

Are there any short-term rentals (even though illegal) in the building?  Might be worth renting for a week or so.

good point. short term lets (esp air bnb type stuff) is going to bring in the riff raff and people partying heavily which is going to make a lot of noise, as opposed to people living there long term. it also increases the chance of theft from your unit quite a bit.

 

only way to really feel this out is to hang out for awhile and smell out whos around and what their schtick is.

[tropo]

21 hours ago, wpcoe said:

 

Are there any short-term rentals (even though illegal) in the building?  Might be worth renting for a week or so.

 

Can't do... the landlord only accepts one-year contracts. The people above come for short vacations once or twice a year.

[wpcoe]

5 minutes ago, tropo said:

Can't do... the landlord only accepts one-year contracts. The people above come for short vacations once or twice a year.

Actually my idea was to rent any unit in the building short-term just to see how much noise is transferred via walls/ceiling/floors from surrounding units to give you an idea what your potential new neighbors might experience.

 

Before I bought my current condo, I stayed a week in each of two units a friend owned for just such a reason.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn how quiet the building was for interior noise (except daytime construction, of course.)  I also was pleased to find the building has excellent water pressure, something you might not ordinarily think to inquire about.

 

I hadn't actually considered @JimCrane's point about how many short-term renters might be in the building.  That's also a valid consideration.

[lamyai3]

2 hours ago, tropo said:

Can't do... the landlord only accepts one-year contracts. The people above come for short vacations once or twice a year.

Your concerns sound like you're mostly worried if your noise will affect the people below. The very fact you're asking implies you're considerate and aware enough not to clomp around too heavily late night and ratchet up the sound system. I doubt you'll have any noise problems at all with the situation you describe. 

[tropo]

4 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

Your concerns sound like you're mostly worried if your noise will affect the people below. The very fact you're asking implies you're considerate and aware enough not to clomp around too heavily late night and ratchet up the sound system. I doubt you'll have any noise problems at all with the situation you describe. 

 

 

Yes, that's exactly what I'm concerned about. I am very considerate and don't like to upset neighbours. I have never lived above anyone else before. I'm not particularly sensitive to other people making noise, I even lived through a condo construction project on the other side of my wall, for 2 years. I'm a night owl, so I'm up most of the night.

[lamyai3]

2 minutes ago, tropo said:

Yes, that's exactly what I'm concerned about. I am very considerate and don't like to upset neighbours. I have never lived above anyone else before. I'm not particularly sensitive to other people making noise. I lived through a condo construction project on the other side of my wall, for 2 years. 

The fact that you just replied suggests you're a night owl just like me (unless you're writing from a different time zone 555). I'm also pretty considerate and aware not to make a lot of noise if I arrive home when everyone else in the condo is asleep, as a result I've never had any problems with noise complaints from neighbours or folks downstairs. I'd be embarrassed to jack up the music or the TV loud at 5am, and I've certainly asked the occasional over exuberant visitor to pipe down! 

[jacko45k]

Very considerate of you to consider your neighbours, unusual here!

I would not worry too much, condo dwellers expect a bit of noise and if you do it rarely they should not complain.

A few rugs or some carpeting would reduce issues too.

[dotpoom]

On 20/04/2017 at 7:12 PM, dannywla said:

I live at Cosy Beach View and from my experience the past 2.5 years I am quite happy with the little to no noise that I hear from my neighbors.  Much has too do with the fact that we run the AC through out the entire night. 

Living in my townhouse in the States and having a house in Issan I experience much noise from my neighbors and the dogs.  

Hopefully you will  live in a pet free building. 

It is the OP himself who is concerned about disturbing other remnants, not the other way around.

I understand well his situation. I too am a night owl and for that very reason choose to live in a detached house where I can potter around all night to my heart's content, listen to radio from back home and play my music.

[dotpoom]

On 20/04/2017 at 7:12 PM, dannywla said:

I live at Cosy Beach View and from my experience the past 2.5 years I am quite happy with the little to no noise that I hear from my neighbors.  Much has too do with the fact that we run the AC through out the entire night. 

Living in my townhouse in the States and having a house in Issan I experience much noise from my neighbors and the dogs.  

Hopefully you will  live in a pet free building. 

It is the OP himself who is concerned about disturbing other remnants, not the other way around.

I understand well his situation. I too am a night owl and for that very reason choose to live in a detached house where I can potter around all night to my heart's content, listen to radio from back home and play my music.

[lungnorm]

Buy enough fluffy slippers to hand out to all the neighbour's living directly above and below.

[Suradit69]

On 4/20/2017 at 7:20 PM, tropo said:

What I'm most concerned about is whether walking on the floor travels through and also music.

Obviously construction varies, but I've never heard anyone walking around above me. Very rarely hear any sounds from any neighbors. 

 

I assume you're not wearing hobnail boots and practicing Prussian marches. 

 

 

[Suradit69]

20 minutes ago, lungnorm said:

Buy enough fluffy slippers to hand out to all the neighbour's living directly above and below.

He's not concerned about noisy neighbors, but that he might disturb them.

 

1 hour ago, dotpoom said:

It is the OP himself who is concerned about disturbing other remnants, not the other way around.

"remnants??"

 

 

 

[anotheruser]

Without knowing the building or your new neighbors nobody can say one way or another how the noise level will be. But I will do you a favor and be the guy that says everything will be okay with no further information of any kind if it will make you feel more at ease. 

 

So there you go put your noise concerns to rest some random stranger on the internet has said it won't be an issue.

[murraynz]

my condo is at the cliff,cosy beach---i havent  heard any noise through the floor, above or below--noise has to be fairly extreme,to hear through the walls even....i would be seriously cocerned about the quality of any condo where noise can be heard through the floors---keep right away,,,

[tropo]

1 hour ago, anotheruser said:

Without knowing the building or your new neighbors nobody can say one way or another how the noise level will be. But I will do you a favor and be the guy that says everything will be okay with no further information of any kind if it will make you feel more at ease. 

 

So there you go put your noise concerns to rest some random stranger on the internet has said it won't be an issue.

 

Thank you for your facetious reply, but you needn't have bothered. 

 

Contrary to what you may think I have gained a lot of valuable insight about living in condos from this thread. Most people have been very helpful. I've learned a lot and my question has been satisfactorily answered.

 

I'm certainly not going to give out my address on an Internet forum, which I would be doing if I named the building because it has very few units.

 

If you have any other good advice, please keep it to yourself.

[Destiny1990]

I noticed the buildings from these indian developers have then thinnest walls and the most noise.Best is to buy from A Thai developer.7 seas,carebean ,Atlantis all noisy when ur neighbor close his door u will stand up in your bed.

[bazza73]

I've rented for 8 years now. Old condo, built solidly.

 

I simply don't get any noise from below or above me under normal circumstances. Ditto on both sides.

 

Most of the noise I get is from renovations. There's also one inconsiderate turd who has screaming matches with his Vietnamese GF around 9 pm, and slams his door at 6 am on his way to work. I wouldn't mind the screaming matches if I could understand what she was saying.

[JSixpack]

6 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

There's also one inconsiderate turd who has screaming matches with his Vietnamese GF around 9 pm, and slams his door at 6 am on his way to work. I wouldn't mind the screaming matches if I could understand what she was saying.

 

Suggest you pay her a visit after 6 AM and ask. No doubt she needs a bit of comforting at that point. Later, you could yell through the wall in her defense.

[Destiny1990]

Hi Tropo welcome to Pattaya.some question u say ur unit covers one entire floor thats sounds cool can ask u whats the sqm of this unit? whats ur rent? and what views?its somewhat unusual to rent a complete floor in a condominium as most condos buildings in Pattaya  are pretty big with atleast 4-30 units.most condos noise travels from wall to wall not from floor to ceilings.

[bazza73]

3 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

Suggest you pay her a visit after 6 AM and ask. No doubt she needs a bit of comforting at that point. Later, you could yell through the wall in her defense.

She's built like the proverbial brick shithouse. Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll pass.

[JSixpack]

49 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Hi Tropo welcome to Pattaya.

 

Good one.

 

Quote

some question u say ur unit covers one entire floor thats sounds cool

 

No, that's not what he said. He merely said he has no neighbors on the sides. Pay attention.

 

Quote

most condos noise travels from wall to wall not from floor to ceilings.

 

Yep, that's been noted. Nor is that the object of concern for obvious reasons.

[janclaes47]

 

Quote

some question u say ur unit covers one entire floor thats sounds cool

 

3 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

No, that's not what he said. He merely said he has no neighbors on the sides. Pay attention.

 

 

 

I think it's you who has to pay attention.

 

 

On 4/20/2017 at 7:00 PM, tropo said:

I found a big one which occupies an entire floor, and so I'm tempted.

 

[JSixpack]

16 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

 

 

 

 

 

I think it's you who has to pay attention.

 

 

 

 

OK. Sorry! tropo?