A new restaurant is being built in my building, and as excited as I am about having vegan-friendly food available right downstairs, I'm less thrilled about the construction that's happening directly outside my bedroom window...
In a lot of ways, I figure there's nothing to be done — having guys throw old floor tiles in a dumpster one at a time (why?!) mere yards from my sleeping head is just part of living in a city. It's the price I pay for all the excellent Indian grocery stores and Japanese stationery stores. On the other hand, I do like to sleep. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you find yourself sleeping in a construction zone:
Know your rights. Each city has ordinances restricting the hours in which construction can be done. In New York City, construction can only be performed on weekdays between 7am and 6pm. In San Francisco, it's between 7am and 8pm on weekdays. If the crews are violating these time frames (unless it's an emergency, of course), talk to your landlord, the foreman, or file a noise complaint. This last one is probably the most effective, and can usually be done quickly and anonymously through your city's 311 program.
Prepare for the inevitable. It might be perfectly quiet when you go to bed, but you should stick in earplugs anyway. Your morning self will thank you.
Close the windows. This one is the most obvious, and the one I have the hardest time with. Much like fellow Apartment Therapy writer Catrin Morris, I am a girl who defies stereotypes by being boiling hot at night. I want the windows open and a fan going, even in winter. Since construction started, I've tried to get my bedroom as cold as possible before I go to bed, only closing the windows right before I fall asleep. I hate it.
White noise is your friend. Speaking of fans, get them going. Get your hands on any white noise you can- it won't cancel out the drilling, but it may smooth the edges of it.
Early to bed, early to rise. I've tried adjusting my sleep schedule, and fortunately I'm one of those odd ducks who likes being up in the morning. But if your career demands working late-night shifts, my heart goes out to you. Take a sabbatical maybe? Sabotage all the power tools?
Any other helpful hints? Sleep in a motorcycle helmet? Bribe the crew to start an hour later?
(Image: Shutterstock)
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I've never had a construction issue but my old apartment was right near a subway line. I never noticed the trains during the day but at 5am when all is quiet they can be jarring. I wore earplugs sometimes, though I always seemed to take them out in the night. Most mornings when I would wake up I would but the TV on low enough to just be able to hear it and go back to sleep. I eventually got used to sleeping through the noise.
Ask the contractors to give you a heads up when they're going to be starting early, finishing late or expecting to do particularly noisy, dirty or smelly work. Forewarned is forearmed, and you may choose to get out early, stay out late or decamp to a friend's sofa on the extreme days. Also make friends with the workers on the site - they're more likely to be considerate if you are nice to them than if you're making their life difficult! You don't want to be a doormat, but you're inevitably going to have to live with a certain amount of disruption, and a cheery hello or jokey comment will oil the wheels while you do.
There is a housing development being built on the lot across the street. It's a tiny lot, no wider than a standard suburban block - I believe they're squeezing in 15 detached condos. At any rate, they've been tearing up the surrounding roads to work on the sewer lines (I presume?) which means days and days of jackhammers, the big concrete vacuum truck thing and such. The back-up alarms on the large backhoes, etc they use to dig up the lot are grating after awhile. Thankfully, they don't start before 8am and are done by 4pm. I have a 1 year old so I'm up at 7am anyway. I'm extremely sensitive to noise so this has been - and will be - a lesson in choosing to live with the noise. I'm trying - operative word! - to focus on the one shining positive: my son still takes his naps and sleeps through it all. I love our apartment and it would take a lot to make us move. One thing I've found helpful is the ear muffs like they use for hunting, etc. When the little one is sleeping, I'll prop the monitor nearby so I can see if he's crying and put those bad boys on - almost no noise penetrates these ear muffs.
None of this is helpful for sleeping. :) I agree with the previous commenter about making friends with the workers - catching flies with honey or whatever that saying is. At the very least, they'll know someone is paying attention so they'd better follow the sound ordinances.
Heavy Curtains to reduce noise may help, and I agree with the white noise. big help.
Have you ever tried filing a noise complaint in NYC?
Ack. They are going to develop the land behind me and build about 100 new houses, so I'm in for YEARS of construction. And my city lets them work from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. (weeps)
I'm sorry to say the construction hassles are nothing compared to the constant, permanent dumpster stench and rat infestation that can result from having a restaurant under your home.