Noise Reduction?

[F S]

I guess this is as good a place as any to post this... I couldn't decide LOL.

I have noise in my office. Music and voices. What are some good noise reduction tools?

Thanks!

Emily

 

[Krissy]

Water, soft music.

 

[prinsezz2000]

Um... I should have been more clear. Rock music. Clear voices.

Thanks though, softhearted. Maybe a raging waterfall?? LOL


EMily

 

[Ashlei]

Hmmmm, maybe relocation?

Is the noise traveling through vents, the walls, other people in a common area?

What about a conversation with those noise polluters?

 

[asian-hater >=)]

carpet on the walls of the room will buffer noise

 

[Marko S]

Yes, I think I will have a conversation with the restaurant owners next door to the tune of "Can you keep your music low during your non-peak times?"

I just signed this lease. The building was so quiet the day I signed it. Today when I moved in - ROCK AND ROLL!

I'll find a way to make it work. I'm willing to put some money into it. Temporary soundproofing that doesn't look ugly, and a drop-ceiling is what I'm hoping to find. Does anyone know of soundproofing that doesn't look ugly?

Emily

(hopefully the noise today was due to super bowl weekend and a snow day at the local university)

 

[smallfeetz]

Yes, I think I will have a conversation with the restaurant owners next door to the tune of "Can you keep your music low during your non-peak times?

I guess we always have the right to ask for things, but honestly, this seems like an unreasonable request to me. Restaurants by their very nature are noisy, especially bar & grills. It's part of their atmosphere; they are a place of fun & celebration.

My gut feeling (as I've posted in your other thread) is to cut your losses & run. Since you just signed the lease, maybe your state allows an "escape clause?" If it were me, I wouldn't invest money trying to make that location work.

 

[Mario]

Blisss, I'll definitely keep what you said in mind. I will call the Landlord on Monday. Tomorrow I'll set up a couple of fans and see if that helps. ...

I am just sick with this.

*sigh*

Emily

 

[jan]

I was in an ugly situation 2-3 yrs ago so I feel your pain. I think I may have posted about it somewhere, but in a nutshell, a woman built a strip mall and hand picked wellness oriented businesses to go in (I was one of them). She could've built it any way she wanted...noooo...she had to put massage between a kickboxing studio and a dance academy. Just to give you an idea, we would have 80-90 decibels of outside noise in massage rooms (we measured). I believe normal conversation is 45 db. Long, ugly story.

Why did I sign the lease? She promised to soundproof everything and turn the music down and seemed like a decent person. Didn't last long. It was a very hot location at the time, was hugely advertised in the media, with a lot of ppl coming through the doors.

With certain noises (especially the bass that comes with rock music) - NO AMOUNT of soundproofing is going to do the trick since there is also vibration. Unless they do expensive brick and sandbag combo (which my landlord wouldn't do unless I paid for it out of pocket).

My advice? First, talk to a lawyer and make sure it's a good one. It may cost you $$$ for the legal consultation but it may save big bucks and a headache down the road. Second - start looking for a new place. They may turn the music down once or twice, but then they will get sick of doing it and turn it up again, even louder, to get back at you (that's what the kickboxing studio and the dance school did in my case). Third, get out of the lease (your lawyer will tell you how). You have the right to "peaceful enjoyment" of the premises, it does not even have to be spelled out of the lease. I speak from personal experience. It was 8 months from hell while I stayed at that horrible place and those people were such arseholes you would not believe it! So I feel very bad for you.

Good luck! Please keep us posted and take care of yourself!

 

[adie]

Oh, and drop ceilings and batted soundproofing over the ceiling tiles and double dry wall on both sides with air gap and soundboard in between - didn't help much in my case. The builder even did something special called "horizontal and vertical furring" (whatever the heck that means!). So even if you are willing to spend your own money on soundproofing - I would advise against it. The batted soundproofing material cost $1,300 to cover 1200 square feet (both labor and materials) and is a real pain in the butt and messy to put in. I would not go that route.
Same with fountains, bells and chimes, high end sound system and a fan. Doesn't work when you are up against a serious noise issue.

 

[Steve M]

Here's an old thread with links to other noise reduction threads in it. It may be helpful.
Pscho across the hallway

 

[Blondie B.]

my best answer is a fan..I turn it up and point it away from the client, but if I didn't use that fan it would be way too noisey...

 

[grandma zaza]

I use the fan section myself. I do try to layer - a box fan, a waterfall (and I'll admit, mine is little more than a trickle) and music. My office is right off an interstate and this mix seems to work well except for the rare times when they trucks hit their airbrakes!


Best of luck!

 

[Neenee]

Emily,, what an emotional roller coaster! So glad to hear that it is working out.

Next you will be posting on here saying how busy you are and how can you get some time off!! :

 

[kdanley]

Great news! Rock on!

And I sure wish I was hot like her. :

 

[Smile Jesus Loves You]

Thanks so much everyone! This morning I arrived to finish setting up and the lawyer next door saw inside my office and flipped out. "OH! A massage therapist! This is GREAT!" He ran back into his office where, apparently his wife was. "Honey! Honey! There's a massage therapist in the building!!" LOL HE said he'd be scheduling very soon.

I saw my first client this afternoon. She arrived when the office was still a shambles but she was really nice about it. It only took us about 5 minutes to get it cleaned up, and her session started right on time. *whew*

And, I thought you guys might want to see:

There it is! It's a little bare right now, but I've got 3 artists lined up to hang their art in my office, a room divider and a desk arriving on Friday.

By the way, we stayed at the office till midnight last night. The bar was hoppin'! REALLY loud from about 10-11pm. I called my sister and she told me to do the booty dance on my table 'cause she knew that's the closest I'd ever come to dancing in a bar! LOL. I told her that I don't run that kind of establishment - ha ha.

Anyway, next client is Thursday unless, of course I get calls before then. I left the blinds on one of my windows open so people can see my table. On the table I put a sign: "Wish you were here?" and my phone #. Left some business cards on the window sill in the hallway. Here's hoping...

Emily

 

[mallorycat [RIPMJ]]

On the table I put a sign: "Wish you were here?" and my phone #.

Too cute!
You are gonna do great there. Congratulations!

 

[stromhappyak]

How cute! I love that sign.

 

[Liberals make me laugh]

Sweet! Looks like the place is really shaping up!
I am looking forward to even more updates!

 

[Sdfsfd]

Emily, you have some really good (and cute!) ideas!
Your room looks so inviting, wishing I was on that table myself!