They say a healthy body means a healthy mind … but not if the person getting fit is driving you nuts.
QUESTION: A neighbour has installed gym and weights equipment in their bedroom on the other side of the wall from ours. Every day we have to endure their grunts and groans as well as thumps and floor shudders when weights are dropped.
As well as the noise, we are also concerned that the weights being dropped might cause structural damage to our property and to common property. The issues have been raised with the Executive Committee but to date they’ve done nothing. What can we do? – Musclebound, Chatswood.
ANSWER: The gym junkie next door is similar to someone practising a musical instrument … beneficial to them but not something anyone else has to tolerate.
First, try to talk to them and ask if there’s anything they can change to prevent their exercise disturbing you, like moving their gear to another room.
Otherwise, there are thick rubber gym mats that can be bought to deaden the sound of the weights hitting the floor. There’s not a lot you can do about the grunts and groans except to think about installing better sound insulation on the adjoining walls (a very cost-effective option for any noise problem).
If your neighbour is reluctant to compromise, you should explain that you could probably get an order to force them to change what they do and the times that they do it through Fair Trading and the CTTT. At the very least, that process is going to cause you and them a lot of unnecessary grief.
By the way, my friends in the fitness game tell me dropped weights mean they aren’t exercising efficiently. They’d be better off reducing the load and exerting more control.
And if you’re seriously worried about the structure of the building, your EC should be talking to a structural engineer.
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