Dreaded Sewer Pipe Noise

Hi everyone,

I'm glad I found this forum. Seems like a lot of things I've wondered about have been answered.

I do have a new question to inquire about. We have a homeowner who regularly complains that he can hear his upstair neighbor's sewer pipe. He says he can hear the water rushing down the pipe which is located in his bedroom wall. He says it wakes him up constantly. I take that last statement with a grain of salt since I also live in a downstair unit and have the same issue in my room but I accept that I chose a downstair unit.

My question is...is this kind of thing an issue for the board? It's just a living noise that cannot be avoided. The upstair unit has two bathrooms on top of each other and the pipe runs straight down between them, through his unit, and into the sewer. Using another bathroom isn't an option. He wants us to pay for a company to come and insulate the pipe. It seems like this was something he should've taken up with the builder during his warranty.

What should say to him?

Let him know it is a fucntion of insulation and also the fact that the sewer pipes are plastic (an assumption I'm making based on construction knowledge). Assure the homeowner that sewer pipes of this type do meet local codes and ordinances.

If possible, explain to him in a gentle yet authoriatative way, that he bought this unit "as is". If he had purchased a single family home with this very same issue, he would have to decide whether to live with the noise or pay the necessary costs to rectify the situation.

You might also want to check your documents to see who is directly responsible for the sewer lines. I'm guessing the issue of noise is not addressed.

I hear the noise in my unit as well, albeit it from bathrooms within my own unit only. It annoys me and given time and money, I will change it, but I would never assume that the association should be responsible for these costs.

The association would open itself up to a major cost if it were to assume it association responsibility to correct this.

While I think it is not an HOA issue now - the builder really was responsible for making sure that the waste water pipes area would have some kind of a sound barrier.

The owner could investigate some sound barrier options, at least in the ceiling and wall area directly affected.

I, myself, would find this most disturbing and brings back memories of staying in a cheap motel.

I live in a multiple unit condo and I too can hear when the people upstairs flush but since the pipes run where the fixtures are, like the bathroom I simply shut the bathroom door and voila I don't hear it anymore. Then again the guy could be an extremely light sleeper.

Just Google: soundproofing rooms.

Sounds like the homeowner is on his/her own.

My documents for my Florida place have owner responsibility of anything inside of the unit, including all plumbing, sewer lines, electrical, etc. so I would think the condo is similarly worded. The problem is that this person wants someone else to take care of something that is not in her unit but inside of another unit , which then travels along side her inside unit walls. Cheesh! I'd learn to live with it.

Now lets be clear that the poster is not the complainer. But I could see where the complainer might have reason to be upset.

It is entirely possible that the complainer is awakened (completely or partially) every time the toilet is flushed in the unit above. It is also entirely possible that the person above has a prostate (or other) problem causing the toilet to be flushed three or four times a night. If you woke me three times a night I would soon suffer from it.

Now I still don't think it is the HOA's problem.

But as a Board member I would probably point the gentleman to solutions to the problem. I would at least consider speaking to the upstairs neighbor to see if they can work something out between them. Then again, I believe that a lot of people are incredibly friendly once they know they can help someone.

Krystal that's all you can do and don't feel alone every community has one or three of them.