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Toledo Talk   (musing about Lake Erie West and beyond)
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Construction Insomnia

Do construction crews have to follow the same laws considering decibel levels in regard to disturbing the peace?

I live near 280 and they have been working on the bridge by the YMCA for several months even though it was only supposed to be 3 weeks.

It's 1:13am and the noise is louder than the TV and AC running with all the windows closed. I took my dog out to go potty and the poor guy just cowered next to the door because it was so loud.

I realize and accepted there would be noise when I moved next to an interstate, but oddly I like the sound of cars/truck driving.

If it was a one time thing or even a week long thing I could chalk it up to living in the city. But 4 months. It's getting so bad I can't sleep and it's starting to effect my job since I'm half dazed from not getting good rest or only sleeping 3-4 hours at a time.

Any way rant over, going to try and go back to bed with everything shut and a pillow or two over my head.

Is this a reasonable feeling to have?

created by jshriver on Jul 23, 2008 at 12:22:08 am
updated by jshriver on Jul 23, 2008 at 01:11:33 am     Comments: 10

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Comments ... #

Update it's now 2am and still going so I recorded what it sounds like from inside my brick house from a cheap $30 mp3 player.

construction.mp3

posted by jshriver on Jul 23, 2008 at 01:01:45 am     #



Jshriver, if the noise is fairly constant in frequency, you might think about investing in a cheap noise-cancellation device for your bedroom.

posted by GuestZero on Jul 23, 2008 at 06:52:36 am     #



as an occasional insomniac and light sleeper in general I sympathize. I use the 'white-noise' from a TV channel off the air, but sounds like the construction noise would overwhelm that. Good luck.

posted by McCaskey on Jul 23, 2008 at 10:07:20 am     #



Sounds like that commercial for hotels.com where the couple are in the hotel room and every time he goes to ask his wife something the noise starts up.

By the time you got some noise canceling equipment and set it up they would probably be done with construction.

Sorry about your luck, heres a suggestion, go get a cheap motel room for a night and get caught up on your sleep.

posted by Linecrosser on Jul 23, 2008 at 11:07:00 am     #



i don't know why you can't call the police and complain.. same as you would for a loud neighbor

posted by upso on Jul 23, 2008 at 12:59:48 pm     #



Fans or hip hop provide ample white noise.

Melatonin might work.

posted by charlatan on Jul 23, 2008 at 03:18:56 pm     #



Think someone said before city / state workers hence those would be contractors for state or city are exempt from noise ordinance.

posted by Linecrosser on Jul 23, 2008 at 04:44:11 pm     #



so.. there are literally people and groups exempt from noise ordinances? i would love to see the legislature that spells this out...

posted by upso on Jul 24, 2008 at 01:13:55 am     #



Im also a light sleeper, i put a fan on medium right next to my ear on a little table. Works wonders.

posted by tm2 on Jul 24, 2008 at 11:10:38 am     #



It's either a coincidence or someone with some nice ties reads this forum. The past two nights have been wonderful. They're still working around 11-2am, but I wouldn't have noticed except for when I take the dog out. Even then it wasn't very loud.

posted by jshriver on Jul 25, 2008 at 10:24:40 am     #