Sound Pollution

[AudioBoy]

hi guys N girls, I'm new to this site so hoe you don't mind me asking what could be a silly question but here goes.

 

at the moment I work at a skate Center as a steward I have recently talkedthe owner into installing a PA system to provide music for our activities so the 1st week we hired a rig from our local music store, but our neighboring building has claimed the audio is to loud and can be heard within his building. now I have been in while the music is on but was bot able to hear it myself was wondering is there a test I or we can do to prove there is no noise issue?

I was thinking just crank it as loud as we would have it and DB, check inside and outside then test in his building would this be appropriate?

[kerry davies]

No problems if you are in Guatemala, I believe, but since we have no clue under what jurisdiction you are working maybe filling in more of your profile would help us?

 

In general UK terms if the neighbour says it is a nuisance then it is a nuisance and, whatever levels are like, steps should be made to reduce that nuisance. Noise nuisance is subjective. This is presuming that you have the necessary licences to play music in the first place.

[sam.spoons]

Noise is a tricky subject, what you think of as music your neighbour may consider noise. How the local environmental health officer views it will vary but I have dealt with a worst case scenario at a local venue where the management severely blotted their copybook early on and left the neighbours very antagonistic. The result of this was that the EHO placed a condition on the venue that music must not be audible at the boundary. If he came to check and could hear music, however quiet, he considered that to be unacceptable. I was employed to monitor the noise situation and even if I had to hold my breath to hear the music, that was too loud (ludicrous I agree but that was how it was) noise/dB measurements are useless in this situation. Get your neighbours on side if at all possible, it'll save a huge amount of grief in the future.

[paulears]

Hi - this is a pretty common thing whenever any venue suddenly makes noise they haven't before. In fact, my own way of dealing with it is to ask your local environmental health officer to come and advise before your neighbour does. I did this once when we were intending doing so recording in a residential house. The officer came along with his sound meters and gizmos and basically we turned up and he did a thumbs up, then at the point where he would become concerned, he held his hand up. We made sure that we didn't go over this level, and a few weeks later, a neighbour complained and he called us, we confirmed the level we were at was less than he had measured, and he was able to tell the complainant that they had already taken noise measurements, but would of course come out if asked, and the neighbour didn't bother.

 

The problem with your new idea is that sound behave quite oddly. It's probable that what they are complaining about is the thud thud thud of the bass. Bass frequencies are radiated in all directions rather than the way the speakers point. It can cost quite a bit to put in a system that has the ability to be directed to where the sound is needed. Loudspeakers on stands, for example always seem to carry further than ones mounted up high that point down. Listening where your neighbours are can reveal if it's everything they're hearing or just the bass. If necessary you could then reduce the bass.

 

The council are not normally against sound, they're against nuisance - so getting them involved early on shows you to be a responsible business, trying to solve a problem.

 

You can use apps for phones to give you an idea of sound level, but could you interpret what the meter is telling you? Probably not, and the local authority may well have their own idea of what is acceptable at certain times, in certain areas. Talk to them as soon as you can.

[AudioBoy]

Thanks for all the quick replys to answer a few of the questions that you have raised.

I'm based in Manchester United kingdom

our sounds level is at 90db [ 102 ] at peak.

Our licence covers us for prerecorded[cds] and radio

our speakers are psr 300w [6]

our room is 50mX25m

[Brian]

A few more questions...

 

You say 'neighbouring building'?

 

1) Is this building joined to yours?

2) What is your neighbour? An office, a shop, housing?

3) What is your building and theirs constructed of?

[bruce]

and

4. Do you both have the same landlord?

[AudioBoy]

part joined there building is a snooker hall construction is old red brick but 3 layers both building are privately owned

[sam.spoons]

I'd still start by talking to the neighbours but I'd expect a snooker hall to want near silence and they will probably operate into the early hours. I'd also go with Paul's suggestion that you approach the local environmental health guys for their advice, if you can get the EHO to visit the snooker hall when you are playing music and give his opinion you will at least know where you stand.

[paulears]

If you let them get in first, you could easily have a draconian and maybe quite arbitrary limit slapped on you. 90dB can sound very loud, to somebody accustomed to near silence, but 90dB can be perceived as fairly quiet - and of course if you HATE the music being played, it's far more annoying than music you like!

 

A few years ago, Alton Towers were having big problems with a neighbour who had moved to near the park, who expected silence. The measurements showed that the local wildlife were actually more noisy than the screaming from the kids on the rides, but flocks of blackbirds were not considered 'noise' by the complainant.

 

Get in early and ask for help from the EH team - they are not just a sound police department - you pay business rates.