How quite is your room?

[Inner Space]

What garbage replies. NYC contractors and landlords that "cant pay" is like saying Elon Musk cant afford to live anywhere he wanted. Cheapest clowns on the planet. But they can miraculously provide entire brass laden lobbies and doors and elevators. Really shocking to see how no such standard exists. I would have imagined at least luxury condominums being erected left and right in this city, would have wanted something like this.

I remember reading something about effective noise isolation standards in Swedish construction - could our Swedish members confirm or deny?

My place in NYC is a solid old prewar, and isn't too bad, except for two things - windows are useless against the boom-boom cars waiting at the light eleven floors below, and worse I think, is that the building itself allows remodels that include in-wall speakers. I think it's nuts to allow noise-makers to be inserted into the very walls that are supposed to suppress transmission between apartments.

 

[Tks]

How much new construction is happening in NYC? Interestingly, the vast majority of the spray foams we make are used in suburban and exurban areas, but that's where people are building homes.

It's actually a plague, that's how much construction. Lots of culturally relevant areas with low-rise buildings are being encroached upon landlords that sell one building or two, where you now have enough area to build sky scraper mega condo's that stick out like a sore thumb. The whole ordeal is quite a serious matter with residents and such where whole neighborhoods are being wiped out due to gentrification and such.

Like imagine any cozy Austrian-Hungarian empire styled EU city perhaps, and then imagine sky scrapers popping up next to such an aesthetic. Just a violation of anything sane people would consider, well.. sane.

I remember reading something about effective noise isolation standards in Swedish construction - could our Swedish members confirm or deny?

My place in NYC is a solid old prewar, and isn't too bad, except for two things - windows are useless against the boom-boom cars waiting at the light eleven floors below, and worse I think, is that the building itself allows remodels that include in-wall speakers. I think it's nuts to allow noise-makers to be inserted into the very walls that are supposed to suppress transmission between apartments.

The windows you see on many of the existing buildings (90%+ pre-war of course), all use the worst window system I could possible imagine. When I was in Europe, I couldn't believe how much of an idiotic set of building and construction standards exist in supposedly the "Financial Capital of the World".

In-Wall speakers should be banned in such buildings. Newer constructions though (hard to say, due to a bevy of different takes on construction) could be done well possibly, but who knows.

The best you can get I believe is (for some unfortunate people) that live near train tracks and highways, is like some large panel in front of the building to supposedly eat up some of the noise. But of course this crazy solution is only required in a city where lunatics thought it was a good idea to build housing next to such traffic areas.

 

[tuga]

It's actually a plague, that's how much construction. Lots of culturally relevant areas with low-rise buildings are being encroached upon landlords that sell one building or two, where you now have enough area to build sky scraper mega condo's that stick out like a sore thumb. The whole ordeal is quite a serious matter with residents and such where whole neighborhoods are being wiped out due to gentrification and such.

Like imagine any cozy Austrian-Hungarian empire styled EU city perhaps, and then imagine sky scrapers popping up next to such an aesthetic. Just a violation of anything sane people would consider, well.. sane.



The windows you see on many of the existing buildings (90%+ pre-war of course), all use the worst window system I could possible imagine. When I was in Europe, I couldn't believe how much of an idiotic set of building and construction standards exist in supposedly the "Financial Capital of the World".

In-Wall speakers should be banned in such buildings. Newer constructions though (hard to say, due to a bevy of different takes on construction).

The best you can get I believe is (for some unfortunate people) that live near train tracks and highways, is like some large panel in front of the building to supposedly eat up some of the noise. But of course this crazy solution is only required in a city where lunatics thought it was a good idea to build housing next to such traffic areas.

Rights to Light
A "right to light" is an easement that gives a landowner the right to receive light through defined apertures in buildings on his or her land.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rights-to-light




P.S.: we could use a Rights to Silence (or Noise-Floor)

 

[Harmonie]

Rights to Light


P.S.: we could use a Rights to Silence (or Noise-Floor)

Good luck !

 

[EdW]

Rights to Light
A "right to light" is an easement that gives a landowner the right to receive light through defined apertures in buildings on his or her land.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rights-to-light




P.S.: we could use a Rights to Silence (or Noise-Floor)

Current UK building regulations for new builds and conversions do require levels of sound insulation.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ds/attachment_data/file/468870/ADE_LOCKED.pdf

Although they are not very tough to meet they are mandatory, so builders and architects try to add some margin to ensure that they do not fail the test at the end of the build which would be very difficult and expensive to rectify at that stage

 

[jhwalker]

53dB with AC on (which is most of the time here in Dallas). It's why I listen mostly on headphones

 

[Harmonie]

It's actually a plague, that's how much construction. Lots of culturally relevant areas with low-rise buildings are being encroached upon landlords that sell one building or two, where you now have enough area to build sky scraper mega condo's that stick out like a sore thumb. The whole ordeal is quite a serious matter with residents and such where whole neighborhoods are being wiped out due to gentrification and such.

Like imagine any cozy Austrian-Hungarian empire styled EU city perhaps, and then imagine sky scrapers popping up next to such an aesthetic. Just a violation of anything sane people would consider, well.. sane.
.

I had the same thoughts when walking in Osaka or Tokyo imagining how it was 100 years ago ...
Paris was also completely different before the Baron Haussmann teared down entire streets to build it's well coded legendary Hausmanien buildings.
Let's wait another 30 years...

PS- In another (Covid) post I already foresee most of our city's under a clean atmospheric Dome to prevent us of further diseases .
Maybe someone will think of sound isolated constructions.

 

[Tks]

I had the same thoughts when walking in Osaka or Tokyo imagining how it was 100 years ago ...
Paris was also completely different before the Baron Haussmann teared down entire streets to build it's well coded legendary Hausmanien buildings.
Let's wait another 30 years...

PS- In another (Covid) post I already foresee most of our city's under a clean atmospheric Dome to prevent us of further diseases .
Maybe someone will think of sound isolated constructions.

NYC has no intent on building a cohesive aesthetic. Each building skyscraper is an entirely unrelated form. Also, these can never take over as an entire city, simply due to the costs. These are 100's of millions, and some if not billions of dollars. You couldn't actually populate Manhattan with the amount rent/maintenance being charged from these new complexes (I can't stress enough how these are all 1%'ers as "occupants" and at worst, millionaires as renters).

It's not like you're getting other buildings upgraded, or the entire town is changing, it's simply just a few buildings cropping up that are so detached from any semblance of fitting in, it comes off as an affront to anyone with sanity. It also doesn't help there are folks purchasing some apartments that are using them as ways of dumping foreign money into an overseas investment. These people don't actually much live in those buildings, there are a few true occupants, but most is just empty or being rented out by the purchasers just to keep appearances.

 

[Wes]

... millionaires as renters...

in lofts??

a millionaire is now about where the Bowery Bums were 50 yrs ago

 

[Tks]

in lofts??

a millionaire is now about where the Bowery Bums were 50 yrs ago

Lower range being $10,000 a month for perhaps a studio (non skyscraper on the East Side but still recent construction with like 10 floors), while upper range can be around $50,000+ for some penthouse (at least was the case for Park Ave a few years back).

 

[North_Sky]

Must be quite quiet in those top penthouses?

 

[Harmonie]

Must be quite quiet in those top penthouses?

For 50 grands a month, you can build to measure a very nice and quiet set-up with loads of rockwool or else.

 

[North_Sky]

Yes, for poor people above the poorest.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

It's not like you're getting other buildings upgraded,

Sure, there are. My building has been shrouded by nets and scaffolding since last year and will not be unveiled until mid-2021. At that time, the entire shell and its support will have been replaced, the appearance will be radically changed and, as a result of this and other internal HVAC/water utilities, we will be fully "green" in our use of resources.

One of the side effects of evolving city rules for the safe maintenance of the brick facing/support is that it becomes more economic to re-engineer the building rather than to repair the facing over and over..................if you can make the investment.

 

[Tks]

Sure, there are. My building has been shrouded by nets and scaffolding since last year and will not be unveiled until mid-2021. At that time, the entire shell and its support will have been replaced, the appearance will be radically changed and, as a result of this and other internal HVAC/water utilities, we will be fully "green" in our use of resources.

One of the side effects of evolving city rules for the safe maintenance of the brick facing/support is that it becomes more economic to re-engineer the building rather than to repair the facing over and over..................if you can make the investment.

Where is this exactly?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Manhattan. Upper East Side.

 

[Andysu]

i have to check again with test gear what noise floor is registering at