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Need to gather noise evidence against neighbor

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jgombos

Member
What is the name of your state? IN

The neighbor cranks music every morning. Sometimes 4:30 am, sometimes 7:30 am. The ambient bass vibrates my walls enough to wake me. The neighbor has been my premature alarm clock for ~10 months. Normally I would sleep until 8.

What I've tried:

* Knocking (and pounding) on the door. No answer. Even after the music is off, still no answer.

* Call police - doesn't work. Police said they must catch him in the act. He only blasts the music for ~10-15 min (probably while showering). Response time for the police is longer than that.

Although I'm interested in any suggestions, this is what I want to attempt:

Gather evidence. Whether I can use it or how I can use it is another matter - I'm willing to try. But I want to find a technological means to acquire proof on a daily basis. The dwelling is not connected - it's the next house over. The problem is that this is not a band, or anything that is uncomfortably loud. It may even be immeasurable. It's just enough bass to wake me, and not much treble inside my bedroom. Will a dB meter capture this?

The one thing working for me is that the law does not include a dB limit, and favors those being disturbed:

http://www.nonoise.org/lawlib/cities/fortwayne/

Essentially it bans noise at any hour, if it is louder than what can conveniently be heard in a room. Since the fine is $150-500 per day, I want to perhaps gather evidence for a week or something like that, and then attempt to use it. I'm hoping I can convince him to stop if I slip a letter under his door quoting the law, and claiming I have the evidence.
 
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HomeGuru

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? IN

The neighbor cranks music every morning. Sometimes 4:30 am, sometimes 7:30 am. The ambient bass vibrates my walls enough to wake me. The neighbor has been my premature alarm clock for ~10 months. Normally I would sleep until 8.

What I've tried:

* Knocking (and pounding) on the door. No answer. Even after the music is off, still no answer.

* Call police - doesn't work. Police said they must catch him in the act. He only blasts the music for ~10-15 min (probably while showering). Response time for the police is longer than that.

Although I'm interested in any suggestions, this is what I want to attempt:

Gather evidence. Whether I can use it or how I can use it is another matter - I'm willing to try. But I want to find a technological means to acquire proof on a daily basis. The dwelling is not connected - it's the next house over. The problem is that this is not a band, or anything that is uncomfortably loud. It may even be immeasurable. It's just enough bass to wake me, and not much treble inside my bedroom. Will a dB meter capture this?

The one thing working for me is that the law does not include a dB limit, and favors those being disturbed:

http://www.nonoise.org/lawlib/cities/fortwayne/

Essentially it bans noise at any hour, if it is louder than what can conveniently be heard in a room. Since the fine is $150-500 per day, I want to perhaps gather evidence for a week or something like that, and then attempt to use it. I'm hoping I can convince him to stop if I slip a letter under his door quoting the law, and claiming I have the evidence.

**A: video tape the neighbors house and make sure the mike captures the offending noise. Make sure you have the date/time stamp on. Also call 911 or the noise is captured on their recording at 4:30AM. Next hire an attorney.
 

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