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Noise level : 3 Jackhammers everyday, what to do?

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  1. #21

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    6 - 8 month renovations are not as uncommon as people think.

    Years ago I got tired of renovations, once one apartment was finished another would start and it doesn't even have to be on floors directly above or below. Sound and vibration seem to conduct beautifully through buildings in HK. Same with outside repairs. So best advice would be to move elsewhere if you can.


  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by sstella24:
    Gilleshk -- No need to get personal here.

    I just needed people's opinion on if there is anything i can do about 3 Jackhammers being used in a residential building. A simple yes/no/why/why not answer would do. I know I can work out of the apartment, but not if you have a home office. I not only have to deal with the noise on weekdays but also on SATURDAYS.

    If you think the noise level of a mosque vs a jackhammer is a good comparison, think again or get your ears cleaned.
    Imagine that people have the gall to work on Saturdays...Well that would never happen in NYC or London. How insensitive!

    Having lived in a muslim country, I can vouch that the noise level of a mosque can certainly be on par with a jackhammer. The difference is that the vibration makes it more annoying.

    I just find it that you sound like one of those annoying expats who move to a different country and want everything to be the same as they experienced somewhere else. Everyone else in the building has to put up with the same thing... If you had left off your whiny comparison with other countries, I would be more sympathetic because it certainly is annoying
    Last edited by gilleshk; 18-08-2010 at 11:45 AM.

  3. #23

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    I've known at least one renovation that lasted 4 months. There were three men working on it too. I have no idea what took them so long. When they finished, another renovation started on another floor.

    9-5, Mon-Fri would be reasonable. 7-7, Mon-Sat is not, especially when most of the workers work past the legal hours.


  4. #24

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    While it's a nuisance for people who work at home, I would imagine it's worse for shift workers.


  5. #25

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    Shift workers, people with babies and young kids who need to sleep during the day, the elderly and those with mobility problems who are not able to just hot foot it down to a library or McDonalds for the duration of the day.


  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    Stella - it's a very Hong Kong thing. I personally think it's appalling and should not be allowed. I agree with you. Unfortunately, you are getting the right advice here. There is pretty much nothing you can do, except move out - and unless you move to a village house or a boat you still risk having the same thing happen. This comes up time and time again on threads. It reminds me EVERY TIME I read it that I made the right decision to live on a boat - because I'm really sensitive to noise and I really feel for you. Unfortunately that does not help you.
    But if someone used a jackhammer on your "adjoining wall" you would be in serious trouble wouldn't you

    I tend to think of this as the "sound of Hong Kong" it is so common. VERY annoying and I think the hours should be cut, as someone else suggested 9-5 Mon to Fri would be more reasonable. I would love to know wtf they do in a flat to keep drilling for weeks. An ex-colleague of mine got to the stage where he reckoned it was all false and that when they saw him coming home they turned on a recording of drilling just to annoy the gweilo. In the end he moved out to a hotel and guess what, they started renovating the floor above him. Then he came to work and they were renovating the next door offices. He left Hong Kong.

  7. #27

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    the thing about some expats is that when they move to another country, they expect it to be the same as where they came from. and when things get a little different and it causes them inconveniences, they begin to whine and compare.

    the reality is that - laws are different, culture is different, food is different, things are different as compared to what people are used to back home.

    don't ya get a little frustrated when people when people start b***ing that "Back home in NYC, in London or in Timbuktu we do things this way "... etc etc

    so yeah you should have gone to this forum for advise even before you considered moving out of your country.

    for the rest of us who ventured to a new country, we just find ways around it and live with it.


  8. #28

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    I don't really think it's fair to call this a "new country" thing. Unlike some cultural habits that you do just have to get used to (pushing and bumping on the street and so on), this is something that should be legislated and if the law is wrong (and I think it IS wrong) then the population (which should include expats) should lobby to change the law. Stop beating up on the OP. She's probably going crazy with all the racket around her.


  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Star Gazer:
    the thing about some expats is that when they move to another country, they expect it to be the same as where they came from. and when things get a little different ...
    I don't think that's quite fair. We're not really talking about cultural differences here. You can be sure that drilling in apartment buildings annoys the hell out of locals too, but we just don't hear them venting about it. As regards complaining about stupid laws: well, if they're stupid, why not?

    Addendum: I've given up reasoning with people/complaining to the police/shouting back when it gets noisy. Now I just put in my earplugs. I shouldn't have to, but it's the only thing that works. Plus I'm out of here soon, and I can endure anything for a couple of weeks!
    Last edited by Sigga; 18-08-2010 at 04:12 PM.
    MovingIn07 likes this.

  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sigga:
    I don't think that's quite fair. We're not really talking about cultural differences here. You can be sure that drilling in apartment buildings annoys the hell out of locals too, but we just don't hear them venting about it. As regards complaining about stupid laws: well, if they're stupid, why not?

    Addendum: I've given up reasoning with people/complaining to the police/shouting back when it gets noisy. Now I just put in my earplugs. I shouldn't have to, but it's the only thing that works. Plus I'm out of here soon, and I can endure anything for a couple of weeks!
    I have to agree on this, I think it is completely fair to complain about the noise issue in Hong Kong as it is a big issue at times. Noise pollution is in the same category as air pollution and I seem to remember you complaining about that a few times Gilles.

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