Posted by
smp6
13 yrs ago
Hi There. I've lived in Hong Kong for a few years now. Lived in old flats, new flats and brand-spanking new flats. The common thread that all these flats have, is that there seems to be constant drilling on a daily basis, even if the building is less than a year old. The noise feels like it is (at least) 90 decibels. Can anyone shed some light on why this happens? How is it even allowed? It's very distressing to be at home when this happens with no notice or idea of how long it will go on for.
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Hi there!
You can contact the Environment Protection Dept
Their Hotline number is 2838 3111
CAB
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It happens because every time one of the apartments is sold, the new owner immediately totally renovates it, starting with the jackhammers to remove all the tiles.
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smp6,
totally understand your feelings, but you can't seriously expect renovations to stop just because you are home?
As Woods said, people renovate, and it can't be done without making noise.. it even happens in the commercial building where my office is...
If its late at night, or early in the morning.. well thats a different story altogether.. but my approach is not to get involved. By giving them trouble you will only prolong the work... IMO better to be over it as quickly as possible.
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Many buildings have rules in regards to revovations eg. no noise on Sat/Sun and none before 10am between noon-2pm and stop at 6pm. If they don't they must follow the govt stipulation and that is must stop at 7pm and noon on Sat. I disagree with rob_378, call your building management and ask them what the building regulations are and if they are not being followed get the management to enforce them.
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construction noise is worse in Hong Kong than probaly anywhere in the world. there is not much you can do about. most places are built to maximize developer profit. there is no air space in between floors to absorb noise, so noise can vibrate throughout a complex and be extremely loud. even the act of dragging a chair or walking in high heels can seem extremely loud to the people living below. in addition most of the flats are concrete so the simple act of hanging picture requires a hammer drill.
the locals are used to the noise as they grew up with this, but a lot of expats literally go mad..
I know someone who moved due to renovation noise above him. He just couldn't take it anymore.
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smp6
13 yrs ago
Hi WonTonNom, there are no notices, ever. I collect notices for things like water being disconnected etc but I have to go ask the building management what the noise is and they tell me oh so-and-so is doing a two month renovation. Previously I've lived in small flats with no building security, just walk in off the street, and there was a long renovation going on a couple of floors up. The noise was unbearable and I moved out only 9 months into the rental contract and forfeited my deposit, since I was so desperate. Whichever flat I choose to live in, old, new-ish, brand new, there is always someone doing construction. I will take it up with Environment Protection dept next time since Community Advice told me so - thanks.
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