living in hell

[trymeplease]

Is there anyone that can help me ..I started to make repairs to my home but the City of Brampton has stop me from finish my renos due to the draconian noise bylaw.. Thanks to a malicous neighbour.

Don't really know where to turn without it costing me ,,, having it go through
a civil law suit..

 

[nominis]

perhaps some more details ...

 

[papasmerf]

running a chainsaw in the middle of the night would create a problem. But most home improvements are much quieter. Today the hammer has been replaced by the air nailer, damned fine tools they are. Saws still make noise but not alot.

So what is it you are trying to do?

 

[tboy]

Yeah, and were you doing this at like 3 am?

BTW: I'm not sure what the noise levels have to be below but you are allowed to make a reasonable amount of noise between 8 am and 11 pm.

Couple of questions:

Did you get a permit?
What are you renovating?
How long will these renos take?
What kind of "home" are you referring to? House, condo, apartment?

 

[trymeplease]

The work that is been done is not full renovations .. the home is at the stage now that the usual maintained is needed touch up the drywall, clean the stucco ceiling replace the carpets change the doors ,baseboards..ect.ect...
not real renovation where as permits are needed more along the lines of repairs.... All the work was done between reasonable times 9am -9 pm got to work in the morning....but here lies the problem
http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/bylaws/Noise.pdf
All the surrounding cities have strict guidelines for the noise bylaws so that
exceptionally frivolous complaints can be mediated and a reasonable solution can be met.
But with such and open noise law any noise at any time can be asked to stop.
All you need is one of those neighbors who live to complain..

 

[tboy]

Well, I do renos etc for a living and from what you've said you're doing, the sound shouldn't have been heard outside your 4 walls.

If you are replacing drywall, baseboards trim and doing anything to plumbing or electrical, you will need a permit. I bet if you had gotten a permit before starting you wouldn't have these problems now.

You've also not stated what kind of "home" this is....if it is a condo, then you've got sound transfer through the divider walls and ceiling.

I will tell you this: they CANNOT stop you from removing/changing your carpet. No way No how.....

I definitely think there is more to this story than you are letting on such as: you working at night or early morning, this is a condo or a townhouse not a freestanding house, you're doing more than patching drywall and cleaning ceilings.

As for the by-laws you quoted, they appear to be for exterior noises. If not, according to that document, you cannot play a radio INSIDE your home.

 

[trymeplease]

I am living in a freehold townhouse..So there is a fire wall between me and the neighbor . I think the wall is also used for a sound barrier too 50 db range by the building code.They are an older pair two couins I believe. They have no young children.
Its that these people seem to have issues .. They have complained to me about my clock radio waking them up in the mornings a couple of years back just after they moved in..They have hassle my friend and family when they have been over…
I think that I screwed up by not putting my foot down along time ago and should of gotten a lawyer to fire off a couple of letters ..I was hoping that thing would cool off and everyone would come to there senses .I just don’t have the time nor did I wont to go through the hassle at the time. Well stupid me..
The police were at one point come over at a daily basis stopping me from doing any work ..Even once while I was removing carpets from the floors and painting .. now how much noise does that make and how much sense does that make…
In the city of Mississauga you can get a permit for noise and they have a strict guideline on times dates in which you can do work….in Oakville they use a meter to record any offending noises..
With all the complaints the neighbor have made(the squeaky wheel get the oil)
The City did charge me with the bylaw offence even after I had spoken with the standards bylaw office explaining to them that it was really a neighbor dispute..Hope that they would some how mediate the situation and come to a realistic resolution to the matter..
Trust me I am stunded in how this has gotten so out of hand…

 

[tboy]

I knew it had to be something other than a freestanding house....

What times were you doing the painting? I tell you, if the cops showed up and tried to stop me from painting I'd tell them to ticket me and I'd see em in court. Then I'd go to radioshack and get a db meter and measure how loud the roller was going on the wall. Then I'd keep painting. Then when they came back I'd ask for the ticket then keep painting.

I'd also videotape the db meter while I was painting so they could see what the reading was.

I'd really like to hear the city's reasons to stop someone from painting their home and I'd like to hear it in court.

I'd also go talk to a lawyer, it would probably only cost you about $60.00 to get some advice. You may also have grounds for a harassment case against the city and your neighbours.

What specifically did the cops say when they showed up?

I looked on the brampton website and couldn't see anywhere where it stated what you could and couldn't do in your home. It specifically didn't say anything about painting lol.

BTW: a solid, or a concrete block firewall is almost THE best sound transmitter because a solid mass allows sound waves to pass through easily. Kind of like the 2 cans and a piece of string trick.

Oh, I would also write to Silverman Helps at citytv. I bet he'd love to get his mitts on this one....

 

[goodtime]

Its that these people seem to have issues .. They have complained to me about my clock radio waking them up in the mornings a couple of years back just after they moved in..

Trust me I am stunded in how this has gotten so out of hand…

Try buy them few lapdance. Should soften even the most difficult...
Seriously, if you don't have the patient, find a tolerent person to do this on your behalf or pay someone few bucks to do the speaking for you.

I did this for my buddy with his nasty neighbors. Took a bit convincing but the neighbor just wanted to be heard as my buddy ignored them for years.

Someone I know in Scarb lives next to a guy that chop trees down 3am in the morning. No one ever dared to complain.

 

[trymeplease]

Like I had mentioned before I was doing the work with in the time periods of 9-9…
The cops really didn’t have to much to say about the situation only to quote the bylaw



(WHEREAS the Municipal Act (R.S.O. 1980, c.320, as amended) provides that bylaws
may be passed by the councils of local municipalities for prohibiting or
regulating, within the municipality or within any defined area or areas thereof, the
ringing of bells, the blowing of horns, shouting and unusual noises, or noises likely to
disturb inhabitants;

NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Corporation of the City of Brampton
ENACTS as follows:
1. Except as permitted by section 4, a person shall not, within the City of Brampton,
make, create, cause, or cause or permit to be made, noises likely to disturb the
inhabitants.
2. Except as permitted by section 4, a person shall not, within the City of Brampton,
make, create, cause, or cause or permit to be made, unusual noises.)

Trust me ,it took abit to keep my cool especially when they were coming over at a daily basics.

Its just one of those things that can happen and it is so hard to believe that is possible,, which makes it so hard to really straighten out…. the checks and measures are not in place.

From what I understand I have ” VEXATIOUS SUIT, LITIGATION - A vexatictus suit is one which has been instituted maliciously, and without probable cause, whereby a damage has ensued to the defendant. But it is expensive and time consuming…..

With all said and done ,sometimes I think I would be a lot more simple and easier with some manual persuasion…….

 

[tboy]

Dude: If I were in your shoes, I would consult a lawyer. I would also do some homework. ie: go to any building site within the Brampton City limits and take videos, pictures, with dates and times. This would include any sub-division and single lot construction.

I would then contact the city council members personally and present the documents with the statement: If all this (examples enclosed) construction is occuring in violation of the noise by-law, why are not the developers, contractors, carpenters etc being charged with the breaking of the by-laws?

What they basically have done is passed a law stating that you can build the homes, just never renovate or repair them.

I would also point out that without normal upkeep and repairs, their city will turn into a run down slum and property values plummet as a result.

Instead of writing here, I would be writing newspapers everywhere and of course, SIlverman of city tv. I can see the headline of the TOronto SUn:

Brampton WILL turn into a slum....with a by-line saying: Brampton has a by-law which prohibits renovation of private homes. I know Silverman and the Sun would love to print a story like this.....

 

[trymeplease]

Well have you been in Brampton lately.... its the armpit of Peel

Well thanks, just had to rant and rave ...vent abit and I thought I was losing my marbles I haven't giving all the details on all the road blocks the City have
put in place to protect it self in this matter ie. Freedom of information...
But thanks again... I got some more typeing to do...

 

[Meister]

Well have you been in Brampton lately.... its the armpit of Peel

I used to live there many years ago, it was terrible then, it is worse now. Brampton has the cheapest new houses in all of GTA (except maybe for Pickering). I would sell the house and get out.

 

[red]

Put some marijuana plants in their back yard and then call the cops

 

[jimmyt]

I'd go ahead and finish the repairs, and attend court if it goes that far. If all of your descriptions are correct, I'd have a hard time to think you would lose the case.

In the alternative, call Maryland and have him visit your nieghbours!!