Noisy AC unit above my condo

[orangeena]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I live on the top floor of a condo building. One of the condos has an AC unit on the roof above my condo. It is extremely loud and extremely inefficient (it runs constantly).

The owner had a AC tech come and look at the unit and concluded it worked fine and did not seem to be a problem in any way and also thought the noise in my unit wasn't that bad. Granted that tech came during the day and the problem doesnt seem as bad then. Birds chirping, a lawnmower a couple houses down, water running downstairs, etc, etc...daytime noises...help to drown out the problem, but in the middle of the night when all is quiet, the sound from this AC unit is unbearable. It's such a low vibration type hum that nothing will drown it out, not headphones, earplugs, anything.

I downloaded a sound meter app on my phone that concluded that on the average, quiet night in my home, its about 40-45 decibels. When that AC unit is running, its about 50-55 decibels. I found on once site that, according to the EPA, anything over 45 in the home is considered "noise-level."

Anyway, since the owner had a tech look at it and said everything was fine, the HOA seems to be completely done with the issue and just thinks I'm being difficult. I'm starting to think my only option is to start legal action and sue for the cost of appropriate sound buffering and possibly pain and suffering due to the lack of sleep I've been getting. With no exaggeration, this has really started to cause problems at work because I'm exhausted all the time. I have nightly headaches. I've had heartburn for 4 weeks straight which is probably stress induced as well.

I'm going to see a lawyer about some other personal matters in two weeks and will be asking about this, but in the meantime, does anyone have any advice?

thanks in advance

 

[justalayman]

the sounds level in your unit is irrelevant to the AC unit as long as it is operating as it should. The lack of insulation to prevent the sounds from passing into your unit is beyond the responsibility of the ac tech or the owner of the ac unit.

. I'm starting to think my only option is to start legal action and sue for the cost of appropriate sound buffering and possibly pain and suffering due to the lack of sleep I've been getting.

just who are you planning to sue? You might have a claim against the HOA if the insulation is their responsibility. If it isn't, you might have some action against whomever is responsible for the insulation.

does anyone have any advice?

ask the owner if you can have another ax tech look at the unit (at your expense) to determine if there is a problem with the unit.

One thing I would specifically look at is if there are sound isolation mounts under the unit or if the compressor's isolation mounts have worn out.

 

[orangeena]

just who are you planning to sue? You might have a claim against the HOA if the insulation is their responsibility. If it isn't, you might have some action against whomever is responsible for the insulation.

I would sue the unit owner for breaching several of the condo regulations regarding noise and/or I would sue the HOA for not enforcing the noise policy which caused all of the lack of sleep and stress, as well as providing insufficient insulation.

ask the owner if you can have another ax tech look at the unit (at your expense) to determine if there is a problem with the unit.

One thing I would specifically look at is if there are sound isolation mounts under the unit or if the compressor's isolation mounts have worn out.

I will look into this. The mounting is the one thing that was not mentioned to me in the report I got. thanks for the suggestion.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I would also look into adding soundproofing to your walls/ceiling and possibly double or triple pained windows.

 

[Proseguru]

Sounds like normal condo living...