How can I reduce noise levels and promote respect in shared living spaces?

[NoX-Life]

I have a roommate who blasts his music and bass below me till 5 am every night. It makes it very difficult to sleep and I have asked him to turn it down many times and every time he just curses me out. I would like to make it so his speakers don't play as loud or even that the bass is softer without him knowing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

He has the harman kardon speakers and their subwoofer.

 

[KrisOhn]

Flash and clear.

 

[JaWiB]

Take it apart and mess with the volume dial (if there is one)? Or just take it apart and snip some wires. Might give you some peace until he buys a new one or figures out what you did.

Better solution: fist fight. Or just find a new living situation.

 

[cobalt124]

Play loud music while he is asleep, try to find music he really hates, see how he likes it.

 

[JaredJames]

Uh why has no one said to report him to the police / landlord?

If they won't listen to you asking nicely than get the law involved and they'll be forced to sort it.

 

[tiny-tim]

A physics solution would be to remove the fuse from the fuse-box each night, or to re-wire the house so that you can blow the fuse from your bed every time he turns the speakers on.

 

[JaredJames]

Or, we could not discuss criminal damage and promote illegal activities.

 

[tiny-tim]

If it's one's own home, and one's own fuse-wire, I don't see how it's illegal.

(I'm not advocating blowing his speakers, only one's own fuse-wire!)

 

[JaredJames]

If it's one's own home, and one's own fuse-wire, I don't see how it's illegal.

(I'm not advocating blowing his speakers, only one's own fuse-wire!)

Well it doesn't sound like the OP is the owner - otherwise they could demand silence.

 

[leroyjenkens]

So you tell him that his music is keeping you up at night and he curses you out for it? He's obviously a sociopath. Get a new roommate.

 

[xxChrisxx]

1. Smash his head with a frying pan.
2. Smash your head with a frying pan until blissful unconsciousness occurs.
3. Become a heavy sleeper.
4. Sneakliy break the speakers by messing with the wires.
5. Not so sneakily break the spears by messing with a lump hammer.
6. Call the police.
7. Move out.
8. Move him out.
9. Do nothing.
10. Talk to him when there is no music on.

There are many more options. If you feel fancy OP you can mix and match them.

 

[G01]

New roommate is the best solution. Its not worth it to live with someone whose lifestyle priorities are this different from yours.

He doesn't need to sleep at night. Good for him. However, if he doesn't respect that you do need sleep in your life, then there's no point wasting any more time with him.

If he's in a different apartment complain to the landlord or police. If he's your roommate (sharing an apartment with you) then get a new roommate!

 

[pergradus]

Do you live in an apartment or on campus?

 

[nismaratwork]

1.) Talk to him... if you feel uncomfortable, write a note.
-You've done this... so.. ignore.
2.) If polite confrontation fails, alert the landlord/super/non-emergency line for police, but warn your roomate of your intention first.
The following are not endorsed, and are hypothetical for entertainment purposes only

A.) Take a pin and punch dozens of tiny holds in the sub-woofer fabric/paper, much like perforating a piece of paper. Do it right, and if he goes above a given volume it will tear itself apart.
B.) Water...
C.) Start telling him to get headphones
-If he agrees, WIN!
-If not, start casually honing a knife.
D.) Take an embarrsing or compromising picture as blackmail.
E.) If he has any illegal hobbies, or cheats, blackmail.
F.) Bend his wires near the terminal back and forth... you will damage them.
G.) Put visine (normal type) in his food.

H.) DO NOT DO THIS: Get a VERY powerful electromagnet... when he plays his music, bring it over and tell him he can shut it off, of you wipe anything digital he has. If that doesn't work, get creative with the magnet, but careful when you dispose of the body.

 

[pergradus]

Whatever happened to just physical confrontation? You asked the guy once, that was enough. Go down there and tell him if he doesn't knock his crap off you're not going to ask politely again.

Seriously sometimes you got to stand up for yourself and there are times where getting violent is the quickest way to solve a problem.

 

[nismaratwork]

Whatever happened to just physical confrontation? You asked the guy once, that was enough. Go down there and tell him if he doesn't knock his crap off you're not going to ask politely again.

Seriously sometimes you got to stand up for yourself and there are times where getting violent is the quickest way to solve a problem.

Who's bigger? Who's stronger? Is the yelling guy armed, unstable, or maybe a boxer? Why risk a physical confrontation which carries the inherent risk of injury or death for both parties over a noise complaint, when the police are there to prevent JUST that kind of thing?

Violence is the action of last resort, not right, not wrong, just last on the list if possible.

 

[pergradus]

Who's bigger? Who's stronger? Is the yelling guy armed, unstable, or maybe a boxer? Why risk a physical confrontation which carries the inherent risk of injury or death for both parties over a noise complaint, when the police are there to prevent JUST that kind of thing?

Violence is the action of last resort, not right, not wrong, just last on the list if possible.

Its my experience that people who are inconsiderate of others aren't so because they are big and tough but because they're spoiled brats who weren't raised properly. I've solved problems before by threatening to get violent if the issue doesn't go away.

Also the police are useless for things like this - the last thing they care about is some guy playing his music, they might show up once but there isn't really anything they can do anyways.

There used to be a time where men settled things between themselves like men, I personally don't believe in getting the police involved in stuff like this. I mean its really not a big deal to get into a fist fight - and if you win you get your point across a lot better than words can in most cases.

 

[JaredJames]

Its my experience that people who are inconsiderate of others aren't so because they are big and tough but because they're spoiled brats who weren't raised properly. I've solved problems before by threatening to get violent if the issue doesn't go away.

Violence doesn't solve anything.

1. He has threatening behaviour against you.
2. Take it further and he has you for assault (and possibly more).
3. Potentially criminal damage also.

And what do you have on him? A noise complaint? Wow, yeah the judge is going to really come down on that guy and fully understand why you did what you did.

Heck, without knowing what he's like he could turn around and kill you in self defence.

Also the police are useless for things like this - the last thing they care about is some guy playing his music, they might show up once but there isn't really anything they can do anyways.

Complete rubbish. In the UK it starts with going round and asking them to turn it down and is followed by removing the noise generating device. If it continues the council can serve and order against you as well.

There used to be a time where men settled things between themselves like men, I personally don't believe in getting the police involved in stuff like this. I mean its really not a big deal to get into a fist fight - and if you win you get your point across a lot better than words can in most cases.

Not a big deal if he beats you into a coma in self defence? If he kills you in self defence? What if he pulls a knife / gun on you? Quite within his rights if you go at him.

You may live in a place where fist fights are acceptable to solve your problems, but I certainly don't want to live there. I don't want to live in a place where people feel it is acceptable to beat others simply because they disagree with them or feel they are a nuisance. Remember, it's a small step from this to saying it's acceptable to beat the WBC because you don't like what they preach.

 

[nismaratwork]

Its my experience that people who are inconsiderate of others aren't so because they are big and tough but because they're spoiled brats who weren't raised properly. I've solved problems before by threatening to get violent if the issue doesn't go away.

Also the police are useless for things like this - the last thing they care about is some guy playing his music, they might show up once but there isn't really anything they can do anyways.

There used to be a time where men settled things between themselves like men, I personally don't believe in getting the police involved in stuff like this. I mean its really not a big deal to get into a fist fight - and if you win you get your point across a lot better than words can in most cases.

I find you're often right, but that's still not worth the betting, nor is it worth violence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggshell_skull

The lawThis rule holds one liable for all consequences resulting from his or her tortious (usually negligent) activities leading to an injury to another person, even if the victim suffers an unusually high level of damage (e.g. due to a pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition). The term implies that if a person had a skull as delicate as the shell of an egg, and a tortfeasor who was unaware of the condition injured that person's head, causing the skull unexpectedly to break, the defendant would be held liable for all damages resulting from the wrongful contact, even if

1.such damages were not reasonably foreseeable, or
2.the tortfeasor did not intend to cause such a severe injury.
In criminal law, the general maxim is that the defendant must "take their victims as they find them", a quotation from the judgment of Lord Justice Lawton in R v. Blaue (1975), in which the defendant was held responsible for killing his victim, despite his contention that her refusal of a blood transfusion constituted novus actus interveniens.

The doctrine is applied in all areas of torts - intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability cases - as well as in criminal law. There is no requirement of physical contact with the victim - if a trespasser's wrongful presence on the victim's property so terrifies the victim that he has a fatal heart attack, the trespasser will be liable for the damages stemming from his original tort. The foundation for this rule is based primarily on policy grounds. The courts do not want the accused to rely on the victim's own vulnerability to avoid liability.

The thin skull rule is not to be confused with the related crumbling skull rule in which the plaintiff suffers from a detrimental position (from a prior injury, for instance) pre-existent to the occurrence of the present tort. In the "crumbling skull" rule, the prior condition is only to be considered with respect to distinguishing it from any new injury arising from the present tort - as a means of apportioning damages in such a way that the defendant would not be liable for placing the plaintiff in a better position than they were in prior to the present tort. [2]

[edit] Case illustrations(UK) In the case of Smith v. Leech Brain & Co.,[3] an employee in a factory was splashed with molten metal. The metal burned him on his lip, which happened to be premalignant tissue. He died three years later from cancer triggered by the injury. The judge held that as long as the initial injury was foreseeable, the defendant was liable for all the harm.

(US) In 1891, the Wisconsin Supreme Court came to a similar result in Vosburg v. Putney.[4] In that case, an 11 year old boy kicked a 14 year-old boy in the shin while at school. It turned out that the 14 year-old had a unknown "microbial" condition that was irritated by the kick. The kick resulted in the boy entirely losing the use of his leg. No one could have predicted the level of injury before the kicking. Nevertheless, the court found that since the kicking was unlawful, and as it occurred during school and not on the playground, the 11 year-old boy was liable for the injury.

(US) In Benn v. Thomas, the appellate court determined that the eggshell rule should have been applied to a case in which a man had a heart attack and died after being bruised in the chest during a rear-end car accident.

Even winning can be losing... only fight if you HAVE to, not as a tool... IMO.

 

[Proton Soup]

i think this requires subtlety. like a 60/120 Hz hum from a ground loop.

 

[nismaratwork]

i think this requires subtlety. like a 60/120 Hz hum from a ground loop.

Wow... remind me never to piss you off... I think you'd go the, "drive him insane" route!