Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Enigma]

I live in an older apartment building. It's alright most of the time, but one of the problems is that there seems to be someone near me renovating their apartment every couple of months. Usually the noise is bearable, but about 2 weeks ago they started work on one of the units and it sounded like my apartment had become an airport runway.

I had my boss call the building manager to see what was going on. Although it sounded like it was either the unit directly above me or the one beside it, it turned out it was actually the unit beside the unit below me. But I guess when they're drilling into the concrete, the sound carries so well, it's difficult to tell where it's coming from.

Anyways, the manager got a hold of the tenant last Monday and he told her the work would be finished by last Thursday, and that all the "big noise" was already finished (they continued to make "big noise" all week but they seemed to have finished on Thursday). However, now (the following Wednesday morning) the drills have started up again and I'm not sure yet if it's the same unit or another one, or how long they're going to go on for.

The noise is usually confined to between 8am and the late afternoon, but I work afternoons/evenings and so I usually don't go to bed until 1 or 2 am (can't fall asleep before then). I also sleep with very good earplugs, so when there's no construction, usually nothing wakes me up. So I told my boss I thought the tenant should put me up in a hotel, which my boss thought was hilarious. He said that's impossible in Korea, and I just had to be patient.

So I'm curious, if another tenant is making enough noise to prevent you from sleeping, is there anything you can do (legally), or are you SOL? For the record, I know I'm probably not getting anything, but what about somebody like a cabbie or a nurse who works nightshift, or somebody with a young baby? Do they just have to put up with it?

[Lazio]

Haven�t you lived here long enough to know that noise is not really an issue?
Besides, making noise between 8 am and 5-6 pm is completely reasonable. They have to do what they have to do, right? Some people work at night so if they really wanted to consider everyone�s sleeping habits there would be no time to do construction.

[highstreet]

You could ask them to start later. Otherwise, I wouldn't expect much. I mean, do you really expect them to compromise to your time schedule? 8AM on weekday seems perfectly reasonable, considering most people are likely awake at that time.

[Skippy]

[highstreet]

[Cacille]

As someone who owns a painting business and had worked in the construction field for over 8 years (up till February of last year), I can definitely say that for only about 5% of projects that contractors are employed to do, it can take as little as one or two days. For everything else, it takes a week or more.

Think about it. Painting? 1 day....unless it's more than 4 rooms. Then it takes up to 5 days. THIS I can break down every detail of the job to explain.

Plumbing - unless it's a clog or replacing a faucet, it will most likely take a week.

Electrical - unless it's replacing a fixture or switch or breaker, it can take up to a week.

New Drywall - unless it's a patch, it AUTOMATICALLY takes 2-3 days. THIS I can break down every detail of the job to explain.

New room construction? Automatically 1 month.
New Roof? Minimum 3 days, depending on size, severity of repair involved.
Anything involving concrete - unless it's a patch, it will be two noisy days, a few quiet days, and then another couple days after that.
Flooring? Unless it's a small room, it will take 3 days...unless you're refinishing the floor. Then, see Concrete procedure length.
New windows? Unless it's one or two, it will take 4 days.
Whole house remodel? A month.
New construction? 6 months, size and weather and company dependent.

When are home supply companies open? In the USA, usually 6am - 10pm for most. In Korea? 9-5 most days (I live right next to one). Construction crews must work at the same time as the supply places are open, they don't have the luxury of starting later, unless there is a really good reason (weather for example) for it. Also you must take into account that sometimes a job becomes larger than expected due to unforseen damage or extra code-compliance repairs needed. I've been on many a job where the job time suddenly doubled because an extra problem was discovered. (One personal example, a sanding/refinishing job suddenly doubled when the color went deeper than normal for the door wood type).

Now, this post isn't meant to be a guideline for people looking to do projects or anything, it's to point to the OP and also to Skippy that they have no f-ing idea what they are talking about with construction. Whereas I can have certified construction experts - ALL of whom I've worked with, who can back me up here. He cannot do anything about his sleeping problem, UNLESS he wants to pay the construction crew and property owner for the time lost by starting later in the day. Or he just needs to go to a hotel.

[atwood]

What a weak post. It reminds me of young Korean males complaining about serving in the military because they don't get a vacation.

[Skippy]

Did you read my post about being finished a day or two after stated. Me, I am a reasonable person. If my neighbor came up to me and said I will be doing some construction for a week. I might not like, but I got a heads up. So for a week, I will grin and bear it.

[Squire]

I think you just have to accept that you are on an unusual sleeping pattern and either go to bed earlier or try to sleep through it. Can you imagine telling some workmen 'There's a foreigner up there who likes to lie in until 10, could you start later please?'. They'll just laugh. 8am isn't unreasonable

[Steelrails]

To paraphrase a wise man-

"You supposed to be up cookin breakfast or somethin. Them drillz is like an alarm clock. WOOP WOOP."