Should I move into a building undergoing renovations?
September 18, 2015 12:25 PM Subscribe
The building in which we want to rent an apartment is undergoing some serious construction. Point work, roof, and total renovation of lobby. How bad can we expect our first few months there to be?Or more accurately, how much will my sons naps suffer?
Went to drop off the check for an application fee today and saw that the building in which we are hoping to rent is now undergoing construction.
We didn't know this because we are (now maybe) taking over someone's lease, so they showed us around, not the management.
Besides mandatory point work, there is some major work being done on the roof and in the lobby. As we are neither on the top nor bottom floor, I'm not sure how much this will affect us. But I'm thinking trucks outside, construction workers, scaffolding which is already up, and if it's loud, it's loud.
My understanding is that most of the "serious amounts of noise and intrusion" (management's words) will be during 9-5... but my one year old needs to nap twice during those hours. And he is not a good sleeper. He's in fact a pretty terrible sleeper. We are also both home a decent amount during the day, so we can't really avoid the worst of it.
The apartment is great and the price is great so I hate to give it up, but this is expected to last a few months.
So has anyone lived in a building undergoing this type of work? Am I worrying needlessly or should I keep looking?
Went to drop off the check for an application fee today and saw that the building in which we are hoping to rent is now undergoing construction.
We didn't know this because we are (now maybe) taking over someone's lease, so they showed us around, not the management.
Besides mandatory point work, there is some major work being done on the roof and in the lobby. As we are neither on the top nor bottom floor, I'm not sure how much this will affect us. But I'm thinking trucks outside, construction workers, scaffolding which is already up, and if it's loud, it's loud.
My understanding is that most of the "serious amounts of noise and intrusion" (management's words) will be during 9-5... but my one year old needs to nap twice during those hours. And he is not a good sleeper. He's in fact a pretty terrible sleeper. We are also both home a decent amount during the day, so we can't really avoid the worst of it.
The apartment is great and the price is great so I hate to give it up, but this is expected to last a few months.
So has anyone lived in a building undergoing this type of work? Am I worrying needlessly or should I keep looking?
Nine to five would be very optimistic builders typically start a lot earlier than that, more like seven, and knock off earlier too. It really depends how sensitive the toddler is, how far away the works are. Constant noise is okay, but interruptions is the killer, eg hammering.
I've done this with a baby, I wouldn't do it again if at all avoidable.
posted by smoke at 4:14 PM on September 18, 2015
I've done this with a baby, I wouldn't do it again if at all avoidable.
posted by smoke at 4:14 PM on September 18, 2015
Keep looking. Why do you think the price is great? They are probably desperate for tenants. Nobody wants to live in a long term construction zone. Did you ask how long the work was going to last? If they told you, then add a few months to that.
But if you move in, ask yourself how you and your son will feel after a few weeks, months, etc. of hammering, drilling, general contractor walla? Are you still going to like this great apartment at a great price?
posted by kilohertz at 4:26 PM on September 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
But if you move in, ask yourself how you and your son will feel after a few weeks, months, etc. of hammering, drilling, general contractor walla? Are you still going to like this great apartment at a great price?
posted by kilohertz at 4:26 PM on September 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't do this. We just returned from a stay at an AirBnB apartment where exterior brick work was being done. Our 7 month old is actually a pretty great sleeper these days, and it was *horrible*. The banging and drilling shook the entire building, and it was just intermittent enough to make it impossible to tune out. And even when the work was being done on the 8th floor, it was definitely too loud to sleep through even at lobby level. There was really no way to get the baby to nap except to take him out on long park walks 3 times a day. For a 5 day vacation, it was a logistic hassle, but doable. For months? No way.
posted by TheLittlestRobot at 4:47 PM on September 18, 2015
posted by TheLittlestRobot at 4:47 PM on September 18, 2015
Smells might be an issue, too. I once stayed at a hotel that was having renovation work done and I'm guessing they were gluing down carpet? I don't know but there was this intense, instant headache odor cloud over the entire building. The mgmt was peeved when I canceled my stay and moved to a different hotel, but - it was really bad.
posted by doctor tough love at 8:46 PM on September 18, 2015
posted by doctor tough love at 8:46 PM on September 18, 2015
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I once lived in a complex where, at pretty much any time, at least one of the buildings was undergoing major long-term renovations which created a lot of noise and inconvenience. Another building I lived in seemed to always have some small maintenance issue that the super needed to take care of (less omnipresent noise, more chance that the super would need to access your unit to do a repair that directly impacted your quality of life). Right now my apartment building seems pretty settled, but there are only 2 units not occupied by the landlord.
posted by Sara C. at 12:36 PM on September 18, 2015