Noise

Noisy apartment and surrounding area

Traffic  

You’ll wake up early each morning to commercial trucks growling to the top of Rose Hill.

(Check out the recently posted morning-ambiance audio recording)

The courtyard parking area is a busy spot for delivery trucks serving Bloom and the adjacent commercial businesses. Several moving trucks per week use the front entrance. Handtrucks, dollies, and tool carts pushed back and forth to the main entrance create frequent disturbances, often several times a day.

The lobby door slams closed loudly.

“Sounds like you are at an airfield”  

While on zoom calls colleagues repeatedly bring up the disruptive background noise. Work from home is no longer a practical option for me due to noise.

Neighbors  

Hammering randomly at all hours day and night from units 107 and 205.

• Apt-Noise-Log-Bloom-Kirkland-2024 (pdf) is the document I sent to property management. It represents just a small sample of events.

• Stomping around loudly at all hours day and night
• Dropping hard objects on the hard laminate flooring
• Residents slam their entry doors shut when arriving/departing
• Bedroom closet doors have no bumpers and bang loudly against the jam when opened

I have been logging and recording noise incidents for weeks now and reported the issue several times to property management. Management has supposedly reached out to the suspected offenders but has been ineffectual. I was advised to call the police but I’m not certain who is making the noise. It occurs briefly but consistently once or twice an hour, sometimes more, sometimes less, between the hours of midnight and 8am. Some nights there are quiet spells where I can sleep for 3-5 hours without disruption.

Dogs  

Unsupervised dogs on patios enjoy barking at everyone and everything. It’s a busy front entrance so you’ll experience plenty of dog barking if that’s your thing.

Low Quality Everything  

Noisy due to cheap wood construction, cheap windows, cheap everything. Bloom does not have soft-close toilet seats. You’ll regularly hear toilet seats slamming closed. All noises from inconsiderate neighbors resonate easily through the structure and into your apartment.

The lobby doors are absurdly loud when they slam closed. Having lived in nice buildings I’m surprised this is acceptable and hasn’t been addressed by management.

The entry way intercom system has the volume “turned up to eleven” and often goes into a noise feedback loop. I hear it inside with my doors closed and wearing noise cancelling headphones. Delivery drivers seem to have endless trouble with the intercom system and building access, which adds to the noise issues surrounding the front entrance.

Conversation with Kirkland Police  

As recommended by property management I contacted Kirkland Police on their non-emergency number. The officer I spoke with confirmed there isn’t anything they can do without knowing which unit is responsible for the noise.

Conclusion  

I rarely get more than 5-6 hours sleep due to noise, often waking up 4-5 times to loud thuds, slamming doors, hammering, loud talking and shouting. The noise sometimes occurs once or twice an hour, and sometimes is quiet for 2-3 hours between bouts of loud pounding. The pounding typically lasts about 5 seconds.