To tell my neighbour I won’t stop running on my treadmill?

[Oldhag5]

Following on from the thread about the piano teacher where the consensus seems to be she can teach and play piano in her own home…..
I am trying to lose weight and bought a new treadmill which I have put in my garage. The garage is in a block and there are two flats above the block. I was running/walking on it and the neighbour from upstairs came down and said ‘that’s a very noisy machine you’ve got there’. The neighbours have lived there about a year and we get on ok, pass the time of day etc but this has made me feel really uncomfortable. It was during the day and I’d only been on it for about 15 minutes. I wouldn’t plan to use it for more than half an hour a day. Surely if you buy a flat above garages you would realise there would be some noise? Just like I live in a terraced house, one side the neighbours have a treadmill and they use it for about 2 hours a day (couple both very into fitness) and whilst it can be annoying I accept they are entitled to use a treadmill in their home. So should I just carry on using it, should I stop or should I just face him out and say I’m not going to stop running on it? Maybe ask if there is a specific time he would like me to avoid but other than that use my own treadmill in my own garage?

I'm probably guilty of some play noise given the size of my brood, but I never let them play music outside. The whole neighbourhood doesn't have to share it. I don't mind noise but I do think music outside isn't appropriate (the level of noise and duration being factors too).

Probably I was above their living room. I didn't live around complainers.

The fact you think this was ‘a little noise’ says everything really….

Carry on using it - I doubt you are going to be on it for hours at a time.

The neighbour was coming for my children this was during lock down. She didn't knock the door and ask us to turn it down she came for my children and that's why she got cussed. If she didn't move she would have been air lifted from my back garden gate. She believed she could do that and get away with it. It's the complete opposite to the ops neighbour's reaction.

There was a young people living in the flat on the same path blazing music and no one says nothing to them. There was two households at the other end of the path in their car park they had a disco at 9pm. We were targeted for a reason.

Read my last reply to Harietjet and maybe you'll understand. One rule for them and another for everyone else.

I also wouldn't be asking the neighbour if there are times that he would prefer you to avoid - I wouldn't give him that power to restrict you. You are only using it briefly during the day so he needs to suck it up

Still not clear as to what "cussed" actually looks like in practice. Or "coming for". Did she physically attack your children?

I am not a sheep and I refuse to be controlled. My daughter was not being unreasonable compared to other neighbours who regularly played music from their garage.

I am not in any way implying this is not a problem for the OP, but I am making a comparison with my current situation. My problem is so bad that the police and the council have been involved, reasonable discussion resulted in foul verbal abuse, and the noise lasts from 11am to around 2am the next day, so I am sure you can understand that from my point of view this does seem like a smaller issue. We should all be able to enjoy our homes in peace but there are so many inconsiderate people in the world.

@Oldhag5 although to lose weight you have to change how you eat. Gaining muscle will help you but as countless studies have shown you can't exercise away a bad diet. Exercise is good for overall physical and mental health though.

I'd imagine running outdoors would be better for mental health too

Could you try LISS? Low Intensity, Steady State Cardio? Such as walking on it for 45mins with 6 incline or faster walk at 6 speed and incline 8?

if you’re overweight then running isn’t a great way to lose weight due to the impact on the knees. You’ll probably get more out of a set of Kettlebells or shadowboxing.

Half an hour of noise shouldn’t be too bad for your neighbour. You sound like you’ve thought about this and I‘m sure you come across as sensible and your neighbour would understand that your kids are so young and you want a bit of mental relief.

But OP likes her treadmill…

https://amzn.eu/d/fAx3mxx

Soundproof the walls/ceiling, if nothing else, do the ceiling - its going to make way way more difference than just the mat on the floor.

Its fine to use. Its no more annoying than lawn mowers or drilling and no one asks what times are best for those

But no one lawn mows or drills for half an hour everyday

But surrounding you and be if your neighbours will be, people don’t do synchronised lawn mowing do they?

But that would be the noise contribution of multiple neighbours. In the same sense that if you lived in a flat you might not begrudge your neighbours (let’s say above, below, left and right) having a noisy night on 4 different days in a row but if the same neighbour did 4 days in a row you’d be less inclined to think it’s okay.

I honestly don't understand why you went to talk to him or tried to accommodate by only using it when he's out the house. In the last week, the sort of noises I've had to put up with and which I consider perfectly normal have included the neighbour's daughter's dog barking while visiting, various neighbours mowing lawns, someone drilling or some such thing, skip collection etc.

Even if it's incredibly annoying, you'd still have the right to use your treadmill, certainly during normal hours of the day, and I can't even begin to fathom this level of fear and concern for your neighbour who, frankly, is taking the piss. If I twas me, and he told me it was very noisy I'd have breezily said, "I know, it's hell. But just 30 minutes a day and I'm hoping it will transform my life. Sorry if it's a bit of a pain." and left it at that.

Using a threadmill is perfectly acceptable and your neighbours should know that. If you try and avoid nighttime exercise you should be fine! I have neighbours who's washingmachine sounds like an old diesel, we laugh about it, and they're carefull to not use it around bedtime 😊

Just to update my mat has arrived. I happened to bump into him as I finished using it and said to him I hoped it had helped and he said it was definitely less noisy now so I think all is good now!

That's great - and no unpleasant scenes in the street 😁

Enjoy your running!

I agree it sucks when you are in such a situation. But I think that shouldn't be the way to say them in this way on their face(i.e: rudely or in any harsh or clear cut manner). Ethical values should be taken care.

I was in this situation before. And also felt sometimes to talk to my neighbor in this way. But I found out some ways to reduce the noise coming from treadmill.

That thing really sucks when you have bought an expensive equipment for getting in shape. I have done cushioning well to reduce the noise coming every time my foot strikes the treadmill belt. But that doesn't resolve the issue completely because my weight creates strong impact every time I hit machine while jogging or running. Shock absorption pads do the drill while walking.

This source mentioned some tips to lessen the noise. I found these tips helpful. Let me know what you think? What is your take on these techniques