Portugal: Demons In The Walls

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Hey all .... this post isn't about an adventure, but I have a need to vent today and writing is the best way to let it out. You see, as those who read my blog know, I've been dealing with noise issues with ACs above the roof for over a month. I'm going to start from the beginning and just express what's in my mind as I write this from an apartment that isn't my apartment, as I don't want to be there anymore.

These problems began about 5 or 6 wks ago when guests started filling up in the complex for golfing season. Winter time the place was empty so I was unaware of any potential issues. One day out of the blue I started hearing noises above my ceiling whilst sitting on the sofa, which became more and more frequent and after a few days it worsened as I heard the noises shift from 1 side to the other. I couldn't work out what it was but it got to the point where even into the bedroom I'd be hearing walls vibrating and things spinning, night and day ... to the point I went out and bought earplugs to be able to work and sleep.

Eventually I lost it and went to reception to mention that something's going on here and I've been living with it for the past week but no more. They said they'll get the handyman to go upstairs. The next day I went back to reception and they said the handyman came but heard nothing on the roof so all seems well. But I got him back and went up onto his ladder myself and that's the 1st time I realized I had 12 AC fans on top of my lounge and 3 on top of my bedroom. It became obvious what the issue was ... and it seemed bizarre to me that the handyman thought "I dont hear anything so all is well" ... of course if the units arent on u wont hear anything. Anyway, he left me his ladder so when the problem returned I could pinpoint which unit(s) cause the problem. After that night I pinpointed 2 of them, and afterwards I realized that 1 of them was for the apartment below me (113) and the other for the one below that on the ground floor (013) ... I live in 213 on the top floor. So it all started piecing together, the peeps below me use the AC and the fans spin on top and vibrations/sounds come thru into my apartment. There are 3 units per apartment, as each apartment has an AC in the lounge, bedroom 1 and bedroom 2. 12 units above my lounge, 3 above my bedroom, and 3 above my neighbours bedroom = 18 units for the 6 apartments in this section (013, 014, 113, 114, 213, 214).

I told the reception guys the problem units and expressed my concerns that even when 1 of these goes I have issues and put in earplugs, what about summer time when most of these are spinning? The units are directly on the roof but the 4 little legs have a teeny tiny bit of rubber on the feet ... and that's their idea of insulation. In fact for 1 of the problem ones that caused the most vibrations, 2 of the feet had no rubber which I mentioned to them. That night I got so fed up I slept out in the lobby on the sofa, and the next morning prior to my flight to England (which I desperately wanted now), I went to reception again to express how pissed off and tired I am. This time I bumped into the lady that manages this place, Maria ... she is such a lovely person and helps me out a lot with whatever I need. When she heard I was still having problems and slept on the sofa, she immediately got angry with the reception guys and told them "why the feck is etch still having problems? get on the phone to the AC technicians right now ... why has this gone on for so long? And Etch, i cant believe uve dealt with it for so long and slept on the sofa, i could have given u a different apartment, dont do this again" .. so she was being super helpful and told me to go to England to recharge and it'll hopefully be sorted when I return.

1 week later Im driving back to Tavira, dreading coming back in. 1st night, peace ... next day I speak to Rui from reception and he asks "any problems? the technician came by and installed rubber feet and doubled the material on those problem machines" and I say "nope not yet, lookin good" ... then 30 minutes later back to square one. So I tell the reception guys its not resolved, and Maria happens to be walking by. I explain it to her and she was unahappy with the AC technicians disappointed that Im still having problems. So she got on the phone herself and said the technician will be here to speak with us in 30 mins. When he arrived, I explained the issue and that its still not resolved ... it cant be with poxy rubber bits under all these units. I showed him a solution my dad gave me using aeroboard and building a bridge to get the units away from the ceiling. He said he has to ok it with his boss, the owner of the AC company.

A few days later I've heard nothing, so I go bck to reception and ask them to give the technician a nudge. They say to wait another day or so ... but once again the helpful Maria walks by and listens in, then she's on the phone speaking directly with the boss and tells me the boss is coming to see me shortly. Now we're getting somewhere. By the way at this point I'd also talked to a carpenter I met who gave me a solution with aeroboard and plywood ... and Maria had also been asking around with her friends and gave some suggestions, as she felt bad that I'm suffering with this issue.

The technician boss dude comes by later, and Im explaining how its not ideal plonking all these units on the roof, and he's telling me they're well insulated and basically just defending his work (which personally I think is an unprofessional solution). On the phone he said to the guys he doesnt believe the sound is from the AC units above, it must be something else. Well let's just say when he was here we got the guests below to switch on their units and wala, I proved to him the noises coming into my apartment. He was convinced, then went to the roof to look, and said he'll do a solution with plastic legs to raise the units and soft rubber insulation underneath them and the units with the current rubber feet on top. I asked whether an aeroboard solution would be better to fully insulate this ... and he said "nope, its too hard and wont do the job".

Now I made it perfectly clear to these guys that I need to be part of this solution as its affecting me ... and to be their watching and helping to do this. So I spoke to the technician on Monday last week. By Thursday I heard nothing so I called the store myself. His secretary said she'll pass on my message when I told her Im really having trouble sleeping so let's get this done. Friday I got fed up, found the store address and drove over, but it was shut due to being Easter. Sunday night I was chilling watching TV and getting too disturbed even trying to unwind, so this Monday I call the store again and tell the secretary to explain to her boss that if this isnt done asap, Im finding another company, Im fed up with this sh!te now. She said shed pass on the message ... but no response later in the day. I then phone reception and ask them to phone the store to find out when this is being done. Later I drive back and stop at reception, and as I go in to check if there's any news, Im told by a dude Luis (another friendly guy, actually everyone here is lovely) that "we called the store and the technician said he came by on Saturday to do the work ... it's already done, and if u still hear noises then he's sure its something else" ... aaarrggghh at this point I lost the plot and went off on one, "If I was a paying guest this would have been resolved by now, its not bloody done, and the technician said the same last week that it must be something else, until I proved it to him ... can you give me the ladder so I can go up and take a look myself right now?" ... I feel bad about it now and earlier I apologized to the guy as it's not his fault and they are all trying to help ... but I just felt frustrated when I found the work has been done yet nothing has improved. Luis called the handyman to bring the ladder to my apartment, and from the conversation it was clear the handyman was saying something like "what he STILL has problems?" ... and this is whats also frutstrating that Im p!ssing others off now with this ongoing thing too.

Ladder arrives and the handyman is clearly angry at me. No idea why, I have every right to see what has been done above MY apartment as its ME who is dealing with this problem. I go up and I see all the work has been done, the units have been put on legs, but the legs are on teeny tiny bits of soft rubber, clearly not the 50+mm insulation I was expecting. At this point I sent Luis an email saying that Im too frustrated here and the technician doesnt think the noises are from above, why doesnt he sleep here for a night and I go into his house? Its obvious, fans go on, im disturbed, fans go off, Im not. I ended by saying that one of these nights Im going upstairs with a knife and Im cutting the cables, problem solved. I shouldnt have said that, these guys have tried to help, especially Maria so that isnt the right way to go about it and I would never do this. I even had the brainwave that as its my roof, maybe if I see a lawyer I can confirm that I own above it and can rightfully say "guys I dont want anything above my roof, can we remove everything please" ... of course going down that kind of route I'd have to be careful, defo dont want to alienate these guys or cause rifts between us, I think highly of them and theyd probably move the units anyway if I can prove to them that they're the issue and if thats what has to be done. Plus, moving them to my neighbours roof wouldnt solve the problem, the sounds would still come through. Something better is needed.

So, Monday night Im thinking about all this, and that night apartment 113 below is empty as guests have gone, so no AC on there, great. And a warm day means apartment 013 didnt turn AC on either, so fans arent spinning. However, all of a sudden something else starts. Now out of the blue, I start hearing a clear distinct vibration that is resonating all over the apartment, and its not coming from the roof. This just began Monday night and its apparent in every room. Tuesday I wake up and its still there, go out the front door and its gone, come back in and its there ... for fecks sake, why add to the the mystery? So I deal with this while Im trying to work away on Tuesday ... but I find different sweet spots in the apartment where its better.

Tuesday night I go to sleep in my main bedroom as once again thankfully apt 013 hasnt turned on AC. Yet at around 11pm all of a sudden I hear vibrations thru the wall from behind my bedroom ... yet again something different. Now I remember 6 wks back when it was cold and many golfers were here and when I 1st noticed the problem above, I also noticed that when the fans werent on sometimes I got vibrations thru the bedroom wall ... and I thought it may be the units above the building next door and I mentioned to reception guys back then that I think there are 2 different causes of the vibrations. However that particular issue went away yet Tuesday night that disturbed me once again ... all night it was the same pattern as the AC fans above, but I know those werent on ... but same pattern with a fan spinning, then spinning faster, then stopping, then starting ... and that went on until this morning (Wednesday).

I had a meeting with Luis and Maria about my travel agency site www.ExperienceTavira.com at 10am so I forced myself out of bed at 9.50am to go to it ... feeling very upset, tired and alone. I went into the office and as soon as Maria saw me, she immediately said how sorry she is my problem is still not resolved. She told me she called the technician the day before and said the problem isnt resolved and why not put down aeroboard or something. She also said she called another guy who builds houses and arranged for him to come by today at 11am after the meeting, and she was also going to call an electricity expert to see if any of these issues are due to that ... so immediately I felt better that Im not alone and people dont think Im a nuisance or crazy.

In the meeting we discussed the travel agency bookings/prices, then I decided to let them know exactly whats going on with my apartment, and said "look guys, there are 3 different issues here ... the AC fans above which trust me are an issue, it doesnt take a genious to work that out ... then the other constant vibration that started Monday ... then the other noise thru the bedroom last night" ... we were all discussing possibilities and thoughts ... then Maria told me she has prepared the apartment below me 113 and its being cleaned, then the maid in the afternoon will drop the key off for me and I should go there to work, sleep whenever I have problems in my apartment. She told me that we must find the cause of these issues, its important for my wellbeing ... and Luis also assured me they will do what they can as its their responsibility too since they manage the complex and its their AC units on my roof too (btw I dont pay condominium fees yet, and the fact that I live in my apartment means they cant let it out to make money off of it, so its nice they think this way).

I explained that I was unhappy about the work the AC technician did above because: a) i was supposed to be part of the solution, I didnt even know theyd come and gone b) how can they say the work is done without coming into my apartment and verifying that its all ok c) no phone call even few days after to see how things are, even reception guys werent told the technician did the job, he just came and went, no personal touch whatsoever d) i wanted to be a part of it so i could go up and say "right do ur solution on this 1 machine, then lets make sure it improves the situation before replicating it 15 times" ... but nope, he did it to all 15. Bottom line, if u do a job for somebody u must surely want to verify it has resolved the problem before saying the issue must be something else. Anyway, the company billed reception for this work ... and I already made it clear to reception previously that I'll pay for a solution here, feck the money, I need peace. But today I said to them that I aint paying as its not resolved, and u shouldnt either. As they are being as helpful as they can be, I did afterwards say in an email "look, if u guys have to pay because u have a working relationship with the company for many jobs, then let me know and i'll pay u back ... but if possible let me prove to u that the issue is still there so u can tell the company they shouldnt charge ... since paying for something that hasnt resolved the problem isnt ideal".

Anyway, 11am this other home builder guy arrives so I go with him and Luis to my apartment. Normally id speak in Portuguese with these guys but my brain isnt functioning this week and Portuguese is out ... so I ask Luis to come and translate. Now the fans above arent spinning so I cant prove that, but I did vaguely get Luis to hear the vibration issue ... I had to get him to sit, lie and stand in certain position around the apartment to do this. The other fan thru the wall had stopped as well ... frustrating ... its difficult to solve a problem when u cant prove it and when u dont know what is causing it ... especially when some technician has come to visit u as well. I said to wait until 013 is empty as well then lets experiment with both apartments below having ACs on so I can show u what I mean for the main problem above ... in the meantime I can stay in 113 below mine, and as its close my wifi will still work from there (and it does, this is where im writing this from, apt 113).

After they leave, around 11.30am I lie on my sofa and fall alseep to the vibrations, and Im on and off until 5.30pm .. too lazy and spaced out to do anything ... I think Im really sad ... coz ive been emotionally eating a sh!t loads recently too. I get up when doorbell rings and the maid, (Paula, she's awesome too) gives me the keys for 113.

Later I go to apt 113 and the 1st thing I noticed is that the vibration sound that started in mine on Mon night is there too ... but more apparent sitting on the sofa, more like pulses of vibrations. This is something Im going to show to Luis this week if it's still there, something happening in the building. But other than that, I have peace ... enough to do some work, and its quiet enough now in the bedroom to sleep.

The 1st thing I did when in #113 was turn the AC on and go up top to mine ... immediately as the fan started spinning it was obvious, noises in my lounge and vibrations in the bedroom. I also had some interesting findings with noise pathflow in #113 but I wont go into detail here ... but this has become a science experiment for me .... it has to be now ... these guys here want to help but its a complex issue ... Im the one who has to find ways of coming up with answers.

At 1am I go up top to eat food (normal today, steamed fish, spinach and cereal bar with cucumber sandwich), and as I walk up I can hear the AC fan outside for #013 on ground floor. So as Im watching TV eating, Im getting disturbed by that fan going on and off ... on and off ... on and FECKIN off ... but I eat and go back down to #113 to sleep ... and in the bedroom, peace man.

So that's where I am ... the gremlins of my building. But I'd love to get rid of these AC units on the roof ... thats my main culprit and I dont know what to do about it. Maybe insulating the vibrations wont help, maybe it isnt vibrations, maybe its just the sound of the fans travelling thru the ceiling as its thin and u hear it anyway ... maybe its combination of both, maybe the fans need servicing and are louder than they should be ... maybe the floor needs insulating .. maybe I can move them to the other side as far away as possible, maybe maybe maybe ... im not a sound or AC expert so I dont know man.

Actually my dad is good at DIY things and earlier I heard he's booked on a flight to come see me same time as my mum in a few weeks, so I could just chill in #103 and see what he thinks when he gets here ... wouldnt surprise me if he actually remedied a fix and did it all himself ... he has the ability to do 10 men's work .... superman when it comes to such things.

So there is where Im at peeps, rather sad because the last of my new furniture arrived yday too ... my apartment is lookin awesome, and i prefer to be top floor looking at the pool, compared to this #113 nah man, #213 rocks ... and mine's in so much better condition, the walls, doors, etc are in worse nic down here. I have car matriculated, apartment set, residency all legal, now this is my only problem as I dont want to be in my apartment, it drives me up the frickin wall ... and now after an expensive yr and without earning, its imperative to get going with all my ideas/projects and work hard, gotta get that income flowing but for this I need peace man ... and not only that, I need to rest well and be energized, and mentally happy as well, right now I cant be bothered to do anything and have to force myself ... the will has left me .... and its not a good feeling .... when ur mojo is gone u find it hard coming up with solutions to issues as well.

We'll see what happens ... just another challenge ... man I just need to get with a Portuguese senorita and crash at her place instead.

Until next time follks ... this took 2 hrs to write btw, but it helped me ... thx for listening. Any advice would be welcome, on possible solutions, or how to deal with it, or how to live with it ... or how to snap out of this hole Im putting myself in where u end up losing sight of the important things ... I will listen ... we all need to take sometimes as well as give.

Good night

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