Is this a quiet house?

Post date: Oct 29, 2011 2:6:41 PM

Yes, we definitely are a "quiet house".

We are located in a quiet area and our street, though perpendicular on Sheppard, is closed to direct traffic, which makes it very low on traffic. The park proximity further absorbs the noise of the city. As most of Toronto, we do get however occasional airplanes flying over during the day.

This deep silence is particularly evident at night, when one might be able to hear even the noise made by the snow falling or the leaves reaching the ground. For some people it is a godsend as it allows for a deep, rejuvenating sleep while others, accustomed to more noise pollution, may find the lack of noise anxiety provoking. If you prefer noisy nights it is probably better for you to find a place downtown, as our house was not designed with noise insulation in mind. It is therefore necessary to take care so that others are not disturbed. Please consider the following:

• • if you are making noise close to an air opening, that noise is more likely to travel throughout the house

  • running on the hallway with heavy shoes produces significant noise on the hardwood floor and this can be heard throughout the house

  • slamming the doors, especially the main door, produces a noise that resonates through the entire house and it might cause it to malfunction; the door can be closed easily and pulled harder at the end without making too much noise - ask us for a demonstration

According to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 591 (PDF), any noise is prohibited at all times, particularly in Residential areas. In our house we generally observe a more relaxed code, in that you are certainly welcome to engage in activities that produce a moderate amount of noise, such as listening to music or watching a movie, provided that this is occasional and does not disturb us or our neighbours. We generally observe "quiet hours" from 10 pm to 7 am during the week and from 11 pm to 10 am on Friday and Saturday nights. You are also welcome to come home or leave as you please, but during "quiet hours" we expect you to take extra care when closing doors and / or walking on the common hallways, as well as talking (including talking on the phone) or listening to music or movies, which should be done with headphones (which we can provide if you don't have any).

If you are planning a party or if you have guests or if you know you will engage in activities that produce excessive noise, especially during the "quiet hours", it is best to let us know in advance so that we can better plan our sleep. Letting us know is not equivalent to an invitation to your party - we can assure you we will not "crash" it. It is far better to let us know in advance than to surprise us with the actual noise, especially if we have important plans for the next day.

If you have a different schedule or cannot abide by these "quiet hours" please let us know. Also, if you feel we do not abide by these rules or we produce too much noise please let us know as well. We take noise violations very seriously and we will not hesitate to evict someone who does not follow these simple rules and then proceed with recovery of potential losses flowing from a broken lease. Please think of silence and quiet times as a common good. If we all start disregarding it, we will not have it when we need it.