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by vladvasiliu 1852 days ago
I agree with you, those noises are terrible, but at least, they only happen when you use the appliances. Aside for your fridge, which I find strange. Mine isn't running particularly often.

In my apartment, which is open-plan also, by far the worst offender is the building ventilation. The extractor sounds like a jet engine, 24/7, and I have to cover it with something to not go crazy.
1 comments
Symbiote 1852 days ago
My apartment's washing machine is in the bathroom, which is normal in Denmark. I can close the bathroom door when it's running, and it's not a problem during calls.

The fridge is not noticeable except at night, with all the windows closed.

The extractor hood's fan is somewhere else (top of the building?) so it's only at night that I can hear it running.

The building ventilation is also quiet. I noticed the absence when there was a power cut, but otherwise don't hear it, even at night.

The windows are excellent too.

Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark.

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vladvasiliu 1852 days ago
> Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark.

Yeah, I think this is the point that matters. Don't know about Denmark, but in France only recently standards started to take into account noise. In Paris, most housing stock is from before 1990 [0].

There are some very old buildings (<1900) which I think may be fairly quiet (prefab wasn't a thing yet) and supposedly newer buildings (>2000) are quiet also thanks to the laws. I've never been in the latter, but have been in an older one (not sure about the year though) and it was very, very silent AND cool despite the hot summer outside and lack of AC.

[0] An interactive plan of the age of buildings https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/BatiParis

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