About five weeks ago, my friend F. was suddenly awakened by
the blasting sound of a pneumatic drill pounding away
directly above her head. Eyes wide open, F. was literally
shaken out of her bed. Why? Because her floors and bed were
veritably vibrating from the tremendously loud noises coming
from above. (Please note that this is not such an easy feat
because F. lives in Israel, where the walls and ceilings of
homes are not made of wood, but rather of very solid
stone).
F. lives alone. She is a widow of approximately two years, a
grandmother to almost a dozen grandchildren, and has no
children living at home any longer. Being a religious women,
and given the fact that her hearing is still functioning
quite well, F. was sure that the war of Gog and Magog had
begun.
Running to wash her hands and say the morning blessings, F.
was surprised that these violent vibrations and incessant
pounding drilling sounds were continuing for so long. She
didn't understand why she wasn't hearing the blasts of the
shofar already, announcing Moshiach's arrival. Somehow
she had imagined it would come faster.
It didn't take F. too long to realize that she really wasn't
that knowledgeable about the anticipated time span of the War
of Gog and Magog, and so, trying to ignore the incessant
banging and shaking all around her, she decided to continue
on with her normal daily activities. F. settled down into her
chair to finish davening.
With the completion, F.'s head was beginning to pound to the
beat of the hammers from above. She also started coughing, as
dust particles were floating all around her room, coating all
of her furniture with a pale shade of grey. True, grey goes
with everything, but still . . . what was going on?
After shouting into her telephone to her upstairs neighbor
(in order to be heard above the noise), F. was astounded to
hear that she herself actually had it good. It wasn't F.'s
upstairs neighbors who were doing renovations, but the
neighbor above her!
Yes, F. recognized that it is a blessing to be able to
expand, update, and/or beautify one's apartment. But,
concurrently, she did wish that people would remember that
the mere fact of living in an apartment building means that
other people are also living close by. And noise and dust do
travel. Easily and efficiently.
This is not to bemoan apartment living. On the contrary,
there are many benefits to living together in one building
with other families. Ease of borrowing cups of sugar, etc.
when one runs out of the needed ingredient during baking is
just part of the story. There are also regular as well as
emergency baby sitting options that pale in comparison to
having to run out to the car, open and close the garage, and
drive a few blocks to pick up a babysitter. Neighbors can
provide help, an easy interchange of different ideas and
mores, easy emotional support and friendly warmth on a daily
basis, as well as human contact whenever needed or wanted.
And this is particularly important if a person happens to be
living alone.
And F. was.
Living through the blaring noise and other disturbances of a
neighbor doing renovations has made F. aware of some of the
pitfalls, and some ways to avoid them. Or at least a few
ideas on how to make the renovations work more bearable for
those in the immediate vicinity.
Thus, a few suggestions for the next time that you or a
friend are going to renovate:
1. Notify neighbors, either individually or via a posted
notice, that renovations will be taking place shortly, and
that you apologize beforehand for any inconvenience that this
may cause.
2. Include the date that the renovations will begin, and the
approximate amount of time in which they hopefully should be
finished.
3. Make it clear in the note that the contractor has been
directed to be sensitive to neighbors' sensibilities, and
that the neighbors should therefore tell him of any problems
that arise. Be sure to include your own phone number for any
problems that he did not solve. [In addition to displaying
common courtesy, this simple step will endear you to your
neighbors.]
4. Instruct the builder to sweep the entrance to the
building, the floor outside the apartment on which he is
working, as well as the elevator, at the end of every work
day, particularly on Fridays and erev chag. It is also
preferable if you can get the builder to instruct his workers
to use the stairs rather than the elevator: in addition to
causing inconvenience to the tenants by tying up the
elevator, they do break easily — which is a really big
inconvenience (and irritation) to those currently living in
the building.
5. Inform the workers not to blast their radios while
working, as this can easily disturb the neighbors.
6. Ensure that all garbage, unused building materials, etc.
are put directly into the garbage bins or neatly stacked
behind them. Do not allow your workers to turn the entire
area around the apartment building into their personal work
site. It isn't. Remember that your neighbors are still living
here, and having people visiting them.
7. Be sure that, whenever the workers are painting or doing
cement work on a balcony or near an open window, they are
careful that nothing will drip onto the apartment below.
Someone should actually be sent downstairs to ensure that no
damage was done. Fresh cement and/or paint comes off
furniture, floors, etc. much easier when it hasn't been left
to dry for a few days — and thus causes much less
antagonism.
8. If the renovations are major, consider bringing each
resident family a small bouquet of flowers Erev Shabbos in
order to say "Sorry for the inconvenience." I actually heard
of someone who did this, and the neighbors were all very
impressed and forgiving of everything that went on.
What can you do when someone begins doing renovations in your
apartment building?
1. Be sure to periodically check your walls and/or ceilings
if they are adjacent to the apartment being worked on. It is
inordinately better to find cracks and holes in your
apartment before the contractor leaves, rather than
afterwards.
2. Remember that your neighbor has no bad intentions, and
certainly does not want to harm anyone. S/he is just
attempting to improve his/her living quarters. Try to be
happy for the person, and remember that HaShem rewards those
who rejoice with their fellow Jews — and that what you
are going through can be a kapporoh.
3. If the noise and dirt is really impossible — and I
mean really, really unbearable — after you've notified
the contractor and the owner a few times, ask the latter to
please relocate you to alternate living quarters until the
renovations are completed. I have a friend who did this, and
it worked. It certainly can't hurt to try.
