Documenting Neighbor or Construction Noise: An Evidence Guide

"It's very noisy" isn't going to help you out much. Something more like a brief history of reliable, dated noise measurements is far more persuasive — whether that's to your neighbor, your landlord, or to the city.

What Makes Noise Documentation Useful

Not about getting some exciting figure but about demonstrating a pattern. Take measurements at the same hours of the day and the same place in your house on different days. This is how you will turn "I feel that it is noisy" into "this is what is really going on."

A Simple Measurement Log Template

Make it easy: date, time, place, distance, and average and maximum dB. Average is used to quantify consistent exposure, while maximum is used to quantify unique experiences – slamming doors, machinery turning on.

Presenting Your Documentation

• Use "Save Report" after each session — it gives you a dated PDF with min/average/max stats built in.
• Add context to every entry: window open or closed, time of day, what was going on.
• Keep the location and distance consistent so entries are actually comparable to each other.
• Keep in mind this is reference-only — good for a conversation or informal complaint, not something built for a courtroom.