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Trash chute fan causing awful noise and vibration in KS


Question:

trash-chute-in-condo.jpgI have a trash chute shaft located within the walls of my closet and bathroom. I question that it was constructed to code by locating it within a dwelling unit.

The HOA representative (I was told this by the trash removal company) chose to save money by changing how the trash is removed, so there are now large recycle bins that are wheeled out to a trash truck that dumps them individually. It angles close instead of pulling in, and while it does make noise this is common to any apartment or condo building and at a predictable time or day of week that one might be aware of.

But, tenants complained about the very increasingly dirty space and HOA representative had this cleaned, but now runs the very very loud fan constantly, 24 hours a day.

It has always caused a lot of vibration within my space in the walls in the closet and bathroom, but it has increased to the degree that there is a vibration that continues along the interior wall that divides the condo.

My questions are:

1. Are there any regulations that would limit the hours  that this huge motorized fan is running which would not be so disruptive to sleep of my and neighbor's daughters (we are the two units just adjacent, though the shaft is actually within my unit)?

2. Are there regulations about how the shaft was constructed and if it should have been physically located within the walls of my closet? I can see by design how this kept the trash room a rectangle but if it's only framed steel, it would of course vibrate all the interior walls of my unit if there were not a fire wall around it and there is not.

We do have firewalls between the units, but the neighbor's daughters are affected because I believe their two story unit has a roofline that is offset so it's more directly affected by chute.

3. I want to rent or sell the condo, but I don't know how to handle it best with the realtor, as I tell her everything, but it was something that I wouldn't/couldn't have tolerated had I known they would do this when I bought the unit. I knew there was some vibration when it ran, but it was at limited times.

I cannot imagine anyone viewing my condo would want to buy it with the noise and vibration of the fan. There are two solid doors into the bath and closet, but the noise travels along all those interior walls adjacent.

Thank you for you help with how to best handle this. I have an attorney who could write a letter, but I would like to gather everything I can for him, and don't want to resort to that if I can handle this through a housing authority or other entity who could simply come and check to see if it is 'up to code' and operated according to common law housing regulations.


Answers (2)

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