Apartment maintenance (new window installation) with a newborn

seanynova

Hi guys,

My wife is due in mid August and we are currently apartment hunting as we want to move to a bigger place and get set up before the baby is born.
The thing is, we've found a place but they are planning on doing a window replacement project for around a year on the entire building, the construction will be starting sometime in the next year.
Is it a bad idea to move into this kind of situation with a newborn (our first)? Thinking of noise issues and potential hearing damage to the baby due to jack hammering the old windows out.

Any info, is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Seán

m.i.l.f

seanynova wrote: »

Hi guys,

My wife is due in mid August and we are currently apartment hunting as we want to move to a bigger place and get set up before the baby is born.
The thing is, we've found a place but they are planning on doing a window replacement project for around a year on the entire building, the construction will be starting sometime in the next year.
Is it a bad idea to move into this kind of situation with a newborn (our first)? Thinking of noise issues and potential hearing damage to the baby due to jack hammering the old windows out.

Any info, is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Seán

It’s not ideal but you won’t damage the baby’s hearing - babies become accustomed to noise ... what I will say though is budget permitting try and find a house with a garden or outside space . 0-12 months is ok for an apartment but after that they will need a bit of a garden so if you are thinking long term I would suggest a house .

shesty

I agree with the above.
Baby will be fine, but your heads could be wrecked.And they get so much stuff....the more space you can manage the better.Once they start to walk, a bit of garden space is essential.

seanynova

Thanks guys,
With regards to a garden space, is there much difference between your own backyard and the grass area outside an apartment complex, as when the child is very young you have to be out with them anyway.

Good to know the hearing damage won't be an issue although still concerned with construction noise if trying to sleep (baby and parent)

m.i.l.f

seanynova wrote: »

Thanks guys,
With regards to a garden space, is there much difference between your own backyard and the grass area outside an apartment complex, as when the child is very young you have to be out with them anyway.

Good to know the hearing damage won't be an issue although still concerned with construction noise if trying to sleep (baby and parent)

Have you nieces or nephews you can borrow for a few hours and bring to an apartment- this will give you an idea of how space shrinks quite quickly with kids and you need to be able to open the back Door and let them out !
If this isn’t an option think of your own childhood ! Did you grow up in an apartment or somewhere with a garden ?
Honestly don’t buy an apartment with a baby

seanynova

Can't borrow anyone as we are living abroad away from family.
Our plan is to rent for a few years until #2 cones along and see how we go then.
We do have to option of renting a 3bdrm house with a garden also but there are other tenants renting the basement suite.
The apt building has concrete flooring so good for noise issues except for the construction noise during the day.

Both our rental options are around the same size but the house is a little bit bigger, and has a garden shed, but having a hard time deciding between the two.

m.i.l.f

seanynova wrote: »

Can't borrow anyone as we are living abroad away from family.
Our plan is to rent for a few years until #2 cones along and see how we go then.
We do have to option of renting a 3bdrm house with a garden also but there are other tenants renting the basement suite.
The apt building has concrete flooring so good for noise issues except for the construction noise during the day.

Both our rental options are around the same size but the house is a little bit bigger, and has a garden shed, but having a hard time deciding between the two.

Sorry I didn’t realise you were abroad and renting so you are not tied to the property .

I don’t know how you are going to decide to be honest but the noise won’t damage the baby’s hearing or sleep , they get accustomed to their surrounding quickly that’s why it’s recommended you leave tv / radio / background noise on when baby is sleeping rather than complete silence where the slightest noise will startle them
To be honest I’d be looking at the area around both , are there young families / baby groups ?
Is there a lift in the apartment or will you be lugging a pram / car seat up stairs ?

shesty

If you want somewhere to live for a few years, a house is the better option.Otherwise you will rent the apartment then find yourself moving again in 1.5-2.5 years.
Nothing wrong with grass area outside an apartment, but generally is adjacent to roads, mostly ornamental and not ideal.Also yourself or OH will have to walk up and down, and stand around with the baby on it.
A garden isn't the be all and end all, but as they head for 18 mths/2 years, it is definitely preferable to be able to open the door and let them out to play in a sandpit or something outside the door.Going up and down in an apartment and lugging trikes/scooters etc would drive me demented.Also storage is a massive factor-Irish apartments generally have very little storage built in, and you need a lot!!!

seanynova

m.i.l.f wrote: »

seanynova wrote: »

Can't borrow anyone as we are living abroad away from family.
Our plan is to rent for a few years until #2 cones along and see how we go then.
We do have to option of renting a 3bdrm house with a garden also but there are other tenants renting the basement suite.
The apt building has concrete flooring so good for noise issues except for the construction noise during the day.

Both our rental options are around the same size but the house is a little bit bigger, and has a garden shed, but having a hard time deciding between the two.

Sorry I didn’t realise you were abroad and renting so you are not tied to the property .

I don’t know how you are going to decide to be honest but the noise won’t damage the baby’s hearing or sleep , they get accustomed to their surrounding quickly that’s why it’s recommended you leave tv / radio / background noise on when baby is sleeping rather than complete silence where the slightest noise will startle them
To be honest I’d be looking at the area around both , are there young families / baby groups ?
Is there a lift in the apartment or will you be lugging a pram / car seat up stairs ?

Cheers, funny enough the 3bd house has a stairs on the outside, about 7-8steps as the basement below is partially above ground. The apartment has a lift.

Both options are similar size but house is larger.
In highlight form; the house has a 3rd bedroom which could be used for storage/office desk area. The living and kitchen are slightly bigger in the house. The house has a garden and shed, bbq allowed and planting area etc.
The apt is 2bd with a small den, the apt has various closets and storage rooms (linen closet, coat closet, walk in bedroom closet), there is a small storage locker but things like car seat and buggy will end up in the living room I'd imagine. Balcony is small and no bbq and little room for plants.

We live in Canada so generally bbq frequently even in winter and my wife likes to garden.

Main downside with the house is the reliability of the owner, we viewed the place 5 weeks ago and the owner went MIA until this week so we're concerned it falls through again and we are back to square one.

We thought the construction noise would be the biggest deal breaker but from reading above it might not be.

seanynova

shesty wrote: »

If you want somewhere to live for a few years, a house is the better option.Otherwise you will rent the apartment then find yourself moving again in 1.5-2.5 years.
Nothing wrong with grass area outside an apartment, but generally is adjacent to roads, mostly ornamental and not ideal.Also yourself or OH will have to walk up and down, and stand around with the baby on it.
A garden isn't the be all and end all, but as they head for 18 mths/2 years, it is definitely preferable to be able to open the door and let them out to play in a sandpit or something outside the door.Going up and down in an apartment and lugging trikes/scooters etc would drive me demented.Also storage is a massive factor-Irish apartments generally have very little storage built in, and you need a lot!!!

Yeah, I'm concerned with the apt the buggy and all that just get left in the living room with nowhere else to put it.

Thanks for your tips, hopefully it will all work out for us.

sillysocks

I think the building work would put me off. If you were out at work all day it’d be fine but on maternity leave your wife is probably going to be at home during the daytime quite a bit more than usual.

I wouldn’t think it’d be an issue for a babies hearing but depending on how close they get to your apartment it might interfere with naps - for both you guys catching up on sleep and the baby naps.

The first few months with a new baby take some adjusting and I just wouldn’t fancy listening to construction noise anytime you have downtime.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Totally agree with last post. Plus the dust from getting new windows is awful. I got windows in my house a few years ago and was cleaning dust for weeks later- curtains, bed clothes, stuff hanging up, everything. Wouldn't want that with new baby. An apartment can be fine, but surely you could fond other options by August?

seanynova

Thanks sillysocks and rosebush.
We've been trying to find decent accommodation for a while and only come across a nice place 1 in 10-12 views approx. And once we find a place we like we need to apply and get accepted so it's quiet hard to find decent accommodation here.
The alternative to this apartment is taking a chance on a house where the landlord went MIA for the past 5-6weeks since we viewed the place. I even called and text him for updates along the way but he didn't respond until last weekend.

Not moving now and waiting is a bit of a gamble that we might be stuck in our current place and have to move when the baby is born.
Our current landlords have been selli g units in our building over the last year and we're worried they will sell ours too which would give us little time to find a new place.

It's some predicament!

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Yes it is probably hard to find someplace nice in this market, but keep trying.
No that land lord does not sound good- imagine your heating/shower/ washing machine was broken and it took him 5 weeks to get back to you!