shinypenny wrote:

We live in a neighborhood where the 100-year-old houses are rather
close together. I bought the house (duplex condo), which had been
completely renovated, three years ago. Central air was installed in
both units at the time of the renovation.

This summer our neighbor has been complaining (loudly and increasingly
grumpily) that our two AC units are making too much noise and she is
having trouble sleeping at night. We don't notice the noise ourselves,
even though the units are right under our master bath window, because
the windows are new and do a good job of keeping down outside noise.

We had this problem with our next-door neighbor, who situated their
a/c unit on the opposite side of the house from their bedrooms. That
was the side facing our house. They installed a cheap noisy unit and
slept peacefully while we (with no a/c at the time) got to be kept
awake by the racket. Our city had no noise ordinances covering this,
so we were SOL. We didn't view these people as good neighbors.
Rather than try to work out a solution, they preferred to deny there
was a noise issue with their a/c, because they didn't hear it
themselves.

Her windows are not new, and she does not use air conditioning. When I
stand outside in our yard, I can imagine that it must be pretty loud in
her house.

1) Is there anything else we could do to cut the noise?

If you've had the units for a few years, you could look into getting
bids on replacing them with new units selected for quietness as well
as efficiency. If you could even replace one, you could reduce the
noise by nearly half. I've got a Carrier a/c which can barely be
heard when standing within a few feet of it.

It wouldn't surprise me if your a/c units are cheap contractor
specials bought to keep the renovation costs low, so a better
quality unit will most likely run much more quietly, and probably
save a bit of money on the monthly bill as well.

Can I apply
soundproofing to the inside of the privacy screen? I am worried that
this isn't a good idea, since I figure AC units need lots of
circulation?

They do, so I don't think I'd go that route.

I would like to be a good neighbor, so if there is anything I could do
short of suffering in the heat, I will. Suggestions welcome!

Well, like I said, perhaps you could propose a compromise to the
neighbor to show her you want to be neighborly. Look into upgrading
one of the units with a quieter unit. Explain you really can't
afford to do both (unless you can).

Second option: offer to buy her a window a/c unit for her bedroom,
so she can sleep in comfort, and won't notice your units' noise.
That would probably only set you back a couple hundred bucks, and
she'd probably become your friend for life.

Otherwise - 2) Legally, do we have any real obligation here?

I'd call the city and ask if they have noise/nuisance ordinances. If
they do, your neighbor may have grounds for a complaint, in which
case you could be suddenly served with an order to desist. I have a
sibling who nailed her next-door neighbor that way when he wouldn't
turn off his oversized, extremely noisy attic ventilation fan.

I mean,
should I just let the whole thing roll, and assume it is her
responsibility to put up a fence on her property, or install new
windows, if the sound bothers her?

You said she hasn't a/c herself. If that's the case, she needs to
open her windows, so upgrading them isn't going to solve anything
for her. A fence may or may not block enough sound - if I were she
I'd be unwilling to invest the money when I wasn't sure of the
outcome. I really don't think she has much in the way of feasible
options, and besides, let's face it - the nuisance is coming from
your property. In my opinion, whether or not you have a legal
obligation to deal with it, you'd want to take steps to keep any
racket down just to be a decent neighbor, whether the noise is from
a dog, a stereo, kids, or home appliances.

HellT