How to Record Upstairs Neighbor Noise as Evidence
A complaint that says "it is loud every night" is easy to dismiss. A record that says "21 events over the night limit in 14 days, most between 23:00 and 00:30, longest 2 minutes, max 63 dB" is not. The goal is a pattern, logged consistently, not one dramatic video.
What to record for each event
- Date and start time
- Duration
- Maximum and average level (dB)
- Type of noise: footsteps, dragging furniture, music, voices, construction
- A short note on how it affected you, for example woke up
Steps
- Put the phone in the same place every time, on a table or shelf in the affected room, not in your hand.
- Measure for at least one to two weeks so the pattern by weekday and hour is visible.
- Keep separate daytime and nighttime limits. Night events usually matter most.
- Tag events the next morning while you still remember what they were.
- Summarize: number of events, how many at night, typical hours, a few worst examples.
- Share the summary with your building manager or landlord first. If it continues, ask about an official measurement or a mediation service in your area.
Limits of a phone record
A phone microphone is not a certified sound level meter. Use your log to show the pattern and to justify an official measurement, not as a legal measurement by itself. Recording other people's conversations may be restricted by law where you live; keep clips short and focused on noise.
Log it automatically
Hushlog runs in the background and saves each moment that crosses your day or night limit with time, duration and dB, optional short clips, tags and memos, then builds a weekday × hour heatmap and a PDF or CSV report.
Hushlog — coming soon to Google Play