Take upstairs or downstairs of a duplex?

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Its always better to be the A-Hole walking on the ceiling rather than be the guy listening to the A-Hole walking around on the ceiling

+infinity. I do have to restrain myself a little though, as I have about five sets of Klipsch Promedia 2.1s in my 650 sqft apartment

 

[destrekor]

Heh - I must be a nice guy. I've always focused on downstairs for a few reasons. I don't want to be the loud asshole, and it's not from walking. I can walk quietly and lightly, but it's tiring. lol

I do also not want to be the asshole with the subwoofer causing undue stress. I like to hear my movies, thank you, not turn the volume down. Bottom floor almost always has concrete underfoot, which helps prevent massive vibrations directly bleeding into the woodwork and upstairs. And, above all else, dammit I must have my grill. Which also means I crave an apartment with a patio/deck.

I prefer a house, but nope, not happening just yet. If it was a duplex or other style where, sure, no deck, but my Webber kettle has a safe place? My preference for first floor now has significant wiggle room.

If it has solid sound barrier properties for all units, including between floors, I won't care whatsoever about myself making noise. For the safety factor, I'd prefer it for sure. I do prefer the ease of moving furniture, groceries, and large retail purchases between vehicle and one door on a first floor apartment. Which is to say, I prefer private entry doors as opposed to hallways with an exterior door.

I have to remind myself to keep townhouse rentals and duplexes in mind - not looking just yet but will be, hopefully, sometime soon.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I generally prefer underground, it's cooler, darker, and quieter vs aboveground. However, in this case, I'd take the upper unit simply because it's quieter to have people below you rather than above you. Hopefully it does not suck too bad in the summer with heat.

 

[cronos]

Upstairs. And this should be a poll.

 

[KeithTalent]

Upstairs, no question about it.

KT

 

[Spineshank]

I'd go with downstairs. I think it would be more energy efficient, and I'd rather deal with other's noise rather than constrain myself from making noise.

Same here. I live under someone. She can be noisey at times but overall it doesnt really bother me.

 

[Imp]

+infinity. I do have to restrain myself a little though, as I have about five sets of Klipsch Promedia 2.1s in my 650 sqft apartment

Curious about your setup with all 5 sets...

 

[MiniDoom]

Upstairs! pipes break/leak/burst and that water, piss and shit only goes down.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

upstairs. less of the footsteps on the ceiling noise. plus more privacy when you keep your curtains open.

 

[Newell Steamer]

I am not going to be able to see this place in person due to time constraints but I saw photos. The photos of the duplex looked good enough (imo) and this is only for 1 year so I'm leaning towards signing the lease.

Never rent/lease/buy/whatever, without 1st looking at the actual site.

Nonetheless; upstairs. And, good luck.

 

[Number1]

Never rent/lease/buy/whatever, without 1st looking at the actual site.

Nonetheless; upstairs. And, good luck.

Let me add to this, not only do you physically visit the place, you knock on the neighbours doors and ask them what they think of the place. This will also give you an idea of what the other tenants might be like.

You're also opening yourself up for a scam if you rent a place sight unseen.

 

[Midwayman]

Only time I'd consider downstairs is if I lived in an area that used AC most of the year. Upstairs FTW.

 

[Midwayman]

I generally prefer underground, it's cooler, darker, and quieter vs aboveground. However, in this case, I'd take the upper unit simply because it's quieter to have people below you rather than above you. Hopefully it does not suck too bad in the summer with heat.

Do you like to eat a lot and have hairy feet by chance?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Curious about your setup with all 5 sets...

2x primary system, 1x HTPC, 1x guest system #1, 1x guest system #2

 

[Imp]

2x primary system, 1x HTPC, 1x guest system #1, 1x guest system #2

Did you double sub your primary?

I wanted one of those years ago... then I decided to splurge on bookshelves. Kinda want one again. Don't know why.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Yup, primary is a 4.2 setup driven by a modded X-Fi's analog outs.
Bookshelves are nice, but didn't want to deal with the hassle of a discrete amp (moved from a townhouse in IA to a 600sqft studio in TX).

 

[sze5003]

Never rent/lease/buy/whatever, without 1st looking at the actual site.

Nonetheless; upstairs. And, good luck.

I'll agree with this. The apartment I'm at now, you had to get a referral to live here. They would not even let you see the place unless your application was accepted. It's a good place, neighbors are all senior citizens and a few young people like myself. The service is good too but there were some things they could have done better before I moved in...I was just rushing to get in because I needed a place.

I'm on the 2nd floor and I only hear the tv downstairs at night if the neighbor is awake and it's turned up. Otherwise, it's pretty good to be upstairs. Check how many vehicles you can have too. I have a bike and a car and they made me move the bike one year after I had been living here because others started taking up parking spaces and my bike did not move during the snowy months.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I lived in two and took the top on both occasions, no regrets

 

[BurnItDwn]

Do you like to eat a lot and have hairy feet by chance?

I eat more than the average hobbit me thinks!
My feet are only hairy on the tops, the bottoms of my feet do not have hair.

 

[nageov3t]

there are benefits to each.

first floor:

-cooler in the summertime
-warmer in the winter (assuming the furnace is in the basement)
-easier to move furniture into/out of
-no need to worry about pissing off a neighbor if you drop something heavy, have a 2 am dance party in work boots, have a kid/pet running around, etc

second floor:

-more privacy
-presumably nicer views
-don't have someone walking over your head
-bigger (at least in every setup I've ever lived in, second floor apartments in 2 family houses/duplexes have been bigger than the first floor)


my current/previous apartments were 1st floors, and the one before that was the 3rd floor in a 3-family house. much as I loved the 3rd floor apartment, it was suuuuch a pain in the ass moving anything up there. the stairways were so narrow that we couldn't really transport anything other than Ikea flatpack furniture up there. and living on the 3rd floor didn't really save me when my downstairs neighbor started blasting music and running on the treadmill at 6 am on Saturday/Sunday mornings.

 

[MrSquished]

there are benefits to each.

first floor:

-cooler in the summertime
-warmer in the winter (assuming the furnace is in the basement)
-easier to move furniture into/out of
-no need to worry about pissing off a neighbor if you drop something heavy, have a 2 am dance party in work boots, have a kid/pet running around, etc

second floor:

-more privacy
-presumably nicer views
-don't have someone walking over your head
-bigger (at least in every setup I've ever lived in, second floor apartments in 2 family houses/duplexes have been bigger than the first floor)


my current/previous apartments were 1st floors, and the one before that was the 3rd floor in a 3-family house. much as I loved the 3rd floor apartment, it was suuuuch a pain in the ass moving anything up there. the stairways were so narrow that we couldn't really transport anything other than Ikea flatpack furniture up there. and living on the 3rd floor didn't really save me when my downstairs neighbor started blasting music and running on the treadmill at 6 am on Saturday/Sunday mornings.

duplexes can also be in condo/apartment buildings not just multi-family homes

 

[Sheep]

Let me add to this, not only do you physically visit the place, you knock on the neighbours doors and ask them what they think of the place. This will also give you an idea of what the other tenants might be like.

You're also opening yourself up for a scam if you rent a place sight unseen.

I'm surprised it took this long for someone to bring this up. Any jackhole landlord or property management can make a dump look good with deceptive camera angles and lighting. You're not seeing ants or mold or holes in the wall or any number of potential issues. Renting a place sight unseen is a HORRIBLE idea.

If you really have to do it, upstairs all the way. I once lived on the top 12th floor of an apartment complex in Chicago and only ever had to turn on the heat once during the one winter I was there--my unit trapped all the heat from the lower levels and the place was well insulated. Because it was on the 12th floor and windy (which doesn't apply to your situation), I could open the windows in the summer and air the place out quickly too, meaning less AC required.

 

[Thump553]

I agree with the others-I'd be far, far more concerned about you being long-distance scammed than which floor to pick. This sort of scam is extremely common, especially on craigslist. Be very careful.

As a former duplex owner/resident, I'd choose the top floor if both were in the same condition. Many times they are not, especially if the owner lived in one unit, rented out the other.

 

[jaedaliu]

If you're paying for heat/AC, upstairs will cost more to maintain. Yes, heat rises, but above the 2nd story is a roof and a huge temperature gradient to the outdoors. If you're downstairs, upstairs is someone with about the same temperature as you, so you don't get much heat loss going up.

If you can afford paying a little bit more for heat/AC, go upstairs. That way even if the neighbor has kids that run around the apartment, you won't be bothered.

 

[nageov3t]

If you really have to do it, upstairs all the way. I once lived on the top 12th floor of an apartment complex in Chicago and only ever had to turn on the heat once during the one winter I was there--my unit trapped all the heat from the lower levels and the place was well insulated. Because it was on the 12th floor and windy (which doesn't apply to your situation), I could open the windows in the summer and air the place out quickly too, meaning less AC required.

obviously this varies greatly depending on the overall layout of the structure, but at least in my own limited experiences, I found first floor apartments to be cheaper to heat.

in a smaller complex/multi-family house, you're probably going to have the furnace in the basement, so you get all that heat rising while the unit on the top floor has it escaping through the roof.

I'm on the first of two floors right now, with an elderly woman upstairs who keeps her thermostat set to 80 all winter. I hardly ever need to turn my own heat on to stay comfy.

also tends to stay cooler in the summer, but a lot of that probably has to do with getting less sunlight than the top floors.