Sorry I can't help much, but I know how you feel. Our neighbors across the street not only leave their waterfall fountain on all night, but also leave on all of their exterior lights. During the Halloween and Christmas season they set up no less than 9 of those giant blow up yard decorations and leave them on all night also. Fortunately, all of our bedrooms face the rear of our house.

Wouldn't municipal noise ordinances tend to apply in this situation? We're out in the boonies, but I notice no one mentions them. Bellaflora, I've often wondered how people shown on TV installing crashing waterworks at great expense right outside their doors have tolerated them afterward. Maybe your neighbor's could be turned down? Best wishes on this.

You might mention gently that turning off the fountain at night would certainly help them save on their electric bill.

Linda, what you describe is not the same at all in my opinion.

The sound of falling water can have many different tones and qualities, like different kinds of music. I had a small fountain installed on my deck, and when I first turned it on, the sound was harsh and piercing.

I panicked, thinking that I was nuts for not liking the sound.

Then my husband inserted the screen/filter thingy, which changed the tone of the falling water; it became soft and soothing.

So...

Gee, sometimes I miss Spike.

Spike? Huh? Did someone say something "wrong"?

Who is Spike? I'm intrigued...

I'm trying to see why we need Spike here and I know who he is...

Anyway, we have a waterfall that runs 24x7. It is near our bedroom and since we use an "ocean sounds" radio to go to sleep, waterfalls are no problem for us. We're on 4.5 acres so it is no where near our neighbors. However, all GOOD water feature pumps have the ability to adjust the "noise" so to speak.

As an owner of a water feature, if it were distruptive to my neighbors, I would hope that they would come over and gently and politely ask for an adjustment or that we put it on timer for daylight hours only. So, go ahead. Do as others say and make the compliment about it being nice and then mention the sleep disruption. If your neighbor is a nice person, she'll be shocked and apologetic and take care of it ASAP.

Cameron

Chelone: I dream of 3 acres....but the reality is, I can see the pimple's on the neighbor's son from our window (hehe..) ;-)

Lindac: I do live near the ocean..not close enough to hear the waves though. I would need to win a lottery ticket to afford that. I don't mind the bubbling sound of a brook -- that sound lovely, I love the rain (only at night because it would drown out the sound of this fountain -hhaha..) ;-) Next time your husband pee, record it, then play it 24/7 at loud volume and you'll see what I mean.

My DH said he's going over today to talk to the man of the house a/b the fountain. It's driving him nut too because we can hear it from our bedroom window and now the weather is cooler we are sleeping with the window open at night. He will offer to pay for the timer (thanks for the suggestion Teedup!). I hope it will go well -- they are very nice neighbor I heard -- I will find out if that's the truth..hehe..

will keep you update. :-)

I am the proud owner of one of those fountains that sounds very very much like a gentleman in the restroom peeing. I recently moved it further away. I still like to look at it but I'd rather not hear it. It does provide a small bit of "white" noise to drown out the neighbors three barking hound dogs.

Linda, I would hardly compare the sound of a man peeing to the sound of rain or a brook or the ocean.

The sound of a faucet dripping water is still a water sound, but it's not very pleasant either.

I would have not picked this fountain had I known how it would sound.

I would have not picked this fountain had I known how it would sound.

I could say the same about our old wall fountain. It looked nice, but the pleasant sound just wasn't there. That's why when I "heard" our neighbor's fountain I knew it was one I wanted to duplicate.

All fountains are not created equal!

Patricia, that was a little extreme, but it made me smile. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful:

You will all probably think this is very tacky, but we used to have a small fish pond with a fountain statue of a little boy "peeing". Our ds was young at the time and we all thought it was funny but the sound was annoying to me. It really sounded just like someone peeing full force on and on and on. I turned it off most of the time. I hope I kept a photo of it though.

Bellaflora, let us know how the conversation went. (and hope the neighbor's son's complexion clears up soon!)

We had two fountains at our last home; the one below was in the backyard and a smaller one was on the front porch. Both were turned off at night, mainly so the pumps would last longer. They were a pain to replace.

{{gwi:653372}}

I'm hoping that your neighbor will respond to your husband's polite request. That would be the first thing I would do, simply go next door and tell them it's a sleep inhibitor. Most people don't want to think they're annoying someone else, and let's face it, the fountain serves no useful purpose running all night anyway. Mine kicks in at 6:03 every morning and goes off at 11 a.m. If my neighbor complained, I would adjust the timer in a heartbeat.

Red

Patricia, I caught that too. : )

I have one of the white noise machines posted above. It is awesome! I have had a white noise machine since I was about 15 years old. I grew up in an old, resotred victorian and it was in a rural area with one road through it that was traveled often, so there was a lot of noise, plus the old house made a lot of noises itself. I have since moved, married and have children of my own. We have them in everyones room even in our quiet neighborhood. They made for long, peaceful naps where I could make lots of noise downstairs when the girls were babies. :)

All this being said...I went out an unplugges my fountain tonight. It is right by my neighbors daughters window.

I'm not a fountain fan. I can understand how the noise is annoying. That would annoy me if I had to listen to that day and night. Don't understand why the neighbor doesn't understand that this noise just might be annoying to someone else. Even if they agree to turn it off at night, you still have to listen to it all day.

I was just thinking the same thing. It's going to drive you nuts during the day still. I wonder if the way the water hits the pool or what it falls on to, can be changed in some way, so it's not so direct or maybe falls onto something softer in the water.

Curious what style fountain it is. Amazing it wasn't designed for the quality of noise it makes, too!

Bellaflora, That noise would bother me also. I have a lot of problems concentrating with noice around me when I work and I have problems falling asleep and staying a sleep with noise around me. In the day time, I am blessed with usually quiet and at night I sleep with an air cleaner on that makes a white noise that blocks out any sounds of cars passing by outside since I am such a light sleeper.

Please let us know what you decide to do. I wonder if where the water falls could have the surface changed to quiet the noise in the day time and at night it can be turned off. I would also suggest buying a timer for your neighbor after you complimented her on how beautiful the water fountain was.

*applauding Summiebee!*

I put a fountain in my front yard this spring. I realize now how lucky I am that my neighbors love it, the next door neighbor (who hears it the loudest) goes into her child's bedroom (closest to the fountain) just to listen to it! She told me she wished we had installed it CLOSER to her house. At first it sounded like someone peeing but then Dh turned up the water a little bit and now it doesn't so that can be adjusted. You might want to ask her if the pump can be turned up so the water sounds differently.

If you just can't stand the sound of water period then there is a solution for that as well. She can have it plugged into a timer so it turns off automatically every night without her having to remember to turn it off and back on again (talk about nuisance). We thought about doing that to save water. So you could appeal to her pocket book by telling her it will save on the water bill while giving you some peace and quiet at the same time.

My DH loves the sound of water, I'm more in your camp, I don't care for it as much. I love the fountain because it attracts birds and I enjoy watching them splash and play in it. I can hear the fountain in my home office and even louder in the guest room. Haven't had overnight guests yet so I don't know if I'll get complaints on that. But it is easy to turn off, DH actually has a remote control for the fountain! I couldn't believe they made remotes for fountains but apparently they do (but I've never used it because the fountain stays on 24/7).

In time you might not notice it as much, I live near a freeway and don't hear it at all until a visitor asks me how can I stand that traffic noise. I guess I've tuned it out over the years. Anyway, talk to your neighbor and hopefully they'll be willing to go to the extra expense of having the fountain put on a timer (offer to pay for it if it's that important to you and they refuse otherwise).

Definitely ask them to turn it off at night.

There may also be ways to soften the sound when it is on. Can it be turned down? (does it adjust?) Also, if it's one stream of water, a strategically placed rock under the stream can help break up the sound.

Thanks girls!!

As of last night, when I get up in the night to pee(which is rare), I'll use the bathroom on the first floor instead of the bathroom in the master bedroom.

Those water fountains are like tall men and short men. Short men create less noise when peeing because they are closer to the water. Tell your man to sit down after 9 PM. :)

Michael

Pretty funny, Michael, and very thoughtful of you.

If buying a timer for the neighbor is nixed by them, you might check with Michael above. I see he deals in replacement windows.

I miss not hearing the night-time animals messing around in our yard because our new windows block all noise. Heck, I can't hear a police or fire engine siren either! Don't miss that though.

We thought about doing that to save water. So you could appeal to her pocket book by telling her it will save on the water bill while giving you some peace and quiet at the same time.

The water recirculates. You only need to add more for evaporation. Keeping the fountain running 24/7 effects your electric bill.

With a big capacity fountain, water evaporating may not be that noticeable in one day, but on our small one (about 10 gal. capacity) at least 2-3 gallons has to be replaced each day when temperatures are above 75 degrees. Of course, if you have the auto-fill feature, it's not a keep-an-eye-on-it problem at all, but a lot of water evaporates nevertheless.

The lower the water level, the more noise our fountain makes. (The reason? See Michael's "details" above.)

Do water features use a lot of electricity??

Hi guys,

It's one of those Tuscany wall fountain with the water coming from a single spout to a basin. It's a very tall structure, maybe 6-7 feet tall so yes, it's like a tall man doing his business in a baby toilet.

DH didn't do it yesterday. He said he'll do it today. I think he's procrastinating. I like to keep the window open for fresh air and to save on cost of AC. Those neighbors don't ever keep their windows so I don't think they ever heard that fountain, especially at night.

Thanks for all the support. I'm looking for a wall fountain too, but I'm for sure will be getting the trickling down instead of the spout kind.

Where my fountain is concerned natal is wrong. This fountain and many others like it loose a lot of water by overspraying. It's very hard to control that, turning down the pump too far causes it to dribble out and too high hits the bowl. We have ours set to what we feel is the ideal flow and when the water table is high the water coming out of the spout hits the standing water and ricoches outside the bowl. The same way you make a splash when you dive into a pool...unless you're an olympic diver. No matter how hard we tried to control it water still spurts out past the bowl and onto the tile. As the water starts to drop in the bowl the effect of splashing is lessened but we can't keep it too low or else there won't be enough water to allow the upper bowl to fill up. That's just the way it is and if you have a fountain you know what I'm talking about.

I called the place that sold us the fountain and they said this is common. (One of the the gotchas they don't admit to when you're shopping for a fountain). They recommended that I turn it off at night to decrease the amount of water that is lost. There's not much evaporation at night so why would turning it off eliminate that....the answer is because it cuts down on the overspraying! I haven't done so as of yet because DH needs to crawl under the house (where the fountain plugs into)...i.e. it's a hassle and he doesn't feel like doing it right now. Maybe by next summer I'll talk him into it.
This summer I had to refill the fountain bowl every 2 days, after the water level dropped a couple inches the upper bowl stopped filling with water. That's not due to evaporation only. It's much colder now (in the 60s during the day as opposed to the 80s) and we still have to refill it every few days. That's the downside to having a fountain, they are high maintenance!

Here's a photo of my front yard fountain, the water flows from the top bowl down as well as from the 4 spouts on the pedestal. OP, I don't know what kind of fountain your neighbor has but if it's anything like my two fountains it is very tempermental as to controlling the flow of water, the pump can be adjusted but that may affect more than just the sound. Luckily you don't live next door to me, eh? lol. Because my Dh likes to listen to the backyard fountain while he's falling asleep so if I turn it off at night he goes and turns it back on again...and then leaves the door open so he can hear it LOUD and CLEAR! ;-)

{{!gwi}}

I imagine you do have a lot of overspray with that type of fountain.

You really need to consider a lot of variables when purchasing a fountain.

update: we didn't have to say anything. She mysteriously turned it off -- may be because it is winter time?? but in CA there is no fear of frost/freezing...may be she can read my mind??

for whatever reason, i am glad !! :-)

She's probably not a mind reader, but she just might be a silent member of this group. Stranger things have happened.

There's a whole plotline on Desperate Housewives now about a neighbor's fountain causing all kinds of sleeping issues. Perhaps she watches the show.

Do you watch Desperate Housewives? They recently had an episode about the neighbors loud fountain keeping Susan and Mike awake? I thought of you when I saw it. Maybe your neighbor saw it :)

Laurie

Maybe she watched Desparate Housewives on Sunday and it hit home how noisy a fountain can be.

I'm glad for you guys! And I thought of the Desperate plotline too. It really could be as simple as that. Or maybe another neighbor talked to them?
When the weather warms up again, you need to be alert and if they rev it up too early in the a.m., don't waste any time--go over and ask for a later start.

I've been thinking of you guys lately because of my own situation too. When we get up in the a.m., usually close to 6:20 for me, we let our doxies out in the back yard to do their thing. Well, our fountain goes on at a few minutes after 6, then, the dogs go out. And for the past month...Someones kitties have been coming over the fence and parking in our patio chairs. So the dogs race out barking. I keep wondering if some neighbor is turning over in bed muttering long about 6:20 or so?

Red

Maybe summiebee is your neighbor?!

I just wanted to chime in and show a picture of my central California fountain frozen solid earlier this year.

I thought of the DH episode also, but the original post was from Sat./Oct. 13, and that episode didn't air until last Sunday. Just sheer coincidence.

I haven't seen DH for awhile. I think I stopped at the part when the handyman broke up w/ Terry (Hatcher).

My neighbor stopped the fountain after the San diego fire. The city officials were telling everybody to conserve water & electricity because of the fire and maybe that's the reason. I thought she would turn it back on after the fire was over but.. :-)

Maybe it was because of DH. I don't think it's summie because I've seen pics of summie's house and it's nothing like that. :-)

Yes, I think your neighbor IS Summiebee, and she's posting someone else's exterior (maybe her MIL's) to remain anonymous on this board. LOL! :o)

Anyway, glad she turned it off. Or maybe it broke? :o)

Dani, I love your frozen fountain shot??? But where in the heck in the Central Valley did you find anything to freeze your fountain? It only got to 70-something today! (You are two hours from Yosemite? Where? Visalia?? I'm Fresno)

And yes, it is Summiebee. She's got a whole thread going on the "Crazed Wackos Find Ways to Torture their Desperate Neighbors" site, about how she only turns on the fountain when she thinks you're home. I think she thought no one of us went over there, but of course, I'm very Eclectic.

Red

Red, that dang dog is driving me nuts!!!NUTS!!! I think he's a wonderful dog, really, and I didn't mind that he broke the fence down between our side of the house and yours, and that he now lounges on our deck, really that's ok, the baby loves him. BUT the 6 am barking when you go to work....that is frankly peeving me off!!! He wakes the baby every single morning and my baby isn't well. The only solid sleep he gets is between 6 am and 10 am, or that was the only solid sleep he got since you started letting the dog out...

If I weren't moving next week I'd be on your porch in curlers tomorrow morning...

(Ok maybe you don't live next door but sheesh that did make me feel better...if we weren't moving next week I'd have been on their doorstep by now. It's really peeving me off!)

I celebrated too soon. The fountain is back - full throttle.

Maybe it is summiebee after all
;-)

Bella. Remember what I said?? If it comes back on, go over immediately. Seriously.

Igloo, I'm sorry. What can I say? The dog has to pee. The kittys have to come over the fence. I'm locked in the eternal struggle. The only thing socially redeeming about my little barking dachshunds is, that the barking only lasts a minute. Then, they come in for their treats and back to bed to read the paper. The baby will eventually sleep. Trust me.

Red

I just saw this post and wonder what the situation is now?

My past neighbor had a fountain like the one described and we could hear it when we were out on our porch. It was annoying. Although our bedroom was near their fountain, we sleep with a sound machine (like the one posted above,) so we couldn't hear the fountain at night.

I love fountains but they shouldn't be annoying to anyone. The water just trickles out on ours - it can't be heard unless you are walking up to the porch - we have it on a timer - on at 8am, off at 9 pm....the water flow can be easily adjusted. I'd definitely talk to your neighbor.

{{gwi:538700}}

We have a neighbors pond so close to our house and the sound of the running water is like a guy taking a long hard pee! Disgusting!! It’s such an eye sore right out our bedroom window, looks like a nasty toilet bowl. I’ve seen gorgeous koi ponds in peoples backyards but this is a fish farm, so ugly! PVC pipes run along the top with a black net tent over it. An unkept yard on top of all this. GROSS with a capital ”G” you should see the photos!