How near is the laundry? Will there be people coming and going during hours that might disturb you? How often do you do laundry, daily, twice a week?

The elevator area might be noisy as folks wait. However, you will probably use the elevator more often than the laundry room.

Elevator for me because I have lots of groceries or purchases to drag upstairs. Unless you have more laundry than groceries!

Whichever will have the fewest people walking past your door who might be chatting too loudly. I am in a condo with 10 units on each of 9 floors. It is always very quiet and people are very considerate while waiting for the elevators and we have no noise problems whatsoever. I hope you are as fortunate.

I'd choose whichever is farthest away from the respective potential noise problem. If the units you're looking at share a wall with the laundry room or the elevator, I wouldn't consider either. If they both share such a wall, I'd keep on looking.

Nobody wants a room near noise or odors -- ice machine, housekeeping storage, laundry room, elevator, garbage chute -- overlooking a loading dock, etc. Look side to side and up and down. What's invisible -- like plumbing, electrical, heating? Pretend to 'live' in a unit -- go through your usual routines.

I couldn't sleep in a hospital room across from the supply room. The 'soft close' mechanism on the door was broken. Slam! Slam! Day and night.

elevator without a doubt

Does it have to be either/or? I'd choose neither. Do you have to pick one of these?

Depends on the soundproofing in the condo. I lived in a condo once and the elevator was right outside. Never heard a thing. There was a laundry room on each floor and that was just around the corner - never heard any noise from there either.

It may be significant that the two units available (are they the only two?) both are near a potential noise source. Perhaps previous owners are selling both units because the elevator and the laundry are difficult to live near.

wow, Oilychick, you are so smart! I was just going to say, I wouldn't choose either. But your answer is prolly spot on!

Moni

Each floor of the condo has 4 balconies. I"m only interested in balcony units. And it appears that they are near elevators/laundry.

For me, the question is, are you easily disturbed by noise? I would prefer to be near the elevator.

I lived at one time a few years back right across from the elevator-no noise whatsoever.The apartments on the elevator side had their storage or bedroom closets on the elevator wall.

I was happy not to be by the elevator in hearing but I did hear the door shutting coming and going from the stair way across from my condo door, you hear the loud click all the time and sometimes voices if you are in the kitchen by door. But I liked being very close down the hall from elevator to bring in things. As for laundry, we had our own washer and dryers in our units so they were private and on the other side of kitchen with a door and so it didn't bother me. But hearing the noise of regular laundry rooms and then people coming and going and chatting,etc. no, I wouldn't want to be near those rooms, they are only to use during certain hours but I am sure alot break those rules especially the shifts that so many work nowadays.

One primary consideration is fire safety. Could you get out easily in case of a fire? Consider that the elevator might be useless and in some cases are programmed to move the nearest floor, open its door and stall out. No matter which unit you choose, there should be at least 2 pathways out. If not, look further.

Neither, but if you have to pick one, I would pick the one that is most far away (or sound insulated) from the option.

Is there any other factor that would make one a better choice (e.g., view, sun exposure, layout, etc.)?

How tall is the building? Are both units on the same floor? I believe fire truck ladders only reach to maybe the 10th floor of a building. If it's a high rise, I'd also make sure it's below the maximum ladder height of the fire trucks in your town. I agree with Mdln, too, about considering sun exposure. Don't know where you live, but if it's a hot climate, you don't want to be blasted by the hot summer sun in the afternoon, or maybe you would or wouldn't want a unit with a northern exposure that never sees the sun?

You guys are awesome. So many things I didn't think of--like fire!!!! YIKES. So the building has 22 floors. I kinda ruled out the higher floors because I was uncomfortable on the balcony. I am trying to zone in on what I want so when a unit does come up--I'm ready to rock and roll. My sister thinks like Chisue that I should find a unit with 2 bathrooms but they just seem to be out of my price range and I really like the idea of being able to go on the balcony. I did read an article that in the city you want a southern exposure. So many things to think about and want to get it right. That's why I'm asking so many questions.

My office door is next to an elevator. It gets VERY noisy at times. People do congregate in the lobby. Even when it's one person it can by noisy? Often, someone stands there whistling while waiting on it. I find it irksome. I can't imagine having to tolerate it at my haven (home).



Does
the laundry room have posted hours of operation? Can someone do laundry
at 2 am? Would you hear the washer or dryer or a conversation?

As
for the elevator - there are 2 issues. One is how loud the elevator is
when it goes up and down the shaft. How loud is it when you stand by the
doors? If you go into the available unit near the elevator and shut the
door can you hear it? Ask the agent to operate the elevator and listen
carefully, walk around the unit - can you hear it anywhere in the
apartment? Would you hear it in your bedroom during the night?

I don't know how many elevators are in the building but with 22 floors I think there would be a lot of use.

The
other factor would be when people are waiting for the elevator - ask
your agent to stand by the doors and speak in a normal voice - can you
hear anything?

It might be helpful to take a friend with you - they might notice something that you've missed.

I'm even picky when I go to a hotel for a temporary stay. My profile in my Hilton account, for example, specifies 'away from elevator' because I'm a light sleeper and we're used to sleeping in near-absolute silence in the country. It's hard to sleep with inconsiderate people coming and going noisily down the halls and slamming doors to their rooms, much less the noise from an elevator. I would think the same of a laundry room, but would think it might be less than the elevator, but as others point out, maybe not.

What is the building's structure? Steel or concrete? How are the elevator shafts constructed? Which wall are the laundry units on? Noise transference is a big consideration in the design of residential buildings. Smaller/low-rise multi-familiy buildings are sometimes stick-built (wood construction) and noise is a HUGE issue.

Neither. Find another building, and yes, two baths is preferable.

lol...dh is an elevator consultant...but he liked easy access to the laundry...(unless they are 24-7)

Yes, find out about fire exits, of course no matter how high or low buildings are no using elevators. Check out the stairs are they easy to get up and down. Another thing is I found out our condo the stairs are not lit at night so if the fire is at night you have to have flashlights with you all to safely go down the stairs and out which door? I was on ground floor in the condo I lived on and even though it was 3 floors, we had too many power outages in our condo building and who was going to pop the heavy parkade door open for us who couldn't do it or even reach the pull cord if we could have the strength to pull it open. and so you were stuck until someone did that. Our fire alarm went off due to heavy smoke in the air and so we all had to get out of the building and out the front door. Yes, I lived where I had an outside patio but fence ran along us and school next door and so you had to go out the front door and not out your patio door as you are trapped in that area. Ask about power outages and those things and think about other things that might be a problem and wished to have know ahead of time.

In my town, we have a 4 story limit on buildings occupied by people, because that is the limit of most ladder trucks for small town fire departments.

Find one on the first floor. I would rather have a patio than a balcony. I hope you find a good place that suits you.

Sue

As long as the bedroom wall is not shared, I don't know that either would bother me.

For security reasons, I prefer NOT first floor. Feel more comfortable leaving windows open on upper floors.

In a building with over a dozen storeys ... does building codes allow having unlighted stairs?

And emergency lighting, in case the power goes out ... which it well might, in case of fire?

Check the noise levels carefully relating to either elevator or laundry ... and, as some have said, are there restricted hours with regard to use of the laundry?

I doubt that I'd prefer to live near either ... but I live in a farmhouse, with nearest neighbour about a quarter of a mile away ... I used to lie in a townhouse, though - that was supposed to be "live", actually.

ole joyful ... a fairly heavy sleeper

And...of course...let us know what happens.