hello,

sorry, if this topic is quite common, but i would like to get your insights.

Few months ago I bought a flat in residential 9 floor building. The building was build in 2015s. My flat is at the top floor - 9th. After few days i've noticed some strange sound 'click' from the wall where kitchen and living room area is, first i thought it was a refrigerator. But later I realized that sound is coming from the Schindler (seems like model - S3300 ?) elevator machine room. Because my flat is at the top floor - so seems i'm lucky having the machine room next to my living room. That sound sometimes get quite annoying especially when i'm sitting silently in my living room. Here is the video of that elevator operating - HERE . On the left side you see my flat. It would be no problem if that sound would come only when elevator is at my floor. But that sound comes from elevator brakes - and that sound occurs when it stops at any floor. Here i've made a short record of how that sounds inside my living room - https://youtu.be/n9Bs6XzyaNw?t=7. Yes, it's not tragic - but still for me as a sensitive person sometimes it's distracting:). I've contacted my house administrators - they checked and said that everything is OK and no problems with elevators parts is found. Some parts is little bit weared but still comply with the directions. They said that the main cause of it that I may hear it inside my flat is that the house was projected with elevator engine attached to the side where my flat is, but not to the wall which is on other side to the stairwell. I think the the warranty of the building is not expired, maybe contacting the builder company would help somehow if this situation would be qualified as project error ?


i'm just wondering if that is really how quite modern elevators work ? Now i'm starting to see how elevators work in other places, for example ant my work or hotel where KONE elevator is - there're no even similar sound of elevator stopping. Just very smooth silent noize. Maybe there are some technicians of elevators and could say if there's something to do or ask from elevator operating company to do with this ? I googled that maybe the rubber ring replacement would help, but my elevator company said that everything is ok.

p.s there're few more same elevators in the project - seems when elevator is on the building with 5 floors - the breaks sounds much smoother.

p.p.s also attaching the scheme of the flat + elevator


Thanks for any input

One of the “modern, space saving” types of elevator installation today are where the driving machine is indeed located inside the top of the elevator shaft either rear center or side mount verses on the roof in an enclosed room.
The noise you hear is indeed the brake snapping open and dropping closed.
Unfortunate for you, that driving machine is probably about ceiling height or a little higher and as noted, mounted on your side of the shaft way wall. Those noises we hear in the video have nowhere to go but out into your lobby which is right outside your front door. And yep….it’s loud.
Might the noise level be reduced by brake adjustments? Maybe maybe not.
Should there have been a disclosure to a prospective buyer on this annoying noise? Good question.

I doubt you'll get far trying to get the elevator quieter. I would focus my energy on trying to get the landlord to do something to soundproof the wall in-between, acoustic quality insulation could help.

This is unfortunate but all too common. I just had a job that was an office building for 30 years (has a DMC, MR interior of building on second floor) that the owner just made into apartments. He called us saying there was something wrong with the elevator, it's too loud. Nope, the elevator was perfectly normal it just was never noticed in an office setting and now that it was apartments it was being complained about, and rightly so. I blame the greedy landlord for being cheap and not sound insulating the room.

There are specialty products out there that absorb noise incredibly well. I cant recall the name, I seen it at a NAEC conference, black rubber almost like a horse stall mat.

I’m not so sure soundproofing would help in this case. His video appears to be taken approximately 15 feet from the landing doors and that snap is loud. I suspect that the box shape of the lobby plus the cabin being at any floor above 5 is going to make it all the worse as the sound may be amplified for him the higher up the cab is.
But I agree it might be a fruitless effort to get the brake to pick quieter.
I had 5 of these on my route. KONE MRL’s. And that same brake pick/drop sound was just “what it is” but the lobby’s were outside not on the interior of the building, but you could hear it in the cab and at each landing and at every run.

I’m curious to see if the OP keeps us informed as to any headway towards a resolution.

thank you!

The funny thing, that i'm the landlord of this apartment. I bought it recently from my friend, and the second funny thing is that at first they didn't understood about what sounds i'm talking about - and i believe them, i guess they were so used to it.
For example my girlfriend doesnt pay attention to it, for me as a quite sensitive person it's sometimes annoying.

so i'm trying to do these things:

1) i noticed that the warranty for building is not expired - so trying to contact the company who built this home to see they if would have something about this situation.
2) will try to contact again the elevator company maybe they will be able to try do some adjustment of the brake or to install the better one when this will wear off ?
3) will give myself 1 year or more to try to get used to it. Because i really like the place where apartment is and everything else is very good here.

Soundproofing options - it's bad that we don't know the outcome of the effort would be. I understand that this is a 'structurical' sound, not airborne - so soundproofing might not work. Also the wall towards elevator shaft is kitchen wall where some closets are hung on the wall so i guess, this makes soundproofing things even harder.

Also - I just dont understand why some elevators for example in my office doesnt spread any sound of breaks at all. It's because they're not MRLs ?

Some elevators, maybe up to 5 landings may be hydraulically powered. No brake mechanism there. Noises from pumping equipment is limited to a hallway just outside the equipment room or that room can be within another room which significantly reduces outside noise, or the equipment room faces the building’s exterior so nearly all noise is outside the building.
Traction machines which use the traditional penthouse for all equipment (room is on the roof) are somewhat insulated from the building’s interior.
MRL’s on the other hand have their hoisting motors exposed fully at the top of the shaft so this particular noise from the brake opening and closing can be heard from outside which is your case. Also brake adjustment can be within machine specs, but are louder from one machine to another simply because of mechanical operation. To understand brake operation better, search out on YouTube “KONE MRL brake operation” and you’ll see the machine and hear your exact distinct brake noise. Under normal wear, that brake and friction shoes will last for quite awhile.

Good luck on the outcome!

In my experience elevator brakes only get louder as time goes on so don’t expect it to get better. A lot of MRL brakes, the ones that are adjustable anyway, do get considerably quieter when adjusted to the tight side of spec. This is definitely true of Kone MX machines and the Torin machines TK uses. Others though are not field adjustable so all the elevator guy can do is check that they’re within spec with a feeler gauge and if they are, that’s what you get.

If you like peace and quite move to the country Building noises come with Highrise urban living. Just my 2 cents we get these kinds of complaints from sensitive tenants all the time.

i have two questions.

1) Do the brakes can be changed to ones which supports the airgap adjustment ? Or the motor of elevator supports only one type of breaks ?
2) How to know if the sound i'm hearing in my apartment is just audible or coming via structure ?

Thank you

1) I’m certain what you’ve got is a properly adjusted brake. There are no interchangeable brakes to reduce this nuisance noise you’re hearing.

2) Both. Building design and machine type and location all play into your complaint. The shaft is square in shape with hard walls and ceiling. Sound has no escape route but through the air gaps around hallway/landing doors and through walls or downwards. But if the lift is moving up and down below your floor, the cabin top bounces sound back up. The lobby is simply an echo chamber of those same noises by design. If the entire roof structure over the shaft were removed, your problem would be most likely solved as all of the sound would travel upwards and out with no physical obstructions. But of course that’s not realistic, but rather to illustrate the issue of a soundproof or insulated structure verses non insulated.

Hopefully this helps you. I’m not an expert on this particular machine, rather my opinions are based on in field experience over a full career.

CE Electronics in Ohio have a business division dedicated to acoustics and elevator noise reduction. reach out to them and see what they say.