Austin: Demo units at The Sabine

[AustinGuy]

Can you hear much highway noise from these units? I do like the look of those windows.

[priller]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

Can you hear much highway noise from these units? I do like the look of those windows.

No, not really. When we first went up to see the building, they still had the old single-pane windows in and you couldn't really hear it. And that was about 6:00pm on a Friday night. Now they have better double-pane windows in, hopefully further reducing any noise that's out there. The Hilton Garden Inn next door blocks a lot of the highway noise, I think.

You can, however, hear 6th Street noise if your room is on the west side.

But still, there's a part of me that worries about that. My wife and I have been watching a bunch of Sopranos episodes recently, and every time they show Meadow in her dorm room in NYC there's a constant background noise of traffic and sirens. Makes me wonder if that's what it will be like for us. The police and fire stations are only a few blocks away from the Sabine.

[jread]

Originally Posted by priller

there's a constant background noise of traffic and sirens. Makes me wonder if that's what it will be like for us. The police and fire stations are only a few blocks away from the Sabine.

You'll get used to that and will almost depend on it to go to sleep. Kind of like those noise-makers that have ocean waves or crickets chirping. In fact, if you go on vacation and stay somewhere that is not downtown, you may need to bring a recording of the ambient city noise with you

[urban77]

I tested the sound with the newer windows at 6pm on the southside facing I-35. Very quiet. Remember this building is all concrete, masonry, and double pane commercial windows. Now, if an 18-wheeler blows its horn you are going to hear it. IMHO this is urban living and the occasional noise is part of the lifestyle.

[DrewDizzle]

Congrats on the buy. Looks great and the prices are reasonable, imo.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by priller

No, not really. When we first went up to see the building, they still had the old single-pane windows in and you couldn't really hear it. And that was about 6:00pm on a Friday night. Now they have better double-pane windows in, hopefully further reducing any noise that's out there. The Hilton Garden Inn next door blocks a lot of the highway noise, I think.

You can, however, hear 6th Street noise if your room is on the west side.

But still, there's a part of me that worries about that. My wife and I have been watching a bunch of Sopranos episodes recently, and every time they show Meadow in her dorm room in NYC there's a constant background noise of traffic and sirens. Makes me wonder if that's what it will be like for us. The police and fire stations are only a few blocks away from the Sabine.

You truly get used to the city noises.....none to worry...... it just becomes background after a while..... !

[priller]

We were able to get in the building last night with our realtor and look at our condo and take measurements. They're now telling us Jan 25th will be the move-in date for us on the 5th floor. The 8th and 9th floors will be ready for move in before the end of the year.

[priller]

We are moved in!!

I look at my previous post and have to chuckle. They didn't quite make it by 1/25. Just barely made it by 3/28. Our unit is the only one finished on our floor, by a long shot. They really pushed to get our unit done "early". Without going into detail, let's just say that we HAD to close by this month, before our interest rate lock expired. Our financing had been settled for months, we were just waiting on the appraisal, which they couldn't do until the unit was more or less finished. While we were at closing, signing papers, our loan agent was on the phone with the appraiser, making sure it was done. That's how "down to the wire" it was.

We didn't realize until we moved in just how far behind the rest of the units are, and how much they had done for us. The Sabine is doing floors from the top down, and not only is our floor (the fifth) far from done, the 6th is not done either. And I think some of the big corner units aren't done on higher floors either. In fact, I think there are only about 15 or so units occupied right now. It will probably be several more months before the entire building is finished.

Since there so few people here, it was very quiet last night. I was going to be disappointed if I didn't hear a single siren, but finally around 11:00 pm, I heard one faintly. Yes! Now I'm living downtown!

Anyway, we're glad to be here. Once we get everything arranged and decorated, I'll post some photos. And we'll have the party in a few weeks, for sure!

[JAM]

Hey Priller - big congrats! What a relief, eh?

Now is the time to get to know the construction crews and determine what items may need tweaked in your place. It's alot easier to get them to fix it now while they're still on the premise. Hint, hint....

[KevinFromTexas]

Congrats on the move in. So I gotta ask, is the roof open to the residents? If so, that'll be a must at the party/forum meet/tour.

[priller]

Good question, Kevin. I'm wondering that myself. I imagine the answer is "no", but I'll see.

[AustinGuy]

Congrats Priller!

Do you happen to know how thick the walls are between units at the Sabine? One of my worries with these condo conversions is that the interior walls might be thin enough that noise would travel between units (kind of like some of the many apartment complexes that are thrown up around town).

I think the Sabine is a pretty cool project and I may start looking to get a unit there myself so it be great if you had some firsthand perspective.

[priller]

Right now we're the only ones living on our floor, so it's hard to say at the moment. From outside noise it's very quiet.