Neuadd Ogwen finished and tried out

Finally, the concert venue next door had soundproof doors! And it didn't waste any time; the very same week they were going to try them out. They had organised an evening with several DJs, and I was sure that their brief had been to just make a lot of noise. Dilwyn, the manager, had told me about this, and said he was going to be running around the building measuring sound levels to see how good these doors really were. And so it happened!

Doors in position, and pebbledash too

I was home late that day, as I had met my Welsh tutor in the pub. So by the time I got home, the party had already started. And I was glad to hear the sound being very muffled! That's how I like it.

Later there was a knock on the door; as expected, it was Dilwyn with his measuring equipment. I invited him in. I was quite pleased with the doors, but he wasn't yet! It was still louder than the wanted it to be. He said that the doors had gaps. One thing he had noticed but that there is a light coming past the doors in the porch. That shouldn't happen! And what I hadn't spotted yet was that the doors in the very back of the venue hadn't been fully installed yet. The builders would have to come back to finish them. If you put your ear to the door pane, you could hear the noise. So that really still needed to be improved on!

It is true you could still hear the music inside my house, but with it being that muffled I was not worried at all I wouldn't be able to sleep through it. And I indeed slept like a log. The one thing I am still nervous about is the artists unloading after the gig. That is obviously something they do outside, right underneath my bedroom window! Soundproof doors don't do much if you're outside of them. But I didn't notice anything.

There will soon be some concerts; in the next two weeks both Arrested Development and Huey Morgan are due to play. By that time, hopefully the installation of the doors will really be finished. And then I can judge the final product. But I have faith!