To be sure, ask at your local Gemeinde / Commune office.
But generally, noise of any kind is acceptable between 7 am and 12 noon, and from 14:00 to 20:00
After 8 pm loud noises, playing music, shouting, screaming, MUST be avoided.
From noon until 2 pm and after 10 pm until 7 am, no noise should be heard by your neighbours!
Walk about in your socks. Talk quietly, turn the TV sound down until you can only just hear it. Avoid taking baths and showers.
Do not use the vaccuum cleaner! Do not drag chairs about. Be sensible and think about others before making a noise.
If you cannot keep to these rules, you can be thrown out. OR move into a house.
What do you mean? Do you mean you've tried walking and speaking in your flat and someone complains?
Try reading this (or run it through Google Translate if you don't read German) to give you a feel for what's classed as noise and what's normal living.
To be honest, I think newcomers to Switzerland often hear a bunch of "rumours" about noise and end up over-complicating and over-thinking the situation.
Interesting ... I raced home to cut the grass and did not finish until around 19:45.
A few weeks later my Swiss neighbour politely pointed out that grass cutting had to stop by 19:00.
I hope you told your Swiss neighbour that he/she was in breach of Art.496(3)(b)(ii) of the Federal Code of Obligations, which states that comments about a neighbour's behaviour are deemed groundless if not made within a non-extendable time-limit of 14 calendar days from the alleged transgression.
Oops. Having re-read my last post, I realise that someone might actually take it seriously. Please note that what I wrote is NOT TRUE.
But was so nicely put though...
I've heard you cant flush the toilet after 10pm,,,, is this true?!?!?!?
No because that would contravene the Swiss cleanliness regulations.
And would be gross.
Seriously, in quiet times you should be considerate of noise that may travel outside your apartment and desist from making, how shall I put it, "optional" noise outside of these hours (loud music, washing machine, tv noise etc) but basic hygiene noises - teeth brushing, loo flushing, even showers are absolutely fine (although lengthy showers accompanied with loud singing or baths would be pushing it).
Please. Do flush.
Our place has very good sound insulation.
Except for in one of the downstairs toilets of all places. I think the ventilation system is shared with downstairs.
Some mornings whilst I'm "growing a tail" I can them in the shower
This is gross on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start.
Simple rule: Treat your neighbors as you would like them to treat you.
I've always found it a bit strange that excessive noise isn't allowed right when kids are coming home from school for lunch (at noon). We lived below three kids in our old apartment, and every day at noon, it sounded like a herd of elephants had suddenly been unleashed upstairs -- exactly when my son was laying down for his nap.
I did. They told me to be quiet!
What? Take them out to the pub every night?
Another simple rule: treat your neighbours as they would like you to treat them.
Or a bit more complicated: treat them as they would like you to wish that they would treat you.