Any ideas on soundroofing

In_Search_Of_Me

Hello lovely people,
Am hoping that people may be able to come up with a good idea for soundproofing that is cheap but effective...in short I live in a 1st floor flat which is a converted terraced house. I have wooden floorboards and both the woman downstaire and I can hear everything. While this doesent bother me that much it clearly is an issue for her so am anxious to resolve it as amicably as possible but without loosing my lovely varnished floors that not only look beautiful but cost alot of time and energy to do.
As I compromise I wondered whether there is anything I can use to fill the gap between the joists and then sommat else for the cracks between the floor boards?
Wondered if anyone has any ideas on this? I know you can do stuff with ceilings but hers arent that high and she would loose some height if we did that....
All suggestions gratefully received...
Thanks in advance!:D

evilgoose

The only suggestions I can think of tend to be a bit distructive, Ive seen some sound insulation matting that you put under the floor, but obviously the floor has to some up or the cieling be taking down to install. (I cant find the site again unfortunately - I've agot a loo that's above the sitting room so you dont really want to hear 'someone using the facilities' when you trying watch a film!

*edit I've wondered if Rockwool would work? - anyone? - I think you have to be carefull with any electric cables under the floor and not to cover them if possible as it can cause them to heat up.

You can get strips of wood for the gaps between the floor boards, glue them, tap into place and then plane down level with your floor.

ormus

i agree. the flooring has to come up if you want to insulate the floor properly.

dander

This is exactly why an awful lot of flat leases state that flats must be carpeted. You really should check your lease that you were allowed to do this in the first place.

In_Search_Of_Me

Thanks for those - I've emailed rockwool as they are also fairly local and they do a specific soundproofed version. Re the floorboards...I have lived here for a decade and the previous neighbor and I accepted each others noise - used to each others routines etc and never had a cross word between us...the new neighbor was shown round my flat before she bought downstrairs and was therefore aware of noise and fact that I have wooden floors before she purchased...I am trying to be considerate and meet half way but this will also mean me havng to compleatly tear my sitting room apart and if there's an easier/cheaper way then that also needs to be looked at...ie what about a layer between ceilings? At the end of the day if it means taking the floor boards up then I will ...just wanted to get the best way of soundproofing...

evilgoose

For noises other than foot falls, like vibration from the tv or speakers you could try putting a rug under your TV stand or spreaker stands to help soften any vibration noise from the telly/music system.

for foot noises - try a nice soft pair of slippers

Mutton_Geoff

Even Rockwool in the void won't be as effective as you think. This is because your floorboards are joined to her ceiling with wooden joists. There is a direct mechanical link to any tapping on the floorboards is transmitted to her ceiling in the same way as you used to use two tin cans and a piece of string to make a telephone when we were kids.

Evilgoose said "I think you have to be carefull with any electric cables under the floor and not to cover them if possible as it can cause them to heat up". This is not correct. Cables have different ratings depending if they are enclosed or not but there is enough redundancy in a normal house/flat electrical design that this is not an issue.

As Dander also says, check your lease. You could do all this work and still be made to cover the floor up at a later date.

In_Search_Of_Me

Thanks will continue to investigate all angles....