independent sound testing for house? where to look?

rover25

Following on from my previous posts, I am thinking of getting an independent sound test carried out in my house. I am of the thinking that if NHBC carry this out, the house may possibly pass as their db levels are set so high.
If an independent company carried it out and the levels recorded were higher than what section E of building regulations for NI states they should be (which I have to check and confirm), does anyone know what I should do then? Do I forward it to my councils building control department as they had obviously certified it as okay.
Any advice would be great. Going mad listening to slamming doors and cupboards from next door. We can also hear our neighbours walking upstairs in their own house. Is that normal?

seatzie

by any chance have they wooden floors? we had a young family moved in beside us in our first house, in a mid-terrace, proceeded to rip up the carpets, sand the floorboards then let their two under 5 kids run riot, needless to say it was the main reason we moved out, final straw was watching football in my living room and hearing them run up and down the stairs in their house, so the sound had to travel through the dividing wall, across the hall, through the wall of the living room.........wooden floors may look nice but they can be a curse!

sorry not much help I know

rover25

No, I don't think they have wooden floors. Think it's carpet upstairs and on the stairs and in living room. (which you would think would make it better)Lino flooring on the kitchen/dining area.
We hear them going up and down the stairs all the time and the stairs are in the position as you described (the furtherest side away from our house). We hear them walking upstairs in their house and I am woke every morning when they get up from hearing their doors close and kitchen cupboards closing. If I happen to snooze off in front of telly, I'm ususally woken with a loud bang from their doors closing. When they close their front or side door this is usually the loudest sound. Is this normal? When I go to othes peoples semis, I don;t hear noises like this.
The house is a new build covered by NHBC. Should we write to the builders (who are not the most approachable/friendly) and cc that letter to the NHBC. Nhbc website say to write to the builders first and then if there is no response from them, contact NHBC who are to contact builders from then on.

thetope

There's a company called FR Mark in Belfast who are acoustics consultants. http://www.frmark.com/ I've come across them professionally (i work for an engineering firm) and have found them to be very good and not hard to pay. I seem to recall one of the guys saying he had been testing noise levels in poorly built apartments in belfast, so I reckon they would be able to check out your house and would know all the relevant legislation.

Worth a call to see if they can help anyway. I don't know what you could do about it though, it's very difficult to soundproof houses once they have been built as the noise tends to travel along the solid parts so soundproofing the walls mightn't help

shazrobo

i have the same problem with my neighbours, tho mine is an old semi, we can hear them walking around upstairs, even tho it is carpeted, can also hear doors and cupboards being banged, and then there is the music. we had the dividing walls soundproofed, to be honest it has deadened some of the sound, but not all, and deff not the floor, so can still here them walking around upstairs

rover25

Thanks for all your replies. Appreciate them. Can I ask you how you soundproofed your dividing walls. Did you diy or get a company in to do it?

rover25

Forgot to add that even when I am in the bathroom or the third bedroom and next door shuts their doors, I can still hear it. That means it is travelling through their walls/ceilings through the party wall and any stud walls to reach us and our ears! That seems like a problem with the whole structure in my opinion but I'm only guessing.
I found this on the net and wonder what people think and would it be worth pursing. It's from a guy who seemed to have the same prob!

Make joists ground floor + 1st floor airtight i.e. fill holes around. Add rockwool between joists on 1st floor (to what depth from party wall?)

Adjacent to party wall i.e. lounge, bedrooms + kitchen: Build 2"x2" timber stud 1" away from existing party wall, attached to floor and ceiling only. Line with rockwool. Resilient sound bars on stud, two layers of 1/2" plasterboard, gap all around. Acoustic sealant around.

Loft: Seal party wall up to roof (expanding foam??) and make mortar good. Posisbly add e.g. rockwool-backed board to masonry. Line between joists with rockwool.

Use decent underlay + carpet lounge + bedrooms, possibly add board over current floorboards with some kind of insulation.

Still with me? (sorry for loooong post). Anything obvious wrong/missed/stupd ? I am a bit worried about spine walls + inner leaf of external wall (cavity, not filled yet) e.g. right now if neighbours are in front room of ground floor I can hear them very well from my front room 1st floor, and still hear from back room 1st floor.

shazrobo

rover25 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies. Appreciate them. Can I ask you how you soundproofed your dividing walls. Did you diy or get a company in to do it?

Adjacent to party wall i.e. lounge, bedrooms + kitchen: Build 2"x2" timber stud 1" away from existing party wall, attached to floor and ceiling only. Line with rockwool. Resilient sound bars on stud, two layers of 1/2" plasterboard, gap all around. Acoustic sealant around.
this is what we had done,
got local handyman/plasterer to do it for us

rover25

Thanks for your reply. Good to know we are not alone! Can I ask was it an expensive job and did it take much space away from room. Would you / visitors notice the difference in space?

shazrobo

rover25 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Good to know we are not alone! Can I ask was it an expensive job and did it take much space away from room. Would you / visitors notice the difference in space?

it was fairly expensive, about a thousand pounds, but obviously this included cost of materials as well as labour, and included living room, kitchen, my bedroom and one of kids rooms lost a couple inches, but nobody has noticed except me, cos i know

Richard_Watson

I am an chartered acoustical engineer. It is a complex area - hopefully these links help.

http://www.bluetreeacoustics.com/acoustic%20testing.html
http://www.bluetreeacoustics.com/noise%20complaints.html
http://www.bluetreeacoustics.com/noisy%20neighbours.html


The sound insulation of a property can be tested easily. Depending on the age of the building there may be a minimum requirement, there may also be no minimum requirement.


Improving poor sound insulation depends on lots of factors but primarily the construction of the property is the main factor. Methods for improving a timber joist floor are very different to improving a concrete floor.

Usually, you are better off having an expert specify what needs doing, then get a local builder to install the works. Companies that specify and install are often poor and simply want to install their own systems regardless of what is best for the situation.