Flat dwellers: how much neighbour noise do you suffer from?

*Louise*

Oh the fun we have had with our neighbours...:rolleyes:

I live in a downstairs block of 4 villa flats, thankfully the flat above is empty a lot as it's rented out, but when there's people living there, it's been awful.

The last couple who were there has parties nearly every weekend - loud music, and idiots causing hell in the communal stairwell - to the point of breaking other people's planters and leaving spilled and broken beer bottles on the stairs. Their dog would bark constantly whenever it was left on its own, and they used to fight something terrible:eek: he was into cannabis and would just throw the joint ends out his window (Into OUR garden!):mad:

Thankfully they moved away in November....but ever since the flat owner has been in doing DIY nearly every day.....all the banging is driving me mad. AND the central heating fitters flooded my kitchen so I need a new ceiling.

We are looking to move this year.:D

Final point.....If you live in an upstairs flat...please don't have laminate floring!! And if you REALLY have to...please don't get a dog!!!:p

Tuttifruitty_Theresa

i live in a converted flat and it's horrible. I've had to move the rooms about so the bedroom is now my living room and living room my bedroom. This is because i could hear everything the upstairs couple were doing in bed (she was very vocal). My window frames rattle, the front door rattles, i can hear all upstairs conversations, tv, music, toilet flushing, hot water cylinder filling up and of course when they have sex. I can't wait to save up enough money to move away.


xx

JennyW_2

We have just moved to a flat (coverted 1930's detached house). There are a couple above us (around 60 years of age). Hear the odd floor board creak, washing machine when it's on spin (which doesn't bother me) and occasionally their tv but apart from that it's very quiet. On occasions they have their grandson over who is noisy - jumps from the bed and leaps around which I find very annoying, but as I said, it's occasional so we put up with it. If it was constant then I'd have to mention it.

But saying all this we moved from a 1960's 3 bed semi and the noise from our neighbours was much worse. Could hear the kids run up the stairs, they used to slam the front door EVERYTIME (which would vibrate through our house), they would have frequent noisy parties and we could hear their water tank filling up from our bedroom so by comparison, i found it more distressing living with the noise in our house so prefer the flat

ceegee

Flats and noise! Been there and done that. I don't suppose anyone remembers a Panorama programme from about 1983 regarding noise from flats? Well, that was me and everybody else who lived in a development of PB flats......don't suppose I can name the builders (think helicopters if you are old enough!)

The noise was appalling. I could even hear the poor bloke above me using the toilet and how on Earth can you go about sorting that sort of noise issue? It really was a serious problem...everyone else was keeping everyone else awake half the night. We had Economy 7 electricity so everyones washing machines were rumbling away all night. Even music and TV at a reasonable sound level was clearly audible to all and sundry.

Collectively we started legal proceedings against the builders who had used the very bare minimum of sound insulation that the law required. But the law was so old that the level of insulation it required was not commensurate with the level of noise produced by hi-fis and tvs and washing machines etc. Eventually the builders moved us all out into temporary accommodation whilst improvements were made.

Still, on reading the posts on this thread, it appears that sound insulation in more recently built flats is much better.

follyfoot

Tuttifruitty_Theresa wrote:

i live in a converted flat and it's horrible. I've had to move the rooms about so the bedroom is now my living room and living room my bedroom. This is because i could hear everything the upstairs couple were doing in bed (she was very vocal). My window frames rattle, the front door rattles, i can hear all upstairs conversations, tv, music, toilet flushing, hot water cylinder filling up and of course when they have sex. I can't wait to save up enough money to move away.


xx

Ditto. I live in a purpose built flat built in the 1980s. Until recently i could not hear my neighbours and then they laid a wooden or laminate floor. Now when they drop items it sounds like a bomb. I spoke to the local authority who said it was "behavioural noise" and they cant do anything about it which is a shame because l love the flat but I will have to move due to the noise.

tomstickland

Some leases forbid laminate flooring.

PeterPiper66

Here is my history of flats.


I once moved into a 2 bed lower flat; I needed somewhere very quickly so I didn't think to ask who was living upstairs. I moved in and 4 weeks later I moved out.. thank god I hadn't signed the 12month contract just yet!(lazy landlord) It turned out there was a 5 bedroom converted flat up above me (WITH LAMINATE FLOORING!!) and they were all male students. The noise was horrible but they were actually quite nice lads. They did turn things down if I asked them too and they would invite me up if they were planning a party but it just got to much, I still feel for whoever is living there now, I saw it up for sale a year or so ago!

After this I moved into a 3 bed upper flat. Below was a family living in a 2bed and we had a shared yard. The parents would argue day and night and sometimes take it outside below my bedroom; I could never have the window open because all there blooming smoke would blow in lol. I could here everything that ever went on with that family. I would hear the parents in bed at night *cringe* then I would here the kids slamming the doors early mornings, I'd hear snoring, alarm clocks going off.. They also had a surround sound system so we were able to play 'guess the movie' most nights. They once complained about our washing machine being on at 8am one Saturday morning, I told him where to go after all the things we had to put up with.

Since those I have lived in a couple of other flats and have not had many problems at all. Maybe I have had to complain about the bass on music but that's all. I can't imagine what all this laminate flooring is doing to peoples health I would be going insane i just can't take it lol

I now live in a newly built apartment block with 4 apartments - 2 on each floor. It's near perfect - I don't hear a single thing apart from the bedroom below mine. I hear the couple having sex below and I really don't like this it makes me feel ill!! I don't get it because every other part of the apartment is completely soundproof! I never know when people come in, I never hear voices, No music, No TV, absolutely nothing apart from when they have sex lol

BaldySmurf

I know that feeling - the people that used to live below us often woke us up 'screaming' at 1am... after four nights in a row I put a note through their door asking them to bear in mind that our bedroom was directly above theirs and that the soundproofing wasn't that great... Never really heard anything after that.

I understand people have to live, but to be that noisy doing anything at 1am is unacceptable in my book.

pigeonpie

I've lived in 3 flats, 2 top floor conversions and one 1970s second floor (of 3). When the neighbours moved their chairs after eating upstairs, sounded like an invasion from above. Plus could hear the TV as if we were watching it. The first Victorian conversion was tricky - kept awake by amorous neighbour with her boyfriends at 2am (we could even hear that she was faking it lol). This one has the floors done which makes a huge difference. There's carpet but the owner soundproofed the floors throughout. Think it cost him about 2grand for about 80m2 and it's the only one with the floors done. OH wanted to live in the ground flr flat as it's big and lovely, but it's so noisy. All the other flats' tenants complain - one can hear her neighbour snoring through the ceiling and the other moved out as his neighbour's tuneless guitar playing drove him to distraction. The building was converted in 1999 with the new building regs in place, but no-one checked obviously as the ceilings and walls are paper thin.
I also lived in a terraced house which shook when the 4 public schoolboy tenants over the road came home at 3am and started playing their rave music. Used to lie in bed and fantasise about those shoulder launched missiles going straight at the red lights of their music system! Plus we had to listen to our neighbour's music selection (Abba....!!) so it's not necessarily better in a house.
I dream about a detached house. Don't think my numbers will come up in tonight's lotto though :-(

lush_walrus

tomstickland wrote:

Regarding zero noise from above, some flats use concrete sections which I imagine are much better at sound proofing than wooden floors.

Yes sort of, the problem with sound is that it will search out the path of least resistance and flow through that, so if you have concrete floors, but the details are poor then sound will be able to get through. Similarily, if you have a timber structure and it is detailed well with plenty of acoustic insulation then it can be as soundproof as concrete.

For the best acoustic separation between flats, avoid house conversions and older flats, and choose a new flat that has been built in the last 3 years. Part E of the Building Regs was last updated in 03, and the level of acoustic separation increased, so those will be your best bet!

With regards to laminate flooring problems, this is impact noise and is easily solved by using an acoustic quilt under the laminate...So if you are having it done in a flat, be nice to your neighbours and lay an acoustic quilt under the flooring. Its easy to do, just make sure that all edges are tapped and will save anyone living below you!