Moral dilema - do I put my neighbour's interests or my own first ?

irnbru_2

bap98189 wrote:

All those who are saying the OP should do nothing have clearly never lived in a flat.

Somerset wrote:

Bearing in mind, everything was insulated ( over and above building regs )

Yes, do nothing beyond which the OP has already done.

I hope the OP doesn't snore, what will the downstairs occupant do then?

bap98189 wrote:

I honestly believe it should be a legal requirement of some kind to have carpets on the floor in an upstairs flat.

Action call over floorboard noise

alanobrien

You have spent a lot of money getting your home as you want it.
No matter where you live or what you live in there will always be a neighbour that is willing to complain at the slightest thing.

I lived in a flat for many years and like others here accepted there will be noise It is after all a consequence of buildings of this nature..

Of course there is another aspect to this and its one that effected my eldest boy and that is health. He was/is asthmatic and i cannot describe how much his condition improved after we got shot of all the carpets and put laminate flooring down. After that revelation no amount of neighbour complaints would have got me to replace the laminate with carpet.

Fortunately we didnt experience any but it is a point for people to coonsider in discussions of this nature. Good luck with your dilemma.

pingu79

I think i'd listen to how bad it was from his flat, he could well just be a moaner. I wouldn't feel bad about your decision to have a wood floor when you were considerate enough to put insulation down.

I have lived in quite a few flats and you always get noise from your neighbours its just a downside of living in a flat. We all had laminate floors in the the last place and here and i can here people walking about and sometimes the odd bit of music. The worst thing in my flat is the blasted drainage pipe in the bathroom which drips incredibly loudly and i curse the people upstairs going to the bathroom at night.

In the last flat i had musical students above and they'd sometimes jam in the living room so we couldn't watch tv or play his keyboard at like 3am, i was always too lazy to get out of bed to complain so just used ear plugs. The girls who lived on the top flat used to get nasty letters off the guy below complaining about the noise of them walking/talking and i think the guy was just a moaner as i certainly couldnt hear that much from the boys above in our flat just walking/talking

Errata

I lived in several flats in London for a number of decades. Noise is very often a problem, both upwards and downwards. Clearly the OP has done everything a reasonable person could be expected to do; neighbours can expect no more. Flats are cheaper than houses not only because of the number of rooms but because of the problem of noise. Those who live in them need to have realistic expectations.

tomstickland

Yes you should expect some noise in flats, but wooden floors are a well known problem and that must be because they create unreasonable amounts of noise. I think the OP is doing the right thing. Try rugs / slippers for a month or so and see what the neighbour thinks.

epz_2

slightly ot but if you were looking at flats what would you look for to keep the noise down, i mean structural desighn.

im currantly looking for a flat (1st time buyer) but have my heart set on a top floor 100 year old tenamant with 20foot celings and big rooms.

given the properties im looking at im more concerned about me getting hassle from neighbors about me walking about at 2am (more usual than unusual), the last thing i want is to move somewher and have to walk about on egg shells to keep the neighbors sweet.

one of the other reason i want a top floor flat is if downstairs does get out of order i couple hours with some speed metal at full whack and im guessing a pavlovian responce may kick in

irnbru_2

epz wrote:

slightly ot but if you were looking at flats what would you look for to keep the noise down, i mean structural desighn.

You need to look for acoustic insulation between the floors.

epz wrote:

im currantly looking for a flat (1st time buyer) but have my heart set on a top floor 100 year old tenamant with 20foot celings and big rooms.

Plenty of room to echo then .......

epz wrote:

last thing i want is to move somewher and have to walk about on egg shells to keep the neighbors sweet.

Check with the occupant below when you visit and ask them about noise.
It will be easier to install any between-floor insulation as soon as you move in, splitting the bill. If it's professionally done you can list that feature if/when you come to sell.