upstairs flat noise from laminate flooring

dooj

Not sure if this is in the right place but here goes

The flat above my mam is rented (she owns her flat) the whole of the flat is covered in laminate flooring (apart from the stairs) the flat is 3 bedroomed and currently has 3 students living in it as you can probably imagine each student has there own life within the house coming and going as they please (fair enough) but the sheer noise created by 3 individual moving about the house on laminate flooring is a nightmare, little things like dropping keys on the floor is like a bloody earthquake. My mam is just about at her witts end and isnt sleeping much due to noise throughout the night and day (general movoing about and dropping stuff rather than partying or anything like that) The whole situation is now having a knock on effect to the whole family (who dont even live there) for example i myself have a young baby who has on occasion stayed at my mams house only to be woken by the noise, iam due back after maternity leave soon and am dreading my baby having to go to my mams to be woken up by the noise, my mams health has detorioated dramatically due to the constant living in antisipation of noise. most of her time she spends out of the house and on several occasions has had to leave her house in the early hours of morning. We recently wrote a letter to the landlord via the letting agent detailing all of this and more and asking if it was possible for carpets to be fitted to stop the problem in particular to address my mams health problemsand the landlord has replied to say he believes the flooring is suitable and will not change it.

has anyone got any advice as what we can do as without sounding too dramatic i am already worried sick about me mams health (she has high blood pressure) and really want to et this resolved asap it just doesnt seem fair that this situation can continue. Anyone else had a similar situation and what did you do?

do we not have rights to a bt of peace and quiet in our own home?


hope someone can help....

PasturesNew

So do I. Laminate flooring is a bugg4h! I tip toe barefoot on it.

Sounds like a job for Environmental Services to get involved in. Those "Quiet Laws".

Others after this posting of mine will be far more informed though .... they're dead good here at what's what!

Good luck

sooz

contact the noise and nuisance team at your local council.

get her to call them every time it is noisy...ie every night

also check to see if wood or laminate floors are allowed in the lease.

WTF?_2

sooz wrote: »

also check to see if wood or laminate floors are allowed in the lease.

Yes - the leases on many flats specifically prohibit the installation of laminate/wooden flooring for the very reason the OP is having a problem - noise.

Chances are that some unscrupulous person ignored the rules and put the flooring in anyway to make the flat more attractive to renters. In that case, the OP is well within their rights to insist that it's removed and replaced with carpet or some other quieter flooring material.

Maggie_Lou

I'm so sorry to hear that your poor mum has got to deal with this. What a selfish, self-serving landlord that he can't provide carpet to eradicate the problem.

If you can afford it, one thing you might consider is a 'false ceiling' put into your mum's flat - this acts as a noise barrier and I think proves to be very successful. Your mum will have to bear the cost though.

My experience with Noise Control at Environment Health has been poor, but you never know. Also-hassle the landlord - bombard him with letters and phone calls if you have his number -he may just get fed up and do something.

I really wish you luck - I know how this kind of situation can really impact your health.

Why oh why are there so many nasty, rotten, selfish people out there. Hope he gets it back one-million fold.

PasturesNew

Speaking personally, I wouldn't rent a flat now that didn't have laminate flooring.
I used to hate the idea until I lived with it. So easy to keep clean - you can see the fluff and it all gravitates to the corners so you can easily whip round with a vacuum.

Having said that, I am uber-careful about noise and the lives of others. So if I were ever above somebody I'd put down rugs. I'd put down rugs anyway - damned flooring makes a clippety-clop noise every time you walk on it. And barefoot it squeaks. So I'd put down rugs to look better/sound quieter.

And extra rugs for those beneath me.

Re Environmental Services. Expect them to be closed outside of normal office hours. But keep a record/log of every noise. Sounds tedious, but they will expect it and can't act without it. Maybe keep a tape recorder handy in cases of sustained noise.

tomstickland

I sympathise. The lease in my block specifies that the bedrooms and living rooms must have carpet. I think it would be worth speaking to the landlord and also checking the lease.

EdInvestor

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Yes - the leases on many flats specifically prohibit the installation of laminate/wooden flooring for the very reason the OP is having a problem - noise.

First stop should be her own lease which may well say something like " Floors must be fitted with good quality carpet.......". Noise is the reason why, it's a very normal provision in leases but some flat-owners may possibly be unaware of it if they haven't looked at their leases in detail.

If the lease says something like that then she should report the problem to the managing agent/freeholder of the building.

tweetyshells

Get onto the council and get them to give you the number for the environmental health part. Keep bugging them if they don't come out straight away and they will come out and do an assesment.
They were very good when i needed them quite a few years ago now.
They were also working all hours, not just office hours as said above as most of thier work will be in the unsociable hours, which is when most problems occur.

benb76

This thread supports my theory that laminate flooring is evil. I am a fan of genuine wooden floors but think laminate is looks cheap, feels cheap and sounds cheap underfoot. I live in hope that it's a passing fashion in the same way that brown bathroom suites were for a mercifully short while.

With regard to your noise problem, it's a very real possibilty that the laminate has been badly laid with no underlay put in. Student landlords are notorious for making time/money saving shortcuts as their tennants are usually more concerned that the rent is cheap enough to leave them enough money for cider.

KiKi

As other posters have said, most leases should have it written in that wooden / laminate flooring is not allowed unless noise-prevention actions have been taken (eg, noise barriers under the floor). I would be very surprised if your mother's lease - and that of her upstairs neighbours - was not the same.

If this is the case, then you can insist that the landlord for the flat above changes it.