Sudden noise complaint - help

BrassicWoman

misssunshine86 wrote: »

The lease says wall to wall fitted carpets OR other sound deadening material.

So can this be a rug? it doesn't actually say what a sound deadening material is. Or are there some new building regulations it must comply to?

you know, we have no idea how bad the noise is, how angry your neighbours are, what will fix it, and how much or little you care aboout anything except getting to keep your floorbords on display, which from your answers so far seems to be more imprtant than makng your neighbours life hell.

You seem to keep asking varients of the same question hoping for a mircale answer.

We don't live downstairs from you so really can't answer!

If you are a nice person, put carpet down and save up for soundproofing

If you are a nasty person, do something else.

misssunshine86

Thanks yes I will

boliston

I think the "carpeting" rule seems standard for flat leases even though it is normal for wood or laminate flooring to be installed as an "extra cost" option by the developer. My lease has a clause about carpets being compulsory yet I took the developer's option to pay extra for engineered flooring when I purchased my flat. I guess the clause is there in case they get a keen tap dancer, and they could then enforce the carpet clause.

misssunshine86

Yes that's the problem. considering the first I ever heard about this was a letter on a Saturday from the property manager 6 weeks after moving in with the lease clause. No other detail for me to even know what the noise is like etc. So how could I possibly know! Having lived in other flats before I have knocked on upstairs and asked them to be quieter before but what I wouldn't expect is a poorly written letter not even containing my name telling me im too noisy and not compliant with my lease when I have only just moved in!

anselld

misssunshine86 wrote: »

Yes that's the problem. considering the first I ever heard about this was a letter on a Saturday from the property manager 6 weeks after moving in with the lease clause. No other detail for me to even know what the noise is like etc. So how could I possibly know!

You could have known by reading the lease before signing and moving in.

misssunshine86

Yes , the seller says there IS soundproofing, and I can quite clesrly see there IS soundproofing. It has been there for 2 years. So why would i have thought it would be a problem now? and yes I completely accept it might be me - in which case I would do whatever i can to be quieter as god knows i would hate that kind of noise above me. my point is its a bit !!!! that this is the first I hear about it and neighbour couldn't be bothered to knock on the door. she has spoken to me in passing many times I even once ASKED her if she ever heard anything from the flat and she said no. So I will see what I can do betore spending 1000s on re doing the flooring.

Thanks to those of you who sent useful responses that don't involve building a time machine.

jamesperrett

Short of using separate joists for the downstairs ceiling and your floor you are never going to get really effective soundproofing through a floor. There may be some kind of rubber layer or fibreglass between the joists but that will only give you a few dB of soundproofing which won't make a great deal of difference to the people below. Your best hope is to minimise the noise by using carpet as already suggested.

Red-Squirrel_2

misssunshine86 wrote: »

my point is its a bit !!!! that this is the first I hear about it and neighbour couldn't be bothered to knock on the door. she has spoken to me in passing many times I even once ASKED her if she ever heard anything from the flat and she said no.

Maybe it wasn't that neighbour who complained? The sound might carry to flats either side of hers too.

I would cut her some slack, some people find it very hard to confront someone face to face about stuff like this.

Regarding the actual problem I would go with the cheap rugs solution for now, see if that solves the issue.

KiKi

Before you jump into anything, just have a conversation with the neighbour and firstly a) apologise profusely for any noise, then b) ask what noise it is they can hear, and tell her you'll make sure it stops. Don't get defensive or upset - just be apologetic and explain you had no idea they could hear anything. You can then probably simply resolve it without the need for any changes in the flat (other than your behaviour such as wearing shoes on a wooden floor or playing music too loud - stuff which should be common sense anyway). And don't assume it's rugs or carpet that's needed until you know what the problem is.

Also, don't get upset that the first you heard of it was from the management company. I know that might feel cr*ppy to you, but when you're on the receiving end of noise, it can drive you crazy, and then it's hard to face a neighbour as you don't want to create face to face conflict. It's also easy to feel that someone who's disruptively noisy probably doesn't care about it - otherwise they would be more aware of the noise they make in the first place. I'm not saying you're disruptive, just that it's easy for your neighbour to assume that if you're so unaware of your noise then you probably don't care about how loud you are, and therefore you'll be more difficult to talk to. Therefore it can feel easier to speak to the management company. So don't wind yourself up about it before you speak to her, as being defensive and cross with her is more likely to lead to the management company being involved, and you want to avoid that!

HTH
KiKi

boliston

Not wearing shoes in the flat seems the best answer - when i get in the first thing I normally do is kick off my shoes. If I had a carpet or rugs I would probably keep my shoes on as I don't like the "fuzzy" feel of a carpet in bare feet whereas a wood floor is much nicer to walk on in bare feet.