Sound proofing

ango1000

In short, moved into a block of flats. I’m on the top (2nd floor) and am having real problems with the noise from the neighbours below. We can hear everything from conversation, to phone calls, crying children, stamping feet, tantrums etc. Even over our tv, we are woken up on a daily basis by their children talking. We have brand new thick carpet and underlay which was not cheap. Why can I hear so much? What can I do? Or should they be doing something? All advice welcome. As you can imagine the lockdown period has been unbearable.

daivid

Sometimes in flats the pipework or ducting transports sounds around the building, if that is the cause there may be nothing you can do. If the noise is simply coming up through the ceiling, you may be able to put acoustic insulation in. This would require lifting and relaying the floorboards (and carpet). Not sure if you would need consent to do this, but it won't be cheap and may be counter productive as disturbing the floorboards may lessen their sound insulating properties.

notts99

Hello, I feel your pain. Do you own the property for starters? If so you'll be more willing to invest more for a better result. Unfortunately some properties weren't built with adequate soundproofing compared to today's requirements as set in the Building Regulations. If you can hear talking then your floor is not fit for purpose in this respect and it'd be unreasonable to ask the neighbours not to talk. It also means they can hear you to the same extent and probably would also like more privacy. Perhaps you could talk to them about sharing costs. 

Basically whatever you do, it needs to be comprehensive, otherwise you will be disappointed. I'm speaking from experience in a terrace house! Sound behaves rather like water in a bucket with a tiny leak-it will escape no matter how small. The fundamentals are this: you need to add more mass and ideally provide separation (floating floor) and pay attention to the perimeter of your floor where sound can leak (flanking). There are various floor systems specified by sound proofing companies. They often involve Rockwool acoustic slabs (RWA45) placed between your floor joists and any other voids at the perimeter to stop flanking. Plus heavy rubber/mass vinyl floor coverings decoupled from the floor-i.e. not screwed into the floorboards. Every screw creates a weakspot for sound to leak. Sealant around the perimeter leaving NO gaps-be very thorough in all steps.

If you were to pay a company to do it, I would ask for a soundtest prior and post installation with a guarantee for a minimum increase in the sound proofness. That will sort the wheat from the chaff. Do let us know how you get on. Regards