Hearing upstairs neighbours urinating (2)

Matthew_Pollock

This issue has already been raised here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5668180/hearing-upstairs-neighbours-urinating but unfortunately closed without any resolution.  Like other people who have this problem, I live in a flat with concrete ceilings.  Sound proofing is generally excellent except for this one sound of urination.  I have four male students in the flat above, and the sound resonates in every room in our flat.  You can imagine that after an evening when they have been drinking and partying heavily the noise is pretty frequent.

One person made a useful but expensive suggestion:

"I had an acoustic engineer over to assess, and the only option is to install an acoustic layer in the room that bothers you the most - probably the bedroom. You would need to lose about 150mm ceiling space, and potentially also build a false wall on the same wall as bathroom. There are special details you need to pick up, installing a false ceiling without the correct layers of plasterboard, insulation etc won’t do anything.

"I’m yet to do this as it still isn’t guaranteed to work. Acoustic consultant suggested I replace the neighbours toilet with a ‘german shelf toilet’ and install a rubber mat under the toilet."

Actually this is the only forum where I have seen this issue discussed.  There are many discussions of toilet noises but they are all unhelpful, as the typical case is house-owners embarassed when people using the toilet in their house can be heard. So the problem there is different - their problem involves sound-proofing their toilet door and walls.  But here, the issue seems to have something to do with this particular vibration being transmitted from the bowl through the concrete floor - a different issue. Also puzzling is that this sound is transmitted, and not other sounds.  My upstairs neighbours can have a rave and be shouting to each other, and I will hardly hear them - but when they use the toilet, the sound is loud.  It is puzzling that no accountical engineers have jumped into the discussion to comment on the problem, since it must be an extremely common issue in modern apartment buildings.

Section62

Matthew_Pollock said:

Also puzzling is that this sound is transmitted, and not other sounds.  My upstairs neighbours can have a rave and be shouting to each other, and I will hardly hear them - but when they use the toilet, the sound is loud.  It is puzzling that no accountical engineers have jumped into the discussion to comment on the problem, since it must be an extremely common issue in modern apartment buildings.

[Not an acoustic engineer]

Sound travels faster (/better) through solids than it does through air. If the toilet is attached solidly to the solid floor above a ceiling then there is a direct path for the sound waves generated by the liquid stream hitting the solid surface of the toilet pan. So more of the sound energy will reach the room below. The same effect would apply to other direct-path things like dropping an object on the floor, or banging on a kitchen worktop.

Sounds such as talking or music exist primarily in the air in the room. Some of that sound energy will reach the floor and then have a solid path through to the room below, but the dispersal of the sound energy within the room above means there is less to pass through the floor.

Sound frequency is also a factor, as different frequencies have greater or lesser ability to pass through different materials. Then there are resonant frequencies where the sound frequency hits the sweet spot to make other objects vibrate at their natural frequency.

The cure is either to remove or reduce the sound source (a different type of toilet, or get the men to sit down) and/or breaking the path of transmission (acoustic insulation or false ceilings etc)

Titus_Wadd

If they sit down to pee it'll be quieter and more accurate following a night on the beer.  Maybe female students would be better. 

Sorry I don't mean to sound flippant and I hope you find a solution.

Slithery

Did you have a question?

theartfullodger

Someone taking the .....?

coffeehound

Something of a toilety theme to postings today 

tink_1983

Do you have any control over the upstairs flat at all? If not, I really don't see that there is anything you can do..
Maybe asking them to sit when they urinate.. but that'd be a weird conversation 😕

NameUnavailable

You could pay to fit a unrinal in the bathroom and see if they use that when it's just a No.1?

Another option is to provide a huge supply of toilet paper and ask them to drop a few sheets in the bowl before peeing (will help 'dampen' the sound).

Other than that the only option is paying for proper sound proofing measures or moving.

coffeehound

Gift the upstairs neighbours an inexhaustable supply of foaming cakes that go in the cistern. The suds in the pan have a muffling effect

theartfullodger

Buy upstairs flat, empty it of tenants, leave it like that.