What is my floor type? (Sound insulation)

SpikeyKitten

Hello guys. Ive not long moved into a flat, rented from a Housing Association. It's affordable, and is in a fantastic location, so I'd like to invest in it.

The flat currently has no flooring, except for kitchen tiles and laminate in the bathroom. So before I order carpets etc I'm looking into sound insulation options. I'm on the top floor so thankfully have no noise issues from above. But the flat below has just been let and I can hear him talking on his phone pretty much constantly until about 3am. I can even hear the person he's talking to!

Now as I've not been here long and have no flooring. I can only assume he also has no flooring so it's understandable to some degree that it's going to be noisy because we're both in empty reverberative boxes.

I've been looking into a specific sound insulation called Acoustilay 15. Which is like a thick rubber matting. Which will then have underlay and carpet on top. Which will then hopefully cut out a lot of the airborne noise coming from below. As well as making it nicer for him not hearing me walking around etc.

My predicament is that I want to be sure it will work as it's a considerable financial commitment for something that may or may not work. My previous flat was in a converted large victorian house. The bedroom came with laminate flooring above standard floorboards, and the noise from below was dreadful. I paid for thick underlay and carpet and it made sod all difference to the airborne sound coming from below. So I'm wanting to find out what type of floors are in my new flat before I invest in the soundproofing. If they're wooden like the previous place then there's little point in wasting my money.

New flat is top floor of a purpose-built block made in the late 70's/early 80's. The floors look to be some kind of black stuff that is slightly rough to the touch. No idea what it is, asbestos? Perhaps that's like a layer or screed over boards or concrete panels. The grey area through the door is the lounge which appears to have a further thin cement screed so I'm guessing the previous occupants had laminate in there which has since been removed.The flats are brick/block and are five stories high.

Can anyone say what the floors are likely to be made of? Or if anyone has any experience of Acoustilay or soundproofing in general I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks

grumpy_codger

If it's the bare floor in your photo, can't you see what it is?
To me it looks like timber floorboards or, possibly, chipboard. If so, there are timber joists under it and void. In this case you can achieve much better result by filling the void with rockwool sound insulating mats.
Your Acoustilay 15 is more for protecting the flat below from the noise you make when walking, jumping and knoking on your floor than for protecting both flats from moises like speaking, showting, music etc.

If filling the void is an option you have to take care of electric wires and fittings to prevent their overheating.

Eldi_Dos

If you cannot tell what type of flooring you have by sight,you could check by chapping, get a screw driver and tap handle on floor.This will help you decide what construction the floor is.

Maybe best to do this when downstair's is out.

ButterCheese

If you're renting from HA, do you not have to get permission to take up the floor boards and fit rockwool?  Just something to consider.  You could also say how much the noise is affecting your sleep, I don't know if they take any of this seriously but you could ask?  

Brie

Is your downstairs neighbour aware of you can hear his phone calls?  It might be ambarrassing for him if he did know and that might make him not have the phone on speaker and turned up to 11.  Suggest he gets headphones  as then he wouldn't need to be projecting so much and at least you only hear him and not his phone companion as well.  

ic

I would have thought if you get carpets down with decent underlay, that will really help to improve the situation - right now you'll have lots of open gaps around the skirting boards that allow the sound to penetrate.  Bring in furniture and curtains, and it should make a big difference.  I think you'll never live in attached property and not hear something from neighbours - but as you are its the worst it can be.

SpikeyKitten

Thanks everyone. Yeah, i'm not blaming the guy downstairs. As annoying as it is, he's only talking, which he should be able to do without disturbing the neighbours. If he was playing drums or had a barking dog then that would be a different story. As it is, I'd just rather not hear him so loud and clearly!

Regarding lifting floorboards: That's why I'm asking. I'm not sure if they even are floorboards as whatever the floor is, it's covered with a kind of screed. So without drilling into it, i've no idea. Would floorboards be treated this way? Or is it more likely a thin concrete slab/s?