Noise complaints from downstairs neighbors

I live in a condo with real hardwood floors, young kids and neighbors downstairs complaining constantly about noise from above. We’ve already added area rugs and pads. The building is from 2005. We don’t hear that much noise from above even though our upstairs neighbors also have young kids running around. Is it possible there’s something defective about either whatever is under our floor or our downstairs neighbors ceiling? Our floors have started creaking more but I’m not sure that sound would travel. And I guess we can’t do anything under our floors without ripping them up?

ari.litchfield

in General Discussion 3 years and 8 months ago

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annep | 3 years and 8 months ago

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I have a lot of sympathy for your neighbors since I live in a condo building that is basically a sieve for noise. What is the specific noise that they’re complaining about? If it’s footfall then removing shoes, avoiding dropping / banding things on the floor + making sure you’ve got nice thick rug pads and rugs is all you can do. If it’s still bothering them, they would have to decouple the ceiling to get more relief. If it’s TV / radio / etc.. then where you place it can have a HUGE bearing on how loud is it. That’s something you can experiment with. High frequencies + some volume can also be cut down by blowing in cellulose insulation (which they would have to do from their end). I insulated by bedroom ceiling for heat + the unintended consequence was that I didn’t hear my upstairs neighbors newborn once (which I could hear loud and clear in the rest of the apt). Other things you can do to mitigate noise include making sure all gaps (around pipes / floorboards / etc…) are sealed with acoustic caulk. Good luck!

slimc | 3 years and 8 months ago

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Can you go down to the neighbor’s apartment and have the kids walk/run/play like they usually do ? This would give you a good sense of what they are dealing with. Removing shoes helps quite a bit, as does keeping noisy things off the bare floor (speakers, fans, cell phones, toys etc)

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 3 years and 8 months ago

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If you’ve met whatever requirements your condo has about floor coverings do you have any obligation to act on your downstairs neighbors’ complaints, which may be unfounded?