Noise from a fridge/freezer in the flat above

[kevin468]

My tenant has complained that the noise/vibration from the fridge/freezer in the flat above his is keeping him awake at night. The occupier above has tried putting pieces of carpet under the feet of the fridge/freezer, which stands on a wooden floor, and whilst this has helped it is still too loud. Anybody know if there are sound absorbing feet/pads available?

 

[WoodYouLike]

The occupier should check if his wooden floor doesn't 'touch' any pipe-work (like water-pipes etc) which transfers sound.

 

[big-all]

also worth pulling it out to make shure its not vibrating on surrounding cabinets or pipes

if you can get it free standing away from any cabinets or pipes then you can work out a solution

if you sit it on a board thats touching the pipes or cabinets the sound can still transfer albeit a bit quieter

 

[Symptoms]

Kevin - after you've checked-out what the others have posted and if the freezer is still 'transmitting' sound do the following (assumes you have a couple of inches clearance above the appliance):

stand the freezer on a concrete paving slab - the type used for street paving, not the piddly patio type. The idea is to increase the mass of the floor, thus preventing/reducing the transmission of sound. You can cut the slab with an angle grinder to match the 'footprint' of the appliance.

 

[kevin468]

Thank you for the speedy feedback.

The deepfreeze is positioned away from pipes and cabinets. I think one issue is that the property was converted in the 1970's and the sound proofing between floors is pretty poor, hence my thinking about some form of buffer the freezer could sit on.

 

[HandyHands]

Cork tiles under each of the supporting legs - worked for me.

There are also numerous internet sites that provide advice in sound proofing - do a google, make a coffee, and have a read.

 

[Reynardine]

It may be worth checking your lease to establish who legally owns the joist area above you i.e. who owns the gap between your ceiling and their floor.

Then you may be able to tackle the problem from your side, take down a part of your ceiling, install soundproofing into the joist cavity, replace your celing and make good.