Soundproofing question.

[jimmy23]

Hello,

We recently purchased a flat in Edinburgh which used to be council housing and the creaking/squeaking noises from the upstairs neighbours floorboards that used to be manageable has recently gotten worse. Basically our sleep schedule now revolves around theirs and even ear plugs don't work. We have attempted to speak with them about it and see if it can be addressed but we got a frosty reception at best. Which is a understandable to a degree, considering it would potentially cost thousands to rip up the carpet and floorboards to address the issue purely for our benefit.

So I've been having a look at soundproofing options for our ceiling and whilst they of course every company I look at says it'll work, I seem to be reading mixed signals as to whether it'll have that much of an impact on this kind of squeaky floorboard sound and it's something that can only be fixed from upstairs.

Anyone have any experience or knowledge with this? It's not cheap and the last thing we want to do is spend thousands only for it to not work. We know we'll never fully eliminate the noise but even reducing it by half would make a world of difference.

Or will we have to try and approach our neighbours again?

Thanks,

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You're not gonna like any of the answers you receive on here, bottom line is, no one can say if/how anything you do from the underneath will be effective and whether it meets your expectations for the outlay/work involved, sound insulation is so subjective. What is the (floor) construction/age of the property, what is the existing floor to ceiling height? It's a purpose built block presumably?

 

[accelerator]

I'm pretty sure that if done correctly with the right materials, you could make a very big difference and probably completely eliminate any noise from above. You would however lose ceiling height.

Some people can sleep in noise cancelling headphones, so that might be a cheaper alternative.