Soundproofing wood floors to appease our neighbour

[Shinykatie]

Hi all, this is my first post, so be gentle - I'm a total novice!

First up, a bit of info about the place I've got. It's a 1-bed Victorian conversion flat in a 4-story house. We're on the ground floor. We're only going to be here for a few years so we don't want to spend huge sums doing it up.

So, first question. I'd really like to strip our very nice floorboards.

Problem: Our neighbour in the basement flat (the only renter in our friendly building) constantly moans about the noise. Fair enough - currently we've got a rubbish, cheap beige carpet with no underlay (and some boards will need replacing) so it's currently insufficient. However, we feel she's excessively moany - we're really quiet and considerate, don't wear shoes in the house, have the tv on quiet etc etc - and the fact is, we can hear our neighbour upstairs and he can hear the guys in the attic flat as well. The rest of us deal with it fine; she goes on about her insomnia and moans that we get up at 7 and don't always go to bed by 11.

Soundproofing: From all the stuff I've read about soundproofing, it sounds incredibly complex, with very little hope of success unless you spend a fortune.

We're just not willing to fork out a lot of money for full-blown soundproofing. We feel that all the rest of us manage to live in harmony and we can't spend all that money on someone who's obviously over-sensitive to sound.

So, my question is (sorry this is so long!), what can we do that will muffle the noise to a reasonable level? Basically, if we don't strip the floorboards, we'd simply replace the squeaky boards (or screw down), get some thick underlay and stick down some carpet/seagrass. So as long as we do something that would produce a similar muffling effect, I feel we'll have done as much as can be expected (maybe you disagree? let me know).

It would be a real shame if we had to cover up our lovely floorboards and since I really hate carpet I'd be a bit gutted if we had to put carpet down.

Any thoughts, views or advice you can offer would be very gratefully received.[/b]

 

[Moz]

screw them ...the floorboards mind

 

[Deluks]

Well everyone's entitled to a quiet life, how would you like it if a chav moved in downstairs and was playing drum n bass at 3 in the morning?

Anyway, it sounds like the floors/ceilings don't comply with part E of building regulations. (page 61)

If you were on better terms with your neighbour you could maybe encourage her to get on to her landlord to sort out her ceiling. Do you know if she has downlights in her ceiling??? these could be the main culprit.

From your perpective you'd need to get the floor up, fix strips of neoprene rubber between the floorboards and joists, plus add insulation between the joists. Alternatively you could put thick plywood between the joists and floor, with a special underlay atop the ply and floorboards 'floating' on top. (to absorb footfall)

To soundproof from the underneath she'd need to fix her ceiling boards to a special metal bracket called 'resilient bar' or 'channel' The stuff is inexpensive but will need fitting by someone who knows how to install it correctly (not your average builder)

So basically there is no cheap quick fix way to sort the problem, but bickering won't solve it, you will need to work together for a suitable resolution.

One way to do this is if she complains to the council about your 'racket' they might send someone round with testing equipment that confirms that the sound resistance isn't up to scratch. Then this could force her landlord to sort out her ceiling. Or they might decide that your floor is the problem and force you to sort it out, so it could go either way.

Finally if the floor/ceiling are that flimsy, then they probably don't comply with current fire regulations, this is a much bigger issue than sound so for your own safety you should get on the case asap.

 

[RigidRaider]

Invite her up for a drink and you'll be amazed at how the problem begins to unravel itself. Most of the noise issue is caused by mistrust or not knowing the neighbour. We have a neighbour who fettles cars but because he's such a fantastic bloke we don't mind at all. Others could find it very irritating.

Have a look at the Neighbours From Hell website. www.nfh.org.uk

By wearing slippers and keeping noise down I think you are going about it the right way, although I would drop the idea of bare boards, if only in the interests of your and your neighbour's sanity.

 

[Glassman]

I partly agree with Deluks on this one. If she's unhappy then perhaps she should approach her landlord and ask him/her to do something about it. I know everyone is entitled to some peace and quiet but she's the one with grievances, not you. It's not your fault if she lies awake every night waiting for a mouse to fart.
If you pay out for underlay etc. you may find that she's still complaining afterwards anyway.