Noise from downstairs neighbors? Two low-budget solutions.

[@jrogers6214]

I live above a shop and constantly hear them talking and waking me up, im currently installing 14mm PU underlay and thick carpet and using acoustic caulk to seal any gaps from the skirting and walls. I hope it works somewhat.

[@soundproofist]

I can understand why you're going to try this. The noise coming through your floor depends on many factors. Like, does the shop downstairs have a ceiling, or just open beams underneath your floor? If there's a ceiling, what is it made from and how is it hung? Do you hear bass, impact, or low-frequency noise in your apartment, or mostly airborne conversation? I totally understand why you want to try to block the noise in your apartment (which is the "receiver") because there might not as much you can do about the source of the noise (the shop). The most-effective treatment is to stop the noise at the source (in the shop, or by decoupling their ceiling from the floor joists). Next step is the path (under your subfloor, the cavity between the two floors) and finally, the last resort (and least-effective) is the receiver -- the interior of your apartment. I've tried to do this in the past when I had an uncooperative downstairs neighbor who genuinely believed that noise can only travel from upstairs to downstairs and not vice-versa. I bought FLOR carpet tiles (vinyl backing, soft surface) and carpeted my entire floor. It made no difference to incoming noise from downstairs, but probably absorbed and softened some of my noise upstairs. In that case, I actually added sound ABSORPTION to my own apartment, making life better for my downstairs neighbors, but it made no difference in the amount or clarity of noise that I could still hear coming from them. If you own your apartment, and if you're able to modify your own flooring, you might do better to pull up the boards of your subfloor, add sound absorption (rockwool batts) into the cavity, then wrap a layer of mass-loaded vinyl over the floor joists,, and then put the subfloor planks back in place over that.

[@soundproofist]

@@pmh8427 Unfortunately, sometimes the solutions are cost-prohibitive, especially if the offending neighbor (the noise source) doesn't want to make modifications. But maybe the person who asked the original question got lucky and those changes with carpet, vinyl, and caulk at the receiving end actually helped a little.

[@sunnydaze5674]

Any suggestions for noise from upstairs neighbors who are in their own little world and don’t think noise rules apply to them??

[@soundproofist]

That depends on your situation. A little more info would be helpful. Like, what kind of noise, at what hours, have you talked to them already (and how did they react?), what remedies have you tried already, and so on. I'm thinking of maybe setting up some Soundproofist "office hours" on Zoom for a small donation -- for people who have a lot of questions or details they want to share for their situation.... and especially for people who might not want to put all those details into a KZbin chat.

[@RandomIyProductions]

For me its the annoying music

[@jihiakoh4554]

I really love your practical information! My neighbour upstair is with hard floor and they have kids running around all days. May I know what can I do from my end to fix the running and stomping noise without having them using soft carpet and house slippers? Upstair is a hard concrete/brick floor and I have a plastered ceiling with 3 inch gap in between. Thanks in advance ! =D

[@soundproofist]

Hi -- and thank you! I'm not sure what you mean about the 3-inch gap in the ceiling. Do you mean that the ceiling is already "decoupled" from the floor joists above? Unfortunately, concrete flooring does transmit impact noise. I guess the parents of the children upstairs aren't willing to make modifications?

[@jihiakoh4554]

Hi @@soundproofist yes and the "decoupled" space is about 3 inch. Yes neighbour's modification is off the table and I will have to make do from my end. Does adding materials like sponge in the gap helps or other solutions you may propose? Thank you =D

[@soundproofist]

@@jihiakoh4554 I don't think putting "sponge"-like material in the gap will help that much. It will absorb mid-frequency noise (which would be nice), but the impact noise is probably coming through the framing of the building, not from the "air." You might want to use the contact form on soundproofist.com to send me a message, and then when I respond, you can send me a photo. Right now it's hard to visualize. It's unfortunate that the neighbors aren't willing, but I've heard this often happens with neighbors who have small children.

[@go556]

Thanks for the tips! You mentioned that loud music requires a different solution. Unfortunately, this is what I am dealing with now. My downstairs neighbors like to play really strong beat music late at night and it really mess up my sleep. Is there any chance you can offer a solution to this? Thanks!

[@Sannie51]

Damn!! Me too!! So frustrating ... I think he has some type of device that's causing hazardous infrasound waves..... i notice it only when he's home. Unfortunately, it's hard to prove.... There's a ceiling thumper device that my old neighbors used to harass me in the same building. I thought moving to the top floor would eliminate this horrible problem. Good luck!! We're in the same boat smh

[@soundproofist]

So, unfortunately, this is another situation where the most-optimum solution is at The Source (your neighbor's sound system). The next-best option is on The Path (inside your building framing). And the first question I'll ask is: do you rent, or do you own? Because if you rent, the landlord needs to set some guidelines with your neighbor about noise, especially during sleeping hours. In a perfect world, you should be able to politely ask your neighbor to turn down the volume, lower the bass settings, put the speakers on anti-vibration pads, or wear headphones...but.... let's say that you're both owners, and your neighbor refuses to budge on the issue. That leaves you with "The Path." And the challenge here is that you could remove your flooring down to the joists, add soundproofing and mass, and decouple your floor from the joists when you rebuild it. BUT.... then there's flanking noise. You might still hear your neighbor's music coming through your walls, even after you soundproof your floors. And all of this could be easily solved with your neighbor's cooperation.

[@go556]

Thanks for your answer! I have asked my neighbor to cooperate, but I guess if they were considerate people, they would not behave like this in the first place LOL. and honestly, the volume is not that bad, but the strong beat is creating a lot of issues, because it accelerate my heartbeat and makes me feel like I am sleeping on a disco floor. I might just move I guess, but thank you for sharing all the tips! Hopefully it will be helpful in the interim @@soundproofist

[@tutoro5567]

interesting. I can hear the annoying conversations from downstairs. Dont know if its because of the ceiling or riser pipes.

[@soundproofist]

All of those pathways can be a pipeline for sound to travel through. I think downstairs neighbors have a false sense of privacy and many people believe that sound can only travel in one direction (down). But if that were true, then you would never hear sounds like car noise from the street in your upstairs apartment...right? Do you suppose your neighbor's ceiling is hollow? That could be one contributor. Another is minimalism. People who live in sparsely furnished apartments with bare floors create an echo chamber, and that noise goes upwards. And finally, yes, ventilation pipes in the walls, or recessed lights, etc. are like broadcast systems between apartments, especially if they're not insulated.

[@LastChanceHere]

LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!! I'm surprised why you don't have more subscribers. Other channels require you to buy expensive items which I don't even have that kind of money lol

[@soundproofist]

Thank you - I really appreciate that! Yes, I mostly try to offer “affordable” and actionable things you can do to mitigate noise problems, even if you can’t eradicate them completely. A partial solution is better than no change at all. For example, I know that a decoupled ceiling (which requires demolition and reconstruction) will block even more airborne noise than insulation and sound panels. But construction might be $20,000 per room if you hire a professional, and takes at least two weeks, and you have to move everything out of the room. That’s not practical for everyone!

[@franciscodelapeligroso9480]

I had a neighbor slamming doors literally 24 hours a day. Complained to mgmt, they said he felt harrassed. I called the cops, sent the report to mgmt. They talked to him but it didnt stop. Finally they let me break my lease and leave, then i think later his apartment was available. Why they kicked him out after i left, i dont know. Apartmentd suck. For the price i pay it should like a room in a palace with no sound

[@soundproofist]

Unfortunately, yes, these days we pay premium prices for thin-walled housing. And we live in a era of "entitlement", so approaching someone with a reasonable concern (the impact of door slamming on adjacent neighbors) somehow escalates, when simply being considerate of others is free and easy to do.

[@EmilyAnneMcDonald]

Any solutions if you don't think you can convince your downstairs neighbors to put in panels?

[@soundproofist]

What kind of noise are you getting -- conversation, music, impact noise, all of the above? Do you rent, so you can't make renovations to your flooring? And have you talked to your landlord already about soundproofing or about your downstairs neighbors? Is their ceiling hollow? If you own, but your downstairs neighbors are resistant to modifications (or they claim they don't believe you), I've also been thinking about how to effectively mitigate noise that comes from downstairs (beyond just asking my neighbor to use more absorption). But it would require removing my existing floor and the subfloor, and then laying mass-loaded vinyl over the floor joists before replacing the subfloor. Then I would add more mass, and new flooring with padding underneath to dampen impact noise from walking. So basically you would have to start from inside the cavity between their unit and yours, suppress that noise transfer as much as possible, and then add more mass to your floor to block the lower frequencies.

[@artloveranimation]

@@soundproofist I've got mostly carpet floors already but I can hear screaming kids and angry yelling parents throughout the day, starting as early as 4-5am

[@soundproofist]

@@artloveranimation Here's the thing about carpets in YOUR apartment....but first, on behalf of everyone who has neighbors with no carpeting -- thank you! The carpets are most effective in reducing echo in your apartment, and also in reducing the noise that transmits from YOUR apartment to your neighbors' apartment. Carpets in your apartment won't reduce the noise that's coming from your neighbors because it's already gone into the framing. That means it's resonating through the floor and possibly even the walls. So that's why stopping at the source is the best option (but requires cooperation from the people at the source). Next best is the path -- in this case, probably inside the walls or ceilings, to absorb or block some of the noise before it gets to your apartment. The third is the receiver, which is you and me, trying to do everything we can to mitigate the impact of incoming noise that we can't stop: play ambient music, white-noise machines, adding an extra layer of plexi over your window, even doing things like wearing earplugs that are designed to let sound in, but somehow reduce your "trigger" response to it. Flare Audio makes some products that are said to help with certain noise sensitivities, and sometimes I've worn them. I found they relax my jaw, if nothing else. And obviously, I would talk to your landlord (if you have one), try offering your neighbors a carpet and pad or extra ceiling tiles, and if they're just angry all the time and direct that anger at you, consider hiring a mediator to help you deal with your neighbors. See this on the Soundproofist site: soundproofist.com/2021/09/13/working-with-mediators/

[@anaesterhazy631]

Why not just put a mass loaded vynil sheet on the floor for example, and a thick carpeting on top of it?? So you wouldn't have to deal with the neighbors.

[@soundproofist]

No, the floor in my apartment needs to be taken down to the studs. Putting mass-loaded vinyl on top of it won't solve anything. A previous owner thought he could "soundproof" the room from the downstairs neighbors by adding a layer of tile on top of the hardwood floor. So right now it's subfloor, then a layer of thin parquet wood floor with no underlayment (1950s), then a layer of thinset and then a layer of ceramic tile. If I ever redo the floor, I would remove it all the way down, put a layer of mass-loaded vinyl over the joists, then maybe joist isolators over that, then a new subfloor, then an underlayment plus a new floor (probably wood). Right now the downstairs apartment is like an open atrium of sound going into my apartment. And the tile floor in my apartment is like a microphone going into the downstairs apartment. It's a very expensive undertaking, in case you wonder why I haven't done it yet. Believe me... I'll document the whole thing on video if I do it.

[@anaesterhazy631]

Thanks for the info.@@soundproofist

[@roberta9428]

I’m a renter and my downstairs neighbors run their bathroom fan constantly for hours and it causes my hard floors and furniture to vibrate. Management won’t do anything since the fan isn’t broken.

[@soundproofist]

Many apartment leases have a clause in them that states something like "...quiet enjoyment of the home." What state do you live in (if you live in the USA)? I would look into regional noise codes as well as taking a look at your rental agreement. A fan doesn't need to be broken to create a nuisance. You might find more info about this on the NOLO website. Your landlord should open up the ceiling where the fan is located and add appropriate anti-vibration and insulation to reduce the vibration. Got a video (with audio) of this problem? By the way, we have some links to regional noise codes at soundproofist.com/ordinances/

[@roberta9428]

@@soundproofist Thanks. Yes that quiet enjoyment phrase is in my lease and I’ve mentioned it to them a few times but I guess because they said the fan is working correctly they aren’t going to do anything else. They offered to come to my apartment to see what I’m experiencing but I’m sure they’ll just tell me to add rugs to my place, which you’ve said won’t help. I was told the noise ordinance only applies to decibels not vibrations. I will try and ask if they can add some insulation to the fan but I have a feeling they’ll say no. They’ll just tell me to make adjustments to my apartment which I know now won’t work. I thought about putting a glass of water on the floor and take a video of the water moving and send it to the office.

[@soundproofist]

@@roberta9428 I think you should make that video with the glass of water. And you're right -- putting a rug on YOUR floor will make no difference whatsoever with this issue. And the argument that "the fan is working correctly" also doesn't work, in my opinion. A Harley Davidson motorcycle might be working correctly, but if you hear it revving through your windows and walls all the time, it's a noise problem. A dog might be perfectly healthy and that dog might be making healthy and normal barking sounds, but that doesn't mean it's OK to hear it barking all the time. I found a blog post on a ceiling fan site that details some of the different kinds of noise a fan might make, if that's helpful. sofucorfan.com/blogs/explore-ceiling-fan-noise-problems-and-solutions

[@roberta9428]

@@soundproofist I think I will make that video. They probably don’t believe my floor is actually vibrating that much. And I completely agree with all of your examples. Unfortunately it’s hard to convince apartments to make changes unless something is broken or the noise is something like loud music or a TV they can easily fix by telling the people to turn it down. As long as they’re collecting rent they don’t seem to really care if tenants are happy or not. It’s not a ceiling fan, it’s their bathroom exhaust fan. It’s right below one of my bathrooms and the vibrations are so strong the toilet vibrates! So not very fair to me that I can’t use one of my bathrooms either when the fan is on.

[@roberta9428]

@@soundproofist I’ve also measured the decibels on an app but they’re not loud enough to be considered going against the noise ordinance. Ahd I can block out the noise enough with noise cancelling air pods but it’s the vibrations that are the worst. It covers the entire apartment! How can one little bathroom fan be that strong?

[@cristianjuarez9496]

Can I place these on the floor? And then have my bed on top of that? Would that work?

[@soundproofist]

No, unfortunately, I don't think putting sound panels (or felt panels) on your floor would work to block noise from below. It needs to be absorbed or mitigated at the source. And even having insulation inside the downstairs ceiling will absorb some frequencies, but not all of them. For example, bass (low frequency) can pass through insulation, and blocking that requires more mass (like more drywall). Putting absorption on your floor is a nice courtesy to your downstairs neighbors, though. What type of noise is bothering you? Conversation (mid frequency), low frequency (bass), or impact noise?

[@cristianjuarez9496]

@@soundproofist downstairs neighbor blasts music for the entire day-night from Friday to Saturday. Floor is basically vibrating all throughout the night.

[@soundproofist]

@@cristianjuarez9496 It's these kinds of neighbors that inspired me to start this channel. Are you a renter, and if so, I assume you've talked to your landlord? I'm sure you've also talked to your neighbors. How did they react?

[@cristianjuarez9496]

@@soundproofist years ago yes. I believe their response was along the lines of “get a carpet/rug” and landlord didn’t do much. Think it made it worse actually. Don’t remember if it was better than or now.

[@mde6006]

How about loud downstairs neighbors, including fights and VERY LOUD snoring? Not a chance the would put sound panels up even if I provided them and not a chance landlord would help. I've got so much underlay and so many rugs down. Still hear um. 😖😤🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@soundproofist]

I had exactly that situation years ago with previous downstairs neighbors. Loud talking and slamming all day, then loud snoring all night long. This is how I learned that it doesn't help if you're on the receiving end and you add a layer of vinyl, rug pads, and rugs to your own floor if the noise is coming from below. It's resonating through the structure. The only thing that eliminated the snoring was to tear out the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom, put multiple soundproofing materials inside the ceiling cavity, and then use 3/4-inch soundproof drywall hung on resilient channels for the new ceiling. It was a solution that addressed both the source and the path. After years of trying to reason with my downstairs neighbors and hiring a mediator, I offered to pay 50% of the construction costs. But for you -- as a renter, and with an unwilling landlord and unwilling neighbors -- I hate to say it, but moving might be the only way to get some peace and quiet.

[@courtneyzoller1545]

It’s the vibrating from walking that is the worst for me. Incan drown out everything else.

[@saz6511]

I’ve just moved to a lovely apartment and have a family downstairs however the female is so heavy footed for such a small girl I’ve never known anything like it, I just want her to get pregnant again so they have to move to a bigger place 😂

[@soundproofist]

I know exactly how you feel, and often the downstairs neighbors simply don't believe you when you tell them that you hear their feet pounding. As if vibration and noise can only go in one direction (down), which is not true.

[@AliGspot]

So the only thing I can do is get my neighbours to put panels on their ceiling and not have down lights 😂 not really a solution!

[@soundproofist]

No, there are other things you could do that would be more effective, but they'll cost a lot more. For example, if you have tens of thousands of dollars to spend, you could tear your apartment down to the studs and rebuild it with soundproofing materials in the cavities, and decouple the floor (and maybe your walls, too). Or you could ask your downstairs neighbors to tear their apartment down to the studs (good luck with that) and they would need to soundproof and decouple their ceiling, and add some sound absorption to their living space. Or you could give up on this home and move to a new one, but be careful not to move into another cheaply built North American "wooden tent" made of 2x4s and hollow drywall. Or maybe you'll get lucky, and your neighbors will move out, and the new ones will actually improve on the space. The suggestions in this video are how to make the best of a situation you can't afford to change as much as you'd like to.

[@AliGspot]

@@soundproofist the title of the video was two low budget solutions. You didn’t provide a single one. Not in the video and not it your comment! Most people watching this video are renters and won’t be able to go to their neighbour below and dictate how they have their ceiling! This video was as helpful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Rubber floor mats would have been a better solution. Affordable. Able to go over hard floors.

[@soundproofist]

@@AliGspot I said these options were "low budget" and I also said that they require cooperation from a downstairs neighbor or the landlord, both of which are not guaranteed. In my situation, I experienced some relief when I asked my downstairs neighbor to put some sound panels on his ceiling. He has lots of parties, and his friends can get loud. His apartment is sparsely furnished with lots of bare, hard surfaces, so their voices boomed through his ceiling into my apartment. He wasn't willing to do construction. But he was willing to try some sound panels on his ceiling. They helped to reduce some of the loudness and echo, but they're not perfect. Of course, not every neighbor is willing to compromise. It doesn't matter if they're owners or renters or landlords... they just don't want to, and they might reframe the issue as your problem, not theirs. I doubt that putting a rubber mat on your floor will stop most of the noise coming from your downstairs neighbor. Sure, you can try it...since it sounds like your landlord/neighbor won't help, but more than likely it will be better for your downstairs neighbor than it will be for you. It might reduce some of *your* noise. In my apartment, a previous owner put a layer of tile (with concrete) on top of the original wood floor because he didn't want to hear the downstairs neighbors anymore, and it didn't soundproof them. I still heard every detail from downstairs. Remember, as a general rule, the most-effective soundproofing is at the source (your neighbor's apartment), the second best is on the path (inside the cavities and the framing en route to your apartment), the last resort and often the least-effective is at the receiver, which is you, or the inside your apartment. I usually can't control the source, and rebuilding the path (in my building) would be unaffordable and disruptive, so I look for small hacks that might help. Sorry this video makes you angry.