The 3 best ways to soundproof a floor. Reduce unwanted impact & airborne noise from noisy neighbours

The 3 key principles when soundproofing a timber floor are to:
1. Increase the mass of the floor to help block airborne noise
2. Add a cushioning layer of impact absorbing foam to absorb impact vibration
3. Add acoustic mineral wool between joists to stop sounds amplifying within the sealed chamber:
www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/...
The top 3 soundproofing solutions for timber floors:
1. SoundMat 3 Plus
www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/...
2. Reverso SoundMat
www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/...
3. SoundScreed 28
www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/...
3 tried and tested timber floor soundproofing solutions to help reduce unwanted noise from noisy neighbours.
The differences between each solution, performance against impact and airborne noise and suitability for different final floor finishes.
A list of our recommended soundproofing products and materials that we talk about in this video:
SoundMat 3 Plus: soundproofingstore.uk/product...
Reverso SoundMat: soundproofingstore.uk/product...
SoundScreed 28: soundproofingstore.uk/product...
Acoustic Mineral Wool: soundproofingstore.uk/product...
Visit: www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/ for more information about the highest performing, award-winning soundproofing solutions for floors, walls and ceilings, or feel free to call a member of our expert team on [phone].
00:00 Top 3 floor soundproofing solutions intro
00:55 The science of soundproofing
01:11 1. Increase the mass of the floor
01:34 2. Add cushioning for impact vibration
01:58 Impact & airborne noise
02:55 3. Add acoustic mineral between joists
03:33 SoundMat 3 Plus
03:45 Mass loaded vinyl
04:09 Closed cell foam
05:40 Carpet final floor finishes
06:04 Reverso SoundMat
06:27 Cement fibre board
06:38 Hard floor final finishes
08:25 Multiple final floor finishes
08:42 Unique reversible design
09:05 SoundScreed 28
09:29 Wood fbre layer
09:46 Dry screed gypsum
11:03 All final floor finishes
11:14 Timber floor soundproofing conclusion

[@georgefletcher7926]

My Condominium complex has 400+ units built in 1957. Please please please all Soundproofing companies you need to target communities like us with advertisements every week. You will become billionaires I promise you.

[@Fidrafunk]

I have a noisy floorboards landing that i am repairing right now. The carpet already has a pretty thick underlay, whilst not with loads of mass, does have the benefit if dampening impact noise from steps. The overall issue is the floor boards themselves which are not properly fixed to the joists. So i am fixing that now, but it made me wonder,, is it possible to get some benefits by adding a lining of material on the top of the joists ehich the floorboards would lay on top of and then be fixed down really tight onto?

[@moosey62]

That's a groovy haircut mate.

[@charcerv1]

Thank you for your post. I'm wondering if these products would help with vibrations. I'm a little too close to a major highway and feel the vibrations coming through the floors all over my house. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[@SoundproofingStore]

Hi @charcerv1, soundproofing against external noise can be quite tricky because of weak points such as doors and windows. Please do feel free to contact us on [phone] and we can discuss the noise you are experiencing in more detail and advise accordingly. You might be interested in the below feedback from a customer who purchased SoundMat 3 Plus: "My wife and I are both very sensitive to sound, and are always looking for ways to reduce unwanted noise in the home. We replaced our prior carpet with Soundmat 3 Plus as an underlay some months ago. The difference is night & day. If I lie on our garage floor as a quarry truck goes past on a nearby road, the room shakes as though a minor earthquake is occurring. In the rooms with Soundmat 3 Plus, you'd barely know there was a road. I cannot begin to quantify the reduction in disturbed sleep or stress this product has given us. Please never stop making it!"

[@sabinabegum1958]

Will this reduce noise if I had the washing machine on? Where I am moving my kitchen is above my neighbours bedroom. I want to prevent any noise vibrations going down.

[@SoundproofingStore]

It's slightly trickier with the vibrations from a washing machine, as the sound vibration could also potentially be travelling (flanking) down the walls. If you have the space, then fitting a SoundMat directly under the washing machine will certainly help dampen some of the vibrations. Please feel free to call us on [phone].

[@GregoryGuay]

Did you solve your washing machine issue? You can add some plywood or concrete blocks under it that would help but of course that could be unsightly and take up a lot of space.

[@MikeFoster-ss5xg]

Hi, do you know who sells these products in New Zealand? Thanks

[@SoundproofingStore]

These are our products that we only sell in the UK. Their may be companies based in New Zealand that sell something similar but we are not aware of who those companies are i'm afraid.

[@dmlawncare749]

do you guys deliver to USA?

[@SoundproofingStore]

D&M Lawn Care, thanks for getting in touch. I'm afraid we don't ship to the USA.

[@PG143JP]

I just moved into a duplex a few weeks ago and the neighbor has a 5 year old that when he runs through his duplex I hear a sound like someone's thumping on a drum and wakes me up early mornings. I don't mind that I can hear throughout the duplex but my sleep keeps gets disrupted. Is there anything I could do after the floors were just replaced?

[@ssoffshore5111]

Are you above or below the child. I'm guessing below, and if so, you'd have to attack the noise from below and will require a fair amount of work and cost redoing all the ceilings.

[@blackbirdbeatle]

​@@ssoffshore5111duplex so a shared party wall and the impact noise lilely flanking. How do we minimize that?

[@ssoffshore5111]

@@blackbirdbeatle If coming through the shared wall, you either need to build a double wall (with a slight gap so the framing is decoupled), or remove the existing dry wall, insulate, and install resilient channel with 2 layers of 5/8" drywall. Caulk the perimeter well. But the answer is the wall has to be decoupled and 2 layers of 5/8" drywall.

[@Birmingham_racing]

I just need something to stop the bass going through the floor so I can enjoy my subwoofer

[@SoundproofingStore]

Hi Birmingham racing - Thats a very difficult challenge. I would need more info about the construction of the floor to accurately advise. But bass vibration is the most difficult thing to stop. Best thing to do is send us an email or enquiry via the website and we can have a chat through the project. www.soundproofingstore.co.uk

[@lloydgillings1476]

Hi, please can you tell me what is the best solution for soundproofing staircases ? Thanks.

[@SoundproofingStore]

Hi Lloyd Gillings, please take a look at the below article which highlights the different scenarios (depending on which is applicable to you): 1. Soundproofing a party wall against noise from your neighbours stairs which are adjacent to your wall 2. Soundproofing a party wall which has your stairs against it and soundproofing this wall against unwanted noise from next door 3. Soundproofing the stairs themselves 4. Soundproofing under stairs www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/how-to-soundproof-stairs Please feel free to call us on [phone] and a member of the team will be more than happy to advise on the correct solution for your particular noise issue.

[@D369MT]

Can I get this shipped to Poland?

[@SoundproofingStore]

Hi, thank you for your question. We don't ship outside of mainland UK i'm afraid. If you want to arrange your own couriers to collect from us and ship to you, that can be accommodated.

[@HektorBandimar]

It would cost a fortune to soundproof my old Edwardian built house, it has a brick 4.5" inches or 11.43 cm party wall, plastered and even dry lined on one side, and I can still hear every sound through each alcove each side of the chimney breasts, it's a nightmare.

[@SoundproofingStore]

It's worth getting in touch with your dimensions. Yes, soundproofing isn't a cheap thing to do, but some people are pleasantly surprised it's not as expensive as they thought it would be.

[@IchbinsdochxD]

My boyfriend and i just moved to an apartment and the neighboor upstairs watches TV THE WHOLE DAY with bass and it drives us insane. We tried talking to him, but he got agressive, insulted us and slammed the door :) Now we dont really know what to do. We cant really take a video, because the bass cant be heard on the phone. We're a little afraid of him now, what if he comes screaming at us if we consult the landlord or something? If feel like he even turned the bass up after we said something. I understand wanting to have a good sound, but is trash TV really more important than the sanity of others? Hate that guy.

[@checkfoldcallraise]

It sucks dealing with selfish people. I’m sorry you’re going through that. I would absolutely complain to the landlord about the noise. Really it’s the bass that reverberates through the walls, if he could just turn the bass down but I doubt he cares. So I wouldn’t care either if he gets mad about you complaining about him. He just has a bully mentality so don’t let that intimidate you. He’ll get over it. I hope it gets resolved. Nothing worse than living in discomfort.

[@IchbinsdochxD]

@@checkfoldcallraise thanks for those nice words :) yeah, we complained about it to our landlord and he luckily was very nice and compassionate and said he would talk to him. We didnt hear from our landlord after that, but the neighboor actually seems to turn the volume down most of the time, its bearable now :)

[@checkfoldcallraise]

@@IchbinsdochxD that’s good to hear, I’m glad 😊

[@Birmingham_racing]

@@IchbinsdochxD I'm glad you spoke up. I've loved bass my whole life but I try to be considerate towards neighbours by keeping it down. In my car on the motoway I can enjoy it properly

[@gorringeman]

Go to the Council and keep a diary/recordings. Just did that with my neighbours dog - It worked