[dhwilkin]

Lots of stomping, eh? That's a tough one, if the apartment isn't already built sturdy, and is why I always recommend living on the top floor if you're going to live in an apartment. Also tends to get you away from more bugs. Not sure what would help with that, but in general, really thick curtains work surprisingly well for blocking outside light and noise. I have some for my bedroom, quite helpful considering there's a window that faces a somewhat busy road not far away.

 

[Hiratsuka]

Here, check out this website:

http://soundseal.com/

The Impacta Floor Treatment would work wonders for you, too bad the architect that designed your building didn't think of that. Also, under the Barricade noise control products link there are the mobile sound deadening screens you might be interested in. The Sound Quality Archtectural Acoustical Products might be of interest to you as well.

 

[zotjen]

This past August I moved into a first floor condo. I can pretty much hear everything that goes on in the unit above me. When I am in bed at night, I can hear someone snoring above me. I also hear every sneeze, cough, hack, etc., as well as their talking. Fortunately they don't play loud music and hardly watch TV.

However, I can hear every footstep they make. When these people are home, they don't sit still and are constantly walking back and forth. The wife doesn't walk, she stomps. One of my light fixtures rattles every time they walk over it. They are always sliding something across the floor. They are constantly dropping things (3 or 4 times a day). There is also a toddler who may or may not be their daughter who stays with them a few days a week. This child does nothing but run around the entire time she is with them. I'm betting that if they laid a nice carpet down, it would eliminate at least 70% of the noise. Unfortunately there is nothing in the condo association guidelines mandating that second floor residents need to have carpet.

I'm sure that they in turn though, hear every noise I make. Although I don't blast music or my TV, I'm sure it's loud enough that they hear it at times. They can hear my coughs, hacks and sneezes. They hear my phone conversations. And I'm sure they can hear my alarm clock ring every morning, as I've heard them stumble out of bed on occasion shortly after my alarm went off.

I'm one for not making waves and right now I can live with the noise above me. They are not always at home and it's hard to fault someone for making noise by just going about their daily business. If though it did get considerably worse, I would try talking with them first, and if that failed I would probably then complain to the condo board.

 

[Gabe Logan]

Tried looking for that story but i cant find it anymore.Read it at a time when making my PC ultra quiet was my goal.

If i find it later on i'll post it.

 

[twc5964]

Thanks,I have some form of options now to get me by.If you find that article I would appreciate it.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik Check your lease or rental agreement. A section of it ought to deal with noise and/or neighbor complaints. Then go see your landlord or manager about it. Worst case scenario, your city ought to have a noise ordinance. They can be cited for it, but that often unleashes bad feelings. Your landlord/manager is also an authority figure and will generally do a better job of smoothing things over. And there is a physical solution to noise: soundboard. But if you don't own the place, it's probably not worth it. It'll probably be against the terms of your lease of rental agreement, too. In a nutshell, soundboard comes in sheets just like drywall and is usually placed behind the drywall. It cuts out a surprising amount of sound and isn't that expensive, either. Problem is, you've got to pull the walls off, apply it, and put up new drywall. In addition to my day job, I work for my family, too. We have some apartments, and we *always* put up soundboard any time we renovate. Neighbor complaints drop almost to zero and it's an extra layer of insulation, too.

This stuff is incredible! I used it when I built a server case for a rack mount server at work. The server was VERY loud and was sitting about 5 feet from my bosses desk. It would give him a headache within minutes. Sadly, we had a very small office and no wiring closet to stash the thing in so he asked me to create something to quiet it down. I used 3/4" MDF on the outside and lined the case with soundboard. In addition I created a channeling system using the soundboard with intake and exhaust fans to keep from having any direct route out for the sound created by the server's fans and to insure proper cooling. In the end you could sit next to the thing all day long and not even notice it.

I really wish more apts would use this stuff when they built the units. I will definitely use this stuff when I have a house built.

 

[Lead Ears]

Sorry to hear about your situation. My last apartment was a large studio; in fact, it had been a large hall that was ultimately divided into two mirror-image studios. The wall between the two apts was somewhat thin, however, it didn't quite form a seal where it met the ceiling (ceilings were approx 15'). Long story short, I could hear every bleeding thing that went on next door. To make matters worse, my neighbor had a bad singing habit and was ALWAYS home. Furthermore, the guy below me worked third shift and would sometimes watch movies directly below my bed while I was trying to sleep; subwoofer shook my bed...earplugs can't block that out. In the first case, it took a letter from the landlord to shut the singer up. In the second case, some civil words and agreed upon times to make noise solved the problem.

As far as the stomping goes, your neighbors are douchebags. Apartment living is a two-way street. If you live below someone, no loud music or tv during late hours. If you live above someone, remove your shoes and tread lightly, put felt pads under chair legs, etc... In both cases, people need to respect the right of others to coexist. In other words, be as patient and zen as possible about reasonable amounts of noise, while at the same time, making as little noise as possible. Good luck; apartment living can be really nice!


Edit: Damn! Just bumped a really old thread w/o realizing!