NOISE FROM ABOVE

[RONALD]

helpppppppppp.. I live in a CONDO.  i am on the second floor.  The woman above me just installed pergo floors with the BEST soundproofing they make according to the condo office.  When the woman closes her cabinets i hear the thump, when she walks with her wood heel shoes i hear it.  when her cat runs i hear the running.  when the cat drops the toys i hear it.  I ASSUME i have vibration noise ?  I do not hear her talking, i do not hear her tv but i hear all walking, cabinets  etc.  BETWEEN our units is a CONCRETE slab.   I OWN the condo-my ceiling is a SPRAY on old style texture.  it has asbestos in it so i dont want to Remove it.  I am wondering how best to solve this- suspended ceiling. or MLV?  i dont care how it looks.  i am more than willing to GLUE MLV to the ceiling it it will not crash down on top of me. When i sell the unit i can worry about removal of it and the asbestos spray on.  I will most likely do the work myself .. money is not an issue-  I want something simple that works.  If it works in my 13X13 bedroom i will do the whole condo.  I have been told I can't get rid of 100% of the noise but If i can reduce it enough to not be woken up every morning i will do it.  What do you recommend?  I hope to hear from you with advice

[kosovorick]

I have a similar problem.   The people above me put in a hardwood floor...I had to move from my last place when this happened.  I just spent $2000 to have cellulose insulation put in the space between the two apartments.  this strongly reduced the sound of conversations, but I still hear every single step they or their dog take.  plus the squeaking of the boards.  I can't sleep any more.

[Dave Blazick]

You should have your HOA ban hardwood floors on 2nd story units. This is a common practice. Units with existing hardwood floors should have 80% coverage of area rugs with padding underneath. Ask your neighbor to remove there shoes when in their unit.

[David Blazick]

You should have your HOA ban hardwood floors on 2nd story units. This is a common practice. Units with existing hardwood floors should have 80% coverage of area rugs with padding underneath. Ask your neighbor to remove there shoes when in their unit. You can also sue your HOA:

"Failing to control the types of floors installed in CIDs can result in a painful lesson. In one recent case a homeowner sued his upstairs neighbor and his association's board of directors because of an allegedly unreasonable amount of noise created by his neighbor's new hardwood floors. The board had approved the installation of the floors without investigating the potential for affecting the downstairs neighbor's quiet enjoyment of his property. The homeowner successfully proved that the hardwood floors created an unreasonable amount of noise and that the homeowners association was partially to blame for approving the installation. After a three week jury trial, the homeowner was awarded $162,000. The jury determined that the homeowner association's board of directors was responsible for two-thirds of the recovery."

If your interested in insulating your ceiling against the noise above read the following article.  Scroll down to Soundproofing under existing drywall

http://massloadedvinyl.blogspot.com/

Also:

http://massloadedvinyl.blogspot.com/2005/06/green-glue-results-coming-soon.html

So basically you would want to attach MLV with foam backing to the ceiling this will isolate the ceiling reducing vibrations and block noise. Also, if you use Green Glue between the 2 pieces of drywall you can further dampen the noise and vibration from above.

[Rob]

Dave, do you have any more info on the lawsuit?
I have a similar problem.
Thanks.

Rob

[agtrojan]

For those seeking relief from impact noise (footfall noise over wood or tile)  check out the flooring underlays.  There is the Floor underlay to install under Tile or Stone:

http://www.soundproofing.org/brochures/ssp_floor_underlay.htm

For wood floors there is:

http://www.soundproofing.org/brochures/ssp_wood_underlay.htm

For carpet look at the MLV with closed cell foam:

http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/flooring.htm