Vibrations from floor through bed

[mrbob]

I live on the second floor of a two-story apartment building, and often have difficulty sleeping at night due to noise rising from the floor through my bed. Is there any sort of material or object I could put under the feet of the bed to help block/abosrb the vibrations?

[joel]

Hello Mr. Bob,



There are anti-vibration pads you can put under the feet of your bed that will stop the structural vibration transfer from the floor your bed sits on.  See info at



http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/vibrationpads.htm#Vib



If the floor vibration is caused by low frequency sound (bass) or if the "noise" you describe is air-borne sound(talking, shouting, loud TV, stereo, etc.), then you will need to use a material that both absorbs vibration and blocks sound.  The material to use would be 1/8" MLV (Mass loaded vinyl) with 1/4" closed cell foam bonded to the underside.  For it to be effective, you will need to cover the entire floor, add carpet pad, and wall-towall carpeting.  If you only do the  area under your bed in this manner (be sure to extend material out a few feet past the bed perimeter), some noise will be blocked.  If the noise is very loud, some will still "flank" the vibration/noise barrier pad described.  With this solution you will still probably want to use anti-vibration pads under the feet of your bed.  For info on the MLV w/closed cell foam see the third type sold at



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



Joel