I just moved into a rented condo unit a couple of weeks ago. So far it's been a very unhappy experience.
There are two children downstairs (ages 2 and 5) who run constantly. On weekends they are joined by their cousin, age 3.
The soundproofing in the building seems to be pretty good on the whole. I occasionally hear yelling, but mostly it's just running, running, running. Sometimes it reaches the point where I actually have to leave my home in order to achieve peace. It's just very depressing, every day.
They have hardwood floors, apparently without carpet of any kind. My floors are also hardwood, and I have just a couple of area rugs and two runners.
My questions are:
1: The owner of my unit has offered to install wall-to-wall carpeting, with a pad, in the non-tiled areas (that is, everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom). But: would this really help? I'm not crazy about w-to-w and would prefer not to be responsible for this kind of outlay.
2: I'd prefer to get a whole lot of old carpet and a bunch of pillows or cushions, and lay them around all over the place. But: would that help?
3: The person who lives downstairs - the mother of the two kids - is very hostile and has been unwilling even to consider making a change of any kind. I may be forced to go to the condo association for a remedy. Question: if she installs carpeting of any kind, would that make a difference??
4: Is there anything at all that I can do? I'm really wretched in my present circumstances.
