Has anyone had success soundproofing an upstairs condo?

Submitted by stricly_business t3_ztv2p3 in boston

We live on the second story of an old 2-family home. I'm trying to figure out how to soundproof our bedroom from our noisy neighbors below. The main noise problem is deep male voices. I'm guessing most sound comes through our wood floor, so I'm thinking we should try soundproofing that first, and then see if we need to do walls later.

Our downstairs neighbors are pretty uncooperative, and won't give us access to their ceiling to install sound insulation. So, we have to do everything from upstairs. What would you recommend? We are open to all options, including ripping out the floor and replacing with carpet if needed.

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NoMoLerking t1_j1fq45k wrote

It’s more about the pad than the carpet. There are some brands specifically marketed as soundproofing. Something like this one.
If you really want to go insane-o style you rip out the subfloor, add insulation between the joists. Then replace the subfloor, then a layer of green glue then another layer of wood, then the carpet.

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Mumbles76 t1_j1fw346 wrote

Came here to say this, rip the floor, add dense spray foam... you won't hear shit.

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stricly_business OP t1_j1g77oz wrote

I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to rip out the floor. Obviously it would be a ton more work, but I'd hate to install carpet and padding only and it not make much difference. How to decide? I was hoping to talk with a local soundproofing professional to learn more, but I'm having trouble finding many options there.

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[deleted] t1_j1fqzrp wrote

[deleted]

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stricly_business OP t1_j1g7ehg wrote

Luckily we have attic access so insulating walls will be much easier. That'll be done later though if needed since the majority of the sound is coming through the floor.

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giritrobbins t1_j1j7ds0 wrote

Just be forewarned it's possible it's balloon frames so insulation into the walls will just go all the way down

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shiplesp t1_j1hu25a wrote

Soundproofing is a science. It is more than insulation and foam. Hire a professional to make recommendations. You may be able to diy, or not.

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stricly_business OP t1_j1i06vr wrote

That's the plan, but we want to be as educated as possible before talking to a pro.

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shiplesp t1_j1i4ixa wrote

The HomeRenoVision YouTube channel is a pretty good source of professional information about all stages of construction, and I know they have covered soundproofing, though I think it was mostly walls and ceilings.

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snorkeling_moose t1_j1foyh0 wrote

Some guy: "Hey, we'd like to do work for you that will increase the value of your condo, at no cost to you, along with it greatly improving our quality of life".

The neighbors: "No fucking thanks, idiot".

I will never understand some people.

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Key-Neat5457 t1_j1g6tp6 wrote

^has never had construction done before. Would you want all your ceilings ripped out?

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Boston2021 t1_j1jsdvx wrote

Yes, you get clean new drywall and paint instead of old shit. You get to run that wire for the ceiling fan, lights, or speakers you always wanted to.

Also you can be louder

Wouldn’t the condo association help you get access?

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kangaroospyder t1_j1gfwit wrote

We want to DIY your ceilings without proper construction experience, for something we hope might work, but don't actually know how to sound proof. You mind living with that construction for a month? I don't know why you would say no. Must be unreasonable...

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NaggeringU t1_j1g0dhv wrote

remove flooring, remove plywood - spray foam everything (use open cell, not closed cell for this). put down plywood. put in quarter inch carpet pad, put in water resistant carpet.

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IronLion650 t1_j1frg5f wrote

Sorry for your situation, that sounds frustrating.

This doesn't feel like the best place to ask this question though given that it's not about turkeys, dunkies, the T, or bicyclists.

I'd suggest posting in r/HomeImprovement to get started on what you should look into.

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stricly_business OP t1_j1g7t8j wrote

I did post there too, but I know my Boston peeps have plenty of experience with old homes and loud neighbors, so I knew some would have good advice.

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snorkeling_moose t1_j1g452u wrote

> This doesn't feel like the best place to ask this question though given that it's not about turkeys, dunkies, the T, or bicyclists.

I propose that we encourage people to post things outside of the same lazy 4 meme topics on this sub. Post dunkies kek on r/HomeImprovement instead.

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nattarbox t1_j1fxfd3 wrote

I soundproofed my basement with 6” of rockwool and new walls. You can still hear deep voices through the ceiling / floor. It reduced volume of music and sound but it’s not 100% soundproof, and you probably wouldn’t be satisfied with the results.

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stricly_business OP t1_j1g7n00 wrote

Ugh this is my fear... I'd hate to put in the money and effort for a crappy result. That's why I'm thinking about going all out and soundproofing it to the max. Low frequencies like deep voices and bass are apparently much harder to soundproof.

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NaggeringU t1_j1g8a0y wrote

rockwool won't do much. you need to use resilient channels and/or open cell spray foam

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chisel_jockey t1_j1ghjq6 wrote

Rockwool and spray foam accomplish the same thing- both will help deaden the sound waves, but they will still transmit through solid members i.e. wood joists, strapping, wall plates. Air gaps and multiple staggered layers of decoupled sheetrock (resilient channel and sound clips create air space between layers and eliminate hard connections) are probably the way to go- and likely what a sound engineer would spec. You’re looking at $30k easy. And probably wouldn’t be happy with the results. Getting new neighbors would be more effective

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nattarbox t1_j1g7ux6 wrote

There’s no 100% solution. If voices are bothering you it’s entirely possible that you could spend a crapload of money and effort and still be hearing them.

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stricly_business OP t1_j1g8e0n wrote

I'm ok with muffled voices as long as earplugs can block them for the most part. Right now, the noise is so loud earplugs don't do much to help. I wonder if we can have a pro come take a look to give us some specific recommendations and set clear expectations for results. B/c obviously it would suck to spend a bunch of money if we still have trouble sleeping in the end.

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devAcc123 t1_j1gkhg4 wrote

Have you tried a white noise machine?

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stricly_business OP t1_j1gl1z1 wrote

Yes, but it only does so much, and my wife hates it lol... I usually end up wearing noise cancelling headphones over my earplugs, but obviously it's not very comfortable to wear long term

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DanMasterson t1_j1hlr9w wrote

Visit r/acoustics if you haven’t. Lots of similar questions/answers from experts there.

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dny6 t1_j1iqaur wrote

In addition to insulation, Look into an acoustic underlayment that goes under your floors.

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