# Soundproofing condo floors



## JTSully (Jan 7, 2011)

I bought a condo and the noise from the condo below is unbearable.
The condo is wood construction and is 30 years old. It is a garden apartment style complex with 2 floors, 8 units to a building. There is no sound transfer from side to side, only from below.
I am looking for a way to soundproof the floors. I have been Googling the term "Soundproofing floors" and all I come up with is companies trying to sell a product.
Does anyone have any advice about how to soundproof the floors?


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## Ted White (Jan 8, 2011)

The best scenario is when the soundproofing treatment is on the sound-producing side if the partition. This reduces sound flanking. This isn't possible in your case, I understand. Also there is sound coming through the walls to some degree.  That's the nature of sound transmission. Sometimes its a lot sometimes a little.

In either case about all you can do is look to add mass to your floor and possibly damp that mass. More effective solutions take up more floor height which causes issues with doors opening, etc.


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## joecaption (Jan 9, 2011)

Thick padding and dense carpet in your unit is about all you can do. Inless you want to offer the people below you some free carpeting.


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## Ted White (Jan 9, 2011)

If you're hearing it from below then there would have been sufficient energy to pass through the floor. Therefore there would be plenty of energy to pass through the carpet and pad. You'd have to significantly increase the mass of the floor and damp it.


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## JTSully (Jan 10, 2011)

Would you be speaking of mass-loaded vinyl? It seems to be what comes up the most in a Google search. Is it practical in an older condo setting?
 I know I cannot completely soundproof, but am looking to dampen the sound enough that I can live with it. The neighbors are nice but loud and I don't want to keep complaining.


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## Ted White (Jan 10, 2011)

One or two pound MLV helps. It's thin so that's a plus. If you have height you can also add plywood and damping compound


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## cline (Mar 23, 2011)

soundproofing requires decoupling the structures and mass, lots of mass. cheapest, and best, bet is to take them carpet/rug shopping.


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## Ted White (Mar 23, 2011)

Agree 100%


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## MatthewLee (Mar 23, 2011)

you can apply sound-deadening mats to the floors to cut down on noise levels. These can be applied under carpeting and often have padding built in.


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