"Soundproof" Wooden Flooring in Apartment

twiga

I’m looking to reduce the sound & creaking for the floor between my downstairs and upstairs (apartment, thrown up during boom times)

The wooden floor is pretty hollow, I don't think there is even insulation in there. The creaking can be minimised with some well-placed screws I imagine, but if possible I'd like to reduce the sound that travels through it.

Would love ideas, suggestions, etc!

Probably not keen on pulling up entire floor (as it would be mighty expensive I imagine), but there might be other solutions? Or perhaps it isn't as expensive as I imagine.

mike_2009

Creaking is probably due to a nailgun being used to fix the flooring upstairs. If you can lift the covering (carpet? lino?) you can drill in screws just beside the nails. Be careful to avoid any pipes & wires of course! That's your squeeks gone. Get a wire/pipe detector to be safe!
Sound proofing is a bit trickier. You have voice vs impact (walking) noises to put it simply. You can add stuff to the ceiling or floor but ideally you would open up the floor and tackle between the joists. Carpet helps of course vs a wooden floor upstairs but to do more involves adding density which lowers the ceiling or raises the floor. There a few companies that provide specialist services in this area. I'll PM you some details.

twiga

Fantastic, thanks for the response Mike!

The flooring upstairs is all just wood (except the hallway, which is carpeted).

I was ready to screw down the floorboards but wanted to wait until someone looked at it, as it might not be the enourmous job I think it is to put some sort of insulation between the joists (or maybe it is!)

thanks for PM, excellent advice!

aujopimur

Try sprinkling talcum powder into the floor joints.

twiga

Oh yeah? I tried WD40 before with little luck, but I'll give it a go. Curious.