Soundproofing Ceiling

jackm25

Hi All

I know there have been a number of threads on here before about this subject. Basically the neighbor in the apartment above me is a postman and awakes every morning at 5am, goes to the toilet, has a shower etc. I live in the apartment below and my bedroom is directly below his bathroom - as such I can hear everything & I mean everything.

He is a very nice and approachable guy and it is not his fault. I have heard that a lot of impact noise from above is best addressed from within the offending apartment. The house is a period house which was converted in to apartments in the 70's as such the soundproofing between floors is very poor. I have 4 questions overall

1. What can be dont to minimise impact noise from Within his apartment (which i could pay for)

2. What specifically can be done about the toilet / shower noise (if different)

3, Is there anything that can be done from within my apartment (in terms of work on the ceiling / lowering the ceilings etc

4. Has anyone used a good sound consultant to deal with this issue, and if, so would you be able to reccommend anyone

Any help much appreciated as I love the apartment otherwise and am determined to try to sort the issue

Best regards
Jack:)

Pixlated Potatoe

jackm25 wrote: »

Hi All

I know there have been a number of threads on here before about this subject. Basically the neighbor in the apartment above me is a postman and awakes every morning at 5am, goes to the toilet, has a shower etc. I live in the apartment below and my bedroom is directly below his bathroom - as such I can hear everything & I mean everything.

He is a very nice and approachable guy and it is not his fault. I have heard that a lot of impact noise from above is best addressed from within the offending apartment. The house is a period house which was converted in to apartments in the 70's as such the soundproofing between floors is very poor. I have 4 questions overall

1. What can be dont to minimise impact noise from Within his apartment (which i could pay for)

2. What specifically can be done about the toilet / shower noise (if different)

3, Is there anything that can be done from within my apartment (in terms of work on the ceiling / lowering the ceilings etc

4. Has anyone used a good sound consultant to deal with this issue, and if, so would you be able to reccommend anyone

Any help much appreciated as I love the apartment otherwise and am determined to try to sort the issue

Best regards
Jack:)[/quote

AWN are good but pricey for an assessment

This will cost a lot of money for the results you will get unfortunately.
But a consultant should be able to take measurements and tell you what you can achieve if you follow their report.
I have been involved in a lot of these cases and just from reading what you said and without seeing it my take is.

From your side
Stiffening the joists to transfer the energy to the exterior walls is probably your best bet here. Removing all plasterboard from ceiling put in strategically placed noggins to transfer energy, followed by sufficient insulation, 2 layers of sound block plasterboard leaving a gap filled with flanking strip around all edges , silicone all joints and gap, resilient bar and then another layer of sound block. Tape and joint finish not skim coat.
You will lose about 45-55mm from your current ceiling height.
From his side some form of dampening under lay(cork)8mm.
This will involve lifting current floor skirtings etc..and relaying.
Possibly isolate the shower tray separately with rubber strip.
Find out the route of soil/waste pipe expose it wrap it with insulation and box in with sound-block board.

I hope this helps.

jackm25

Hi Pixlated Potatoe

Really appreciate the above information.
Would you know a ballpark figure for

1. The work within my apartment
2. The work within his

I feel that the work within his apartment would be less invasive & costly and possibly more effective, would that be accurate?

Really appreciate your detailed response and help

Regards
Jack

Dudda

jackm25 wrote: »

I feel that the work within his apartment would be less invasive & costly and possibly more effective, would that be accurate?

Really appreciate your detailed response and help

Regards
Jack

Have they a tiled floor upstairs in the bathroom? You're not going to lift that without breaking some and will therefore have to replace the whole WC floor with new tiles. That means taking out the toilet, shower tray, shower screen and doors, etc. It would help a lot but that's a lot of work and will be costly. Have they even another WC they can use when the work is getting done?

jackm25

@ Dudda - Thanks for your response

I am not sure but I reckon their bathroom is tiled. I would be happy to front the cost of re tiling it if it meant the sound issue could be resolved. I would also allow them to use my bathroom while the work was being done.

Would all need to be agreed with the neighbour either way once I price it up

Pixlated Potatoe

jackm25 wrote: »

Hi Pixlated Potatoe

Really appreciate the above information.
Would you know a ballpark figure for

1. The work within my apartment
2. The work within his

I feel that the work within his apartment would be less invasive & costly and possibly more effective, would that be accurate?

Really appreciate your detailed response and help

Regards
Jack

jackm25 wrote: »

Hi Pixlated Potatoe

Really appreciate the above information.
Would you know a ballpark figure for

1. The work within my apartment
2. The work within his

I feel that the work within his apartment would be less invasive & costly and possibly more effective, would that be accurate?

Really appreciate your detailed response and help

Regards
Jack

It really depends on the size ,runs of pipes etc...
. where his bathroom is in relation to your bedroom.

You will get more bang for your buck working on his side
Cost of new bathroom floor €???? €200-1200
Chipy for the day €250
Cork underlay €50
Rubber strip for shower tray ,if you get that far message me I Should have some off cuts that would suit FOC

Gypsum do a system (gypfloor silent) if you where willing to lift the subfloor if installed properly it works very well and doesn’t cost much maybe €10 per length if it’s a standard sized bathroom 3 or 4 lengths should do it , but you would probably be into 2 days for a chippy and a sheet or 2 of ply/osb going this route.
You could possibly end up needing to paint skirting /walls re caulk etc...