Soundproofing Apartment and Condominium complexes

                                                                                         

With the cost of living rising, many potential homeowners are seriously considering condos and apartments as an investment for their future. I have personally lived in a condo for over 10 years. Condo and apartment living can be very rewarding and can make you feel very secure, but these units can also become a nightmare especially if you live in a lower unit and are forced to tolerate the noisy walking from the neighbors above. When contractors build these units, soundproofing is probably not their top priority, but it should be. There is nothing worse than to spend your life savings on a home only to find out that you are unable to sleep due to the constant walking noise from the people above. I have had customers tell me that they feel as though their upstairs neighbors are right in their bedrooms as they hear the intense thumping and impact from the floors above.

Many times condo and apartment owners take it upon themselves to put in a wood or tile floor in an upper unit and fail to put down the proper soundproofing beneath their new floors. This has been the focus of many lawsuits between neighbors and makes condo life an absolute horror for the people living in lower units. Before installing any new flooring in a condo or apartment, check with your condo association and find out what the guidelines in the CC& R’s are for the installation of such a floor.

Contractors need to contact a soundproofing professional during the planning stages of any multi family dwelling. A soundproofing expert can suggest products that will dramatically reduce the impact as well as airborne noise from upper units. Adding these materials during the construction phase protects both the contractor and the potential buyers of these units. Products such as recycled rubber tiles can reduce impact noise transmission by up to 75% and airborne noise by up to 85%. The addition of the proper soundproof floor underlayment can make all the difference in the world to a person living in a lower unit. The additional expense for these material is money well spent and can save the contractor many headaches and many lawsuits down the line.

Soundproofing companies such as Soundproofing America, Inc, Soundaway Corporation and Acoustical Surfaces, Inc. can provide contractors with effective soundproofing solutions for any multi family application.
Finally, before purchasing a condo or apartment, check out the floor construction and make sure that a soundproof floor underlay has been installed under any hard surface floor that has been installed in the unit above you. This can save you a lot of time and expense and will keep you from making a bad mistake that can take you literally years to rectify. Thanks for reading. This is Dr. Bob…Out!!

About the author:
Dr. Bob Orther
Soundproofing America, Inc.
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing Expert to The New York Times, The San Francisco Herald Examiner,
The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Charlotte Observer
Ph (877) 530-0139 Toll free Fax (760) 571-5007
E-mail: Dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
http://www.soundproofingamerica.com


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