Overhead noises but no noises from the side?

[Coltaine79]

In my condo I hear occasional noises from overhead - mostly furniture moving... sounds like a chair (dining table?) scraping against hardwood - but I don't hear anything from the sides. However, I've inspected the structural blueprints of the floor in the management office, and the floor slabs are supposed to be concrete the same way as the party walls. Why would I hear a chair moving? (Not a sound expert)

Assuming that the "floor slab" that my balcony is made out of (which is definitely concrete) basically is the same floor slab that constitutes my floor, then it looks like almost 10 to 12" thick concrete...

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Put simply, that's an inherent problem with the resurgence of hardwood in condos/lofts vs. carpet in the past decade. There's often a material installed between the hardwood & concrete to help buffer sounds like that which helps, but unfortunately it's effectiveness is still somewhat limited.

 

[West End Boy]

Another factor is that things don't often bump or rub against the walls themselves and when they do it's relatively lightly and brief, whereas things on the floor are in direct contact and tend to be heavier (people, furniture, etc.).

 

[Coltaine79]

What you're saying makes sense. I guess after living in an apartment where I got to involuntarily enjoy late night viewings of Lord of the Rings:EE while I was trying to sleep thanks to the neighbours, I just found it a bit odd that I couldn't hear my new nextdoor neighbours at all (and they have a kid who's always yelling and bouncing around in the hallways) but I could hear the chairs upstairs.

 

[taal]

What you're saying makes sense. I guess after living in an apartment where I got to involuntarily enjoy late night viewings of Lord of the Rings:EE while I was trying to sleep thanks to the neighbours, I just found it a bit odd that I couldn't hear my new nextdoor neighbours at all (and they have a kid who's always yelling and bouncing around in the hallways) but I could hear the chairs upstairs.

I know what you mean ... exact same issue with me. I find older buildings come in two variants ... concrete bunkers, or poorly constructed messes. In the first, you can't here anything - even if people are jackhammering above / below / beside you lol - clear exaggeration - but some older buildings are terrible for this (some rental building stand out here).

New building still vary but not as much ... I find they're no where near as good as the first above but a lot better then the worse ... a good poing is noise has a lot to do with hardwood floors, if these didn't exist you'd hear a lot less!!

 

[JayBee]

The thing is....on the sides...drywall and studs in addition to cement block the noise....so there's better soundproofing because the ceilings are not drywall...they're just some thin coating of plaster directly on the concrete. Then the laminate floors have a thin barrier on top of the cement. I personally think they should use studs and drywall and drop the celing a bit to avoid the noise.

 

[Coltaine79]

The thing is....on the sides...drywall and studs in addition to cement block the noise....so there's better soundproofing because the ceilings are not drywall...they're just some thin coating of plaster directly on the concrete.

Hmm, if it's just plaster on concrete then how can they put smoke detector, fire alarm speaker, lighting fixture (etc) on it?

 

[JayBee]

Hmm, if it's just plaster on concrete then how can they put smoke detector, fire alarm speaker, lighting fixture (etc) on it?

They drill the holes straight into the cement.

 

[PinkLucy]

Same issue with me, although I can hear the piano being played upstairs along with the clickety-clack of high heels. The only time I hear noise from either side is if they're drilling, but I never hear tv sounds or noises of that nature.

 

[Coltaine79]

Thanks for all the info guys

I'm thinking of filing a noise complaint with the management office The idiot upstairs kept moving his/her dining chairs around (I'm assuming) at 1am last night... (notice my prev. msg post time)
Any bets on my % chance of success?

The thing is, I read through the condo strata rules and regulations, and there is one which says 65% of the hardwood flooring must be covered in area rug or carpeting. If I'm constantly hearing a chair dragging against the floor, they're probably not following that rule, right? I mean really, if you have 65% of your floor covered by area rugs, chances are one of them will cover the dining table area...

I've never filed a complaint like this before, what does it usually entail?

 

[JayBee]

To the 2 posts above... I think your issues can be chalked up to condo living. You just have to hope you have considerate neighbours. I think most noise offenders have no idea how noisy they are. For example, walking in high heels....that should be a no-no...stomping, really loud music, etc... I think most people feel like their condos do not leak sound.

 

[AGTO]

I think most people feel like their condos do not leak sound.

"Most" people, including some in this thread, don't realise that sound can travel through solids and liquids as well.

 

[neuhaus]

Condos with exposed concrete ceilings, especially in combination with exposed concrete floors (as seen in loft buildings like: Quad Lofts, Camden Lofts, Merchandise Lofts) are notoriously prone to sound transmission.

 

[Mapleson]

The thing is....on the sides...drywall and studs in addition to cement block the noise....so there's better soundproofing because the ceilings are not drywall...they're just some thin coating of plaster directly on the concrete. Then the laminate floors have a thin barrier on top of the cement. I personally think they should use studs and drywall and drop the ceiling a bit to avoid the noise.

Noise is conducted by direct contact vibrations and void transmission vibrations. This means you get two parts to noise through the wall, the louder part goes through the studs and any places of contact. In this case, concrete slab floors and walls are ALL direct contact.

Because noises from upstairs occur directly on the slab, it's like plucking a giant guitar string. This doesn't happen with walls or up through the floor as the sound spreads out in the air first.

Good sound-proofing takes two things, a layer of seperation and a dampening agent that will spread the noise around.

Thanks for all the info guys

I'm thinking of filing a noise complaint with the management office The idiot upstairs kept moving his/her dining chairs around (I'm assuming) at 1am last night... (notice my prev. msg post time)
Any bets on my % chance of success?

The thing is, I read through the condo strata rules and regulations, and there is one which says 65% of the hardwood flooring must be covered in area rug or carpeting. If I'm constantly hearing a chair dragging against the floor, they're probably not following that rule, right? I mean really, if you have 65% of your floor covered by area rugs, chances are one of them will cover the dining table area...

I've never filed a complaint like this before, what does it usually entail?

Your chances of success on a noise complain are two: fat and slim.

In order to enforce a noise pollution complain, you need to provide documentation of time and duration of noises over a 30-day period. My suggestion is that you buy a pack of chair foot pads or adhesive foam rubber and donate it to your upstairs neighbour with a note, "Saw these at the store and thought of you. -Downstairs" It's less than $5 and should solve your issue without a lot of fuss.

 

[AGTO]

Good sound-proofing takes two things, a layer of seperation and a dampening agent that will spread the noise around.

Soundproofing requires complete mechanical isolation and an airtight seal. Nothing to do with 'spreading the noise around'.