[HelpBo]

I live in a privately owned condo on the first floor. The person who lives above me is very nice but I can hear her EVERYWHERE she goes and it sounds like an earthquake, constant STOMPING like stormtroopers overhead. She recently replaced her flooring (new carpet and corkboard linoleum) and it did NOT help at all. In fact, it now squeaks in areas that it never squeaked before. Is there any way to make her floor noise-proof or at least reduce the noise? She's willing to pull up her new flooring if I can get a construction person in to lay a thicker foundation down. Or can I add to my ceiling? I was thinking about a layer of insulation like that inside of a wall. Is that a crazy thought? I need help... I'm about to lose my mind from the annoying pouding overhead! I love everything else about my place and I don't want to sell. Maybe it's a construction defect? I've been putting up with it for over six years and it's getting to be too much for me to deal with. Any help out there?

Thanks!

[DwightB]

This website: http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/ac...ustic.htm?d=16 shows a product that is supposed to reduce floor impact noises significantly. It should have been put under her new floors. There are probably lots of other similar products. -- or you could buy her some soft slippers.

[skiberger]

If your neighbor is willing to remove her new floor, renail all the subfloor, install the barrier like DwightB recommended.
If your willing to have blown-in insulation installed in the ceilings of your home then 5/8" drywall put up over your existing ceilings this should help cut the noise considerably.

It tough to live when you have a person who walks like an elephant above you. Maybe they can be more conscious of how their walking.

[trainwreck44]

This is a common problem that a lot of people are having. I too am having the same problem with the people who live above me. They say they are making "living noises" but if they drop anything it sounds as though they have dropped a ton of bricks. Ironically I have this handyman (found him in home depot when I was looking for something else) and he says by adding insulation in my ceilings, that will reduce the footfall noises I hear significantly. He's so sure of this and his work that he says if I still hear the noise from above he will give me half of my money back because I would be satisfied.

So I'm putting him to the test and will have insulation added to my ceiling in two days. I'm excited, nervous and skeptical because I've been experencing this noise for five years and tired of it (so tired of it that if I were to sell my place today I would have to price it $15K to $18K dollars LESS than what I still owe the bank. I don't have that kind of money coming from my mattress.

So this little project is going to begin soon and if it works (and I'm hoping it does) and I can find this site, I will definitely post my experience. Good luck