[Faithginsb]

Hi there,

Just about to start my project and am hoping somebody can tell me, from their experience, whether I've wasted my time and lots of money or if I'm on the right track and should achieve my goals.

I live above a unit that enjoys heavy bass and a powerful home theatre system. The music...bass only....can be heard for a good 20 ft radius in my home, the room it's coming from is 10x10. I own the condo and cannot afford to move....this is my first attempt at sound blocking one of my bedroom floors so I can even go in the room, let alone sleep in it.

I tried all of the normal neighborly things for years, escalated to the rage moments of throwing a basketball & shoes at the walls and yet it continues, daily.....it's 12 yrs later and I'm desperate enough to finally suck it up and spend the money for 100 sq ft of peace in my 1100 sq ft condo. Oh, and I purchased RS170 wireless headphones 5 yrs ago - I LOVE THEM, but I can still hear their BASS :vs_mad:even with earplugs & headphones.

I don't believe, from what I can hear (& feel) coming up from below, that there is any insulation between the floors. My floor is likely plywood subfloor with gypcrete (?) poured over it. I do believe that's the extent of what is between the floors.....besides airspace from their drywall to my subfloor. The building is only 14 yrs old.....obviously the developer cheaped out and met the bare minimum building requirements.

I just bought 1/4" recycled rubber, green glue & green glue caulk. Just read the other day that rubber may actually make it worse because it's a resilient material (?) as opposed to rigid. Rigid allows the sound, vibration and reverberation to punch right through so I thought softer mass would be better. I also read that MLV was not as effective with low frequency so now I'm confused and reaching out for some success stories before I start putting down a barrier.

Can green glue be used on re-cycled rubber without ruining the rubber (I hadn't thought about that) or should I use 1/4" plywood to sandwich the green glue to the subfloor and then just loose lay the rubber over it for mass? I'd even buy more green glue if I have to....so I can build a 1/2" of: Green glue, plywood, green glue, rubber. My ceilings are only 8 ft, so I'm limited with adding floor height.

To recap the noise I'm dealing with, when I'm in my room, the bass thumps into the entire airspace up to the ceiling and sometimes vibrates the floor depending on how loud they have it.....the surround sound system is like having a thunder storm inside your house.

Anybody out there dealt with the same issue and been successful at blocking the bass & vibration and pressure that slams you in the ears? I see a lot of threads and I know that THEY need to stop it from exiting their unit, but they will not. I welcome any and every suggestion, without judgment for waiting so long please. I'm just a single working mom and couldn't afford to do anything about it, until now. Thank you.

 

[joecaption]

Been to the HOA meetings and complained?
Filed any police reports?
What your suggesting will have minimal effect on reducing the sounds.

 

[Fix'n it]

Been to the HOA meetings and complained?
Filed any police reports?
What your suggesting will have minimal effect on reducing the sounds.

this^

idk where you live. but the police should take care of this.

i used to live in a solid concrete condo. my home theater system would probably DESTROY the one causing you problems. but, i only did it 1 time a week, sat night, winter only, for the length of 1 movie. and usually was not that loud.

 

[Faithginsb]

You sound like a considerate neighbor. I know I'm not the only one, there are thousands out there complaining about similar problems. Many end up moving. I live in a very nice neighborhood and actually love it, until I go inside. Moving is not an option, for many reasons, so I will go ahead and use the materials I've paid for and hope it makes enough of an improvement that I can put my head on my pillow and not have my heart beating to the rhythm of their bass.

Faith moves mountains so I better get myself some new hiking boots and get started! LOL....

 

[ddawg16]

As noted by the others, what you are trying to do will have minimal effect. The sound is also being transmitted up the walls. You would have to find a 'mechanical' way to decouple your room from his.

Since you have tried the 'nice' method. Time to try the 'not so nice' method.

Call the police.

I'm assuming you also have an HOA? If so, file a complaint with them.

Record every time he plays the music too loud.

Use your phone to record how loud it is.

If he wants loud music, make him use head phones.

 

[Fix'n it]

if you don't call the police, or move, your stuck. sell, yeah, good luck with that, they are destroying your property value. a def person would not want to live there.

 

[brucem609]

I had this problem in the past myself. Did the complaining tours to HOA, but if they are renters the owners don't care. And if they are that inconsiderate they don't care.
A basketball on your floor at odd times Kate at night, a speaker turned into the floor late at night, the police when it immediately starts, a sound meter to record the bass levels.
Go to the other neighbors, I assume it is not a 2 unit structure, and get the other neighbors to complain as well. Get everybody together and sign a complaint against this tenant.
This is ridiculous and certainly not necessary!