# Soundproofing A Flat



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

I live in the top floor flat of a three storey building (built in 1903). The outside walls are thick red sandstone. I have neighbours to my left and right and below. The building is basically a long row of flats. Now the problem, my wife and I like to play music on a Saturday night after coming home from the pub until one of us falls asleep (usually her, then I put on the headphones). We have been doing this for years and have never had any verbal complaints. But we are always worried that the neighbours are simply 'putting up with it', so we never turn the music up to the volume that we would like. Although the volume can still be quite loud. Recently however, downstairs have started to slam doors and the like, in an effort, we believe, to get us to turn the music down or off. We don't like the idea of being the neighbours from hell so I'm asking if anyone knows how I can soundproof my flat WITHOUT major upheaval. Something quick and simple without walls and flooring/carpeting etc being ripped up and torn down.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

there is little you can do IMO

putting something cushiony under the speakers will calm down vibration but anything else would require extensive work 

i assume you are renting??

as to the knocking and slamming doors. yeah that is a hint you are a neighbor from hell


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Can't put anything below speakers, they are wall-mounted. What does IMO mean ? Sorry.
Not renting, bought the flat from local Housing Association a few years ago. Looks like I'm 'snookered' then.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

IMO = in my opinion

same thing applies to a wall mount. you need to attach the speakers in a way that is cushioned.

there are ways to reduce sound but it would be costly. if you want to rip up the floor and remove the dry wall you could put insulation in that would help. 

best bet would be to get a pair of wireless headphones. 

back in the 70's i was not a good neighbor. i would crank up the music to the max. fortunately i had neighbors on one side that were old and hard of hearing and an empty lot on the other side. 
before that at the apartment I rented i am sure the guy upstairs was miserable.


----------



## iltos (Jun 13, 2004)

sound is primarily transmitted through vibration....gets the wallboard vibrating, then the studs, then the wallboard on the other side...same with the floor and ceiling.....if you're renting you're pretty much stuck....if you don't have a lot of extra cash, you're definitely stuck.

there is one cheap (and ugly) thing that will actually help, tho... those containers that hold eggs in the market. and that soft packing foam that looks like it was popped out of an 3d oscilloscope....cover every surface with em ....they'll help to absorb and bounce the sound waves around so they can't establish the vibration harmonic....

and wacor's right....take the speakers off the walls.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

iltos said:


> sound is primarily transmitted through vibration....gets the wallboard vibrating, then the studs, then the wallboard on the other side...same with the floor and ceiling.....if you're renting you're pretty much stuck....if you don't have a lot of extra cash, you're definitely stuck.
> 
> there is one cheap (and ugly) thing that will actually help, tho... those containers that hold eggs in the market. and that soft packing foam that looks like it was popped out of an 3d oscilloscope....cover every surface with em ....they'll help to absorb and bounce the sound waves around so they can't establish the vibration harmonic....
> 
> and wacor's right....take the speakers off the walls.


I am guessing he has surround sound and thus the mounting on the walls

he said he owns the place

I had not given thought to ignoring aesthetics 

there are many cheap things to try if you don't care what the place looks like


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Wish I could do something here where I am renting because they have the boom boxes next door that comes right tru the wall and most times you can hear and feel the booms but I can't even hear the music.

I feel like I should get the what ever it is called I got from a model home.
You screw it into the stud where it was screwed in the ceiling on the attic and you hook up the speaker wires and it turns the wall and ceiling into a speaker from the vibrating.
I am in a center unit and the only way to the attic is from my unit so I could hook it up right over top of there unit next to me and blast them away. 
Years ago I would do it to them but not now but I like thinking about it.

But vibrating is your trouble. Homes now if there are units below you have light weigh cemet on the floors in the upper units and the lower units the sheetrock is screwed to metal channels that are screwed to the ceiling joist so it cuts down on the vibrating.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm afraid I DO care what the place looks like so egg-cones are a definate no-no. Can't take speakers off the wall coz I've literally nowhere else to put them. I wanted to buy good floor stands for the speakers but looking round the room (before I bought these speakers) I realised that the floor stands would take up room where others things are. Can't get rid of these 'other things' either. As I say guess I'm 'snookered'.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Well turn the speakers up louder and maybe the neighbors will move.  But then you could get new neighbors that are worse.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

if there is no way to avoid mounting the speakers to the wall then you need to find a way to dampen the way it attaches

Can't say it would work but if it were me I would make sure not to attach to the studs. and I would put some foam rubber or something behind where the speakers attach.

you got any pics of the speakers??


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Can't take speakers off the wall they are already too firmly attached with rawl plug fixings.
Take them out and I won't get speakers back up on the wall in the same spot.
Don't have pics of speakers, they are B&W CM 1's.
Besides, it seems there's nothing I can do with regards to soundproofing my flat without major upheaval.


----------



## iltos (Jun 13, 2004)

this might be a reasonable compromise....attach some rods to the ceiling and hang a heavy fabric curtain that you could pull across the adjoining wall...might help some.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

You must be joking, split my living room in two with a curtain ? What good would that do ? What adjoining wall ?
Gas fire on one side of living room, setee on the other, bookcase at one end, hi-fi, TV and window at the other end. Wouldn't hang curtain anyway, couldn't be bothered. I want SOMEONE ELSE to come to my home and SOUNDPROOF it. That or nothing. Cheers.


----------



## buck52 (Mar 9, 2001)

don't think anyone is joking...

ever thought about moving... 

hanging the speakers from the ceiling and or cushining them with foam from a fabric shop would be the cheap /best solution for a no win situation


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Robert the Bruce said:


> You must be joking, split my living room in two with a curtain ? What good would that do ? What adjoining wall ?
> Gas fire on one side of living room, setee on the other, bookcase at one end, hi-fi, TV and window at the other end. Wouldn't hang curtain anyway, couldn't be bothered. I want SOMEONE ELSE to come to my home and SOUNDPROOF it. That or nothing. Cheers.


you present an impossible task and then whine when people throw out ideas? 

the curtains would be on the wall. they absorb sound the same as a carpet would

you asked for cheap and simple

can't be done

thread solved


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Read more here.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Soundproofing&as_q=Room&btnG=Search within results


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Thanks, I'll have a look.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

I'm not whining. It's just that the ideas and 'solutions' coming through are given without anyone ever having been in my flat and to see for themselves how a curtain along the wall wouldn't work and is impracticle. Speakers hanging from ceiling wouldn't work, speakers would then be out of the position they should be in for best performance. As for moving, yes I've thought about that but can't afford a mortgage on a detached house/bungalow. Please refer to original post and you will see that I'm looking for a solution that offers soundproofing with minimal upheaval, no uplifting of carpets or tearing down of walls. I'm guessing what I'm after actually IS impossible.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Robert the Bruce said:


> I'm not whining. It's just that the ideas and 'solutions' coming through are given without anyone ever having been in my flat and to see for themselves how a curtain along the wall wouldn't work and is impracticle. Speakers hanging from ceiling wouldn't work, speakers would then be out of the position they should be in for best performance. As for moving, yes I've thought about that but can't afford a mortgage on a detached house/bungalow. Please refer to original post and you will see that I'm looking for a solution that offers soundproofing with minimal upheaval, no uplifting of carpets or tearing down of walls. *I'm guessing what I'm after actually IS impossible.*


 yup


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Robert the Bruce said:


> I'm not whining. It's just that the ideas and 'solutions' coming through are given without anyone ever having been in my flat and to see for themselves how a curtain along the wall wouldn't work and is impracticle. Speakers hanging from ceiling wouldn't work, speakers would then be out of the position they should be in for best performance. As for moving, yes I've thought about that but can't afford a mortgage on a detached house/bungalow. Please refer to original post and you will see that I'm looking for a solution that offers soundproofing with minimal upheaval, no uplifting of carpets or tearing down of walls. I'm guessing what I'm after actually IS impossible.


You nailed it. It's pretty obvious that any solution would start with a complete understanding of the environment, which nobody that hasn't seen it would have. I think you're wasting your time trying to solve this in a forum, you need to solve it locally. Some problems just don't lend themselves to ASCII.


----------



## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

Wireless headphones seem to be a simple cheap solution. Look on Google and find a zillion options costing from as low as $15 a pair to $600 a pair. Buy two pairs when both you and girlfriend are awwake.


----------



## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Knotbored said:


> Wireless headphones seem to be a simple cheap solution. Look on Google and find a zillion options costing from as low as $15 a pair to $600 a pair. Buy two pairs when both you and girlfriend are awwake.


post #4



me said:


> best bet would be to get a pair of wireless headphones.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Wirless Heaphones are out as well. That would wipe out chat during music. Imagine having to take off headphones every time one of us wanted to say something. That would also involve 2 sets of headphones. Then my £500 speakers would be redundant.
Thanks to all who tried to help.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Read the google links and call around places in town and talk to places that do things like this and get there input on it. If you can get them to come out and see just what you got and tell you what can be done at what cost then that would help and you should be able to get that from them for free to just find out.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I have The Yellow Pages right in front of me. Cheers.
Besides, I'm quite happy and relieved right now because Scotland beat Iceland 2-1 in Iceland in the World Cup (Football/Soccer) Qualifiers.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Good luck Robert the Bruce. Hope your in a big town where your find more then one to come out and tell you what can be done. Then get good info from them to go by so you can do the work yourself after talking to them to save more money.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

You will see that I live in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, so I have plenty options. Thanks again.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Well I have to take your word that it is the largest city in Scotland. 
But that's good news because your find more people that can come out and the more the better because you know what they tell you the price could be very high from some doing the very same thing another company does. Not like something everyone will use so right there that makes the price go up. But hearing what they all say is what you want so you can find out how to do the same thing on your own and save lots of money and have something that works. So lets hope they can help coming up with something that will not cost to much even doing the work yourself.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Here's me thinking that it was common knowledge (up to a point anyway) that Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Not Edinburgh (the capital) or Aberdeen or Dundee or Perth or Inverness etc etc.
Cheers.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

May it is common knowledge for over there but it is not over here or not common knowledge I know.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Yeah I know what you're saying. I just thought that even although the American education system is somewhat parochial I assumed that most Americans these days were aware of the difference between Scotland and England, Britain (U.K.) and England etc. And I wrongly thought that Scotland was a source of interest for many Americans and Canadians particulary after the 'Braveheart' movie. Guess I'm wrong that Scotland and all things Scottish are of any interest to most people outside of Scotland unless they happen to have Scottish ancestry. Which many Americans and most Canadians have.
I suppose it's like a South Korean or whatever expecting me to have an interest in their country just because he/she happens to be South Korean.
We Scots are constantly trying to create more awareness of our country. Mainly because for years and years all we ever hear is people saying 'England' when they mean 'Britain' or 'Is Scotland in England'? which of course gets us very angry.
BTW a point of interest and just in case you didn't know, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland (not the Republic of Ireland) are the 4 countries which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Many Scots however, want Scotland to go it alone and leave the U.K. We have always had our own education system, system of law, history and culture and now we have our own parliament again. Sorry, I'm rambling.


----------



## buck52 (Mar 9, 2001)

Robert the Bruce said:


> *Here's me thinking that it was common knowledge *(up to a point anyway) that Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Not Edinburgh (the capital) or Aberdeen or Dundee or Perth or Inverness etc etc.
> Cheers.


Nothing to do with "common knowledge"...more like common sense... which is lacking world wide...

there are plenty of triple deckers as they are called as well as brown stones in the US...as it seems you have finally realized... you are facing mission impossible... atleast for "cheap"


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Robert the Bruce said:


> Yeah I know what you're saying. I just thought that even although the American education system is somewhat parochial I assumed that most Americans these days were aware of the difference between Scotland and England, Britain (U.K.) and England etc. And I wrongly thought that Scotland was a source of interest for many Americans and Canadians particulary after the 'Braveheart' movie. Guess I'm wrong that Scotland and all things Scottish are of any interest to most people outside of Scotland unless they happen to have Scottish ancestry. Which many Americans and most Canadians have.
> I suppose it's like a South Korean or whatever expecting me to have an interest in their country just because he/she happens to be South Korean.
> We Scots are constantly trying to create more awareness of our country. Mainly because for years and years all we ever hear is people saying 'England' when they mean 'Britain' or 'Is Scotland in England'? which of course gets us very angry.
> BTW a point of interest and just in case you didn't know, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland (not the Republic of Ireland) are the 4 countries which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Many Scots however, want Scotland to go it alone and leave the U.K. We have always had our own education system, system of law, history and culture and now we have our own parliament again. Sorry, I'm rambling.


I know about United Kingdom of Great Britain but did not know about the city you live in. 
I even have have ancestry from there and Ireland, England, German, Dutch. But am German mostly.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

You're a mongrel then, just like me.
Excuse my ignorance but what are 'triple deckers' and 'brown stones' ?
I thought (wrongly again it seems) that most folk around the world had heard of Glasgow after the suicide car bombing attempt at Glasgow Airport just over a year ago. I gather it was world news ?
Remember ? When the 4X4 vehicle tried to ram through a set of automatic doors at the airport but got itself stuck on a row of bollards at the entrance, the car then went on fire. My wife and I were in New York on holiday at the time and saw the 'incident' on CNN.


----------



## Shortyman801 (Jul 30, 2007)

Can you say shag carpet on the walls?

Looks absolutely amazing, and; if you lean against your walls, you'll be comfortable.

Also removes the need for ugly smelly wall paint.


----------



## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

I have a neighbour from hell too,  the only answer is to remove the speakers from the walls in my opinion thats how the annoying sounds travel to other people,you have to realise that just because you like loud music,most other people might not,especially when you get older,it gets on peoples nerves and it can be a serious problem,local authorities in England take a very dim view of their tenants causing annoyance to their neighbours in this way ...the very fact that you are thinking you might be causing a problem shows you a caring person,it also shows you probably are causing annoyance...the only answer for you is to use headphones,hard though that might be for you,it would remove the problem for your neighbours,if you are serious in saying you care ...its the bumping booming bass that causes all the problems,(you could turn that down at least) that booming and bumping can be heard in peoples heads long after the music has stopped,thats how serious it is .....


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Robert the Bruce said:


> You're a mongrel then, just like me.
> Excuse my ignorance but what are 'triple deckers' and 'brown stones' ?
> I thought (wrongly again it seems) that most folk around the world had heard of Glasgow after the suicide car bombing attempt at Glasgow Airport just over a year ago. I gather it was world news ?
> Remember ? When the 4X4 vehicle tried to ram through a set of automatic doors at the airport but got itself stuck on a row of bollards at the entrance, the car then went on fire. My wife and I were in New York on holiday at the time and saw the 'incident' on CNN.


Just because of a suicide car bombing attempt at Glasgow Airport that we all heard about does not mean I knew that Glasgow was the biggest city there. 
I am not really smart but not a no dummy either.
Yep I am a Mongrel. One mixed up breed. Even more then I listed above. Also got because I got Pennsylvania/Dutch and a little indian in me too. I think that's all of it and who knows the percent of each. The indian was I think my moms grandmom. Only got 1/16 indian so get no money for back pay the USA pays out to the indian's. You got to be 1/8 indian to get any of the money.  To bad because I could use the money.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

I assumed that you'd never heard of Glasgow.
Do you have any reservations about being 1/16 Native American ? Only joking.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Robert the Bruce said:


> I assumed that you'd never heard of Glasgow.
> Do you have any reservations about being 1/16 Native American ? Only joking.


No really. Don't bother watching the new anymore but now and then. After 9/11 I stop watch the tv news because I got sick of watching it and all the bad news.

He hee wish I had the money lots of the reservations are now getting from all the Indian Gambling on Reservations.
Hey maybe I should check out my pass better and find out more and maybe I could get in on it.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

Yeah I know what you mean, the news is depressing these days. And if that basket case Sarah Palin ever gets into a position of power then God help us all.
She recently said on ABC TV that 'we may have to go to war with Russia'. Who is 'we' I wonder.
Russia has 10 000 nuclear weapons, does she know this ? Does she care ? Most of the human race would be wiped out in that kind of 'war'. There would be no winner.
She doesn't believe Global Warming is man-made, even partially. And yet that is now an accepted fact, even by the sceptics.
She likes nothing more than to wander around Alaska and elsewhere killing innocent wild animals, she calls this barbaric and cruel practice 'sport'.
Just like all right-wing minded people, she needs a good 'talking to'.
Sacramento is in California ? Have I got that right ?
Only been to California once, San Francisco on holiday a couple of years ago. Loved it.
Cheers.


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

*Robert the Bruce*, take it to CD if you want to debate politics, this is not the place.


----------



## Robert the Bruce (Aug 16, 2006)

OK fair enough but what is CD ?


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Robert the Bruce said:


> OK fair enough but what is CD ?


Civilized Debate thread.


----------



## Angron (Sep 17, 2008)

Stick egg boxes to your walls  this is a brilliant and cheap way of sound proofing that definately works... I saw this in a film but after conversations with friends and a few web forums later, i realised it really does work, this is a Fire hazard though so be careful


----------

