Any knowledge about acoustic isolation for floors here?

[Markus S]

We'll be moving to a new apartment in half a year or so. I want to be able to listen to music reasonably loudly without disturbing the neighbours above. The neighbours are a musician and his wife and daughter, both of which play piano. So both parties are interested in good acoustic isolation between the apartments.

Is there anything we can do to the floor in the apartment above us to minimise sound/noise transmission?

Ideas/links/advice highly welcome.

 

[martin clark]

Added resilience, added mass and preferably forming a air break containing some absorbant material are the answer. Solutions involve either adding a secondary lined ceiling to the apartment below, with absorbants in the cavity, or adding a resilient layer to the floor level (useful for impact noise but less so for acoustic isolation) or both, preferably.

You will need to know exactly what you have to begin with. Practical gains may be limited by what you can give up in terms of adding to your floor level, or dropping the ceiling of the apartment below. There are limits on what can be gained before all the flanking paths start dominate. Andyoz is your man here for the detail and the compromises on the acoustic side.

Reputable company more local to you for ideas:
http://www.fermacell.de/de/content/deckenkonstruktionen.php

 

[hughmc2]

Probably a bit over the top and but we use Proctors dynamic battens in our timberframe flats construction.

http://www.proctorgroup.com/products/acoustic-solutions/profloor-dynamic-batten

but you will have to raise the floor in the flat above by 107mm ( 70mm batten/ /19mm gyproc plank / 18mm chipboard flooring.

25mm acoustic quilt goes between the battens.

on the ceiling below we affix 2 layers of 15mm plasterboard to British gypsum RB1 resilient bars

to see it clearer you should google - robust detail E-FT-1

don't waste money on any acoustic mat

 

[John]

I'd consider another location. The sound from the piano could be quite bothersome when trying to listen to your hifi.

 

[Have Fun]

what you need to improve depends on the floor structure you have ie concrete / timber / finishes - you have to specify with what you have & don't forget air gaps / sealants / pipe drops

adding to floor from top may raise floor levels - knock on affects - with doors & stairs skirtings etc

fermacell is a good product on paper spec but be careful when cutting - it produces a fine dust

 

[GTM]

Essentially there are two paths that you'll need to address. Airborne and structure borne noise transmission. Airborne tends to be addressed by the use of absorption materials and high density barriers. Structure borne through isolation and impact reduction techniques.

See here for some solutions:

http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/floor_access/floor_access_comparison.php

http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/ceiling_access/ceiling_comparison.php

Musical instruments tend to be predominantly airborne noise.

Some more links:

http://www.noisestopsystems.co.uk/floor-soundproofing?zenid=utd3saa9fmv3iv6p3uqqm6rg62

http://www.noisestopsystems.co.uk/ceiling-soundproofing?zenid=utd3saa9fmv3iv6p3uqqm6rg62