I kind of wish that multi-unit housing came with sound isolation ratings. That'd create an incentive to have better isolation and help customers weigh the tradeoffs.
this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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we need to put sound insulation into the building codes. it won't increase rents much since all the money's in the land anyways. personally I've never had an actual issue with noise form other units but I'll grant this to the people who do.
I don't really want to force a specific bottom limit on sound insulation, which is what that would do, though.
Some people won't care as much as others relative to price and may not want to pay what it'd cost. And some people may want a much-quieter unit than any bottom limit would place.
The problem is that they can't make an informed decision now because the information isn't available.
Might be worth just mandating it since you can also fix thermal efficiency issues at the same time. And that affects everyone since poor thermal efficiency = more pressure on the electricity grid and increased risks of extreme cold and heat to individuals.
But transparency would certainly be better than nothing.
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This is part of my argument against the recent trend to allow bigger wood framed buildings, so they’re cheaper. There’s only so much you can do to soundproof a multi family house, but a large apartment building needs more. You know here’s higher risk of fires, flooding and damage just by having more people. You know statistically there will be noise issues. You can’t just pass the responsibility on the tenants when you know this will be a problem. Larger buildings should be required to be built in a way to protect tenants from this, ie. Not wood. They deserve at least as much consideration as the builder’s profits
I love this game! I used to play it all the time back in the day...
- maybe they're holding a sumo wrestler training camp?
- or possibly training for the hobbyhorse championships?
- they could be amateur wine makers and they're stomping grapes?
- they might just be working on their sweet parkour moves?
- it's possible that they're working on their MMA game?
- slim odds, but they may be anthropophobic and love a good game of bocce?
- they're perpetually stuck on the P90X plyometrics workout?
- you live below Kriss Kross and they're reliving the glory days?
Edit: in all honesty, some people have just never learned the toe->heel method of walking so they clod around like horses
You reminded me that last week I actually could tell they were doing burpees in the Livingroom. Between the cadence of the various noises, and the fact they came in 3 sets of 10, I’m like 99% sure. So that was amusing, counting and identifying that activity.
Many people have terrible gaits and slam their heels down as they walk. I don't know how someone comes to walk this way, as I'd imagine it is comfortable or great for the joints.
Typically it's due to shoes
I spent a lot of time barefoot as a kid and now I wear barefoot shoes when not at work, I walk on the balls of my feet
My roommate slams his heels into the ground hard enough I can tell when he gets home as I can hear him walking up the stairs outside the apartment
He wore shoes all the time as a kid and primarily wears boots
What are barefoot shoes?
Shoes that don't restrict the feet movements. Basically gloves for feet. Only protect superficially to allegedly allow the foot full range of motion and train and stimulate the use of all the muscles when walking and running. They reached peak popularity back in 2010. Recently some studies had questioned this claims as they seem to increase the rate of injuries, for of course, they provide no ankle support or torsion protection.
Basically, moccasins. Very thin, very flexible soles, with a wide toe box, so your feet can fully splay. They offer some protection against sharp rocks and similar hazards, but absolutely no support. Some have individual toes instead of a toe box.
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The worst offenders are usually obese people with bad gaits where they pound the ground with their heels every step
Ironically, my wife who is half my weight walks louder than I do.
I was going to say this, plus the only person I’ve ever seen walk hard enough to leave marks on a hardwood floor was this tiny woman in very tall heels
The lightest member of our household is the stompiest walker here too. I don't understand how she can generate that much force.
I had a neighbour I lived next to that no joke the kids used to play basketball inside the apartment. We met the poor person below them once and she asked almost jokingly if they play basketball. Yes, yes they do that is what they're doing.
Luckily at my new apartment I don't have to wonder what they're doing because in addition to the stomping I can also hear their kids fucking screaming the entire day. Do they jump on their bed at 5 am? Why yes. Do they chase the dog around at 2 pm? Why yes, yes they do. Does their dad come home and yell at them at 5 pm? Why yes! Yes he does.
So, people can't walk around their own apartment? If I pay rent, I expect to be able to walk around my apartment as much as I want, even wearing shoes, this is not unreasonable. This is a building code problem, not your neighbors being assholes.
There's a huge difference between walking in one's own apartment and throwing raging parties and stuff like that.
Old European apartments with wooden floors that amplify sound like a fine tuned violin disagree :-)
To OP : talk to your neighbours. We had one old lady who wore her (lady shoes with a little heel) shoes inside and made a racket, she wouldn't have known if we hadn't asked. Now the nice lady wears slippers :-)
Asking is of course fine.
My roommate stomps around like he's a 600lb land whale. He's like 140lb. I'm a bigger dude and sometimes people don't even hear me coming. Be considerate and walk like a normal person
Maybe it’s a bigger person thing to be so cognizant of our walking noise. But I deliberately walk a bit different around my apartment to make less noise and be courteous to my neighbors below.
I only step on certain points on my floor because of how creaky the boards are
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It really isn't that hard to be considerate. Just make an effort to not stomp around. Walk on the balls of your feet. It's actually good for you.
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We call ours the centaurs who live upstairs sometimes. They're just some college girls, definitely not disabled or anything. They make just as much noise flying up and down the stairs sometimes. They're definitely louder than anyone else who has ever lived above or below us. I think they legit do some sort of dance or exercise routine because sometimes it's very regular, rhythmic. Idk it's happy sounds. Happy neighbors having a good time don't usually bother me, no matter how noisy they are. I'm sure I have a limit, but noisy walking and the occasional party isn't gonna get me there.
The occasional stuff isn’t a problem, it’s just the hours-long full-floorplan pacing sessions that bug me. Thankfully it’s mostly blocked out by my headphones.
One of me Nextdoor neighbors has this laugh that comes through our shared wall (unfortunately my bedroom wall), but like you said, hard to be annoyed with people enjoying themselves. If they’re laughing it up when I’m trying to get to bed I’ll just put on some rain sounds or something.
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It's possible they are either disabled or have a disabled friend / family member visiting. Someone who can walk but not well. In either case hopefully it's just one off.
Unlikely disabled, because they move quite swiftly. It’s been months, so unfortunately not one off.
Different than other people who lived above you?
It could just be the way the apartment/housing is built making any normal walking loud for you.
Have been living together with my brother with only one wall in between that has nothing in between and let me tell you: two drywalls with air in between resonates just right on a mechanical keyboard at 2am. Now obviously floors have quite different standards even just when it comes to the load they have to carry, but that said, there's things that make it better and worse. Carpets can be good, dampening in between is good, putting little silicon plates in between stuff that connects to the floor is also good.
And then ofc if they decided to start dropping pianos on the daily, that might make a difference.
Either way, talking to them is probably the best option. There's not really much you can do about noise from the floor above you.
Did you already tell them there is a problem with the floor dampening and you hear every step very loudly? Surely you would not just expect them to know that they are not supposed to walk around in their own apartment and instead of talking to them tell everyone on the internet how bad they are? Because that would be pathetic.
My confrontation avoidance is pathetic, I’m working on it in therapy along w my generalized anxiety and other things.
But on the other hand, loud neighbors is a common issue in apartments, whether intentional or not… and idk, I just automatically try not to make a shit load of noise out of courtesy. Though, I’ve just recently learned that that behavior may be a byproduct of anxiety.
Also, it’s not as if I named and shamed them. There’s virtually no details about them at all.
Yeah tbh I went full contrarian with that comment don't take it too seriously 😅 apologies for being so confrontational. Kudos for working on your issues!
It's astonishing what kind of annoying asocial behavior people sometimes show while being absolutely unaware! We are all caught in our own stories sometimes and don't always have good awareness of our sourrounding. The way you describe the situation it sounds like yes, they should be aware that they are loud, but it's still very likely that they just aren't! We've all been there!
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Down the road from me is "Top Floor Gymnastics and Dance Center".
I'm pretty sure the building they operate out of has commercial space on the ground floor and one or two floors of apartments under the gymnastic center.
That sounds wildly unpleasant, unless they had some amazing soundproofing
The building they are in predates WWII, so definitely not.
Does it sound like a giant toddler walking on their heels?
I remember my last apartment. These were my neighbors: https://i.makeagif.com/media/7-02-2015/yTS99e.gif
I thought maybe for a second, but then I remembered the incredible consistency of their gait, their footfalls sound like a very angry metronome when they’re going, though with frequent seconds-long pauses.
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So it's not just me? I know they're not just walking around; the insulation is pretty good. But they certainly thump around in random intervals up there, like they're constantly arranging furniture. I thought maybe they had a dog but they don't. And they only seem to be active between the hours 3 and 6 am.
Still not as bad as my next door neighbors who come outside their front door at 5am every single day, standing right in front of my bedroom window and yell at each other for an hour. I'm 🤏 this close to opening the window and yelling at them to STFU.
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Are there people who really just get the top floor, and think “I’m so smart, and everyone else can get fucked”
They won't look so smart in the summer.
Go and have a chat with them. Perhaps as a half joke buy them a really nice pair of slippers for Christmas.
As an aside, I did once share an upstairs flat with a woman who had a prosthetic leg. We had wooden floors. The people downstairs were not amused, though she tried to move around as quietly as possible
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Sounds like there are actually people living there. Naturally people don't just sit all day, they also move around their flat. People in the flat below yours hear you too when you walk. Better get used to it ....
I’ve lived in 3 other apartments without this particular issue, noise yes, but not like this. Also, it’s not just walking… they literally don’t stop moving for hours straight. It kinda sounds like they are walking laps around the entire perimeter of the apartment, we have the same floorplan and I can clearly hear them moving from room to room to room. I’m honestly curious what they could be doing.
Maybe they are exercising indoors? Or just have some sort of manic energy they are trying to dissipate.
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Obviously their Roomba wears wooden shoes.
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