We live in an old building in an apartment owned by our family so we can renovate. We go to sleep early so while our house is quiet we can hear our neighbors walking, dragging furniture etc.
I know that tiles are directly glued to the concrete floor. The building is 80 years old with a concrete floor (not sure how thick the floor is) with tiles glued to it with cement perhaps.
We have a budget of 10k, the flat is 67 square meter. We wonder if just doing our bedroom will be sufficient.
I would really like to know what would be the best solution I can apply from my end (no point in talking with them), to minimize the impact sounds.
Best Answer
There are two kinds of “sound control” problems: 1) airborne sounds, and 2) impact sounds.
However, now I think it is an “impact sound” because you’re not complaining about other airborne sounds. Therefore, the clicking noise (from walking on the tile) must remain in the structure until the sound reaches your space.
In order to control impact sound, you need to isolate the surrounding material. Some of these problems are “built in” and cannot be resolved easily (or cheaply), which appears to be your situation.
For impact sounds we try to 1) stop floor joists and underlayment from extending under a party wall, 2) provide separate party walls between rooms, and 3) stop roof joists from crossing from room to room, 4) isolate the impact noise. Obviously it’s too late for those techniques.
The easiest remedy is to remove the tile and reinstall it over a sound deadening board to isolate the tile. However, I understand this is not an option. Therefore, I’d 1) check to see if the sound is just as loud in other parts of your apartment. If so it not, then maybe you could rearrange your environment (perhaps sleep in the living room). 2) If it’s just as loud in all parts of the apartment, then I’d build a sound isolation room within your existing bedroom. This may include adding music to mask the sound.