Acoustic Insulation

[nordloewelabs]

i'm not sure if this is the right place for this post, but given that people in this section of the forum are more acquainted with Audio and Video, i'll try my luck here.

i live in a building that has a not-so-great acoustic insulation and i can often hear my neighbour's TV (dowstairs), right below my living-room. i cannot discern what people are saying on his TV (sounds like a low-frequency buzz/rumble), but it bothers me anyway, because it happens 2-4 times a week and goes on for a few hours.

i've tried to shield myself from this buzz/rumble by watching TV and listening to music with headphones on....all the time. however, that's pointless since the low-freq noise of my neighbour's TV somehow find its way into my ears, anyway! it isnt very loud, but it is very noticeable and annoying.

i was wondering what's the best way to insulate my living-room from his living-room downstairs? my floor is made of wooden tiles and i dont have a carpet at the moment, but i doubt a regular carpet/rug would be able to block this kind of low-freq buzz. there must be some type of material that i can lay on my floor and successfully block this buzz/rumble.

i'm hoping to find a solution that doesnt involve any construction -- coz i'm not allowed to (des)construct anything here -- and that costs less than $1000 dollars (my living-room is about 24'x14').

btw, asking the neighbour to turn the volume down has proven pointless. and the Landlord doesnt intervene unless it's a "blasting noise" situation. so i need to find a way to block the noise.

any suggestions? thanks in advance!

 

[Mutilator]

Can't really help, but it'll be interesting to see the recommendations. My neighbor has an old Cherokee with an exhaust on it that emits the most obnoxious low bassy noise that I have ever heard. It's not loud... it's just damn near impossible to block out. Even if I'm vacuuming or something extremely loud I can still hear that thing coming down the road. Even worse is he loves to rev the engine at odd times.. 11PM... 2AM.. argh!

I feel your pain.

 

[nordloewelabs]

i've got into the habit of studying with the TV/Winamp on just so that i can block the neighbour's noise a little. needless to say, that's very distractive -- and inefficient! given that i've been putting up with this situation for 3 years, it all feels like Chinese torture:

a light and harmless water droplet on ones' forehead every minute....
after 3 years, becomes quite unbearable.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Pay him the $1000 budget to stop?

 

[Modelworks]

I can't think of anything that you could do in a an apartment situation that would help.
Low frequency noise is the worst to stop.
You need something that wouldn't carry noise, like a vacuum or rubber material in between. I suppose 6 inches of foam rubber would help, but have fun walking on it


I live in an apartment as well and my neighbor is older and can't hear too well.
I can always hear his tv early in the mornings.
I imagine some of my neighbors can hear my tv/music sometimes as well. I try to keep it down and so do they, but in an apartment situation its always going to be an issue.

I also live about 1/8 mile from railroad tracks that cross in town and have two trains a day, one at 6pm and another at 2am. Each time they go through town they blow the horn, for about two minutes at a time. Its loud enough to block out the tv.
But you get used to it

 

[Chaotic42]

Heh, I've got the same problem. I try to be a good upstairs neighbor and the thanks I get is bass booming from noon to 3am every freaking day. I'm a quiet freak though, and it bothers the hell out of me.

Good luck.

 

[biggestmuff]

Soundproofing through construction is the only way to isolate sound. Sound treatment is adding foam, insulation and baffles to a room to modify, tune and shape the sound in a room like a studio or theater.

You'd want to perform construction to isolate your room from the tenant downstairs.

 

[uli2000]

If your floor is wood or tile, have you tried area rugs to absorb some of the sound?

 

[zinfamous]

books. lots and lots of books.

sometimes a white noise machine works; but you probably only want one of those running when trying to sleep, not while listening to your own TV/Music...whatever.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Your best solution is to move. But I know moving sucks, and you might be stuck in a lease, so it's probably not very viable.

 

[sdifox]

Yo could fab a noise cancelling system. get some low frequency mic, hook up to an amp, wire some woofers in reverse, put woofer (in enclosure) and fire downwards.