How can I insulate the floor to prevent sound from travelling through it?

Question

I live in a top floor flat (apartment), and have a real problem with sound travelling from the flat beneath me. The worst sound is either bass from a TV, or voices.

I paid a company a few years ago to install 'sound insulation', which they applied by means of an expandable foam which they sprayed between the joists.

I really don't believe that this had any affect at all, which was very disappointing as I paid a lot of money for this service.

It's very difficult to tell where the sound is coming from, i.e. I can't tell if it's riding up the walls, or coming through the floor.

On my floor, I have large joists with expandable foam between them, then floorboards, then plywood, then carpet underlay, then carpet.

Is there anything further I can do? or do I have to pay to get my neighbour's ceiling (beneath my floor) insulated in some way.

There is also the complication that there are eaves around the edge of my flat, so it's difficult to put insulation down across the whole floor (without removing the eaves walls) and I also can't tell if the sound might be travelling up into the eaves and coming through the walls.

Answer 1

Don't mean to be a jerk, but I would get a (white) noise maker. Its a simple, practical solution for an apartment.

Answer 2

There are a few questions with answers that could help you:

• How do I insulate a loft space?
• How do I make my room soundproof

and others with the sound-proofing should help.

Specifically here, if you already have the insulation and carpet layers I would focus more on the eaves. Often they will not be insulated to any significant degree.

A significant improvement is likely by adding sound insulation or acoustic foam to the back side of your walls - if you can gain access to the eaves space - and to the floor space in there as well.