What economical ways exist to dampen floor vibration on top floor apartment?

Question

I live in a top floor apartment which is above the garage (open air, really just a lot). The unit is at the end of the building; the apartment is held up by columns. The building was built around the 1970s. During the last major earthquake in the area (Los Angeles, California), the building only sustained minor damage (a broken window).

The thing is, before I moved in, the landlord installed hardwood floors instead of the carpet that was there before (not a good idea). This has the effect of amplifying all kinds of sound waves and causing vibrations and thumps. There are moments when it's still, but when my next door neighbor (his apartment is also above the garage and has no unit below it) walks around close to my room (his bathroom is adjacent to my bathroom), his footsteps cause minor tremors to ripple through the floor. It's really annoying and it feels like I'm on a boat or in a car that's stopping and braking frequently. It happens in the kitchen and main room too (I live in a one-bedroom apartment).

I got an area rug and put some cut up carpet under the bed legs, and that seems to help a little bit as well as moving the bed away from the wall bordering the neighbor's apartment to the other side of the room. But I still feel the little ripples and shakes from time to time. Will soundproof foam pads under the carpet help?

It can't be that much of a structural deficiency; as I said before, the last major earthquake did not cause major damage to the building.

What can I do to soundproof my bedroom floor outside of stripping the hardwood and installing all the necessary things (can't afford that, landlord won't do it)? I'm pretty sure 99% of the vibrations are caused by my neighbor's footsteps. Perhaps some of it is caused by something else in the building, but this is hard to figure out due to having no unit below me.

My bed frame is also really cheap and flimsy and will shake and sway if you move around on it, so that's not helping. Should I take the headboard and mattress off the frame and just put it on the carpet? The couch in the main room also seems to ripple from time to time, but it feels more pronounced in the bedroom.

Other information: Since there is nothing directly below my apartment there are pipes immediately running underneath the floor and are visible in the garage. Could the pipes be causing the vibrations?

Answer 1

You need something to absorb the movement and vibrations.

I am not really sure about the layout but you need something along the adjoining wall that is very heavy and won't make noise. I had the same situation when I was in college and I brought in a large concrete outdoor bench and put a rubber mat under it. It weighed a good 400-500 pounds and I had energy to move these things back then. It worked great.

So very heavy furniture plus padding... You could also talk to the landlord and see if he can secure the joists better underneath to see if that helps.

Answer 2

You can try to sleep on truck tire inner tubes. I did this in my old apartment. It let me survive for a year. Basically you get 4 tubes, pump them up until they are firm to the touch, then place them under your bed. The important thing is to have each tube resting on a single piece of bed frame.

The second thing you will need to do is get a collapsible material that absorbs any remaining energy by deforming. This is best accomplished with pillow material. You can get things like this from bed bath and beyond for about $100, but you will need to fluff your pillow blanket ever so often.

Finding new inner tubes of the same type however can be challenging. Get an inflatable air mattress from wall mart for the time being.

Lastly you need to be able to prove to the landlord that the vibration is creating a hostile living environment. This can be accomplished by using any number of cell apps. I used an app for the iphone called seismometer. Its icon is a gray graph, with a blue squiggly line on it. You can use any similar app that records throughout the night.

Start your recordings on ground level sidewalk, so you have a base line. Then place the phone on your bed frame while you sleep. In the morning save the recording so you can show it to the landlord. Most landlords will send a tech up to check for problems after you can prove your complaint. And if they don't... take your grievance to the city.