Soundproofing Floors in Flats – 5 steps to end noisy neighbours
Soundproofing floors in flats is a great way to prevent heavy footsteps and create a much quieter apartment. Soundproofing floors in flats, can be done in a variety of ways depending on your budget, how much space you have and the overlay you want down. Noisy neighbours and creaking structures can make flats a difficult place to relax, so soundproofing floors in flats can be the first step (excuse the pun) to a quieter life.
Does Soundproofing a Flat Floor Work?
Yes, if you soundproof your flat floor correctly, you can massively reduce the impact sound of feet, furniture being moved and items being dropped. It can make your space quieter and also make your neighbours lives much easier, (who wants to be the noisy neighbour?).
Generally, soundproofing floors in flats is done to reduce impact noise. Impact sound is caused when two surfaces meet and the sound energy vibrates through a surface. This is heard best when people walk around on the floor above you…keeping you awake.
You can also use soundproofing floors in flats to reduce airborne noise. Airborne noise is sound that uses the air to travel, examples include speech, TV’s and music from noisy neighbours. Airborne noise can be reflected by a high mass material to stop them traveling through a partition.
Considerations when Soundproofing Floors in Flats
Before you look into soundproofing floors in flats, you need to do a little assessment of your flooring. Soundproofing for floors is only effective when you have the right solution for your problem!
1. Where is the sound coming from?
This may seem obvious but you need to check! Is the noise coming the floor above, upstairs, or, is the noise coming from the floor below, downstairs? Sound can be sneaky and travel in different ways, not always just through the wall, ceiling and flooring.
If you are suffering from flanking transmission, when sound travels by other means such as pipes, vents and holes, then you need to plug these gaps, too. It’s well worth having a route around and listening to various areas on your floor with a cup to see where it’s loudest. Try checking near sockets, light fittings and where there is piping.
If the sound is actually coming form the level above, then you should see if that floor can be soundproofed. If you don’t own the room above then look at soundproofing your ceiling instead.
2. What is the floor constructed of that you are trying to soundproof?
Materials for soundproofing floors in flats will change dependent on the construction of your flooring. There are two common floor construction methods, yours is likely one of the following:
- Timber joist flooring with a plasterboard ceiling below and floor boards/flooring panels on top.
- Solid concrete flooring with a screed over the top, for this you need to focus on impact noise reduction.
3. What type of noise are you hearing in your flat?
There are two different types of noise pollution that you may be dealing with. To know how best to soundproof your flat floor, you need to understand which type you have (it can be both!)
Impact sound
Impact sound is caused by two or more surfaces coming together and sound energy vibrating through them. This is best demonstrated by the thud of footsteps from the floor above. Soundproofing floors in flats against impact sound requires materials that can absorb the vibrations (like acoustic mineral wool).
Airborne sound
Airborne sound is energy that travels through the air, such as music and people talking. This is a really common problem in flats as people try to drown each other out and make the noise pollution much worse! To reduce airborne sound in flats, we need high mass materials that can deflect the sound waves.
4. How loud is the sound you are trying to reduce?
Knowing how much sound you are trying to remove from your flat can help to save budget and also to ensure you get the results you need! If you require Part E compliant soundproofing solutions then we are able to help you with those and get the highest soundproofing results.
5. How much space do you have?
Soundproofing floors in flats involves raising the height of the flooring. iKoustic offer some very slim systems, at only 3mm thick, but for the most effective systems you may want to consider sacrificing a little more head room. Before you begin, measure your space and decide how much you can loose from the flooring.
Soundproofing wooden floors in flats
If you have a timber floor in your flat, then the type of soundproofing will depend on the overlay you wish to install. We have soundproofing floor solutions for all finishes, including luxury vinyl, so you can get the best results.
Soundproofing wooden floors in flats usually requires soundproofing for impact and airborne noise. This is because the mass of a timber floor is not usually sufficient to deflect airborne sound and the cavities between joists cannot absorb impact noises.
Soundproofing for timber floors against airborne and impact noise
To start with, we will consider your ‘all rounder’ option to tackle both types of noise. Remember that to combat airborne and impact noise we need:
High mass to reflect airborne sounds
Good absorption materials for impact noise
Ideally a decoupled structure to reduce transmission
The best soundproofing for flat floors with a timber structure is our MuteMat 3 Premium Plus system. This system addresses all area of soundproofing science; high mass to reflect airborne noise, insulation to absorb impact sounds and a decoupling structure to float your floor, (reducing the transmission from surface a to surface b).
This soundproofing system for floors decouples the new structure by topping the timber joists with isolation strip P8. This helps by absorbing the vibrations and reduces the transmission of sounds into the structure of the building.
To help prevent flanking from your floor into walls, the whole system is framed with a perimeter flanking band between the edge and the walls. This, like the isolation strip, reduces the vibrations that can be passed into other structures and helps to combat flanking transmission.
Soundproofing floors in flats with impact noise issues
If you are looking to purely tackle impact noise, which could be irritating the floor below you, then we need to consider insulation. A system that is focused on the reduction of impact noise doesn’t require as many layers of high mass materials and are often slimmer.
Our MuteMat OSF 10 Premium Plus system is a great option when soundproofing floors in flats against impact noise. This will massively reduce the sound of footsteps heard below.
Soundproofing for Concrete Floors in Flats
You will also find a selection of closed cell foam that is usually adhered to layers of high mass vinyl. This sandwich of acoustic materials can reflect and absorb a wider range of frequencies and produce an effective acoustic barrier.
4. How loud is the sound you are trying to reduce?
Knowing how much sound you are trying to remove from your flat can help to save budget and also to ensure you get the results you need! If you require Part E compliant soundproofing solutions then we are able to help you with those and get the highest soundproofing results.
5. How much space do you have?
Soundproofing floors in flats involves raising the height of the flooring. iKoustic offer some very slim systems, at only 3mm thick, but for the most effective systems you may want to consider sacrificing a little more head room. Before you begin, measure your space and decide how much you can loose from the flooring.
Soundproofing wooden floors in flats
If you have a timber floor in your flat, then the type of soundproofing will depend on the overlay you wish to install. We have soundproofing floor solutions for all finishes, including luxury vinyl, so you can get the best results.
Soundproofing wooden floors in flats usually requires soundproofing for impact and airborne noise. This is because the mass of a timber floor is not usually sufficient to deflect airborne sound and the cavities between joists cannot absorb impact noises.
Soundproofing for timber floors against airborne and impact noise
To start with, we will consider your ‘all rounder’ option to tackle both types of noise. Remember that to combat airborne and impact noise we need:
High mass to reflect airborne sounds
Good absorption materials for impact noise
Ideally a decoupled structure to reduce transmission
The best soundproofing for flat floors with a timber structure is our MuteMat 3 Premium Plus system. This system addresses all area of soundproofing science; high mass to reflect airborne noise, insulation to absorb impact sounds and a decoupling structure to float your floor, (reducing the transmission from surface a to surface b).
This soundproofing system for floors decouples the new structure by topping the timber joists with isolation strip P8. This helps by absorbing the vibrations and reduces the transmission of sounds into the structure of the building.
To help prevent flanking from your floor into walls, the whole system is framed with a perimeter flanking band between the edge and the walls. This, like the isolation strip, reduces the vibrations that can be passed into other structures and helps to combat flanking transmission.
Soundproofing floors in flats with impact noise issues
If you are looking to purely tackle impact noise, which could be irritating the floor below you, then we need to consider insulation. A system that is focused on the reduction of impact noise doesn’t require as many layers of high mass materials and are often slimmer.
Our MuteMat OSF 10 Premium Plus system is a great option when soundproofing floors in flats against impact noise. This will massively reduce the sound of footsteps heard below.
Soundproofing for Concrete Floors in Flats
You will also find a selection of closed cell foam that is usually adhered to layers of high mass vinyl. This sandwich of acoustic materials can reflect and absorb a wider range of frequencies and produce an effective acoustic barrier.
Concrete is already a good material for reflecting airborne noise as concrete has a high mass. However, high mass materials are not very effective when it comes to vibration from impact noise. In fact, materials like concrete are very good at transporting those sound vibrations around the building!
This is why recycled rubber underlayment for concrete floors is so popular. The rubber is able to absorb the energy from impact sound vibrations and convert it into heat energy. Soundproofing floors in flats with acoustic rubber underlay is an effective solution against noisy footsteps that can be heard downstairs.
Best Soundproofing for Concrete Floors Against Impact Only
Our best soundproofing system for impact noise on a concrete floor would be the MuteMat 2 System. This is constructed of two materials; our MuteMat 2 and a layer of Tecsound. MuteMat 2 is made of a layer of close cell foam that compressed, slightly, to absorb the impact noise. This is adhered to a layer of mass loaded vinyl, extra protection against airborne noise!
Best Soundproofing for Concrete Flooring Against Impact and Airborne Noise
However, if you are soundproofing floors in flats that have a lot of airborne issues as well, (this can be caused by structures that go through a concrete floor and encourage flanking), then you need a full solution. Our best solution for the noisiest flat would be to create a floating floor structure using the MuteCradle.
A floating floor structure will decouple the new soundproof flooring from your concrete screed. The timber joists are ‘floated’ on rubber cradles that are able to absorb vibrations. In between the joists we add acoustic mineral wool that is particularly effective against impact noise.
The MuteCradle floating floor system can also be topped with any of our soundproofing mats, such as the MuteMat 3 for extra soundproofing capabilities. Whilst this system would add the most height to your room, it is also the most comprehensive options when soundproofing floors in flats.
Soundproofing Flooring for Flats – Finishes
Soundproofing floors in flats can be dictated by the floor finish that you desire. Some flooring, such as carpet, is an acoustic advantage as the insulative qualities help to dampen your room. However, others, such as LVT need some consideration and the layering system must be properly devised.
Soundproofing Floors in Flats with LVT
In recent years, LVT (luxury vinyl tiles) and LVP (luxury vinyl panels), have become a real hit with home owners. They are water resistant, come with a variety of finishing options and are relatively easy to install. However, LVT by itself is not an acoustic product and you will need to improve the acoustic qualities with an underlay for LVT flooring.
We have a specialist acoustic underlay for LVT flooring that will work a treat in flats with noisy neighbours. When choosing an underlay for LVT, you must ensure that it does not compress too far. If the acoustic underlay has too much flex, it will not effectively support the LVT flooring above.
At iKoustic, we offer a specialist LVT acoustic underlay that can be easily and quickly installed. The soundproofing underlay is suitable t have a hard floor finish, such as LVT, laid directly over the top!
MuteMat® LVT Click – 1.8
Acoustic Underlay Options for LVT Flooring in Flats
If you need something with an even higher impact sound reduction performance than the LVT Click, then you can use our other underlays. Our MuteMat OSF selection are all suitable as acoustic underlays for LVT flooring. The OSF is dense enough not to require any additional stabilisation before LVT is laid over the top.
Likewise, our MuteBarrier range are all suitable to use as acoustic underlay options with LVT flooring. You won’t need to add any additional layers of ply before installing your flooring!
Soundproof Beneath Wooden Flooring
If you are using engineered or solid wood planks over your acoustic underlay, always check if you need a layer of plywood first. None of our MuteMat OSF range require any additional layers. You are able to lay nearly all flooring finishes, including wood, directly over the top of it. This makes the MuteMat OSF a really easy soundproofing sintallation!
If you opt for a system with the more compressible MuteMat 2 or MuteMat 3, you’ll need a 6mm layer of ply, provided your wood planks are below 18mm thick. If you have thicker wood planks, then you are able to lay these straight over the acoustic underlay instead. Soundproofing floors in flats can involve several layers of materials to reach the desired reduction in sound, but the results are always worth it!
Can I Lay Carpet Over Soundproofing Underlay?
Yes, you can roll carpet straight out over our MuteMat 2 and MuteMat 3 soundproofing underlay, as well as the MuteMat OSF range. Adding carpet when soundproofing floors in flats will increase the soundproofing qualities of the room. Carpet is a great choice for bedrooms and will help to dampen noise inside the room.
How Much Does it Cost to Soundproof a Flat Floor?
This is a little like ‘how long is a piece of string?’. As you have seen, there are a whole variety of soundproofing options for floors and it very much depends on your individual situation as to what you need.
If you have a concrete floor and only need to reduce impact noise, then you may opt for the slim MuteMat OSF 10. This comes in at only £21 per m2.
Other solutions, like a full soundproofing system, involve several different products and are going to cost considerably more. When it comes to soundproof floors for flats, always try to consider what you need. If you have to save up a little more, it’s worth doing so and getting the job done properly!
Soundproofing in Flats the Law UK – What is it?
Is there a law for soundproofing in flats? All new builds must comply to Building Regulations Part E. What that means, is that soundproofing standards have been set by Government so that any new build flat has to pass these standards in order to be signed off and sold.
That’s why we offer ‘Part E Compliant Systems’, as these are the industry standards to uphold. However, Part E is only enforceable in a new build, or, in new renovations. So, if I have a nice big Victorian property and want to create three flats inside it, I must comply with Part E. This is likely to include soundproofing floors in flats! Having done this, you would be unlikely to experience sound issues in the property.
However.
Part E Building regulations for the resistance to the passage of sound do not apply to flats that have already been built or buildings already converted. Part E Building regs only came into force in 2003 in the UK. This means that if your flat had already been constructed by that time, the property owner does not have to make any soundproofing adjustments by law.
How to Install Soundproofing Floors in Flats
Installing a soundproofing floor can be super easy if you only need a simple system like the MuteMat OSF 750. However, if you decide to use a full system, you might want to outsource the work. All our products and systems come with installation advice that a confident DIYer would be able to follow.
We also have a network os specialist installers who will make short work of soundproofing floors in flats. If you’d like to find a soundproofing installer near you, then see our index of installers here.
Noisy Floorboards Fix
One thing you might be wondering is how to fix creaking floorboards before soundproofing your flat. The best way to fix creaking floorboards is to remove the original nails or screws first.
For wooden planks, simply refix your flooring with coarse-thread timber screws. These won’t come loose over time, unlike the old nails, and your squeaking floor should be fixed!
If you have a chipboard floor, use a watered down PVA glue adhesive between and under the floorboards. Using an adhesive is going to reduce the creaking and friction between floorboards and the timber joists. After this has been done, refix your chipboard panels with coarse-thread timber screws.
Soundproofing Flat Floors – The Roundup
When it comes to soundproofing floors in flats, you can see that there are many options. However, after having read this post, I’d like to think you can also see that it really depends on your situation as to what you need.
If you’d like some expert soundproofing advice, then feel free to give us a call and make sure you get the best soundproofing for your floor!
