Help with noise in basement

[philbenjoe]

I bought a house with a basement and I can still do that

it seems to be a lakewood issue....lol.

[dudi]

So what are people supposed to do? Can't walk barefoot in their house?
All of this is part of the reason that I bought a house with no basement. I enjoy being able to live in my house and my kids can jump and play without bothering anyone. I can scrape chairs when I want to etc.

no one said u can't do it with tenants too just that if u r right on top of them bedtime that is when its not a good time the rest of time unless ur talking about old ppl there is no reason why u can't take a scraper and scrape the floor with all ur strength for 2 hours straight

[stamm]

I moved out of my basement due to a predicament like this. There is often nothing the upstairs neighbors can do to alleviate the noise issue. The houses in Lakewood are simply not properly built for basement tenants.
I remember how the noise literally drove me nuts. So so glad I moved, and now cannot understand how people live in basements, due to the noise issue among many others.

[Freddie]

It totally depends on the house. I'm not a builder so I don't know what it is exactly that causes this, but some basements are like a giant mouth of a megaphone for the upstairs. It can drive you nuts.

[davs]

It totally depends on the house. I'm not a builder so I don't know what it is exactly that causes this, but some basements are like a giant mouth of a megaphone for the upstairs. It can drive you nuts.

"Most"builders also don't know. But sometimes it comes out better than others. Very very few builders know anything about soundproofing

[Jkhein]

CMIIW, but I think it's very hard to find basement apartments now in Lakewood. There's nothing in the Masa U'Matan. I have friends who are still living in temporary apartments months after their chasuna since they can't find anything else.

what is a temporary apartment vs a basement?

[MarkS]

what is a temporary apartment vs a basement?

Furnished apt or Chosson/Kallah apt that people rent out for a few weeks to this person, a few weeks to the next.

Usually used if someones apt isn't ready for a few weeks after their wedding.

[churnbabychurn]

"Most"builders also don't know. But sometimes it comes out better than others. Very very few builders know anything about soundproofing

With houses made out of wood and sheetrock its virtually impossible to obtain complete soundproofing. We made sure to use double SR and special soundproofing glue.
In our house voices cannot be heard (-unless absolutely screaming, --- happens  )
 Walking with heels and kids riding toys though can be heard easily.

[Baruch]

I've been in many a house where the children know that in certain rooms they can't play with riding toys or hard balls or jump because it will disturb the downstairs neighbors.

[Aaaron]

With houses made out of wood and sheetrock its virtually impossible to obtain complete soundproofing. We made sure to use double SR and special soundproofing glue.
In our house voices cannot be heard (-unless absolutely screaming, --- happens  )
 Walking with heels and kids riding toys though can be heard easily.

Yeah, but DD with GG won't stop bass (such as footsteps) from coming through unless you also decoupled the walls and ceilings.  We used double 5/8" drywall with Green Glue on the ceiling and walls, and decoupled everything along with backer boxes around light fixtures and we can only hear people stomping above.

[davs]

Yeah, but DD with GG won't stop bass (such as footsteps) from coming through unless you also decoupled the walls and ceilings.  We used double 5/8" drywall with Green Glue on the ceiling and walls, and decoupled everything along with backer boxes around light fixtures and we can only hear people stomping above.

Yeah without decoupling you'll have little protection from impact noise

[Freddie]

Yeah without decoupling you'll have little protection from impact noise

Aaron and Davs, can you guys explain decoupling for us laymen? Is it terribly expensive? I am having a basement finished soon.

[Aaaron]

Aaron and Davs, can you guys explain decoupling for us laymen? Is it terribly expensive? I am having a basement finished soon.

Not expensive per se, but must be done right.  Small mistakes can negate all the effect.  Decoupling effectively reduces the amount of points where the drywall downstairs touch the joists of the ceiling to reduce sound and bass travel.

I highly recommend you do some reading here: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/

Also, Ted and John over there are great to work with.  I got lucky and bought a lot of the components from Craigslist and eBay and probably spent about 2.5k to properly soundproof a 750 sq/ft area of our basement.

[Freddie]

Not expensive per se, but must be done right.  Small mistakes can negate all the effect.  Decoupling effectively reduces the amount of points where the drywall downstairs touch the joists of the ceiling to reduce sound and bass travel.

I highly recommend you do some reading here: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/

Also, Ted and John over there are great to work with.  I got lucky and bought a lot of the components from Craigslist and eBay and probably spent about 2.5k to properly soundproof a 750 sq/ft area of our basement.

Cool! Thanks!

[churnbabychurn]

Aaron and Davs, can you guys explain decoupling for us laymen? Is it terribly expensive? I am having a basement finished soon.

According to our contractor, decoupling rarely works unless done really profe$$ionally.
Very important to work out the HVAC system so that a) the systems have to be totally separate. b) the duct work that is in the ceiling of the basement should be warped in insulation properly. Most voice sound comes through the HVAC.
He also holds that simply double Sheet Rock is very effective.

[aygart]

According to our contractor, decoupling rarely works unless done really profe$$ionally.
Very important to work out the HVAC system so that a) the systems have to be totally separate. b) the duct work that is in the ceiling of the basement should be warped in insulation properly. Most voice sound comes through the HVAC.
He also holds that simply double Sheet Rock is very effective.

don't forget too wrap the returns a well

[smee123]

To go to sleep, get used to sleeping with a fan for white noise and also make sure you are using the earplugs correctly. Good luck.
One more thing is to ask them to put a rug down directly on top of where your bedroom is.

[AnonymousUser]

To go to sleep, get used to sleeping with a fan for white noise and also make sure you are using the earplugs correctly. Good luck.

We've done both and it helped partially. Unfortunately, either the house was built really poorly, or the kids are really enthusiastic, so it was still a problem. Or maybe we're just very sensitive.

[smee123]

We've done both and it helped partially. Unfortunately, either the house was built really poorly, or the kids are really enthusiastic, so it was still a problem. Or maybe we're just very sensitive.

It takes time to get used to things. How long have you tried that? A few days/weeks/months?

[AnonymousUser]

It takes time to get used to things. How long have you tried that? A few days/weeks/months?

At least a year, probably closer to a year and a half.