I wish I could remember what it was; I was watching some YouTube video on room treatment and the guy was talking about just that very thing; was it creosote? Or am I just thinking of Monty Python?
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More information would be helpful. Concrete floor? Is the Condo a wood framing structure? Therein the concrete floor may only be around 2" to 3" thick of a light weight sound attenuation concrete. What is your cooling/heating system for the condo? Self contained for each Condo unit? Like maybe a split cooling/heating unit? What I’m trying to nail down is that your music is strictly 100% being transferred through the floor? If the sub floor structure is wood with wood floor joists with 2" to 3" thick of concrete poured as a cap on the wood sub floor there is a good chance the condo structure was framed and the floor concrete cap was poured after the outside wall and inside wall partitions were built. If that is how the condo unit is built the music sound waves will transfer to the walls and down to the floor wood sub floor/joists to the Condo unit ceiling below. Things you have tried to help stop your music from being heard by your neighbors in the Condo unit below. Turn down the volume of your music. If you have a Sub speaker stop using it. If you are using spikes on the speakers or speaker stands remove them. . |
I've done a little soundproofing over the years, largely to isolate the noise from an air compressor used for my tonearm. I used a product I bought from Acoustical Solutions in the Virginia area, a mass loaded vinyl/melamine sheet, sold in bulk, which is very effective. Not sure you would use that, but those folks do know soundproofing and sell the products- worth a call. I suspect you'll wind up needing a suspended floor, similar to what recording studios use but your needs may be even greater if you are dealing with neighbors who are hearing your music. And the transmission of sound may be more than the floor- air systems, lighting conduits, any small opening or aperture is a potential leak. I found this with a small duplex sized cable pass-through, which I solved with melamine (Magic Eraser, originally meant as a soundproofing material). Doors are also "leaky" --you are down to the level of smaller than a "tiny bug" that can pass through. And, though I'm no expert, I suspect the walls, unless also concrete, will also act as membranes. Often, people will hire an acoustician/specialist to do design and sourcing, which will add to the expense. Not an inexpensive proposition even if you source the materials without a consultant. You might give the folks mentioned above a call--they are professional, and can give you a rough idea of what this may entail. I've known a few people over the years who leased or owned another space for their hobbies to keep them separate from their living quarters. Be interested to see what you learn simply for my own knowledge. Good luck, |
A 6" to 8" concrete floor is a very unusually thick amount of concrete! However, if that is correct, your sound may find its way down through the walls instead. I find it hard to believe it would go through 8" of concrete. The only sound that would are the very low frequencies through vibrations, but that's it. You need to find out what frequencies they can hear. |
I'm not a soundproofing expert but was a home improvement contractor for 45 years. I had a job once remodeling a funeral home that had offices on the second floor. I hired a professional to soundproof the second floor thinking he was only going to do the ceiling of the first floor. Well the mechanic said he would have to come down the walls of the first floor about 2 ft. as well otherwise the soundproofing wouldn't work. As others have mentioned above, the sound does transfer from the floor through the walls below. |
Mass loaded vinyl is the shiznit. I have used it to soundproof a ceiling from the living room above and I have used it to soundproof the family room below my room. Just lay it down and put your vinyl flooring right over it. Not cheap, but very effective. Now, in my rooms I was also able to fully insulate as well. I have considered it on the wall between my bedroom and the living room in present house. Works well.
ceiling in this situation: https://www.audiogon.com/systems/6230#&gid=1&pid=17
floor in this situation: |
My first thought, is you must be playing your music way to loud for anything but maybe some bass to pass through 6”-8” of concrete or it’s traveling through the walls. However, my subwoofer used to rattle the windows and AC vents until I bought four washing machine isolation feet from Amazon for like $20 and an 18”X18” piece of floor tile to go on top of my carpeted floor. Worked like a charm. I did something similar with my speakers. I bought some Isoacoustics Gaia isolation feet and couple pieces of 1” thick granite, also on top of the carpeted floor . They made a huge difference! |
6" to 8" of poured concrete, "cement floor". You assume the sound from your audio system is through the floor. 6" to 8" of poured concrete? You must be listeng to your audio system pretty loud. Using speaker spikes? I would say the building is not a 3 or 4 story building. Just a guess it’s may be 10 stories. Maybe a lot taller than that. Interior walls for each story are built on the concrete floor slab. Hard to tell how the exterior wall are constructed. Depends on the construction of the exterior wall of the building. Sometimes the exterior finished walls of the interior living space of the building is metal stud with drywall. Drywall thickness??? I have no idea what building fire codes are in Florida. Floor to floor fire break code, fire stop penetrations, hour rating requirements. ??? It can depend on how old the building is. You said the building was built in 2006. Are the Condo units in the building fire sprinkled? Makes a difference on floor to floor fire stop ratings Thus possible sound transfer between floors. If you knock on the exterior wall is solid like concrete or sound like drywall. Thick drywall? Is your audio system speakers on an exterior wall? Vertical mechanical pipe chases? Before you start just throwing money at the problem I would first try talking to someone in building maintenance. Not cleaning personnel. Mechanical maintenance personnel. They may have access to the building construction Blue Prints. You didn’t say what your cooling/heating system is. Therein is it common building system. Individual exhaust systems? Bathrooms and kitchen range hood exhaust? Each Condo space has a separate vent to the outside of the building or ties into a building central duct system? . |
I'm looking into the mass loaded vinyl and a few other options. I'm on the 4th floor of a 4 story building. I'm not playing my music extremely loud ( too me ) My neighbors on either side don't hear my music, I've checked with both. It's just the neighbor below. It's not extremely loud to my neighbor but just enough to be bothersome when trying to sleep.For a temp. solution I've turned it down a little, put a pad under my sub woofer and turned my spikes over so thet're not going through the carpet to the sub floor. I've ordered spike pads so I can turn the spikes back the correct way. |
Are they "hearing" the bass or midrange/treble as well? It doesn't make sense that all frequencies are passing through unless the whole floor is hitting a resonance with your music. It's pretty hard to stop the long bass wavelengths. Isolating your floor from the concrete is not practical, but would help immensely. Have you set the volume to where you like it and gone downstairs to hear it for yourself? That might help develop a solution. |
sometimes bass and other times music I'm told, not very loud, I turned up music 1 at a time and had her call when she could hear it. It was a little louder than I normally play it, but some songs can play a little louder than others and some the bass pops in. I'm just looking to decrease the sound traveling through the floor a little. |