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888eight888
 
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Default Bedroom in apartment: Need ideas to buffer sounds from ceiling/neighbors

ameijers wrote:
"888eight888" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

Between the ceiling and the floor of the upstairs apartment and mine;
there is no insulation. Not only can I hear every footstep, but the
neighbors are extremely active; something is constantly hitting the
floor unannounced. (Don't ask - I don't know, either.)
The landlord doesn't want to pay for/put in any insulation. Apparently,
it would involve ripping up the ceilings.

As far as putting something on my side of the ceiling; I've heard that
Home Depot has "foam boards" and I've heard of ideas regarding putting
up layers of rugs, etc.

I need clarification on how to and what materials to use, (as cheap as
possible), that I could affix, screw in or whatever to the ceiling and
possibly something on the walls (?) that would successfully reduce the
amount of noise.

If you have specifics regarding materials, posting a link to Home Depot
web pages would be helpful.

http://www.homedepot.com

Otherwise, the general name of a material is good enough.


It's a rental, so I can't go crazy with marring the ceiling. But I
guess I could put in screws that can later be filled in.

I am just going to do something to the bedroom only; roughly a 20 ft.
by 12 ft area.

Whatever ideas people have; don't worry about how it will look; I could
always drape something over whatever work is there.

Thanks A LOT for any input.

Forget about foam board or fabric on the ceiling. Both big hazards in a
fire. The fumes from the foam can kill, and both will wick any flames to
engulf the whole room in seconds. I second what others have said about white
noise generators, or earplugs. Think of it as motivation to move. I live in
a house now, but did 20+ years in an apartment, always ground floor. But I
am half-deaf in one ear, so I would just put my good ear into the pillow.
Yes, I had to buy a Real Loud alarm clock, and still often slept through it,
unless I happened to roll over in the night.

aem sends...


Thanks for the input, all...

I do have the white noise; it's helpful but not an ultimate
solution/compromise. I (now) have an idea what I am going to try...

I forgot to mention that I just moved in - and was exhausted after the
first night of sleeping in a room where people kept waking me up at all
hours of the night.

When I told the landlord, (about the third day of living here); he
nastily suggested that I "move out" because "no one else" had "ever"
(in the past) complained before. I did not take kindly to that
statement or his tone..(If it's such a great place, why was it vacant
for me to rent?)

Here is an excerpt from the conversation:

Me: "Hello, Mr. LL, it's Me.."

LL: "Yeth, thwir, howth mayth I helpth youthhh?"

Me: "Listen, I just moved in - the people upstairs kept me up all
night. I hear everything - there is no insulation."

LL: "Welth, there with nothwing I canth doo.."

Me: "But you contracted with me that you would provide a 'peaceful,
inhabitable environment' - which it is not."

LL: "WHAAAAAA! I whhaaant my monwee!!!!"

Me: "But, sir..if you just hear me out..."

LL: "Monweee! Monweeeeeeee! GA GOO BA BAAA MONWEEEEE!!!!".

Me: "Well, okay...but I may have to reconsider this situation."

LL: "BAAAAADDD MAAANNNNNNN!! MONWEEEEEE GOOOOOOOOOOOODTHHH!!!!!!!"


(As you can see, it was a difficult conversation.)