Soundproofing exterior wooden stairsteps
 

Hi,

I just thought I'd tap into the creativity and knowledge
of this group to help me with a noisy problem.

I own a triplex, with the main unit spanning the rectangular
footprint of the building on the lower floor, and two upper
identical units each of which take halves of the upper floor.
There is a straight staircase going up the middle that the
two upper apartments share. The entire staircase is
under the roof of the building, and the treads and risers
are made of plywood, so going up and down the stairs makes
one heck of a racket, both conducted through the walls and
echoed through the hall.

I am looking for economical ways to reduce the noise level
to all tenants. Can someone recommend some sort of padding
or something that will help with the noise? A plus would be
for it to also provide traction and be weather resistant.

There are 13 steps with a tread of 11.5", and the steps are
hollow, but covered over with a sheet of plywood on the
underside.

Thanks!

Hands,

Carpet remnants from a carpet store should be cheap and worth a try.

Dave M.

Take a look at Sports Mats ; saw them in Menards . They are waterproof
and are high density rubber 2' by 2' in size. I think they ran $12 for a
package of 6. You would glue them on. Easy to cut to size. Many
uses....im going to soundproof the underside of my RV with them.

You didn't say whether the problem is the sound of shoes on the treads,
which could be resolved by carpet/whatever, or whether the treads creak,
which can be fixed by lots of wedges, glue, and and deck screws, or whether
the whole kit and kaboodle creaks and bounces, which could require
additional support underneath. ???
-B

"HandsOn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I just thought I'd tap into the creativity and knowledge
of this group to help me with a noisy problem.

I own a triplex, with the main unit spanning the rectangular
footprint of the building on the lower floor, and two upper
identical units each of which take halves of the upper floor.
There is a straight staircase going up the middle that the
two upper apartments share. The entire staircase is
under the roof of the building, and the treads and risers
are made of plywood, so going up and down the stairs makes
one heck of a racket, both conducted through the walls and
echoed through the hall.

I am looking for economical ways to reduce the noise level
to all tenants. Can someone recommend some sort of padding
or something that will help with the noise? A plus would be
for it to also provide traction and be weather resistant.

There are 13 steps with a tread of 11.5", and the steps are
hollow, but covered over with a sheet of plywood on the
underside.

Thanks!

Sorry, I was out of commission this past week with a new baby on board.

To answer "B"'s question, the sound is caused by shoes on the treads.
thanks.