Help! Sound blocking noise from Ceiling on Existing Apartment

Hi all, newbie here..Been looking for a forum about property renovation and finally found it.

I'm thinking to do some renovation to soundproof my unit's ceiling, apparently the soundproof between floors are not that great, especially with the tenants above walking with a power of giant, throw things to floor and make scratches noise from furniture.

Therefore, i'm just gathering some ideas how I can have a better soundproof ceiling..

I approached one company and they quoted me around $3,5k+gst just to do the work for a 10sqm area - which I can't really afford to spend this much..

Does anyone ever experience the same situation here? I'm desperate for some ideas and maybe some people renovate their unit's ceiling with a reputable builder that comes with affordable cost?

Really appreciate some help here!

Ps: Tried couple of times talking to the tenants upstairs but they gave negative reaction toward me. But honestly, the ceiling itself doesn't have great soundproofing anyway, so really can't blame them much too!

 

What is the floor (ie your ceiling made of)? Eg concrete or timber

Any treatment of the ceiling will impinge on ceiling height, you must maintain 2.4m for any habitable room (lounge, bedrooms, study etc).

Has the upstairs owner changed flooring without consent of body corporate or not installed an acoustic underlay under a new timber floating floor? You might address this with body corporate.

 

It's a timber floor, i think that's why when things got dropped to the floor the sound can be really loud.

Not aware if they have changed the flooring recently, but we just bought this unit few months ago and i think they just had new tenants recently therefore we just recently experienced it.

Do you think if I am to renovate my ceiling to put the soundproof material, does the whole ceiling have to be removed in order for them to install it? I suspect maybe some of them can be removed just so that there are some space to insert the material?

Seems like a major work to remove the whole ceiling...

 

Depends if you still want sound to be transmitted into the room in the areas which you haven't treated.

 

I would check with body corporate to see if there are any acoustic testing requirements for floor installations and see their response. Some BC's require acoustic underlay under timber floors/ tiles but nothing under carpets. Given that there are timber floors above you, this may trigger acoustic underlay requirements as per BC's guidelines.

Generally speaking, retrofitting acoustic insulation in the ceiling would not offer any benefits to you, rather it will provide those above you with better noise isolation of your place!

 

By asking acoustic testing requirement, do you mean asking if they have some sort of acoustic testing report etc?

Yes, I understand there is a difference between soundproofing and soundblocking, i guess the acoustic foam is more for soundproofing the noise within my own unit preventing it going outside. I guess what I'm after here is the soundblocking solutions

 

I think most importantly for me and my partner is the bedroom area, things can be a bit crazy some days...either early in the morning or very late at night, foot stomping noises can be heard so loud.

I will check what's the height of my ceiling later, thanks.

 

Ideally, the BC should be able to tell you if acoustic testing is required and/or the type of acoustic underlay required. Some BCs may have a nominal underlay floor makeup which does not require testing. Others don't nominate an underlay but maintain that the sound should not exceed a certain Lntw threshold (Lntw of 52 for example). Your BC should be able to provide definitive guidelines here.

 

Resheeting the ceiling using resilient plasterboard mounts along with sound reduction insulation - heavy sound batts or similar - might (among other things) help. But requires ceiling to be replaced.

Cheaper to start with asking the body corporate about whether the unit above has approved flooring or not!