Hardboard + Laminate flooring = Well soundproofed??!!

[wilsarnie]

My upstairs neighbours are going to put hardboard down beneath laminate flooring when they re-decorate. At the moment we are living with just bare floorboards upstairs and the noise is terrible, scraping of chairs, voices, footsteps and even the vibration of their mobile phones.

I am desperate to have a quieter life downstairs and I can't help thinking that carpet would be the better option to absorb sound and to stop the scraping.

Can anyone give any advice? Would laying hardboard first go some way to soundproofing? Would carpet be a huge amount better or just a little?

(Is a conversion and I don't think any proper soundproofing was installed when they converted in 20 years ago, hence why it sounds like your normal upstairs in a house!)

[ethandron]

hardboard would do little or nothing in the way of soundproofing. i believe there are products available which will go some way to help, but the best things is carpet with a nice thick underlay.
my son left his previous flat because of the noise from above due to laminate floors, i do wish people would realise what a nuisance it is. as you say, he could hear absolutely everything - phone conversations, what programme they were watching, but the worst was just the walking about in shoes.
if you possible can, have a good chat with them and try to pursuade them to get carpets, invite them in to hear what you can hear, to try and make them realise what they subject you to every day. best of luck.

[Eddya]

Do you own your place or are you renting? In some cases it is written into leases that laminate or wood floors should not be fitted for noise reasons. If there is nothing you can do to persuade them against the laminate I would suggest to them that they hardboard and also put a thick underlay layer down before the laminate as this will help. I used to live in an underdwelling which had no sound insulation whatsoever and used to hear my neighbours every move, the final straw came when I heard him passing wind in the bath!

[weeal]

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/0 3/20901/55207

There is a law which I think states in upper flats the laminate must be covered by carpeting/rugs to a certain percentage (something like 60%) for noise control. Have a look at the above link, I didnt read thro it.

[Therema]

Thanx weeal that site you posted has came in reall handy for myself and the other 2 neighbours who are having problems with the 4th, im gonna print it off and read it out to the council, this will really get them thinking :)

[wilsarnie]

thanks eveyone for your help so far.

I had an opportunity and broached it with them and they're adamant we can only hear them because in some recent building work their existing hardboard has been taken up. We know that's not true because we heard them a lot even before that and Eddya, we hard him being sick in the loo the other night after too much booze! Not sure if that trumps your...errr...'trump in a bath' scenario!!

Anyway, to answer your questions we both own our respective flats. Weeal I'm going to try that website and maybe I can find one for England that would work for us so thanks for that.

I don't want us to fall out about itbut I just don't know what else to suggest as they are adamant that they ae going to laminate. Grrrr!!!