Expert: Ted Barnhill (Principal, Design45 LLC) - 5/25/2008

Question
Hello, I hope you can help me. I live in a second floor apartment of what used to be a single family cape cod and the sounds that comes up the stairs from the first floor makes it unlivable when people are downstairs.  I am the tenant and unfortunately the people downstairs are my landlords high school and college kids, along with their friends.  Just the sound of their talking is disturbing but loud laughter and door slamming at 3am makes it impossible for my guests to sleep.  I have tried an 'eggcrate' in the doorway at the top of the stairs but I need more than that.  Unfortunately, being that it is not my house (although i have lived here for 12 years), i cannot go to too much expense or do any real construction to alleviate the problem.  My landlord is very reasonable but when it comes to people's kids you just can't be critical.  Any help you can offer would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Answer
Robin,

It is hard to solve problems without spending money!  

The simple, low-cost ideas that come to mind are:

- weatherstrip the doors at the top and bottom of the stair.
- carpet the stairs (or use a runner) to absorb sound.
- add other sound-absorbing material in the stairwell and/or landings.  An acoustical tile ceiling is one possibility.
- ask them to be quieter!

If you choose to approach your landlord with the problem, the best long-term solution will probably involve adding sound insulation to existing walls.  A contractor would drill holes at the top of the wall and blow in insulation.  This could be dry cellulose or one of several types of foam.  The contractor would then patch and paint the holes.  The space between the stair stringers could also be insulated for additional sound-proofing between units.

Good luck with your noisy neighbors. -Ted