Suggestions to dampen flooring vibrations when walking around

[Chevy-SS]

I own a 2-story, 2-family house. My daughter lives on other side, which is a nice plus. The house is about 40 years old and is decent, but was not built with much (if any) attention paid to soundproofing. We can hear/feel each other walking around, not a huge amount, but enough to be annoying.

The floors are standard construction, with 2"x10" joists, suspended over a full basement. So I have plenty of room to easily add dampening mass or stiffening (or whatever) to the underneath, between the joists, but not sure what to add, or where to add. Or am I just screwed?

 

[930dreamer]

Sounds like you could add insulation between the floor joists but it really needs sound proofing between the two units.

 

[CombatNinja]

Rockwool makes a good soundproofing product. Their Safe n Sound acoustic product is specifically designed to dampen noise and vibration, but it's expensive. Their regular comfort batts will still give you a lot of dampening at a lower price point. It is the density of the product and the way it pressure fits inside cavities that just tightens everything up. Regular fiberglass will do barely anything, not worth the cost or effort in my opinion.

Depends on a lot of other factors that you did not elaborate on. Is this basement a finished/conditioned space or is it just a cold/damp basement? Are we talking about a single-story home here or are there multiple floors to consider? Closed cell spray foam might also be an option if the joists are exposed.

 

[nadogail]

A builder once told me that when he was building a condominium building he used on the common walls, 2x6 top and bottom plates and 2X4 studs that were staggered with sound board woven in between so the walls were separated and not drum heads.

We lived there about 4 years and still own the pproperty as a rental.

 

[CombatNinja]

So, what you're saying is that all he needs to do is reframe his house? That sounds easy, should be able to knock that out in a weekend.

 

[ace10]

Roxul SafenSound

 

[larry_g]

Do you have bridging or blocking between the floor joists that will stiffen up the floor?

You say that you can hear others walking around. Is it also a problem with TV or stereo noise coming through? Different kinds of noise and may take a different solution.

lg
no neat sig line