# Noise between my condo walls



## Diy2015 (Apr 9, 2015)

I can hear almost everything that goes on in the condo next to me. What can i do without tearing down walls?


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Do you own this unit?
How old is it?


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

Condos are (usually) owned. Based on that principal, there are a few things you can do without tearing down the wall but none of them will be very pretty(or if pretty, not cheap). Noise is vibration of air, remove the air or vibration will eliminate the noise.

I have seen people staple egg cartons or egg style foam pads to their walls to reduce noise. It helps some, doesn't look pretty though. Cork board is also a good choice.

You could place your TV or entertainment center on the wall between you & your neighbor, then the perceived noise is lower since you will be hearing the TV blaring instead of your neighbor (atleast when it is on)

a semi-cheap & professional looking solution that is not hard would be remove the drywall & install a decoupled staggered wall between you & your neighbor. I am trying to find an article on how to do this (with little success) but basically you remove your sheetrock, place a 2X2 strip along the top & bottom plate then toenail new studs 16" OC between the current studs, flush with the 2X2 strip you installed. This way your wall is separated from your neighbors when you screw your drywall back up. Requires remodeling of course but it is an easy project that shouldn't run you over $100 in materials, maybe 200-300 for labor depending on what contractor you get. While you are back there, feel free to put in some sound dampening insulation. Blown in insulation works well but anything would help. Hopefully another member can find a link to what I am talking about.

There is a whole wealth of noise reduction materials out there you could look into. You could simply get a few sheets of quiet rock & green glue, glue a second sheet ontop of your current drywall & call it a day. 

Search online, there are tons of options to help. As mentioned, this is based on you owning your unit. If you dont however, check with your manager on what you can & can not do. Landlords do not enjoy having their property modified without their permission.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Diy2015 said:


> I can hear almost everything that goes on in the condo next to me. What can i do without tearing down walls?


Nothing you can really do, unless you physically own the condo you are living in. There are techniques to decouple walls and ceilings, so that vibrations and sounds are dampened.

Majority of the apartments & condos out there are built to be throw away. They build them so cheap, do not care about the psychological factor that happens when humans have to live together and be disturbed by smells, sounds, temperature changes.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

google "staggered stud wall". fill the void with roxul. 

the condo i used to have, built in 96. was solid concrete/brick. if taken care of, would last well over 2000 years.


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## Diy2015 (Apr 9, 2015)

thank you for all the great suggestions I thought it was going to ne a lot more expensive!,,,!

I do own the condo i think it was built in the '70's it is a three story building with 34 units it is in Mississauga i am on the ground floor with a neighbour on each side, the bedroom walls are the ones that are joint. 

Doing the work myself is not really an option,,,,,, i am a girl,,,,, no real construction experience here..

Thanks again for all the advice


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

well, the work isnt really hard, even for a girl. Even the decoupled suggestion, hardest part is probably going to be lifting a sheet of sheetrock into place to be screwed in, for that you could grab a few buddies to help out. Green glue & quiet rock (both products to look into) would be the easiest/quickest solution. Just slap glue on the rock, glue into place then screw it down over the old sheetrock. Done.

Only way the price is going to run over say $500 is if you want to do something very expensive (like try to put up a brick wall) or if the contractor runs into something serious in the wall, such as the studs inside are ate up with termites or there was fire damage that needs to be replaced or the wiring is FUBAR & not to code, ect.

Other than that, a decoupled wall+insulation shouldn't be more than 100-200 for a 15 FT wall. Quiet rock & green glue might cost more, dunno on prices but shouldnt be hard to find out.


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## rwa (May 10, 2009)

Careful with the advice you get here. Just because you own the condo doesn't mean you own the party wall (common wall). In some instances ownership begins at the studs in the wall, others begin at the finish of the drywall. Check with the condo association before you modify the wall.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

The other thing... It may not be possible to decouple the floors that provide another path especially for low frequency vibes. I had some issues with my latest townhouse neighbors kids running and banging on walls and stuff all hours. After about 6 months of complaining, negotiating and cajoling things are tolerable. But It really should be a crime to allow this sort of cheap construction....


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## TheBobmanNH (Oct 23, 2012)

If you share a floor and / or wall, "cheap construction" often isn't the issue. I mean... if you can hear people talking at conversation volumes, sure, that's just cheaping out on insulation, but footsteps or low-frequency stuff.... not much you can do besides be consciencious of your neighbors. Or buy a freestanding home.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I guess by cheap construction I mean modern construction where these units are all coupled and merely have a couple extra layers of drywall as the fire break. When I was growing up the time we lived in a townhouse it had concrete block firewalls that effectively isolated it from the neighboring units. I don't remember any sound issues but then I was a kid and more prone to create them instead of be bothered by them. Just don't see those concrete firewalls anymore...



TheBobmanNH said:


> If you share a floor and / or wall, "cheap construction" often isn't the issue. I mean... if you can hear people talking at conversation volumes, sure, that's just cheaping out on insulation, but footsteps or low-frequency stuff.... not much you can do besides be consciencious of your neighbors. Or buy a freestanding home.


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

raylo32 said:


> I guess by cheap construction I mean modern construction where these units are all coupled and merely have a couple extra layers of drywall as the fire break.


What do you mean "extra" layers. Usually, from what I have seen in cheap apt/condo. It is coupled walls with 1 layer of drywall on each side for the divider. Not much in terms of sound insulation. I mean, 1 sheet per side seems like the bare minimum, not sure how that could be considered extra.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

should be a fire rated wall which would have sheet rock in between walls, right? You own from your studs in and as long as you don't destroy the fire code wall between, you should be OK.


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

I agree walls should be built with something like fireboard instead of standard drywall. However, I have seen many a cheap & even upscale place's built cheaply with nothing but studs & a layer of standard drywall between you & your neighbor. All about costs, not about standard of living. The mentality is, no-one is ever going to see what is in the walls, so make it as cheap as possible. The "pretties" go on the outside. If a fire happens, thats what insurance company's are for. It would be hard to distinguish fireboard from regular gypsum board after the inferno turns it to ashes.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Agree, Hick. I think it is ridiculous in this age where we have building codes for almost everything that they ignore simple quality of life factors. Well, I guess ignore isn't the right word... the regulators have caved in to developers and allow all sorts of stuff that just shouldn't be. In our area it is thin walls with inadequate sound insulation/decoupling and inadequate parking and green space in multi family situations. Let 'em build every square foot... maximize profit for the developer and tax revenue for the municipality. Too bad if folks find that a lot of unecessary conflicts and frustrations come built in standard with their nice new house.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

Hick said:


> I agree walls should be built with something like fireboard instead of standard drywall. However, I have seen many a cheap & even upscale place's built cheaply with nothing but studs & a layer of standard drywall between you & your neighbor. All about costs, not about standard of living. The mentality is, no-one is ever going to see what is in the walls, so make it as cheap as possible. The "pretties" go on the outside. If a fire happens, thats what insurance company's are for. It would be hard to distinguish fireboard from regular gypsum board after the inferno turns it to ashes.


 
Not sure I agree with that. As a matter of city code compliance, if they don't re-build *A COMMON wall to code* (should there be one) their liability will shoot up!


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

digitalplumber said:


> Not sure I agree with that. As a matter of city code compliance, if they don't re-build *A COMMON wall to code* (should there be one) their liability will shoot up!


Agreed. If, however anyone actually finds out about it. Most apt complex have their own maintenance man. He installs whatever the manager tells him to put in, regardless of code or not.

They can claim whatever they want on paper, only way it will come to light is if there is a problem & then it is too late. Might not even come to light then.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

Hick said:


> Agreed. If, however anyone actually finds out about it. Most apt complex have their own maintenance man. He installs whatever the manager tells him to put in, regardless of code or not.
> 
> They can claim whatever they want on paper, only way it will come to light is if there is a problem & then it is too late. Might not even come to light then.


We are talking about owned condos here, apartments are a different animal. In the college rental one we owned and as the president of the HOA, the only time we sent a repair person in a unit was for an emergency, no regular maintenance guy on staff.

Even our management company, would never have repairs done to the interior of an owners condo, we would stop the problem, call the owner and send them a bill.

I think we agree, this person can fix this, but needs to do it correctly!


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

around here, there are a lot of "apartments" that where converted to condo's.

what this comes down to = buyer beware. though it is true that a lot of the times, that is all they could afford.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

Fix'n it said:


> around here, there are a lot of "apartments" that where converted to condo's.
> 
> what this comes down to = buyer beware. though it is true that a lot of the times, that is all they could afford.


 True here also for conversions but I believe they still had to meet fire code or be brought up to fire code.

The college rental condo we owned was new from the ground as a condo community in another Texas city. Walls are standard insulation, but the common walls and ceilings are built with 5/8 sheetrock doubled as I recall.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Around here (MD burbs of DC) everything seems to be built this way. $150k condo or $600k townhouse, it doesn't seem to make a difference, so it is not a simple matter of going down the street and paying an extra few thou to get a better constructed place. They simply build 'em all to the minimum code. Unless you have the time and $$ to buy a custom built place, not possible for a condo or TH, you get what they make.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

from what little i have seen, around here, all the new condo's are all concrete/block/flexicore. and this is a GOOD thing.


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