Hello..

I just moved into a new apartment and I've got downstairs neighbors
that watch their TV about 24x7.  Although all I can hear is muffled
noises the sound is enough to keep me up at night and I'm looking for
a way to deaden it.

The building is rather old, but well kept and has hardwood floors.  My
room is about 15x20 and I'm only looking to stop the noise from coming
in from below.

Currently I've been running a fan at night as white noise but im
looking for a more silent solution (something that will absorb the
sound or at least leave the room quiet...not something to drown it
out)

<Floors can be soundproofed by using mass loaded vinyl. It is
effective as a sheet of lead for stopping sound.  The sound is blocked
by the mass of the vinyl which can be up to 2lbs per square foot. A
1lb vinyl barrier stops 90 decibels which should be enough to block
out television noise (around 60 decibels). It can be installed under
carpeting. It is easy to install and can be cut to fit using a knife.
Any joins are sealed with silicon adhesive.
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-4-2004-55087.asp

There are a number of online suppliers of mass loaded vinyl. The
cheapest I could find was Micro Industries.

A 4.5? x 20? (90 sq ft) roll costs $157.50. The price drops to $127.58
per roll for 2 or more rolls. Your room will need 3 rolls which works
out at $382.74.
http://order.americanmicroinc.com/cgi-bin/americanmicroinc

Other suppliers:
Sound Proofing Org.
http://soundproofing.org/infopages/flooring.htm

The products offered by Sound Proofing Org can be found here.
http://soundproofing.org/sales/prices.html

Ebay ? there are a number of suppliers sellling their products here.
http://stores.ebay.com/American-Micro-Industries

Redco.
Prices are $329 for  a roll measuring 4? by 30?.
http://www.redco.com/acoustic_treatment.html

Sound Proof  Foam.
4.5? x 30? roll - $236.25. The price drops to $191.36 if more than 2
rolls are bought.
http://www.soundprooffoam.com/products/vinyl_barrier/vinyl_barrier.html

Extreme sound proofing sells rolls for 200 sq ft at $404.00. It also
sells 48 inch wide vinyl per linear foot. Their regular price is $8.50
per foot and sale price $8.08 per foot.
http://store.yahoosoundproofing.com/soundproofing/floorvinbar.html>


<Search strategy:>

<mass loaded vinyl>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=mass+loaded+vinyl>

<mass loaded vinyl prices>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=mass+loaded+vinyl+prices>

<"acoustic vinyl" prices>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22acoustic+vinyl%22+prices>


<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by chasewells-ga on 14 Jun 2004 20:22 PDT

Great awnser... but its a not so much feasable for to cover my floor
with that much vinyl at this time and I dont really have 400 bucks. 
I'll still glady pay for your awnser as it is a solution to my
problem, but if you have any insight on using carpets or more
conventional home furnishings I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

chase

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 15 Jun 2004 07:50 PDT

<Wall to wall carpets with underlay are good for absorbing noise. A
study of noise absorption in carpets found that wool carpets with
underlay were more effective than synthetic carpets.
http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/faq10.html

Cork is also an effective solution for absorbing noise.
http://www.allwoodwork.com/article/homeimprovement/corks_coziness_makes_flooring.htm

<Additional links:>
<Acoustics, Carpet Underlay Tiles and the Value of Sanity>
<http://www.firstscience.com/site/editor/001_ramblings_28022003.asp>

<Some Sound Advice ? an article about soundproofing by Rosemary Sadez Friedmann.>
<http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_living_area/article/0,1793,HGTV_3376_1397084,00.html>

<Tips to noise proof your home.>
<http://www.househuntingintoronto.com/home_improvement/noise_proof.htm>

<Hope this helps.>

any carpeting you could add like a throw rug would help quite a bit

I've got one I need to unpack... I'll give that a try tonight.  Thanks!

it didnt seem to help that much...i've only laid down one though
(6x8), should i try more?

thanks so much for all your help.

I really appreciate it.