Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Soundproofing between stacked units in cohousing

[Matt Lawrence (matt]

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012, S. Kashdan wrote:

> Here at Jackson Place Cohousing in Seattle, Washington, we have some units
> in our common house. Some of those units are located on the floor below our
> common areas, and the soundproofing between the common areas and the units
> underneath is not that good. The residents can hear people walking, chairs
> moving, etc. We also have some units that are connected side-by-side in
> other buildings. The soundproofing between them is also not that good. One
> neighbor complains about hearing her next-door neighbor's children running
> on the stairs inside that neighbor's unit. The stairs inside that neighbor's
> unit have rug material on them. But, the sound of the children's feet
> pounding comes through the wall. Another neighbor recently told me that she
> is sometimes awakened by her next-door neighbor snoring... The sound comes
> through the wall.

Having met the builder, I'm not surprised.  He was one of those types who 
specialized in building stuff for sale, not to actually live in.  He did 
teach me some very important words to listen for - "but it meets code". 
Building codes are the absolute minimum requirements that the various 
local governments have put in place to protect the consumer.  When a 
builder uses those words, I'm pretty sure something is being hidden.

As far as side by side units, anything less than alternate stud 
contruction with lots of heavy insulation is going to be noisy.

-- Matt
It's not what I know that counts.
It's what I can remember in time to use.