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

[Katie Henry (katie-henry]

Matt Lawrence wrote:

> 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. 

A couple years ago I signed a contract to buy a condo in a new building (not 
coho). 

I was there for the final walk-through the day before closing when the 
occupants 
of 

the unit upstairs came home. I was stunned at how well I could hear them. 
I heard the phone ring, then I heard the husband answer and tell the wife it 
was 

for her, then I could hear her side of the conversation while hubby turned 
on the TV, which I could also hear perfectly. Not to mention every clomping 
footstep as the two of them walked around. I told the realtor that there was 
no way I was going through with the purchase; they were welcome to sue me, 
but I wasn't going to buy in that building. And the first thing he said was 
"But 

it's built to code!" 

The coho community where I used to live was a retrofit of a 1950's office 
building 

with 4 inches of concrete between each floor. Most of us had total silence in 
our units. It was wonderful. If I'm ever involved in another coho project from 
the beginning, I will insist on a consultant, paid for by the community and 
independent of the developer, architect, and contractor, to advise on 
sound-proofing between units. 

Katie Henry