Soundproofing a flat – peace and quiet in our home
Text from 2022. Laws, rates and prices may have changed since then. Ask an agent
Who among us does not dream of enjoying peace and quiet within our own four walls? Sometimes it is not that easy – noise from neighbours' flats, a busy street or the stairwell can be irritating. How can we deal with it effectively?
Let us find the source of the noise – because we do not always have to blame the neighbours!
After moving into a new flat we will probably find out very quickly whether we have landed in a quiet, peaceful home. If not, we will hear it easily. Walls and ceilings in many blocks of flats simply do not provide ideal acoustic insulation. If the noise reaching our flat is really bothering us, we should definitely think about where it comes from. Without that, it will be hard to find a solution!
For many people the neighbours come to mind first; and indeed, the sounds that bother us often do come from their flats. Let us remember, however, that this does not have to be caused by ill will on their part! Sometimes even the slightly heavier footsteps of the people living in the flat above can be a problem; there is no point holding it against our neighbours.
In Polish blocks of flats the stairwell is often a source of noise too; it carries sound very well, and the sound then, unfortunately, makes its way through the doors and walls into our homes. And finally, busy streets – properties in Katowice (especially in the centre) can sometimes struggle with street noise.
How to deal with noise?
At our estate agency we know that noise in a flat puts everyone off – both new residents and potential clients. We have a few ways of dealing with it.
Soundproofing the walls in a block of flats
Some blocks of flats suffer from very thin partition walls. They do not provide adequate insulation between neighbouring rooms or, worse, between flats. How can we deal with this? We can line the walls with acoustic panels – they will provide not only peace and quiet, but will also become an interesting element of our interior décor!
An end to noise from the floor above
The stomping of playing children or the loud sound of the neighbours' television upstairs can be very irritating. A good solution is to install a suspended ceiling. True, it will reduce the room's height by anything from a few to a dozen or so centimetres – but it will effectively muffle sounds coming from the floor above.
Let us take care of the doors and windows
If we live on a busy street in the city centre, we should definitely think about replacing the windows with soundproof ones. Windows are often the "weak point" of a flat, through which sounds from the surroundings get in; that is why it is worth making sure they have a high sound insulation rating.
And what about the doors? A good front door to the flat should provide at least partial insulation from stairwell noise. A suitable seal in the door frame and a solid threshold covering all the gaps under the door will help with this. If, on the other hand, we want to soundproof the doors to the rooms, we can fit acoustic foam to them – it will certainly help in dealing with noise.
