How to improve sound insulation in an apartment

It is estimated that there are mostly brick and block (large slab construction) apartment buildings in Vilnius. According to specialists, the latter have the worst sound insulation, and because of this, the neighbors can clearly hear what is happening behind the wall.

Recently Delphi Historian Valdemaras Klumbys, who told about the peculiarities of block apartment houses, also remembered one previously common anecdote that best describes life in the aforementioned apartment buildings.

“He sneezed on the first floor, and said ‘cheers’ on the fifth.” Everything was really loud,” commented the historian.

It seems that residents face the problems of poor sound insulation even nowadays. Only some are looking for solutions to improve the sound insulation themselves, while others shift the responsibility to their neighbors. For example, when asking to purchase new furniture.

Jurgita, a resident of one Vilnius micro-district, with Delphi shared a not very pleasant event that happened to her, which caused a lot of questions for the woman. After checking her mailbox once, the woman found, among other letters, an angry note from her neighbor. In it, a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous asked Jurgita to change the mattress or the bed.

“Neighbor from apartment 134, buy a new mattress or bed, the whole house can hear!!!”, – this is the request Jurgita found in her mailbox.

As Jurgita herself states, she does not understand why the neighbor could have written such a note, and the harsh tone of the message made her feel uncomfortable. According to the woman from Vilnius, her bed really doesn’t creak – otherwise she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

However, one thought really sticks in my head. Delphi wrote more than once about the problem of old apartment buildings in the capital – sound permeability. People living in old apartment buildings, especially blocks of flats, often hear noises made by their neighbors. It seems that Jurgita’s neighbor from Vilnius also heard something he didn’t want to hear at all.

There is only one question – would a new mattress or bed really solve the problem of the permeability of intimate sounds? About Delphi talking to specialists.

As can be understood from the note of the neighbor left for the woman from Vilnius, she is offered to buy a new bed or mattress due to better sound insulation. Delphi asked Dr. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University docent. Linas Krügelios, whether this would really solve the problem.

According to the specialist, basically all furniture and all soft surfaces act as sound absorbers.

“Normally, acoustics and reverberation in rooms originate from hard surfaces when sound waves are reflected. Then there is poorer acoustic comfort in the room, and there is also a possibility that the sound may spread somewhere more widely”, comments Dr. L. Krügel.

He goes on to say that if a room full of hard surfaces produces more reverberation, a room with soft surfaces such as carpets, furniture, curtains absorbs sound better.

Delphi recalls that the residents of apartment buildings noticed the problem of sound transmission already in the Soviet era, because of this they hung carpets on the walls in the apartments.

It is true, as the interviewer notes, that furniture is not the same as furniture. Here are the problems that can arise with old beds and their old mattresses. In such cases, says dr. L. Krügelis, old mattresses wear out over time, their soft fillings crumble, and the springs in the mattress begin to rub against each other. It is precisely due to the friction of the springs that an unpleasant sound can arise, which, according to the specialist, can be really piercing.

The interviewer adds that modern mattresses are made differently – all the springs in the mattresses are protected, so their friction and the resulting sound are avoided.

Commenting on the creaking problem of old mattresses, Dr. L. Krügelis emphasizes that the sound emitted by the mattress can disturb not only the neighbors, but also the owner of the mattress, or more precisely, his sleep.

The Vilnius TECH teacher continues that in order to improve sound insulation in the apartment, you can also think about what the furniture is placed on. For example, if there is a suspicion that the sound is traveling through horizontal structures such as the floor, certain padding can be placed under the furniture.

The interviewer continues that for better sound insulation in the apartment, you can lay a carpet in the area where most people walk, or, he says, put a wardrobe next to the walls bordering the neighbor’s apartment.

Speaking specifically about the noisy bed, Dr. As a solution, L. Krügel suggests placing an additional mattress on top of it – which, according to the interviewer, could also help reduce the sound.

Delphi wondered whether it was really enough to furnish the apartment with soft surfaces, or whether, nevertheless, it would be worth thinking about a more significant remodeling of the apartment due to better sound insulation.

“It would be useful to identify the problem – whether the problem is a single source of noise or whether it is a complex case. For example, if you hear not only the creaking of the bed, but also footsteps, falling spoons and a running dog, it is likely that there are defects in a certain building. For example, maybe there are too thin walls, too hard surfaces”, comments the specialist.

Finally, Dr. L. Krügelis says that sound insulation problems are characteristic not only of old but also of newly built apartment buildings. As the interlocutor assures, at a time when the sound permeability of the walls was not clearly regulated, the builders thinned the walls, due to which the sound could spread from apartment to apartment as well as possible.

And in houses of old construction, says dr. L. Krügelis, having all kinds of curiosities. For example, the interlocutor assures, in old multi-apartment buildings, the sound spread through the rosettes, as well as the joints of the structures or even the floor. According to dr. L. Krügelis, when the parquet was laid on the bare concrete, the footsteps of the residents in the next apartment could be heard much louder than now.