Good evening everyone,
I’m new here and, naturally, I have a “small” problem.
We bought a condominium in a building with two units through a developer. It was built to KfW 70 standard. We live on the first floor. We expected that a new building would have better sound insulation than the apartment from the 1960s where we lived before. Unfortunately, after moving in, we realized this wasn’t quite the case. So, we had airborne and impact sound transmission from below to above measured (which is unusual, yes). The results showed that even the increased soundproofing requirements were met. However, the expert said he hadn’t expected that and that this definitely isn’t normal.
Here is a brief overview of the noises we hear:
- When lying in bed in a quiet environment, you can hear the neighbor using the toilet. Flushing is even more noticeable.
- You can hear the faucet running from below, as well as the shower, when it’s quiet.
- The coffee machine from the neighbor, or when the beans are ground, is audible in every room here.
- The noise from the blinds is extreme. Whether electric or manual, when they are raised downstairs, we wake up. We talked about it, but they can’t get much quieter.
- Even sounds from the outside stairs, like someone walking up, can be heard.
- If someone works in the garage, the noise carries all the way into the apartment. It’s almost impossible to tell if it’s the neighbor downstairs or outside.
- When the neighbors have visitors for a longer time, which thankfully doesn’t happen often, there’s no chance of sleeping. You hear everything. For parties, we actually make sure to be out of the house. And I think that’s really extreme…
In general, I think the exterior wall is the problem. Everything gets transmitted through it. When you knock on it, it sounds hollow and can be heard everywhere. From what I’ve seen, it’s 36 cm (14 inches) brick filled with some kind of insulation wool. The two units are separated by a concrete slab and a screed layer. Unfortunately, I don’t know the thickness of the slab. Is this normal? Are you allowed to hear that? Is there a chance to raise a complaint about it?
Another problem is the extreme heat during summer, which was denied when we asked before purchasing. We were told it wouldn’t get warm because it was well insulated. A blatant lie…
I hope you have some advice. Thanks very much in advance and have a nice evening.
I’m new here and, naturally, I have a “small” problem.
We bought a condominium in a building with two units through a developer. It was built to KfW 70 standard. We live on the first floor. We expected that a new building would have better sound insulation than the apartment from the 1960s where we lived before. Unfortunately, after moving in, we realized this wasn’t quite the case. So, we had airborne and impact sound transmission from below to above measured (which is unusual, yes). The results showed that even the increased soundproofing requirements were met. However, the expert said he hadn’t expected that and that this definitely isn’t normal.
Here is a brief overview of the noises we hear:
- When lying in bed in a quiet environment, you can hear the neighbor using the toilet. Flushing is even more noticeable.
- You can hear the faucet running from below, as well as the shower, when it’s quiet.
- The coffee machine from the neighbor, or when the beans are ground, is audible in every room here.
- The noise from the blinds is extreme. Whether electric or manual, when they are raised downstairs, we wake up. We talked about it, but they can’t get much quieter.
- Even sounds from the outside stairs, like someone walking up, can be heard.
- If someone works in the garage, the noise carries all the way into the apartment. It’s almost impossible to tell if it’s the neighbor downstairs or outside.
- When the neighbors have visitors for a longer time, which thankfully doesn’t happen often, there’s no chance of sleeping. You hear everything. For parties, we actually make sure to be out of the house. And I think that’s really extreme…
In general, I think the exterior wall is the problem. Everything gets transmitted through it. When you knock on it, it sounds hollow and can be heard everywhere. From what I’ve seen, it’s 36 cm (14 inches) brick filled with some kind of insulation wool. The two units are separated by a concrete slab and a screed layer. Unfortunately, I don’t know the thickness of the slab. Is this normal? Are you allowed to hear that? Is there a chance to raise a complaint about it?
Another problem is the extreme heat during summer, which was denied when we asked before purchasing. We were told it wouldn’t get warm because it was well insulated. A blatant lie…
I hope you have some advice. Thanks very much in advance and have a nice evening.
Hello,
the builder has made some concessions and partly decoupled the staircase from the outside and closed the supply shafts that were open. Unfortunately, this did not help.
Yesterday, the neighbor drilled a hole in the wall from outside. At first, there was a normal drilling noise at the spot where he drilled. Then there was silence for a short time, followed by a noise coming suddenly from the chimney/stove area, very clearly. We will address this with him again. However, I think the problem lies elsewhere. The soundproofing was simply not considered and the building was constructed as if it were a semi-detached house or something similar.
What has become a major issue by now is the adjacent road and the low-frequency sounds from trucks. Unfortunately, the roof was poorly designed and is far too lightweight. There is only about 20cm (8 inches) of mineral wool insulation and above that just standard battens and concrete tiles. At the foot purlin, there is only a thin board plus numerous gaps. Additionally, there is a cavity between the insulation and the drywall. I have no idea to what extent that matters. In any case, it is barely tolerable.
We actually have proper measurements according to DIN, which specifies measurement in dB(A), thereby (almost) excluding low frequencies below 100Hz. However, these tones below 100Hz are extremely annoying and may even be harmful to health (this has not been thoroughly researched yet but definitely affects the body). At 63Hz, the level sometimes reaches up to 60dB. There is rumbling and humming in the bedroom and the children’s room. I am particularly concerned about the children’s room. So far, the builder has only partially accepted this and said that almost nothing can be done against these frequencies. He is not entirely wrong, but even a small improvement of a few dB would already help.
Apparently, maximum values can be found in the outdated DIN standard, which unfortunately I do not have at hand.
the builder has made some concessions and partly decoupled the staircase from the outside and closed the supply shafts that were open. Unfortunately, this did not help.
Yesterday, the neighbor drilled a hole in the wall from outside. At first, there was a normal drilling noise at the spot where he drilled. Then there was silence for a short time, followed by a noise coming suddenly from the chimney/stove area, very clearly. We will address this with him again. However, I think the problem lies elsewhere. The soundproofing was simply not considered and the building was constructed as if it were a semi-detached house or something similar.
What has become a major issue by now is the adjacent road and the low-frequency sounds from trucks. Unfortunately, the roof was poorly designed and is far too lightweight. There is only about 20cm (8 inches) of mineral wool insulation and above that just standard battens and concrete tiles. At the foot purlin, there is only a thin board plus numerous gaps. Additionally, there is a cavity between the insulation and the drywall. I have no idea to what extent that matters. In any case, it is barely tolerable.
We actually have proper measurements according to DIN, which specifies measurement in dB(A), thereby (almost) excluding low frequencies below 100Hz. However, these tones below 100Hz are extremely annoying and may even be harmful to health (this has not been thoroughly researched yet but definitely affects the body). At 63Hz, the level sometimes reaches up to 60dB. There is rumbling and humming in the bedroom and the children’s room. I am particularly concerned about the children’s room. So far, the builder has only partially accepted this and said that almost nothing can be done against these frequencies. He is not entirely wrong, but even a small improvement of a few dB would already help.
Apparently, maximum values can be found in the outdated DIN standard, which unfortunately I do not have at hand.
Similar topics