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Wooden Floor Boards: Wrong or Right?

EwanEwan
edited November 2006 in Local discussion
Hi,

It is likely that some of you live in similar properties to me...... a victorian conversion flat or full house. We have a 1st floor flat with stripped wooden floor boards. I find them noisy and oppresive as we can hear the neighbours and they can hear us. However the shallow side of me likes the way they look. However for practicality should I get carpets or would this damage the value and/or character of my home? Are there any other solutions you guys might know of........

cheers
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Comments

  • PetePete
    edited 3:52PM
    You'll know when you're being burgled
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  • LizLiz
    edited 3:52PM
    I have wooden floorboards and love them. I think it's only really a problem if you (and your neighhbours) wear your shoes in the house. My best advice would be to keep them but make sure you've got plenty of soft furnishings (cushions, rugs, etc) to absorb the sound. For example, a friend of mine asked her neighbours to put down some rugs in their living room, and it really made a difference to how much she could hear, especially the TV. If they're original boards then there's not loads else you can do other than carpet them but if it's laminate you could take it up and put in insulation which would help with the sound. The only other thing to bear in mind is that if you're leasehold then your lease almost undoubtedly says you can't have floorboards because of the noise issue. This is only really a problem if your neighbours complain (or you complain about them). I'm sure Andy and Lucy will have some sage words to add to this...
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  • andyandy
    edited 3:52PM
    Buy the freehold. That shuts everyone up. Only listen to the shallow side. Life's easier that way. Carpet on the stairs is only civil. In the living room, we laid two layers of underlay and then put wooden floor on top. This was more about levelling the floor rather than sound insulation, but it damps the sound pretty well.
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  • EwanEwan
    edited 3:52PM
    yes buying the freehold would be brilliant but i'd need to locate the owners of one of the other flats to force it.

    yeah I guess the floor board's can stay until we told to cover them up. It is just that my flat mate got the heard intimate details of the neighbours arguing and then making up last night.......

    I think I may carpet the stairs and hall and get professionals in to fill all the gaps in the front room floor boards. cheers guys the input is appreciated!
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  • andyandy
    edited 3:52PM
    Moving the boards (taking them all up and squeezing them together) closes all the gaps up and damps the noise. It's not that hard. Otherwise buy the freehold and evict them.
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  • EwanEwan
    edited 3:52PM
    Andy I like your style, why do all that hard work when I can increase the mortgage slightly and start a reign of freeholder type terror!!!! mo ha ha!
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  • andyandy
    edited 3:52PM
    Exactly. Solidarity *with* the people is all very well, but it's far easier to become an oppressor/rentier *of* the people. Also, standing firm with the proletariat doesn't lend itself to laughing like an evil genius, which I enjoy as well.
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