Why do flats never seem to have decent soundproofing?

It's typically down to costs for the contractor undertaking the works and/or the owner. Soundproofing one the of those items in a build which gets overlooks and cut down to better improve profit margins.

For someone looking to soundproof their own property, it's not as difficult as you would think. With products available on the market, there are plenty of solutions to assist of which allow for DIY installations, helping you keep your outlay to a minimum.

In the instance you're looking for soundproofing for floors, you have two core options an underlay or overlay. Overlay boards typically go over your joists (making for a more difficult install) whereas underlays can be placed over your floorboards (obviously enabling a quicker and easier install). Once you have decided on which option (personally I am a believer underlays can solve 9/10 situations for floors) it's the case on what your floor finish is. Carpets are easier, as they allow for soundproofing underlays to be placed straight underneath, however with laminate or tiles, a plywood or MDF is required.

 www.acuphon.co.uk/ have these products but a team or technical experts who have been in the soundproofing industry for 30+ years to assist and help you with your situation.

Flats can be super hard to soundproof. Check your lease as your neighbours may be required to use carpet instead of hardwood. Or if you have hardwood consider carpet! If you're hearing the person above, you can always soundproof your ceiling, although this can be tough...

https://quietliving.co.uk/soundproofing-flat-ceiling/

If you own the flat, be wary about making an official noise complaint as this is usually recorded and can cause problems if you're going to sell!

It's all down to the cost of the land.    Stacking houses on top of each other takes no more land so flats are very, very profitable for developers.

If enough stupid people buy those flats rather than buying a house, they will simply build more flats.

Detached bungalows are the least profitable of all builds.

It all comes down to cost unfortunately. It's cheaper to build flats or semis. Government departments aren't interested in whole life costs, it comes down to capital expenditure. Thinking outside the box isn't encouraged, especially if it involves the use of money from other budgets. (I'm suggesting here that building nicer homes in better surroundings, with provision of services, potentially lead to less need for state intervention later on, which is more expensive than the % more needed to create better buildings. But that is a big stab in the dark and governments don't like that, they need evidence) 

Hello,

I could not agree more about the post war housing prefab solution. I have written to my MP and the housing minister, Heather Wheeler so I would suggest that if more of us on the spectrum could do that then maybe we could make a change? I do wish the NAS would do more to highlight this issue. I think it would be important that any potential suitable housing is built with our input with regards to our needs. I do not do facebook or any social media so maybe others would be willing to start something online please? A garden shed would be more suitable than my current home.

LucyLandRover said:

But if we had specific accomodation built for autism then we would not need to try and convert housing to meet our needs. Soundproofing would be standard as would being in a quiet location if possible. it is a dream, I admit but one that we should push for. In my area we have lots of new builds for the retired community so why not homes for autism?

Funnily enough I've been wondering the same thing - I've moved several times to get away from noisy neighbours and moved into this house specifically because the living room is farthest away from the neighbour and it's a bungalow, so I've got it as quiet as I can reasonably expect. 

The problem has been that the houses are on a cul-de-sac, have no front garden and have a parallel parking space outside the front door. That was ok when I moved in as I had a car. But once the car went I've had the world and his wife parking there filling my kitchen (immediately next to the slim pavement and parking spot) filled with fumes and noise; plus it's rural and a lot of my neighbours work on the farms, leaving at 3 or 4 am for milking. Two of them were intending to use my parking space till I complained to the Housing Association.

The upshot was I learned about the Housing Associations 'Duty of Care' and they're now looking at soundproofing measures.

But, it then occurred to me - if they are now passing laws that help us live in non-suitable accommodation then why aren't they also passing laws that compel HAs to actually build *suitable* accommodation in the first place.

After the war they built 'temporary' 2-bed pre-fabs that were quick and cheap - 50/60 years later they had to pretty much prise people out of them as they were considered below standard but their popularity was they were DETACHED - ahhh, the dream of next to no noise from neighbours - why can't they build small collections of small detached houses for us?

Is there a 'movement' or group pressing for this ?

But if we had specific accomodation built for autism then we would not need to try and convert housing to meet our needs. Soundproofing would be standard as would being in a quiet location if possible. it is a dream, I admit but one that we should push for. In my area we have lots of new builds for the retired community so why not homes for autism?

Flats are always built to the minimum building standards to maximise profit.    Adding extra material to dampen and absorb sound is considered a waste of money so they don't bother.    It's also technically difficult to guarantee noise reduction because it travels through the structure of the building and is frequency dependent.   

Layers of alternating heavy and light materials work well - heavy material are difficult for the sound energy to get vibrating and isolating layers of light materials that can't transmit energy to the next layer - Lead & polystyrene are ideal but impractical. Plasterboard and Celotex are more sensible.

Windows are a problem too - they're rigidly mounted in a wall so they act like a panel speaker for energy travelling in the wall.   Adding mass (triple glazing) makes it more difficult for the energy to get them vibrating.

I hate the noise that people make - I think that humans are strongly territorial animals so people impinging on our territory is a cause of stress - 100m is too close for me.

BOTH websites have floor soundproofing!!!

https://www.soundstop.co.uk/soundproofing_floors.php

https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/floors

Hello,

I had the same situation living in between two noisy neighbours below me and above me. I had to move in the end as it was making me ill. I currently live in supported housing but next to a pub and a busy road so you can imagine what life is like. But why are we trying to live in accomodation not suited to our needs? Why is there a lack of housing that is designed for and by autistic people? I have emailed my MP and the housing minister about this. I would like to see the NAS do more about this issue. Imagine if we could live in a quiet area and have access to support in order to be more independent. In short, we could be ourself's and not have to try and fit in. 

That looks promising for neighbours next door. I notice they don't mention soundproofing the floor. Maybe there's no current way of doing that. I can't hear that much from the flat to my left, it's mostly the man downstairs who I'm hearing make noises.

I've looked this up a while ago as I'm also annoyed by all the sounds that come in. I live on an especially noisy street :(

There are solutions, but requires installing some sound proof materials on the walls... unfortunately, I can't really do that in my current living situation (expense and also I'm renting a place)...

https://www.soundstop.co.uk/soundproofing/soundproofing-walls/Sm20-wall-solution4.php?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuZeB8oTq4gIViK3tCh2oSAZ2EAAYAiAAEgIAaPD_BwE

https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/how-to-soundproof-my-wall-against-noisy-neighbours