Soundproofing Floors and Ceilings
Stop footsteps, voices and television noise travelling between floors. Timber and concrete floors, and ceilings treated from below.
Get A Free Quote & Site Visit
Noise between floors, treated from either side
Footsteps overhead. A child running across the landing. A television through the ceiling. Noise between floors is one of the hardest problems to live with, because it comes from directly above your head and there is no wall you can put between you and it.
It can be treated from either side — by building up the floor above, or by treating the ceiling below. Which one suits you depends on how the floor is built, which rooms you can take out of use, and whether the floor above belongs to you at all.
OSBER handles both, on timber joist and concrete floors, across Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath.
Soundproofing a ceiling from upstairs noise
Where you cannot touch the floor above — because it is a neighbour’s flat, or because lifting the floor is too disruptive — the ceiling below is where the work happens. We hang an independent ceiling on resilient bars or acoustic hangers, with acoustic mineral wool in the void and a dense board layer beneath.
It costs you some head height, typically enough to matter in a room that is already low, so we measure and tell you the drop before starting. In return it is the single most effective measure against footsteps from above, and it leaves the room upstairs untouched.
Suspended timber floors and concrete floors
Suspended timber floors are the most common in Irish houses and the most transmissive — the joist void behaves like a drum. Treating them means lifting the boards, laying acoustic quilt between the joists, and isolating the new floor surface from the structure so vibration cannot pass straight into it.
Concrete floors already block airborne noise reasonably well, but they carry impact noise readily. The work there is a floating floor system on an acoustic layer, which is shallower and quicker than a timber floor build-up.
Footsteps, running children and dropped objects
Impact noise is the complaint we hear most about floors, and it is specific: someone walking across a bedroom, a child running on the landing, a chair pushed back from a table. It is created in the structure itself, so absorbing it after the fact does not work — the new layer has to be isolated from the old one so the vibration has nowhere to go.
A rug helps a little. It does not solve impact noise, and it is worth knowing that before spending money on one.
Should you treat the floor above or the ceiling below?
If both floors are yours, treating the floor above is generally more effective against impact noise, because you are stopping the vibration at the point it is created. The cost is disruption: the room upstairs comes out of use and the floor covering has to be lifted and relaid.
Treating the ceiling below is less disruptive and usually cheaper, and it is the only option when the noise comes from a neighbour’s property. The trade-off is head height.
In practice most homeowners choose the ceiling, and most landlords and developers choose the floor. We will tell you which makes more sense in your house rather than pushing you toward the bigger job.
Soundproofing floors in apartments
Apartment floor work is nearly always constrained by two things: the height you have available, and the lease. Most blocks specify a minimum acoustic standard for floor finishes, and many require management company approval before work begins.
We will tell you what is typically required, work to the depth you have, and give you a specification you can put in front of the management company.
Floor and ceiling soundproofing across Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath
OSBER covers Dublin city and county, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath for floor and ceiling soundproofing, in houses, apartments and commercial buildings. If you are outside those counties, get in touch anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we can reach you.
Every job starts with a free survey, because how your floor is built decides everything that follows. If you are also dealing with noise through a shared wall, see our wall soundproofing page.
If noise between floors is making the house hard to live in, OSBER can help. We will look at how your floor is built, tell you whether the floor or the ceiling is the better side to treat, and be straight with you about what the result will be.
Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you soundproof an existing floor?
Yes. On a timber floor we lift the existing boards, treat the joist void and isolate the new surface before relaying. On concrete we build a floating floor over the top. Neither needs the structure replaced — but both change the finished floor height, which we confirm at survey.
How do I stop sound coming through my floor?
Break the path the vibration travels along. That means separating the floor surface from the joists or slab beneath, filling the void with acoustic quilt, and adding mass. Carpet and underlay soften footfall slightly but do not address the transmission itself.
What is the cheapest way to soundproof a floor?
Usually by treating the ceiling below rather than lifting the floor above, particularly where the floor is already carpeted or tiled and would have to be taken up and relaid. It is less disruptive and there is less to make good afterwards. We will tell you which side is the better value on your job.
Should I treat the floor above or the ceiling below?
Whichever you control and can take out of use. If both are yours, treating the floor above is more effective against impact noise; treating the ceiling is less disruptive. If the noise comes from a neighbour’s property, the ceiling is your only option.
Can floor soundproofing be applied to both wooden and concrete floors?
Yes. Timber joist floors are treated by lifting the boards, filling the void and isolating the new surface. Concrete floors are treated with a floating floor on an acoustic layer. The approach differs but both work.
How much head height does a soundproofed ceiling take?
Enough to notice in a room that is already low, which is why we measure first and tell you the exact drop before any work starts. If the room cannot afford the height, we will say so and look at treating the floor above instead.
What types of noise can floor soundproofing reduce?
Two kinds. Impact noise — footsteps, dropped objects, furniture moved across a floor — is created in the structure itself and is the most common complaint. Airborne noise — voices, television, music — travels through the air first. Most homes have both, and the build-up we specify depends on which one dominates.
Is floor soundproofing a costly solution?
It depends on the area treated, whether the floor is timber or concrete, which side we work from, and whether flooring has to be lifted and relaid. Treating one room is a far smaller job than treating a whole storey. We quote after a free survey rather than guessing over the phone.
Are there grants for floor soundproofing?
SEAI grant schemes fund energy-efficiency upgrades rather than acoustic work, so soundproofing on its own is not grant-aided. Where a job also improves the thermal performance of the floor, it may qualify on those grounds. Ask us at survey and we will tell you honestly whether yours does.
Do you provide floor soundproofing for commercial properties?
Yes. We work on offices, rented units and shared commercial buildings as well as homes. Commercial jobs often have their own acoustic standard to meet, so tell us what you need to achieve and we will specify to it.