Shying away from condo ownership because you fear hearing your neighbours cha-cha-ing on the hardwood in the suite above? Tired of struggling to talk above the TV in the apartment next door?
The good news is many of today’s developers and builders take great pains to keep sound transmission to a minimum in the city’s newest condominiums, often enlisting the help of experts such as acoustical engineering consultants.
“The time to catch noise control is in design and that means the newer buildings will generally be better,” says Leslie Frank, of HFP Acoustical Consultants.
Frank says his services are most often employed by developers or architects, and in a few cases, by boards of an existing condo looking at sound transmission after the fact. Because the latter is a much more costly venture, Frank says more and more developers are taking a proactive approach and planning ahead to cut down on noise and grief of residents.
Types of sound Frank is asked to address in multi-family structures fall under two main categories — airborne and structural.
Airborne noises can include TVs, stereos and voices, while structural issues that cause neighbours to make noise are the unwelcome pitter-pat of feet, plumbing sounds and mechanical clamor such as garage doors, elevators and garbage chutes. |
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One way to turn down the volume on airborne sound comes down to wall design and construction, says Frank. In short, enhanced wall systems can be created, which are especially important where bedrooms in adjacent suites are butted up against one another.
“People just do not like hearing their neighbours because it reminds them of their presence, and that’s especially true when you’re alone and in complete quiet,” says Frank.
Frank says the best solution is to isolate walls. “You want a wall on one side that’s not in any way mechanically or structurally attached to the wall on the other side.”
Floors, especially hardwood and tile, are also often the culprits for transmitting “vibratory energy” throughout a building, such as footfall noises from walking to chairs scraping. There are materials that form a barrier between the flooring and concrete floor slab to prevent these sounds from entering the floor system in the first place.
And there’s nothing worse than sitting down to eat only to hear bathroom sounds from a neighbour, says Frank, who adds efforts can be made to add special clamps, to isolate the plumbing at installation and flush away worries of this noise traveling.
Frank has also been called upon to cut down on structural sound from traveling from devices such as garbage chutes and garage doors opening and closing by using the clamps, which work along the lines of shock absorbers in a car.
Barry Chow, executive vice-president of Resiance, says the developer known for its Gateway projects across the city has always paid attention to cutting down on sound. But he says it’s important to realize living in a condo differs from a single-family home.
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“The most important thing that people need to appreciate is condo living is in fact living in a complex. Anyone who is contemplating a condo buy should appreciate what they’re getting in a condo lifestyle,” says Chow, adding it’s a factor for buyers who may be looking to downsize from a home of their own they’ve previously lived in for a number of years.
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But that said, Chow adds that most developers employ their due diligence to cut down on sound transmitting through a complex when designing and constructing a building.
“The most important change in our buildings is we’ve gone to concrete construction because you are adding mass,” says Chow.
As Chow says 95 per cent of sound complaints seem to involve impact noise, he suggests would-be buyers check with their developer to see how they construct units, and whether they are including an acoustical mat between the floor and sub floor, especially when hardwood and tile are allowed.
“The best way to deal with impact sound is to live on the top floor since most impact noise comes from above you,” he says.
Chow says while concrete is one way to cut down on noise being shared throughout a building, there are also ways to minimize sound transmission in wood frame structures, such as adding extra drywall, and as Frank suggested, isolating rooms.
“A concrete building will always be an inherently superior building material, but there are ways to bring a wood frame up to the level of a concrete building. The key becomes isolating the rooms — if you create a box sound has a hard time traveling,” says Chow.
While advances have been made in building condominiums so neighbours can live peacefully next to and above one another, perhaps the best advice to give anyone considering the lifestyle choice is to move ahead with realistic expectations.
“There is a certain amount of noise that will happen, so it really is a transition expectation,” says Chow. “If there is someone traveling down the hallway, the sound will travel, and if you are watching television with the window open, it will travel out of and then back into the building … it’s unavoidable.”
For more hints and tips about buying and owning a condominium in Calgary, watch Shaw TVís Condo Living with Barb Mitchell, every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
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