Noise from neighbours and the sound insulation of party floors and walls in flats

Abstract Residents in a sample of multi-storey dwellings were interviewed in the course of a national survey dealing with nuisance occasioned by noise from neighbours. The airborne and impact sound insulation of party floors, measured prior to occupation, ranged from zero to over 130 AAD dB. Airborne sound insulation measurements of party walls were also available in some of the buildings. Significant relationships were found between airborne physical performance and residents' ratings of insulation quality, for floors and for sound insulation overall. These indicated that the change of rating with level of performance is similar to that found for house dwellers. However, no significant relationships were found between such ratings or other responses and impact performance and it was concluded that such measurements made prior to occupation are not relevant to post-occupancy conditions.