Noisy Floorboards Above

[MSG_07]

Basically the flat above me has a problem with their flooring (it's carpeted). It's not just one little creak in a certain area. You can actually hear my neighbour above walking the length of the rooms and it's in every room! It doesn't help that the ceilings are quite low down.

It sounds like the floor joists need tightened as it's an old property. Everyone in the building owns their home so it's not council. I know the above neighbours do have plans to sell up at one point in the future but not set in stone yet. If they refuse to fix the issue is there anything I can actually do?

I'm not making a meal out of nothing as guests have also commented on this. Advice? Cheers.

 

[Doc Shrink]

It can be difficult to sort if you can't get to the problem from 'underneath' and your upstairs neighbour is unlikely to want to do much about it - particularly if they are selling up.
An old trick - if it's the floorboards rubbing against each other or the joists - is to pour talcum powder into the gaps, which acts as a lubricant. Probably graphite powder would be a modern alternative.
It would still mean lifting carpets to do it though.

If you can 'hear footsteps' rather than squaeaking it's likely to be the floorboards and joists transmitting vibration direct and that's a whole other issue - and expensive to fix.


I'm not an expert though.

 

[MSG_07]

Cheers Sir Shrink. As you say, it's likely they won't be very cooperative. There will be some excuse given for not getting the work done. I want to keep on good terms with folk but at the same time want this dealt with. I wasn't sure if the council could do something should I fail to convince them. I'm guessing probably not...

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It's mainly squeaking, especially early in the morning.

 

[Jack]

Cheers Sir Shrink. As you say, it's likely they won't be very cooperative. There will be some excuse given for not getting the work done. I want to keep on good terms with folk but at the same time want this dealt with. I wasn't sure if the council could do something should I fail to convince them. I'm guessing probably not...

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It's mainly squeaking, especially early in the morning.

If they're moving out and being uncooperative then I don't see staying in good terms as being the priority!

Indeed it could be the ideal time to force the issue. It could be a similar process to communal repairs in that if it needs to be done then it has to be done. Long ago when I was in the buying/selling market getting a marker of that sort had to be revealed to prospective buyers. Depending on the cost of the repairs it could be a deal breaker so things were invariably fixed!

Not sure if same rules apply. A trip to CAB would probably be a good start.