AC and HVAC Noise!
 

External noise sources are one of my biggest, most frustrating pet peeves. Specifically, AC and HVAC noises.

I live in a condo, and can clearly hear the AC compressor noise from my neighbor upstairs, the one downstairs AND the one on the other side of the building. In the Summer, these units can "couple" with each other (and mine) and the resulting noise (which travels through the walls and ceiling and generates a vibration) is almost unbearable, to the point that I become depressed and do not even turn my system on. All these folks have tile floors, so that does not help. I suffer from hyperacusis, so the above is even more painful for me. Short of re-doing the walls and roof (which would cost an arm and a leg), I am at a loss as to how to best treat the problem.

I am researching contractors and products that are supposed to insulate noise, as well as the best possible materials (for example, do I go with wooden floors, laminate, carpet? etc.), but nobody can seem to be able to provide me with a straight answer.

I would love to hear what others do to control this noise/vibration and if any of you has been able to successfully eliminate it from your listening room. Any advise on specific noise absorption and deadening materials for the walls/ceiling, room treatments, etc, would be much appreciated.

...to add to my post above, I feel this is an important topic that rarely (if ever) gets discussed. In these days of rising temperatures and omnipresent HVAC systems, I am sure I am not the only one suffering from this issue. What is the point of investing all this capital in a system if the subtleties and detail we crave for are obscured by the elevated noise-floor of today's average homes? I have even been to many dealers and showrooms where the AC running in the background was impossible to ignore, and these were rooms with half-million dollar systems! I am surprised that this type of subject is not discussed more frequently. Short of moving and/or building a dedicated room from scratch, which 99.99% of us can not do, there has to be another solution...

This may not be the best solution, but have you tried using headphones?

Yes. I use noise-cancelling headphones. They work wonders. But this is not a solution, like you said. I invested a small fortune in my room and system (not to mention, the condo) and would really love to actually enjoy it. :) I am not a headphones person... After a while, they bother me and I get headaches. I have tried many. Sony's are by far the best, but this is not really a viable, long-term solution. I would much rather enjoy my Sonus faber Elipsa SE's! :)

I am surprised that Ivan has not offered stillpoints for your neighbor’s AC units yet.

[emoji23]

I actually paid out of my own pocket to have the AC of the neighbor upstairs soundproofed. Cost me about $500 and did not help much at all. This after almost a one-year-long ordeal (no exaggeration) to get their authorization to do it, after which they threatened me with all sorts of profanities for daring to bother them with such trivialities. Most folks in South FL could not care less and are rude and uncooperative. The owners do not even live there, and keep it on 70 degrees, so the unit runs all the time, even when empty (here in South FL, it's always at least 90 degrees). I guess they do not worry about earthly things like electric bills. There are rubber feet under the unit, and after trying to reason with the other owners (unsuccessfully) I concluded my best bet is to tackle MY floors and ceiling.

Moral of the story is to never buy a condo...

Have you looked into this?
Good for shielding RF and heat and noise.
Double Reflective Insulation

https://www.reflectixinc.com/product...ve-insulation/

esteban,

You will need to hire an acoustical contracting company to come and do a site survey of your condo. If you buy a good spl meter you may learn a lot about where the noise is getting in.

Most likely the noise, especially the noise that is caused by the hvac systems ‘beating’ against each other, will be low frequency noise that is very hard to control.

It takes mass and effective isolation to eliminate low frequency noise.

Surface treatments just won’t cut it as the noise is mechanically transmitted from the source through the structure.

You need to find out where it is getting in - doors and windows are common transmission paths that are relatively easy to fix. Everything else is more difficult - but can be done.

Some condos are fabricated using precast concrete - those are usually pretty good. Other use stick and drywall construction and those will be very difficult to fix.

Let me know if you’d like to chat about it sometime.

Tom

Hi Tom. Thank you very much for your reply and input. The noise is coming, from what I can gather, through the ceiling and floors. It does makes sense because the AC vibration travels that way and needs to "end/stop" somewhere. My unit is a corner unit, so it looks like I get all the vibrations of the entire floor, which "die" on my floors, walls, etc. I can clearly hear the neighbor's AC running once I place my ear next to my floor and walls.

I think I can treat the floor, if not fully at least satisfactorily, by installing multiple layers of cork on top of the existing floor, and then a new vinyl/laminated floor (good news is that the room would look much nicer this way, too, since it currently has tile, which I hate... I always wanted wooden floors, but these are extremely rare in FL, so the new vinyl/laminate alternatives are the next best-thing).

The problem is the ceiling. I am still unsure as to how best to approach/treat them...

I am actually in the process of trying to find an acoustical engineer. If you know of anybody in the South FL area, do please let me know. Thanks again!

esteban,
For the ceiling, you will need to 'float' another layer of drywall on sound isolation clips. There are a number of high density gypsum board products and sound isolation clips available for this purpose. You might consider this for adjoining walls.

For the floor, adding resilience and mass on top of the tile is your best bet. There are a number of residential underlayment products that are designed for this purpose. They will work better than cork sheeting. Then you add whatever finished floor material you'd like. If you want wood, there are a number of excellent floating engineered wood flooring products. You are controlling humidity I assume so these will work great and look fantastic.

I don't know of any acoustical contractors in SF, but I'm sure Angies list would be a good place to start.

Good news, after you're done you'll be able to listen at any level at any time without disturbing the neighbors!