Unit above main garage door - need help

[Flori Grace]

Hi,

I've just discovered this site and I was wondering if someone out there could help me.

We've just bought a 2 br unit with both bedrooms above the main garage door. During the day the noise is not that bad (tv on, traffic noise, etc.), but during the night it just drives us crazy. The traffic is quite bad, lots of cars coming in or leaving in the middle of the nite.

Currently we are talking to a few garage door companies to give us quotes for a quiet opener and the rest (the whole mechanism squeaks a lot, we tried to spray the hinge, still making noises!!).

I kinda lost my hope and my first home buyer enthusiasm, do you have any suggestions for improvement? I'm thinking of soundproofing the bedroom but I have no idea if this will help and unfortunately not too much money left in the bank account..Also, if I need to use insulation blankets, does it mean that I need to take out the brand new carpet and then buy new one?

Thanks a million for your help.

Cheers
Flori Grace

[johnc]

We use silicone spray on all joints, hinges and runners and respray every few weeks. It does keep the din down a bit. Perhaps you could get a garage company to come out and make suggestions, especially as fixing the problem at the source is often the best bet. I gather you are over a common entry in which case the issue may really be one for the body corporate to solve rather than yourself alone.

Goodluck, John.

[Flori Grace]

Thanks for this, John. I'll try with sillicon spray, not sure if the noise will get better. We also contacted the strata company, at this stage the whole thing seems to take ages whilst the noise is killing me softly..especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings..

[bitingmidge]

The trouble with noise is that you can become sensitised to particular sounds, and it seems like you are just about there.

One of the first lessons I learned about noise in the night was from Marshall Mcluhan, who wrote that the noise of a hot car coming down your street at 2am is one of the most offensive sounds you can ever hear, UNLESS it is bringing your daughter home....

You'll need to silence the door as best you can, but before anyone can provide any sensible response (apart from John's door tips I mean), do you have any idea where the sound transmission is coming from?

If it is coming straight through the (concrete?) floor, then isolating the door fixings, particularly the motor from the concrete slab will help. You may need to get some special high density neoprene to do this, and even some help from an acoustic engineer to find the right stuff.

It's unlikely that you'll get rid of it by putting stuff under your floor coverings, as once the noise is in the structure, it will travel through the structure in all sorts of strangely interesting ways.

If it's airborne sound (coming through the window), and I don't mean to be too obvious here: first, shut the window.

If you already do that and most of the sound is coming through the window, the easiest way of improving that situation is to replace the glass with thicker stuff, minimum 8mm.

Then introduce some "white" noise into the apartment, the best of that is airconditioning/reverse cycle heating.

All of the above assumes of course that you have a concrete floor and masonry structure.

This sounds like a job for...Soundman! Why not send him a PM if he doesn't find this thread?

Cheers,

P

[Flori Grace]

I've just sent him a msg..thanks so much for this!!

[doug the slug]

being the cynic that i am, im wondering why this unit was for sale in the first place

having said that, welcome to the forum and i hope our collective knowlewdge base can help you solve the problem

[soundman]

I have sent a reply to your PM.
but for the benifit of the board.

These big commercial doors often get neglected and are often installed by talentless types.

get a willing and talented door mechanic to have a look at the door.

Anything you can spray will do squat for a big commercial door. Think grease and handfulls of it.
Better still make sure the runners are correctly aligned first.

cheers

[martrix]

Have you tried the good old earplugs when you go to bed............has worked for me before with drug fueled flat mates

[TommyC]

As Warehouse builders, we do lots of big roller shutters, and Soundman is right about the alignment of the tracks. If it is a Roller Shutter, not a tilt door (which generally runs on rollers in a track) then the door guides, which are steel channels welded or bolted on to the wall either side of the door are usually the cause of the noise. If they arent aligned properly, the door squeals like pig as it goes up and down. Removal and refixing by a specialist would be the go in this case.