Real Estate Blog

How quiet is your Condo? When purchasing a condo in a high-rise, we emphasize location, view and amenities. One very important element we tend to ignore is the noise level. It is usually after closing that we find out at 2:00am that the next door neighbor is taking electric guitar lessons, again. According to Tom Corbett, president of Tomacor Home Inspection, there are ways to protect yourself and your neighbors from excessive noise when purchasing a high-rise condo.

1) Confirm in writing that the developer has installed a sound-deadening assembly of materials. To inhibit sound from passing from the floor above, builders should install a “Z” channel in the ceiling. The “Z” channel is a piece of sheet metal shaped like the letter “Z” that has soft material in the middle that absorbs sound.

2) The builder should leave a gap of about an eighth of an inch between the drywall of ceilings and walls and fill the gap with caulk which absorbs sound vibrations.

3) Developers should install a sound-deadening layer made of sheet cork or Homotosa board, an absorbent material, between floors.

4) Builders can trap and deaden sound through “doubled” or “staggered” walls. The builder creates a second wall inside a wall, complete with new studs and drywall.

5) Consider where the condo is located within the building. Units located close to garbage chutes, garage doors and elevators are the noisiest.

For tips 1-4 you can ask the builder for blueprints during inspection to verify steps taken to reduce noise within the unit.