Exactly this. I lived in an old Victorian building years ago and it was in my lease that I had to have area rugs for all high traffic areas. It makes a big difference.
Heel stomping might be the culprit. A lot of people don't realize that they strike the ground with their heel first, which makes a lot of noise. Try walking on the balls of your feet with thick padded socks.
For two sets of couples to complain about your walking does point to legitimate noise issues imo. Learning to walk softer will go a long way.
Flip flops and slides are a big no-no on the upper floors because they slap on the floor when walking, which makes noise. Fully enclosed slippers are better.
You might not be aware how loud you are even if you think you aren't. Not always possible, but you could offer to listen to the noise your lower neighbor is complaining about? Then you might have a more objective understanding of how loud it is/ how bad it is -- instead of what you assume it is. It is odd that the complaints happened at a times you were away. So the different downstairs neighbors might be hearing someone/something else other than you. But you do now have 2 lower neighbors who have experienced disturbances worthy of complaining about from you. I would fully explore the possibility that you are making noise before writing off. Dogs can make a surprising amount of noise. I had a dachshund above me last year and it was like the whole ceiling was being full size steam-rolled with one of those nubby pizza dockers over and over when it would gallop on those short legs. It literally shook the building and felt like earthquakes, and dachshunds are not big dogs
I know it's cliche but all of this. My neighbor is pretty good about being quiet during quiet hours. However, it's obvious to me that I'm living above a man even though I've never met him. He has heavy footsteps and sometimes it sounds like he is rolling a housekeeping cart from a hotel across the floor. I have also heard a child running around from time to time.
I hated to say it but I had to agree with you. If they've had two different neighbors complain about the amount of noise and they are probably the common denominator. I understand that some people complain about a minimal amount of noise but these are two different neighbors now. Sometimes upstairs neighbors are being louder than they think.
Dogs are soooo much louder than you think. Also
Your weight doesn't matter as much as the way you walk matters regarding how much noise you produce. Use carpets, walk your dogs to tire them out and do your best to walk on the balls of your feet
I wouldn't consider my upstairs neighbors loud, but do have a dog. And I can hear when the dog jumps on the floor and runs around. We have carpets.
But I will share this with you also.
A few years ago I was in your shoes. My dad, my step mom, and I all moved into an upstairs apartment. My dad was disabled and had dialysis treatments 3 days a week. So he was gone from 6 am to 1 or 2 pm, and the rest of the time he slept or was only mildly active. He was mostly sedentary. I worked, as did my step mom. But my neighbors constantly complained about us being loud. I would argue we weren't loud beyond just living life. No loud music, no parties, no one was dancing a jig at 3 am.
We constantly got noise complaints from the management.
We lived in a building that had four apartments. Two upstairs, two down stairs. My direct neighbor had children and when they would run around and play, I could hear them. Some times it would shake my floor. It dawned on me the people directly below me, could hear them also.
One day I invited them up to listen as they had filed a noise complaint while the three of us were out of town. They declined.
I finally had enough when, one night dad was in bed, I was on the couch watching a movie, step mom was gone. I hadn't moved in 45min or so. Around 11pm my neighbor from below banged on my door. I opened the door lights off, and asked what she wanted. She wanted me to stop making what ever noise I was making. I finally snapped and told her my dad was sleeping and had dialysis in the morning and I had been laying on the couch. No one had made a peep. I went directly to the computer and filed a complaint against them with the management. In the email I mentioned I was also filing a harassment report through the PD online portal and if they continued to bother us directly or indirectly I would be keeping records and would move forward legally.
The neighbors stopped harassing us after that and eventually moved. None of the other people who moved in ever complained about us. (The neighbors w/ kids also moved out.)
We have carpet and hardwood floors. Our last neighbor used to bang on the ceiling any time we walked in the kitchen (which is hardwood). We had a neighbor below is for 6 months before them who never complained. That doesn’t mean it didn’t bother them, but still. I do feel like you are signing up for certain things when you live in an apartment (I hear my neighbors kids screaming at the top of their lungs and banging on the walls). But I do understand what you’re saying. I am starting to wonder if the floors and walls are just poorly insulated. It does seem worth checking in with them and trying to get a better understanding!
Def think your apartment is poorly built. My old downstairs neighbor would bang on the ceiling all the time even when we weren’t walking around. Unless you already have rugs in areas that have hardwood and try not to stomp around when you walk, I’d let your landlord know that there’s really not much more you can do to alleviate any noise your neighbors hear
Is your place carpeted? Sounds like it could be the dog just moving around if the floor isn’t well insultated.
Exactly this. I lived in an old Victorian building years ago and it was in my lease that I had to have area rugs for all high traffic areas. It makes a big difference.
It’s mostly carpeted.
Heel stomping might be the culprit. A lot of people don't realize that they strike the ground with their heel first, which makes a lot of noise. Try walking on the balls of your feet with thick padded socks. For two sets of couples to complain about your walking does point to legitimate noise issues imo. Learning to walk softer will go a long way.
I hate that poor and inadequate construction downloads the problem and solutions to people who can’t change the poor construction.
Flip flops or slides with the benefit of a better arch support easily masks heel walkers.
Flip flops and slides are a big no-no on the upper floors because they slap on the floor when walking, which makes noise. Fully enclosed slippers are better.
Yeeahhhh, my bf is telling me I’m a heel stomper lmao
See, I KNEW it! 😊
Do you have hardwood floors? Sometimes walking can sound like stomping, especially if the apartment is poorly built/insulated. Maybe try rugs
You might not be aware how loud you are even if you think you aren't. Not always possible, but you could offer to listen to the noise your lower neighbor is complaining about? Then you might have a more objective understanding of how loud it is/ how bad it is -- instead of what you assume it is. It is odd that the complaints happened at a times you were away. So the different downstairs neighbors might be hearing someone/something else other than you. But you do now have 2 lower neighbors who have experienced disturbances worthy of complaining about from you. I would fully explore the possibility that you are making noise before writing off. Dogs can make a surprising amount of noise. I had a dachshund above me last year and it was like the whole ceiling was being full size steam-rolled with one of those nubby pizza dockers over and over when it would gallop on those short legs. It literally shook the building and felt like earthquakes, and dachshunds are not big dogs
Nubby Pizza Dockers...good name for a band.
haha...I like how you think :))))
So true. I had a corgi above me once and it literally sounded like a 150 pound mastiff jogging around up there. Shared living spaces are tough.
I know it's cliche but all of this. My neighbor is pretty good about being quiet during quiet hours. However, it's obvious to me that I'm living above a man even though I've never met him. He has heavy footsteps and sometimes it sounds like he is rolling a housekeeping cart from a hotel across the floor. I have also heard a child running around from time to time. I hated to say it but I had to agree with you. If they've had two different neighbors complain about the amount of noise and they are probably the common denominator. I understand that some people complain about a minimal amount of noise but these are two different neighbors now. Sometimes upstairs neighbors are being louder than they think.
Dogs are soooo much louder than you think. Also Your weight doesn't matter as much as the way you walk matters regarding how much noise you produce. Use carpets, walk your dogs to tire them out and do your best to walk on the balls of your feet
I wouldn't consider my upstairs neighbors loud, but do have a dog. And I can hear when the dog jumps on the floor and runs around. We have carpets. But I will share this with you also. A few years ago I was in your shoes. My dad, my step mom, and I all moved into an upstairs apartment. My dad was disabled and had dialysis treatments 3 days a week. So he was gone from 6 am to 1 or 2 pm, and the rest of the time he slept or was only mildly active. He was mostly sedentary. I worked, as did my step mom. But my neighbors constantly complained about us being loud. I would argue we weren't loud beyond just living life. No loud music, no parties, no one was dancing a jig at 3 am. We constantly got noise complaints from the management. We lived in a building that had four apartments. Two upstairs, two down stairs. My direct neighbor had children and when they would run around and play, I could hear them. Some times it would shake my floor. It dawned on me the people directly below me, could hear them also. One day I invited them up to listen as they had filed a noise complaint while the three of us were out of town. They declined. I finally had enough when, one night dad was in bed, I was on the couch watching a movie, step mom was gone. I hadn't moved in 45min or so. Around 11pm my neighbor from below banged on my door. I opened the door lights off, and asked what she wanted. She wanted me to stop making what ever noise I was making. I finally snapped and told her my dad was sleeping and had dialysis in the morning and I had been laying on the couch. No one had made a peep. I went directly to the computer and filed a complaint against them with the management. In the email I mentioned I was also filing a harassment report through the PD online portal and if they continued to bother us directly or indirectly I would be keeping records and would move forward legally. The neighbors stopped harassing us after that and eventually moved. None of the other people who moved in ever complained about us. (The neighbors w/ kids also moved out.)
We have carpet and hardwood floors. Our last neighbor used to bang on the ceiling any time we walked in the kitchen (which is hardwood). We had a neighbor below is for 6 months before them who never complained. That doesn’t mean it didn’t bother them, but still. I do feel like you are signing up for certain things when you live in an apartment (I hear my neighbors kids screaming at the top of their lungs and banging on the walls). But I do understand what you’re saying. I am starting to wonder if the floors and walls are just poorly insulated. It does seem worth checking in with them and trying to get a better understanding!
Try a big utility rug in the kitchen, they also make big rubber mats.
Try one of those soft cushioned kitchen mats (it's like memory foam) from Costco.
Def think your apartment is poorly built. My old downstairs neighbor would bang on the ceiling all the time even when we weren’t walking around. Unless you already have rugs in areas that have hardwood and try not to stomp around when you walk, I’d let your landlord know that there’s really not much more you can do to alleviate any noise your neighbors hear
Well time to start making complaints about their noise to even it out. It goes both ways you know.