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Living in an apartment with neighbours all around you can be tricky. Sometimes you can be lucky and get quiet neighbours but then noisy neighbours can really affect you quality of life. New sounds from fresh tenants can be particularly noticeable and any sounds that are suddenly out of the ordinary even if they are not particularly loud can be annoying or grating.
If you have a neighbour with a treadmill you will know what I mean. A treadmill operating in an apartment above you can produce a rhythmic thump and whirr as the belt spins and the foot fall vibrates through the deck. Many apartment blocks simply won’t allow the use of such machines or will allow use until complaints start to come in.
Here are some useful tips to reduce treadmill noise in an apartment so your neighbours don’t get disturbed – alternatively you can avoid conflict escalating by offering potential solutions if you are getting disturbed by a treadmill user.
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Use A Mat
Your first port of call is to deaden the potential sound and vibration by using a mat. You can really go to town on this and achieve great results – consider using two mats with a sheet of ply sandwiched between the two mats. The mats should really be about 3/4 of an inch thick and are readily available at most equipment stores or somewhere like amazon/eBay. This will go a long way to insulating the noise and vibration to a low level. A little costly, but cheaper than having to use the gym.
If you don’t want to spend to much you could get a single mat and see if that will resolve the problem – but once your neighbour is complaining it is better to go all out and make a big noticeable difference that may produce a fair compromise your neighbour is willing to accept.
Position The Treadmill Near A Wall
If the neighbour below is affected most by the noise of your workout, you are probably better locating the treadmill near a wall. This will reduce vibration transferring through the ceiling due to the extra joist rigidity at the wall.
Placing the treadmill near a wall will make your own apartment noisier as the walls will reflect the noise within the apartment.
Carry Out Maintenance
Squeaks, rattles and grinds are really annoying because it is truly avoidable noise. Everyone accepts running on a treadmill may result in some noise but additional noise caused by poor maintenance is just a wind up.
Get your manufacturers user manual out or download it off the net and carry out the basic maintenance – your machine will last longer anyway but you will cut down on excess noise. Ideally you want some silicone lubricant for the belt to reduce the rubbing noise of belt on deck, you want some light engineering oil to lubricate moving parts on rollers and if you have a belt that squeals some spray to eliminate the squeal (or just adjust the belt properly and regularly). With any machine , wear causes noise – so if your treadmill is raucous identify the dying part and swap it out.
Change Your Running Style
People have all sorts of different running styles and gaits and these can lead to noise problems. People who heel strike when they walk or run often sound really loud from below or have footsteps that echo on tiled or plain timber floors.
Do you heel strike hard and sound like a herd of elephants – you can change your running sound with a little effort if you alter your style to run on the balls of your feet. This is easier to achieve running barefoot which may also make you quieter. The added benefit is that running on the balls of your feet can improve stamina and reduce injury over time.
Co-ordinate Your Schedule With The Neighbour
Often you can avoid a load of conflict if you just go ahead and talk to your neighbours and tell them what your are planning to do.
You may have a neighbour who is happy if you avoid using the machine at certain times of the day or use the machine when they are on shift – they may be happy if you keep it before certain times of night. You might find they simply are not disturbed by the noise and come to consider you to be one of those considerate types that had the good manners to pre-warn them.
Alternatively you might quickly find out who is likely to be trouble and take a view on your options going forward from there!
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