Hello,

I live in an upstairs apartment with my husband and we happen to be over a couple with a baby.

We would like to buy a treadmill for our spare room but I am worried that my running on it will be far too loud for our neighbors below.
We try to be very thoughtful of the impact of what we do up here but at the same time this is our house, we will be here for awhile and we both have wanted a treadmill for awhile.

I would only use it during our 'non-quiet' hours. After 10 am and before 9 pm.

Any thoughts?
Has anyone had this work out?

Thanks!

That could be pretty tough - the impact might really amplify underneath you - and with babies napping throughout the day, it might be tough on those below, depending on the treadmill quality...but even those at the gym get hammered if you're running on it - walking would probably be much lighter. As one who has lived both upstairs and downstairs in apartments in my life, it can be a different world when you're the "up" folks - even if it's your home. It's thoughtful of you to think about that - maybe see if others in your community who are upstairs have one/how it's worked out for them and those below, unless they don't really know their neighbors...

Have your neighbors ever said anything to you about being able to hear you overhead with just normal everyday activity? Maybe the ceiling is thick enough that with perhaps a little bit of soundproofing like a carpet or rug and a pad for the treadmill itself could make it work... And plus the fact that you're willing to be considerate and just use it during those hours seems pretty reasonable too...

Also these days there are lots of treadmills that are really quiet and have cushioned decks that help as well, so that might be something to look into to make it work in that sort of situation...

I live in a townhouse and I can often hear my upstairs neighbours, although it seems only to be on the weekends, so it may be when they have guests or something.

Anyways, I think it would bug me a lot less (I have gotten somewhat used to it though) if they had approached us (my family) and let us know when they were going to be having a party or a large number of people over and it may be a bit noisy...

So, in that regard, I think your downstairs neighbours would probably appreciate if you just went and asked them when the most appropriate times to use the treadmill would be. Perhaps the baby goes out for a walk at 8am (good time to use the treadmill) or always has naps at 1pm (bad time to use the treadmill). I'm sure there would be numerous times though out the day that it would be appropriate.

But of course, you may not have to worry about this at all if they can't hear you (i.e. the carpet idea or asking other neighbours if they've had a similar problem).

Either way, it's awesome that you're being considerate of them, however, if it were me, I would just get the treadmill and do my best to try to avoid my neighbours (just kidding ). But I would get the treadmill and just try not to make too much noise on it.

I wouldn't do it. The vibrations alone from someone running on a treadmill above you would be horrible.

Think of it this way, if the situation were reversed, would you want them to get one? If your sick grandmother lived below you, would you get one?

I agree. My family room is above my kitchen, and when my son (<100 lb) is up there jumping around playing Wii or something, it sometimes sounds like he's going to come through the ceiling!

It does depend on the type of construction of your building though - if it's concrete, then it would probably be fine.

Can you move to a ground floor unit? I understand that it is your home, but unfortunately apartment living comes with some limits.