I purchased a newly-built flat last Autumn and I have been experiencing a lot of noise transmission from adjacent flats. In particular, it seems that there is a lot of transmission of impact noise. I have already gleaned a lot of useful information about sound insulation issues in new-builds from this forum so thank you to the administrator and everyone who has posted their issue here. I do however have some questions that I have not been able to find answers to:
1) I have raised the noise transmission issue with the housebuilder who refused to provide me with the sound testing report for my apartment block. Oddly enough, I know of at least one other resident in the same development who made the same request and who was provided with a sound test report for the apartment block in which he lives (the development is split into multiple apartment blocks).
Does refusing to provide me with a sound test report for my particular apartment block raise any red flags with those more experienced in dealing with home builders? I was under the impression that a sound test report is a fairly innocuous document (i.e. it does not include any sensitive information about the builder and its operations/designs) so I am a little puzzled by this refusal.
I am aware that I can try to make a Subject Access Request but before taking that step I wanted to get a sense for how suspicious this refusal to provide a sound test report is.
2) Irrespective of whether the housebuilder ends up providing me with a sound test report for my apartment block, I would like to commission my own sound test to verify that the separating walls in my flat meet the requirements dictated by Approved Document E. If the tests for my particular flat fail, could the home builder claim that it is still compliant with building regulations since the flats it sampled itself for sound testing all passed?
3) What type of sound transmission can be expected in a newly-built flat that meets the standards laid out by Approved Document E? The apartment block in which my flat is situated is probably a timber frame construction although I am not entirely sure. Also, all of the flats in the apartment block have vinyl wood flooring. When I am inside the flat, it seems like I can hear every single footstep that my neighbors (either adjacent or above) take. When someone moves a chair in the flat above mine it sounds like someone is re-arranging furniture (I checked with the neighbors; they were not re-arranging furniture). Whenever the neighbors with whom I share a separating wall play music, the entire separating wall vibrates and I can hear the music quite clearly in my flat.
Additional information: the flat was purchased less than two years ago and is covered by a NHBC Buildmark warranty.
Any and all insight on the above questions would be highly appreciated!
