Buying a 1964 flat: an acoustic nightmare that costs €24,000

Buying a 1964 flat: the noise that €24,000 can't fix

Anyone who has bought an old flat knows that sound insulation is a lottery. But some cases are outright traps. A flat from 1964, recently purchased and renovated by the previous owner, has turned out to be a sounding board: you can hear the downstairs neighbour's conversations, the noise of the roller shutter closing, and any vibration travels through as if there were no structural slab at all. The buyer regrets the purchase and has asked for a quote to fix it. The figure: €24,000, with no guarantee of success.

The construction flaw that turns the floor into a loudspeaker

The problem isn't just the age of the building. The renovation carried out by the seller made things worse: ceramic flooring was laid directly on the structural slab, with no insulating membrane, and the room partitions were then built on top of that same floor. This creates an acoustic bridge: the floor vibrates and transmits sound through the partitions, which act as membranes. According to technical assessments, even if a new insulated floor were installed, the acoustic bridge would persist because the partitions are already tied into the structure. The only radical solution would be to demolish and rebuild, which is economically unviable.

€24,000 for a silence that never comes

The quote received to soundproof the floor comes to €24,000, and even then full insulation isn't guaranteed. The technician warned that in buildings like this, the façade itself has structural continuity that transmits noise, and that 100% soundproofing is impossible without demolition. What's more, noise also seeps through the walls of the interior courtyard, which are only 10 cm thick. The alternative is cheaper but less effective: wall panels and partial treatments that can reduce the noise without eliminating it.

A lesson for buyers: renovation doesn't always improve things

The case illustrates a common risk when buying older homes: cosmetic renovations can hide serious construction defects. A nice floor doesn't guarantee insulation, and building partitions on top of the flooring without breaking the acoustic bridge is a mistake that later proves costly. Anyone looking at a flat from the 1960s or 70s should scrutinise how the last renovation was done, or accept that, as has been noted, these buildings, by their very construction, will never achieve the quiet of a modern one. The question is whether it's worth paying €24,000 for a partial fix, or simply living with the noise as part of the charm of the old.