"Honestly, I think the only real fix for that is decoupling the ceiling drywall from the joists, but that's a bigger project (and pricier)."
Yeah, you're spot-on there. I did resilient channels in our basement reno, and it definitely helped cut down on the thumps and footsteps. Still not perfect, but worth the hassle IMO.
I get what you're saying about resilient channels, but honestly, I found them a bit finicky to install correctly. When I did our guest room ceiling, I opted for Green Glue between two layers of drywall instead. Definitely cheaper than full-on decoupling, and it made a noticeable difference in muffling voices and TV noise upstairs. Not sure it'd handle heavy footsteps as well, but if budget's tight, it's a decent compromise.
Green Glue's pretty solid for voices and TV chatter, agreed. But yeah, heavy footsteps are a whole other beast—like my upstairs neighbor who apparently moonlights as a tap dancer at 2am... For that, nothing beats full decoupling, finicky or not.
"heavy footsteps are a whole other beast—like my upstairs neighbor who apparently moonlights as a tap dancer at 2am..."
Haha, relatable. Green Glue helps, but for footsteps, decoupling's definitely king. If you're on a budget though, thick rugs with dense padding upstairs can surprisingly cut down on the noise... speaking from experience here.
Totally agree on decoupling being the best bet for footsteps. Had a similar issue in my old apartment—upstairs neighbor must've been training elephants or something. Tried Green Glue first, and while it did help with voices and TV noise, footsteps were still driving me nuts. Ended up biting the bullet and installing resilient channels with double drywall on the ceiling. Huge difference. Not exactly cheap or easy, but worth every penny for my sanity.
If that's not an option, thick rugs with dense padding upstairs (if your neighbor's cooperative) can help a lot. My sister did that in her condo, and it made a noticeable difference. But honestly, nothing beats proper decoupling when it comes to heavy impacts like footsteps...
