I think I am paranoid about upsetting anyone. But I also feel that I should be able to do what I want in my own home.

Hi,

My apartment stated it in the lease before I moved in. No one on the second floor can have exercise equipment. I don't think a treadmill would make that much noise though, do you? Another apartment complex I lived in was fine with it. People even had their exercise equipment out on the second and third floor balcony. Read your lease, maybe it says something regarding it. I would think as long as you are not running on it at 4 a.m. it would be okay :) Good luck!

We live in a 2 floor apt. and have a treadmill on the 2nd floor.
When my DW is using it, I can hear her thumping from downstairs in the den, but my next door neighbors claim that they never hear a thing.

Marion -
treadmills usually make little noise, especially compared to doing aerobics or a jumprope. Take one home on approval and ask the neighbor to let you listen and see if it makes a lot of noise. You can also mount them on a piece of 3/4 inch plywood with extra-heavy padding to minimize any thumping.

The ban against "exercise equipment" is usually to prevent people from moving several tons of weight bench gear onto the third floor and collapsing it.

I live on the 2nd floor and have a treadmill. I asked my downstairs neighbor to please let me know if it ever bothered her. I talked to her recently and she says she never hears it and I've sometimes ventured to use it at 6am or 10pm. It has shock absorbers tho so maybe that's why.

I've lived on the first floor when the people on the 2nd floor had a treadmill. It sounded like a train above my head (had hardwood floors), but I didn't really mind. They asked if it would bother me first before they got it. They only used it for about an hour a day around 6pm. I just went to another room if it got too loud.

I think most people won't mind if you use it at a reasonable time and not for hours at a time. I would say, "We're getting a treadmill, but we don't want to disturb you. Is there any time you would really like us not to use the treadmill?" Most people are reasonable about something like this, as long as you are. I think it's better to, maybe when one of you is using it, go downstairs and see if it's loud and let them know if it's a bad time, they can ask you to stop. Did that make any sense at all? Let your neighbors know that you're not just completely oblivious to their feelings about things.

I'm confusing myself, so I'm going to stop now.

~Jordyn (who really shouldn't try to post a message early in the morning)

Ask the landlord.He will give you a truthful answer,I don't think treadmills make noise.I had one and the only noise comeing from it was my huffing and puffingAnd my dragging it from under the bed,If you have carpet I don't think it will matter.

I'm on 6th floor. My neighbors above me on 7 got a treadmill, and I did hear it (and they had carpeting).
Our compromise was 2 pronged.

- Not to use it at hours that would really annoy me , like 5 AM

- and to let me use it once in a while.

(we also had a good relationship - she took care of my cats on vacation, I took care of hers)

I think anyone who says that they don't hear the sound of a treadmill must be going deaf or something cause my ugly neighbor upstairs has one and that thing rattles the light fixture and makes and awful noise not only the rumbling of the motor and thumping from the feet, but also from the squeeky floor. Or those neighbors must be really nice and/or are push overs, or probably don't want to say anything cause they're afraid you may retaliate against and accuse them of making noise. I filed a complaint against them and the landlord said that they were not suppose to have a treadmill, but I called to complain again and when I spoke to the lady they said that those ugly people stated that they did not have a treadmill.

They lied, they also lied about they not having a guy living up there which would be a violation of their lease cause they are on welfare and lied to get their benefits. So, I'm not surprised that they lied about having a treadmill. If they lied to the the City of New York to receive welfare benefits, then lying about having a treadmil is a peice of cake.

So, I guess you can have a treadmil all you have to do is lie about it and contradict your neighbors saying that they are hearing things and are lying. You could run all the time, but when you end up in court just keep lying. I'm going to keep pushing the complaint tho and make sure they get discovered for the liars they are.

I wonder if it's an issue to have a treadmill on a 2nd floor apartment if there's just a storage area underneath your unit? My place has outside access to units and the one below me is just a place for storing stuff, so d'you think the noise would travel across the landing to my neighbor? Hm...

I don't think it would be an issue if there is no one living under you llcoco.

How about an elliptical instead? They tend to be much quieter than treadmills.

If you're renting, ask your landlord or, better yet, review your lease. If you own, like we do, most people stop to ask a board member in the elevator. You may be surprised what you aren't supposed to own. Often restrictions are due to laws but sometimes they're for 'community well-being'.

We bought a Cybex trainer thing about a month ago. We have a two-story apartment and, like the poster above said, it's nearly silent even with the arms moving. It's in an area above our home office and I barely hear the beeps as it moves through a workout program.

Treadmills make little noise, are you kidding me...you come over to my apartment and then tell me about them not being noisy. The lady upstairs has a treadmill, she runs 1 hour a day and I can not stand it much longer. Why would anyone buy a treadmill if they are going to make others have to deal with all the noise they make, and yes they do make alot of noise. I will get her thrown out of that apartment one way or another because she is making my life a living hell.

Years ago when I lived in a well built apartment (concrete with sound insulation) I had a treadmill. But I did put a big quilt underneath to soften the sound. Neighbor below never complained. While if I got a treadmill where I currently live, the guy below me will be knocking on my door in mere minutes.
If you can hear your neighbors through the walls, or the person below you talking. I wouldn't get a treadmill, they are loud.

I live in a condo and got tired of going to the gym, so I bought a
treadmill to use in my place. I bought a "vibration absorbing mat" to
put under the treadmill, thinking that it might help. Well, first time
using the treadmill I got a knock on the door. My next door neighbour
was complaining that the floor and wall were shaking so much she thought
it was an earthquake. I need to listen to her....she is the super for
the building!

So, I decided I needed to
build a vibration-damper for the treadmill. Used it and it works
perfectly - my neighbours say they do not hear or feel a thing now.
Here is what I did....

I got two hardwood
planks (36" x 8") and put one under the treadmill front feet and one
under the back feet. I bought a butyl rubber mat (you can use neoprene,
buna-N....whatever....as long as it is bouncy rubber that springs back
and doesn't compress too easily) and cut it into 4 rectangles, each 8" x
10". I put one under each end of the hardwood planks (under each
treadmill foot) between the plank and the vibration mat.

I am 185lbs and run 4-6 miles at a pace of 7.5-8.5 mi/h. I think this would work for just about anybody.
Simple, cheap, effective.

I live in the first floor apartment, underneath me is the parking. No complaints till now. But I am moving to a 2nd floor apartment and concerned what will I face there. The comment from imapilot_152 was very helpful though not have applied it yet and I tend to do so. I would like to ask imapilot_152 more specific details (how much is the thickness of the hardwood planks and the rubber you applied, I am not sure to find the same material with same texture). I would be grateful to hear more detail comments for this issue too because physical activity is has became an essential daily life component for many.

My super next door has still not had any complaints about vibration/noise and it has been 4 months! So I guess this works.

Listing my materials from the floor up, I have:

- floor (of course)

- rubber treadmill mat under the entire length of the treadmill. This is recommended by all treadmill manufacturers and I think is a good idea but it is certainly not enough to dampen the vibrations (not sure exactly the thickness or material, but it is a fairly soft rubber and is approx 1/8" thick)

- On top of the mat, is the magic piece. Re-reading my post above I realize I made a couple of errors that I will correct here. The material I use is NBR rubber, not Butyl as I said above, but you can use neoprene....definitely not butyl!. Any rubber that compresses easily but springs back immediately - a latex rubber is probably not dense enough. Mine came from a camping seat cushion. I have 8 rectangles, each 8" x 10" x 5/8" thick. 2 under each "foot" of the treadmill

- On top of the NBR rubber rectangles is a piece of hardwood shelving material (I think mine is ash, but maple or oak would be fine) 8" wide, 5/8" thick and the length is a bit longer than the width of your treadmill. You want hardwood because I think that a soft wood like pine might split under the load of the treadmill

- Then the treadmill on top

I found I needed to have something that stops the treadmill from sliding around on the hardwood plank, so I laid a thick bead of carpenter's glue on the plank all the way around the spot where the treadmill wheel/foot sits. Make a few thick beads one on top of the other and you will find that the treadmill cannot "walk" around as you use it.

The NBR rubber rectangles dissipate the vibration, but you can't just put the treadmill directly on the NBR rubber - you need a hardwood under the treadmill wheels/feet. I found that if you just put a small square of hardwood under each foot (and not a full plank the width of the treadmill) the treadmill bounces around too much because each rubber vibration isolator acts independently of the others. If you use a full length plank, you tie the left isolator with the right one so they kind of work together.

@impilot_152 is there any way you can show us your setup with pictures? It would be really helpful. Thanks.

Have you considered insulating or padding beneath the treadmill? Also we have an elliptical and exercise bike on the second floor in our home and you can hardly hear a thing. Might consider one of those machines instead since there would be less thumping.

Dheeraj, the second photo shows the full width of the treadmill at the forward end (at the back end is an identical arrangement). You can see the full width piece of wood. The first photo is a closeup of one side so you can see the 2 foam rubber pads under each wheel and the full-size rubber mat directly on the floor. Note the thick beads of glue around the wheels to keep the wheels centered on the wood.

It's been now 7 months without complaints. Hope this helps

Superb pictures thanks a lot!

I know this is slightly off topic, but I have written some blogs in the past regarding work out equipment in small apartments. Rather than have this machine in sight at all times, it's always recommended to use a privacy folding screen or room divider to conceal the machine when not in use.

If I were in your situation I wouldn't necessarily ask, but give them a heads up and ask how they would feel about it. If you have a nice relationship with your neighbours no need to cause tension. If it really does bother them and you don't want to have an argument you can use it when you know they are out

i use to own a treadmill living in the second floor. Never got a complaint until one day she came knocking on my door and told me "what is that noise?" i apologized and explained to her. i asked her for permission if i could've used it at 1 pm for 15 minutes everyday and she said " mmmmh... no sorry" so i left it at that and sold my treadmill. now that she is gone (meaning moved out) i really wanna buy treadmill now but i'm going to ask first to my manager and if she says yes, i will speak with my neightbor. which really sucks because if they say no it's going to be bummer! :/

It would seem that the people commenting that the treadmill doesnt make noise, are the owners, and of course notice nothing when using them. All nevhanical machines omit noise levels, and with a 150 to 300 LB human bouncing and thumping on this nechanical device, you are absolutely going to get noise, , and more importantly on the ceiling and wall vibrations below. So put away the PC considerations. Noise nuisance laws, were created just for this instance if one neighbor abusing the quiet peace and repose of another, dont move the treadmill move yourself into a house, or gym, when in doubt use a noise meter in your home than multiply the effect by all the weight thumping in the neighbors ceilings at all the repeated intervals of your exercise program. Get real, obey the law, your desires dont override common decency and your neighbors, because you think it does. The courts are full of civil cases just like this, for exactly the same reason. I THOUGHT I HAD THE RIGHT TO USE IT IN MY OWN APARTMENT. Then the judges tell you to wake up, and cease the nouse nuisance or repeated action will result in up to a $500 fine. GO AHEAD MAKE MY DAY, BEEN TO COURT FOR NEIGHBORS WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE RIGHTS, TO STEAL THE FREEDOM FROM THEIR other NEIGHBORS. Hope this common sense counter consideration helps the honest hearted in this tread discussion.

You don't own the apartment. If you are disturbing neighbors,be considerate and STOP. Anyone who says they don't hear a treadmill,workout unit,etc are full of it. Like living under a train tressel unless you are completely deaf

I'm not sure, but I think treadmill engineers have anticipated this problem and may have used some kind of kinetic absorption of running and therefore noise.