LVP or carpet in upstairs units

[Abiy Tedla]

We're currently in the process of renovating a top level apartment unit in a 2 floor building and debating on whether to go with carpet for noise reduction or LVP for looks and durability.  My preference is LVP but our PM has suggested to go with carpet on the top units to reduce noise complaints.  Any tips and experiences on using LVP with minimal noise would be greatly appreciated.  I figured that the BP community would be the best folks to ask about this!  Thanks!

[John Underwood]

Not carpet.

Hopefully you can rent to people with no small kids.

[Jill F.]

Menards has the sound dampening underlayment for a pretty reasonable price.

[Abiy Tedla]

Yes, the sound of my kids running around around upstairs drives me crazy LOL Thanks Jill! I will look into Menards and other soundproofing materials too.  

[Eliott Elias]

LVP, will last longer. 

[Mary Jay]

LVP

[Matt Calnan]

Quote from @Abiy Tedla:

We're currently in the process of renovating a top level apartment unit in a 2 floor building and debating on whether to go with carpet for noise reduction or LVP for looks and durability.  My preference is LVP but our PM has suggested to go with carpet on the top units to reduce noise complaints.  Any tips and experiences on using LVP with minimal noise would be greatly appreciated.  I figured that the BP community would be the best folks to ask about this!  Thanks!

I would ALWAYS go LVP. The only carpet I put in units is commercial carpet, but it's more expensive than LVP. And you can get good underlay for cheap with LVP that will dampen the sound for you. I'd rather have the durability of LVP or commercial carpet and hear about a noise complaint every so often then to replace crappy carpet every 3 years!

[Stacy Raskin]

I've worked in the leasing field and I never knew until then how much people hate carpet. It makes it more difficult to rent. 

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

Products like HD's "Lifeproof" have underlayment attached and do provide a certain level of sound dampening. I have not had any noise issues from this on second floor installations.

[Abiy Tedla]

Thanks @Richard F. , @Stacy Raskin, @Matt Calnan

[Timothy M Carson]

if we are just talking noise, LVP is significantly louder than carpet.  Products often list IIC test results that show big improvements when using acoustic underlay, you should be very skeptical of them unless your floor/ceiling assembly matches exactly.  

You didn't mention if the units have a stacked layout ie. a bedroom over a bedroom or something much worse like stairs or a hallway over a bedroom.  In larger developments that I have worked on the developer usually goes with LVP and accepts that turnover will be higher.  LVP definitely shows/rents better and is more durable.  A compromise might be carpet in bedrooms and LVP everywhere else or get the thickest best LVP underlayment you can afford assuming that it does not create height issues.

In case people are interested here is a paper on the topic.  The National Research Council of Canada has done a ton of research on the subject.

https://primaryacoustics.com/i...

If the project spend is over $50k it is probably worth hiring an acoustical consultant who can steer you clear of a lot of snake oil in the industry.

[Patrick Drury]

@Abiy Tedla
LVP 

[David Ramirez]

LVP all day!