Help ST community!
I would like to purchase a treadmill to help me increase mileage / frequency.
Issue is that I live in an apartment.
From your experience, will the treadmill cause tons of noise / vibration to the neighbors? What can be done, if anything, to minimize / eliminate?
Thanks,
E.D.
what type of floor are you putting it on that will make the most difference in noise carryover to other apts.
Do you have tenants living below you?
Are your neighbors living in adjacent walls sensitive to noise and vibration?
How well can you hear your neighbors?
If you jump up and down on your floor, does your apartment shake?
Are you a heavy stomper when you run? Overweight or Lightweight?
These questions will assist. 
Though usually there will be a thump thump thump noise from running on the treadmill, so long as you workout in the day and not at o dark stupid when ppl are sleeping you’ll be fine. Your neighbours will hear u running, but as long as they aren’t trying to sleep it won’t be bad. Also u can put it on top of a vibration absorbing mat which will reduce the noise greatly.
Do you have tenants living below you?
Are your neighbors living in adjacent walls sensitive to noise and vibration?
How well can you hear your neighbors?
If you jump up and down on your floor, does your apartment shake?
Are you a heavy stomper when you run? Overweight or Lightweight?
These questions will assist.
Rightfully so, I have been asked to provide more info.
My floor is parquet (false parquet, i think). The plan would be to put the TM on top of an anti-vibration pad (in fact, even contacted some soundproofing experts)I do have tenants below meThe TM would be in the living room (ouch!) next to my kitchen wall… Far away from my / kids room. Presumably, the TM would be over the tenants living room as wellHardly ever hear the neighbors Apartment does not shake if I jump up/down… My (young) kids do it all the time and no complaintsI am a light runner. 6’2’’ 165lbs. High cadence runnerThanks again for your thoughts
Sounds like as long as you get some good solid soundproofing underneath it, you’ll be fine. I put mine in an upstairs room of my house. We built up the sub-floor with sound and vibration dampening materials. Then, Pergo/bamboo for the flooring, and then a thick treadmill mat underneath the treadmill itself. You can hear a faint thud/thud/thud, but it’s barely noticeable unless you listen for it. Whatever you do, I would use at least 2 methods to dampen the sounds. Maybe a thick mat and a foamy mat or something like that. There have been some threads where folks built pretty elaborate sandwiches of foam to place under the treadmill, but I can’t seem to find any quickly.
Use this http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Cal-Rubber-Anti-Vibration-Mat-Vibration/dp/B004EF6GBY
Know your silent hours at the building and don’t run at that time.
and what is the lame excuse you cannot just run outside?
Anti-vibration pads will help with vibrations…but they really don’t do much for the 160+lb jackhammers consistently pounding.
I know our downstairs neighbor struggled when our kids would run down the hallway. I would think that a treadmill (especially a sub $1500 one) is a nemesis to any downstairs neighbor.
Spend $50 on tights, $20 on gloves, $35 on a windbreaker, and $25 on a headlamp. Run outside until your heart is content.
For all the folks making snide comments on why i dont run outside…
I have a torn meniscus. Therefore, too much outdoor running causes a flair up.
For the most recent Ironman, I did a good amount of stair running and frequency runs (15 - 25 minutes) with reasonable success 4.05 IM run.
The idea is to do these short runs on the TM to avoid spending 10 minutes getting dressed up the winter for short runs…
So, I am looking for insightful on TM in apartments. Not why i dont buy winter training clothing (which i own tons…and used tons before i got injured)
For all the folks making snide comments on why i dont run outside…
I have a torn meniscus. Therefore, too much outdoor running causes a flair up.
For the most recent Ironman, I did a good amount of stair running and frequency runs (15 - 25 minutes) with reasonable success 4.05 IM run.
The idea is to do these short runs on the TM to avoid spending 10 minutes getting dressed up the winter for short runs…
So, I am looking for insightful on TM in apartments. Not why i dont buy winter training clothing (which i own tons…and used tons before i got injured)
^^^^ZING!^^^^
Some treadmills are more rickety (sp?) than others. Just make sure you get one with a solid base and use a treadmill mat for insurance. This works for me with no complaints from the neighbors downstairs.
I also have a degenerate meniscus and still put out 12 miles+ daily in the snow… you are an ironman right?
and what is the lame excuse you cannot just run outside?
Newborn twins.
My wife has a treadmill desk. She walks. The noise in the room below gets annoying. But she is my wife.
You should check your lease and the local laws.
I think you should talk to the people below you before you purchase the treadmill. After you install it, you should go to the apartment below and see how it sounds while someone runs on it.
You might want to pay your neighbor’s rent.
Go outside and run or get a gym membership.
When I moved into a new apartment I made sure to get the bottom level just for this reason. My previous neighbors just never understood the multi hour bike trainer sessions.
There is little to no soundproofing between my apartment and my landlady’s above, so maybe not the best way to judge, but I find her treadmill to be unbearably loud. It also cause vibrations, if I have headphones on (with the volume cranked to drown out the noise) I can feel it. She doesn’t run at odd hours but even at 7 in the evening it is incredibly intrusive, there is nowhere I can go in my apartment to escape the noise. I can handle 20 minutes then I lose it. Happily, she’s stopped running so it isn’t an issue any more.
I would say getting a treadmill is a very bad idea unless you can ensure that you only run when your neighbours aren’t around. If you’re training for an IM on this you intend to subject your neighbours to uninterrupted hours of treadmill noise?
If noise is a huge concern, look into a Woodway treadmill.
Because they don’t have the traditional ‘belt’, they suuuuper quiet at all speeds- just a dull hum from the motor, but almost silent. They are built like a tank and pretty much last forever on minimal maintenance (talk to anyone who does the treadmill maintenance at a large university). Not only are they quiet, but they are awesome treadmills; you will not be disappointed in a Woodway. There is a reason that Woodways are the treadmill used in most human performance training centers.
ejd_mil,
How have you solved the problem? I’m eager to hear.
I run on treadmill 4-5 days a week (and 1-2 outside)… my reason is - I run at 4am and that is not a very safe time to be running on the roads!
When I moved into a new apartment I made sure to get the bottom level just for this reason. My previous neighbors just never understood the multi hour bike trainer sessions.
I bought a house. Solved the problem.
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 5/8" thick NBR 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.