How noisy is wood flooring in a flat?

[MarkDavis]

Looking to buy a flat in a period conversion (not a new build)

The flat above what would be my potential living room and bedroom has those polished laminate / wood type flooring.

My concern is the potential noise from people clip clopping about on the wood flooring above.

The two people I've spoken to who have had this type of flooring above them say its drives them nuts. I've no personal experience of this.

Is this likely to become an annoyance / nuisance?

 

[MarkDavis]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Useful food for thought.

I suspec the flooring is cheapo / cowboy builder quality, definitely not suspect in concentrate - its just an old house that's been converted into flat, and I doubt the builder/developer spent much money on the floor with complex constructions etc.

 

[MarkDavis]

We spend a great deal of time designing and installing acoustic floors and to do a proper job is quite complex, I'd wary of any flat without a restrictive covenant for zero solid floors, or I'd be looking for a concrete frame structure that would absorb the impact sound, you should be expecting something like this for a refurbishment.

http://www.cellecta.co.uk/PDFs/DECKfon_Ultramat15_laid_on_timber_sub_floor_pct_solution.pdf

That's interesting. Out of interest roughly how much would it cost to do that type of construction for say a 25sq"m room?