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  • #56973
    JackRose
    Flatchatter
      I had planned to do a renovation start of August ..but now postponed because owners corporation ….3 people  out of  4 owners…will not pass my works for replacement of floorboards in kitchen, breakfast room where there are existing floorboards…and dining room, foyer and a hallway. to have new boards. There is no numerical value or by law on our strata to say what the L ntw must be…except for peaceful enjoyment etc.. I had  an acoustic test done which was 53 Lntw  with a 3 star rating but attributes of 4 star. I used 10 mm Regupol and 15 mm floorboards for the test. The owners corporation say I have to reach 50 dB or a 4 star rating. They made this up themselves the numerical value that I had to meet!
      They will stop work on my property if I do not meet 50 Lntw  with  whatever flooring I wish to replace  mainly the kitchen, breakfast room, foyer ,dining room.
      They say I have to use 17/8 Regupol which with what the floor company said will make it a new 55 mm height from floor as opposed to 25/30 the exisiting height of floor from slab.
      Using 17/8 means all my internal and external doors have to be raised….because the door would look too small in the apartment…..costing more money on top of what is a large renovation proposal.If I decide to keep the footprint on the existing  floorboards and replace the kitchen within the confines of the already laid boards in the kitchen will I still be ok  with keeping the existing floorboards down…no need to replace them to the 50 dB set  by the  ‘3 other owners!’.
      I have decided to perhaps cancel the renovation except get a new kitchen with the same footprints exisiting  and keep existing floorboards as they are. The neighbour downstairs says she wants my existing floorboards removed as she says she hears me above. I live here by myself and make very little noise.
      I hear her downstairs on her tiles….without any acoustic barrier put in when she did her renovation and have requested twice for an acoustic test done in her apartment.as ‘ my peaceful enjoyment is disturbed’…but she refuses to do so.
      I need to know am I within my rights to keep existing floorboards in kitchen and just replace all the cupboards and white goods  without the owners corporation telling me to replace  the existing floorboards. I will work around the existing floorboards and replace the  joinery and  white goods?

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    • #56991
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        JackRose wrote:

        They will stop work on my property if I do not meet 50 Lntw with whatever flooring I wish to replace mainly the kitchen, breakfast room, foyer ,dining room.

        A couple of points spring to mind.  Firstly, they can’t enforce a by-law that doesn’t exist.  If there is no by-law demanding a certain thickness of Regupol, then they can’t force you install that particular product. The law on renovations that affect common property says you may do them under the terms set out in by-laws.
        However, the strata schemes does have some leeway in what they can demand before allowing it (although they face the prospect of being challenged at NCAT if they are unreasonable).
        But, in the asence of a prescriptive by-law, they can’t predict how effective or otherwise your preferred and/or recommended level of insulation will be.  The onus is on you to take the best advice you can get with the knowledge that, should it prove inadequate, you will have to replace the flooring at your own expense.
        Rather than go by either what your committee says, nor indeed what is advised by the flooring installers, talk to a soundproofing expert such as Soundblock who will be able to offer independent advice and, if you wish, prepare the floor for the timber flooring. They may be able to recommend soundproofing that meets the acoustic requirements without making the floor too high.

        I need to know am I within my rights to keep existing floorboards in kitchen and just replace all the cupboards and white goods without the owners corporation telling me to replace the existing floorboards.

        If you go ahead with the kitchen-only reno, the owners corp can’t order you to replace the existing floorboards unless they are demonstrably causing a noise nuisance.  And since your downstairs neighbour refuses to allow an acoustic test, they have no basis for doing that.
        Normally, I would say that the downstairs tiles were irrelevant, but they may well be contributing to the perception of noise from your flat, as experienced downstairs, as they are reflecting rather than absorbing sound.

        If I were in your shoes (and you should probably get expert legal advice on this) I would very politely tell the committee that they have no legal basis for blocking your renovation.  However, you are prepared to negotiate and go to mediation over this if need be.
        If the committee still attempts to block your renovation, and you have received reliable independent advice, tell them you will seek orders at NCAT to prevent them from doing so and you will also seek compensation for any additional costs incurred as a consequence.
        I also recommend that you talk to our sponsors StrataAnswers who are very good at sitting down with conflicting parties, explaining the fact of strata life to all concerned and taking the heat out of this kind of situation.
        By the way, there has been a confusing and retrograde change to the regulations in recent years – it used to be that the installation of timber flooring was regarded as a minor renovation, now it is specifically the removal of carpet to expose floorboards.
        Pretty dumb, considering that the former would probably include the installation of noise reducing material and the latter involves it’s removal.

        The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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