Apartment and hard pad

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

I can't find a thread that addresses this, so I'll just ask...

As a college student, I now live in the third floor of an apartment complex, the nearest DDR arcade is an hour away, and the only time I'll get to play on my hard pad is on some weekends where I drive home. Needless to say, with the release of SuperNOVA (PS2) coming soon, I want to be able to play more.

Has anyone found a good way to muffle the sound so my downstairs neighbors won't hear stomping for an hour (Actually, I don't even know if anyone is there often, since I never see their bedroom light on)? Since it is a high raised hard pad, I was hoping the pad itself would absorb most of the noise since the footsteps are on the panels, and not focused directly on the floor like a soft pad. I was thinking I could put a thick foam pad or something underneith it. Suggestions or anecdotes?

videoCWK! · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:15 am Post subject:

Try this. Get one of those wooden pallete thingies, put some foam stuff on it like you just said, then put your pad on top of the foam. And maybe the people downstairs are vampires.

killingscum · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:34 pm Post subject:

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

If that were the case, I could put stakes through their hearts and the problem would be solved.

videoCWK! · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:15 pm Post subject:

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

Heh, sounds similar to the problem I have with my guitar amp.
My room's right above my grandparents' room, and I like to play at 75% concert level (which is pretty loud), so what I do when I don't want to disturb them and I can't find my headphones is move it over to the carpet, grab my spare blanket (which I've only used twice as an actual blanket btw), fold it up to the size of the amp's base, then I set the amp on top.
That way, the vibrations are absorbed.
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videoCWK! · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:05 pm Post subject:

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

My pad weighs over 100 pounds, I would estimate.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

The Wise Fool · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:52 pm Post subject:

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

It's hella heavy.

I think the floors are concrete on each floor, so maybe it won't be terribly loud. I believe the dance pad will absorb most of the sound, and I'll try putting a foam pad under that to further muffle the sound and prevent shaking.

Oh, and I did get the change to meet the neighbors below me. They were familiar with the game and I said they could stop by and play sometime. Maybe this will work out. If it still shakes too much, I'll just play softer or play when they're not around.

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

Even with the blanket/comforter, there is still some shaking.

I'm not giving up though. I still have some memory foam that I don't use for my bed anymore. I also want to try putting the pad on a 4/5 peg design, seeing as that's how a lot of furniture sits (and arcade DDR pads).

The idea is to have the pad on pegs in the corners and the foam under the middle. I'm hoping to get this to work, and I'll let you know how it turns out.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

I think I'll just make sure to get a 1st-floor apartment when I go off to college. xD
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Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

Do it early and specifically ask for an apartment on the first floor.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

shurf · Trick Member Joined: 18 Feb 2006 Location: NJ

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

I put pegs on the pad now, which by itself doesn't help a whole lot, but it does keep the pad balanced on a soft surface because the weight is focused on the pegs. I put a comforter under the pegs to further muffle the sound. This does help a bit, but not as much as I'd want, since stomping still shakes the floor a little.

What is needed at this point is shock absorbtion on the pegs. I think a high density foam would surely help, or making a shock absorber similar to what a car has (I have no idea how this would be done, and it sounds like overkill) would help too.

In a nutshell, I don't think there is an easy solution... but the best solution is to find a place where the pad would be on ground level. I could ask the owners of the apartments if I could move the pad into the recreation areas so anyone could play, or I could ask a friend in another ground level apratment if he would be willing to share it.

Lastly, if you're interested in my peg design, I used:
3/4" floor flanges (this is attached to the pad, and the pegs screw into it)
3/4" diameter and 2 1/2" long threaded piping (actual peg)
1" rubber chair tips (cover the base of the pegs)
1" long wood screws (attaches flanges to pad)
Marine epoxy (attaches flanges to pad)

There are 5 pegs total, and each one is removable.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

I think the rec room idea sounds really good, as long as it's not too large of a community and the crime rate isn't too high, because getting your handmade DDR dance platforms stolen from a rec room would be a real bother.
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shurf · Trick Member Joined: 18 Feb 2006 Location: NJ

Looks like I'm gonna have to go to a friends house whenever I want to play. He's on the first floor, but he plays like everyday so I guess its cool.

DDR+Above ground level apartment =

and

Joshua B · Trick Member Joined: 22 Dec 2005 Location: Hudson, MA, USA