Just moved into a third-floor prewar in Washington Heights. The guy above me has a treadmill or maybe an elliptical and starts around 6:10 every weekday. It is not crazy loud, but the ceiling thumps and my hanging light fixture sways a little. Is this just normal upstairs-neighbor noise I have to live with, or is it reasonable to knock or leave a note? I don’t want to be the new guy complaining on day one. Also I think he has bare hardwood floors, not sure if that matters.

A treadmill at 6 a.m. in a prewar is not normal quiet enjoyment, that’s impact noise. I’d leave a note before hitting 311. Ask if he can move it off the shared bedroom wall or throw down some rubber mats. You’d be surprised how many people just don’t know. Don’t do the ceiling broom thing yet.

Welcome to old construction. You have a few avenues. First, check your lease and any house rules. In a lot of older buildings, some units have floor covering requirements, but it is not universal. For a treadmill, hardwood over old joists transmits impact noise directly. The neighbor should use dense rubber gym mats, not just a thin yoga mat, and ideally move the unit so it is not directly over the room where you sleep.

Quiet hours are often building-specific, but the city noise code can still apply to unreasonable noise at any time. 311 is an option, but it is slow and hard to enforce for a thumping treadmill at 6 a.m.

Better to ask first. Document times and what you hear. Ask if it is a treadmill, not an elliptical; a treadmill usually has much more impact force. If it continues after a polite note, the super can check whether the machine is sitting on a joist line or against a shared wall.

I’ve been the upstairs treadmill guy, not in a prewar though. If someone left me a note, I’d move it. The 6 a.m. start is the bigger problem. Ask if he can start after 7:30 or switch to a spot over the street side. Foam mats under a running deck can make it too squishy if they are soft. Horse stall mats are heavy and work, but they smell like a barn for a while. There are proper anti-vibration treadmill mats too. Don’t tell him to use folded rugs, that can unbalance the machine.

Thanks all. I slid a note under his door asking if he could move it off the bedroom side and maybe use a mat. He actually answered and said he didn’t realize it was that loud. He agreed to move it closer to the street wall and start after 7. I still hear a low thud when he runs though. Is that just the building? Can a rug fix it one hundred percent, or should I expect some noise no matter what?

Good that he moved it. A low thud at 7 a.m. is probably old-building noise. But if it is still shaking your light fixture, that is not normal. Get a cheap decibel app, it is not perfect but it lets you log the worst moments. Ask him to put a sheet of plywood under a real treadmill mat. If the equipment is above your bed, see if he can shift it a few feet.

Plywood plus dense rubber is the way. A sheet of three-quarter-inch plywood under a stall mat spreads the load. Also tell him to check the leveling feet. If one foot is off, the belt can thump. My old machine had a knocking belt and my downstairs neighbor thought I was doing box jumps.

To answer your question about whether a rug fixes it: no. A thin rug or runner will not fix treadmill impact. The low thud you still hear is likely structure-borne vibration, not airborne sound. That travels through the floor joists and walls. The city noise code covers unreasonable noise, but a low thud at 7 a.m. after the neighbor has moved the machine may be considered normal apartment living.

If it still rattles a light fixture, ask the super to inspect. The direction of the joists matters. In many old buildings, placing a heavy treadmill perpendicular to the joists transfers less vibration to the ceiling below than placing it parallel. The neighbor can build a simple platform: three-quarter-inch plywood, a sound-rated mat, and isolation pads under the feet.

Realistically, that can reduce the thud by a noticeable amount, but it will not make it silent. The goal is quieter, not gone.

He taped a note back to my door. He said he is going to try a horse stall mat and plywood this weekend, but he can’t start later than 7 because of work. I said okay. I am not trying to get the guy in trouble. But if it still rattles after the platform, what is next? Do I call 311 or talk to management? I don’t want him to lose the treadmill, I just don’t want to wake up to it.

Management, not 311, if it comes back. A 7 a.m. treadmill call might just get marked not observed. If you have a decibel log and a video of the shade moving, email the managing agent. They will tell him to fix it or maybe say no gym equipment above the first floor. But if he is actually building the platform, you probably won’t need any of that.

Be prepared for the horse stall mat to smell like rubber for a month, especially in summer. If he gets sick of the smell and dumps it in the hallway, that is another problem. You can suggest a recycled rubber treadmill mat from a fitness store, less barnyard. Keep us posted.

One caveat: not all leases permit gym equipment on upper floors. Some buildings have house rules prohibiting treadmills except in basement or ground-floor units. It is not universal, but if the platform does not solve it, ask management to clarify the house rule. If they allow it, the platform is likely enough.

I would also check whether your walls are plaster on lath. Vibration can travel through a shared wall, so if he moves the machine against the wall nearest your bed, ask him to pull it at least eight inches off the wall and keep it out of corners. Impact noise loves corners. Good luck.

Update: he put down plywood and some type of dense mat, and it is maybe half as loud. Now I hear a lower, boiler-like sound when the belt runs, but I can sleep through it once it starts at 7. He also moved it away from the wall. The light fixture is not swinging anymore, so I am calling it a win. Thanks for the help. I feel less like a building cop now. This thread taught me more about joists than I expected.