I don't know why we don't build with concrete like the rest of the world ... that should give us a higher noise isolation than wood

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pwg 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Concrete is more expensive to build with than wood, and many "apartment buildings" are built with a target towards "minimum possible build cost".

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toast0 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Majority construction anywhere is whatever can be built with the least cost.

In the US and Canada timber framing for buildings under about 6 feet is least cost. Other places without a lot of timber availability tend to build with other things.

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mayoff 7 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm pretty sure you meant something other than "buildings under about 6 feet".

	▲	rationalist 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I think they meant what they wrote, they just forgot some punctuation. 'timber framing (for buildings) under about 6 feet'
	▲	quickthrowman 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I assume they meant “five-over-one”, five floors of stick built (framed with dimensional lumber, not timber) apartments on top of a concrete and steel first floor. Timber framing is something else entirely, you can construct buildings taller than six stories with engineered wood products. > The mid-rise buildings are normally constructed with four or five wood-frame stories above a concrete podium, usually for retail or resident amenity space. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-over-1

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tpm 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A bit higher possibly, but from firsthand experience let me tell you it's not enough by far. Effective noise isolation does not magically arise from used materials, it has to be planned and included in the building project. And it makes the building more expensive.