Una Tubes Interview: How to Avoid Buying a Noisy Apartment

Una Tubes Interview

Before You Buy an Apartment: What You Need to Know About Building Acoustics

Many people assume that purchasing an apartment unit on a high floor automatically guarantees peace and quiet from the bustling city below. However, the reality is that many new owners only discover severe noise disturbances after they have officially moved in. Retrofitting acoustic insulation post-construction is incredibly expensive—sometimes costing as much as a major structural renovation.

To help you avoid this costly investment mistake, building physics and acoustic consultant Herwin Gunawan shares an essential guide and an acoustic checklist that every buyer must consider before signing an apartment lease or purchase agreement.

The 3 Primary Sources of Apartment Noise

In general, the noise that disrupts the comfort of your apartment unit can be classified into three main categories:

1. External Noise (Outside the Building)

This type of noise originates from the environment surrounding the apartment complex. The common culprits include:

• Heavy highway traffic (cars, motorcycles, or commercial trucks).

• Public transportation routes, such as nearby railway tracks or flight paths for airplanes.

• Surrounding commercial activity, nightlife venues (clubs, karaoke bars), or neighborhood community activities.

Pro Tip: Conduct a thorough assessment of the building's exterior surroundings. Next, evaluate the building envelope (façade), paying close attention to the thickness of the window glass and the airtightness of the window frames. Ensure the windows are perfectly sealed; any air leakage means a sound leakage. The performance rating used to measure how well a building facade blocks outdoor noise is called OITC (Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class).

2. Inter-Unit Noise (Neighbor-to-Neighbor)

This is the most frequent complaint in high-rise, vertical living environments. Noise transfer between neighboring units is split into two types of transmission:

• Impact Noise: Structural vibrations such as footsteps from the unit above, dragging furniture (chairs/tables), or objects dropping onto the floor. A floor/ceiling assembly's ability to attenuate this structural impact is rated by the IIC (Impact Insulation Class) standard.

• Airborne Noise: Sound traveling through the air and walls, such as neighbors talking loudly, arguments, televisions, loud music, or barking dogs. The capability of an interior partition wall to block airborne sound is measured by STC (Sound Transmission Class).

Pro Tip: Ask the developer or property agent directly for the certified STC ratings of the partition walls separating the units, as well as the IIC ratings between floors. If the seller lacks this data, you can hire an independent third-party acoustic professional to conduct an on-site insulation test before finalized handovers.

3. Mechanical, Electrical, & Plumbing (MEP) Equipment Noise

Internal building noise is often generated by the operational systems of the tower itself, including:

• Heavy MEP equipment such as chillers, backup generators, AC compressors, AHUs (Air Handling Units), or poorly designed ventilation ducting.

• Elevator operations, including mechanical structural vibrations from the lift shafts or the audible "ding-dong" floor indicators near the doors.

• Shared amenities like swimming pools or internal commercial entertainment areas. High-velocity water flow or bass frequencies can travel through the concrete structure (structure-borne noise) right into your living room.

Pro Tip: MEP noise is typically identified by a low-frequency humming or droning sound that resonates throughout the room without an obvious directional source. For hallway or elevator lobby noise, check the quality of your unit's main entrance door. Ensure the front door has an adequate acoustic core and perimeter drop-seals to prevent footsteps or conversations in the corridor from leaking inside.

Conclusion: Be a Smarter Consumer

The ultimate key to acoustic comfort is to inspect thoroughly before you buy. Do not rely solely on property viewings scheduled during quiet off-peak hours (such as 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM), when traffic is light, amenities are empty, and neighbors are out at work. An apartment unit that feels peaceful on a Tuesday afternoon might become loud and unlivable on a weekend night.

Create a potential noise source checklist, study the unit's orientation, and request structural material specification sheets from the developer. Preventing a bad acoustic purchase is vastly cheaper than attempting a structural soundproofing remodel later, which can quickly drain tens or hundreds of millions of rupiah.

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Banyak orang berasumsi bahwa membeli unit apartemen di lantai tinggi menjamin ketenangan dari hiruk-pikuk kota. Namun, kenyataannya banyak pemilik apartemen baru menyadari adanya gangguan suara atau kebisingan yang parah setelah mereka resmi tinggal di sana. Biaya untuk memperbaiki kebocoran suara pasca-konstruksi sangatlah mahal—bahkan bisa setara dengan harga unit itu sendiri.

Untuk menghindari kesalahan investasi tersebut, Herwin Gunawan, seorang konsultan akustik dan fisika bangunan, membagikan panduan esensial dan checklist akustik yang wajib diperhatikan sebelum Anda memutuskan membeli unit apartemen.

3 Sumber Utama Kebisingan di Apartemen

Secara umum, kebisingan yang masuk dan mengganggu kenyamanan unit apartemen Anda dapat diklasifikasikan ke dalam tiga kategori utama:

1. Suara Eksternal (Luar Bangunan) [01:34]

Sumber kebisingan ini berasal dari lingkungan sekitar gedung apartemen. Faktor-faktor pemicunya antara lain:

• Kepadatan lalu lintas jalan raya (kendaraan bermotor atau truk).

• Jalur lintasan transportasi publik seperti kereta api atau jalur penerbangan pesawat terbang.

• Aktivitas area komersial atau hiburan malam (seperti club atau karaoke) serta rumah ibadah di sekitar kawasan.

Tips Solusi: Lakukan identifikasi menyeluruh terhadap lingkungan luar gedung. Selanjutnya, periksa kualitas selubung bangunan (façade) terutama ketebalan kaca jendela dan kerapatan kusen [02:34]. Pastikan jendela memiliki sistem kedap udara (airtight) yang baik agar gelombang suara luar tidak menyusup masuk. Kualitas insulasi dari luar ke dalam ini diukur dengan nilai OITC (Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class) [07:46].

2. Suara Antar-Unit (Tetangga) [03:11]

Masalah ini adalah keluhan yang paling sering terjadi di lingkungan vertikal. Gangguan suara antar tetangga terbagi menjadi dua tipe rambatan:

• Impact Noise (Suara Benturan): Suara langkah kaki dari lantai atas, pergeseran furnitur (kursi/meja), atau barang jatuh [03:38]. Kemampuan lantai meredam getaran benturan ini disebut dengan standar IIC (Impact Insulation Class) [05:54].

• Airborne Noise (Suara Udara): Suara tetangga sebelah yang sedang berbicara/berantem, suara televisi, musik keras, hingga suara peliharaan (gonggongan anjing) [04:29]. Kemampuan dinding partisi dalam menahan suara udara ini disebut STC (Sound Transmission Class) [06:20].

Tips Solusi: Tanyakan langsung kepada pihak developer atau agen penjual mengenai spesifikasi angka STC dinding partisi antar-unit dan rating IIC antar-lantai bangunan [06:44]. Jika mereka tidak memiliki data tersebut, Anda dapat menggunakan jasa pihak ketiga profesional untuk melakukan pengukuran performa insulasi suara secara langsung sebelum serah terima unit [07:07].

3. Suara Fasilitas & Peralatan Mekanikal (MEP) [08:26]

Kebisingan internal ini dihasilkan oleh sistem operasional gedung itu sendiri, seperti:

• Peralatan MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) seperti mesin chiller, genset, kompresor AC, AHU (Air Handling Unit), atau desain sistem ducting udara yang kurang baik [08:36].

• Aktivitas operasional lift (getaran mekanis lift atau suara "ting-tong" indikator lantai) [08:49].

• Fasilitas penunjang seperti area kolam renang atau pusat hiburan di dalam apartemen. Getaran air berkecepatan tinggi atau dentuman musik dari fasilitas internal dapat merambat melalui struktur beton (structure-borne noise) langsung ke dalam unit Anda [09:26].

Tips Solusi: Kebisingan MEP umumnya dicirikan oleh suara dengung (humming noise) bernada rendah yang getarannya terasa di dalam ruangan tanpa arah sumber yang jelas [10:31]. Untuk kebisingan dari koridor atau area lift, perhatikan kualitas daun pintu unit Anda; pastikan pintu memiliki insulasi akustik yang memadai untuk menghalau suara langkah kaki atau obrolan orang yang melintas di koridor depan unit [11:09].

Konklusi: Jadilah Konsumen yang Lebih Cerdas [11:41]

Kunci utama kenyamanan akustik adalah teliti sebelum membeli. Jangan hanya mengandalkan survei unit pada jam-jam tenang (seperti jam 2 atau 3 siang) di mana lalu lintas sedang renggang dan fasilitas hiburan atau tetangga belum aktif beroperasi [12:06]. Unit yang tampak damai di siang hari bisa berubah menjadi sangat bising di malam hari saat semua orang pulang ke rumah atau pusat hiburan mulai beroperasi.

Buatlah checklist potensi sumber bising, pelajari orientasi unit, dan mintalah jaminan spesifikasi material yang kedap suara ke pihak pengembang. Mencegah kesalahan pemilihan unit jauh lebih hemat dibandingkan melakukan renovasi akustik total yang bisa memakan biaya hingga puluhan atau ratusan juta rupiah [12:40].

Tonton Video Selengkapnya di YouTube:

Untuk penjelasan detail serta visualisasi tips dari Herwin Gunawan, saksikan video lengkapnya di kanal Una Tubes: Tips Memilih Apartemen yang Nyaman Secara Akustik.