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The particularly frustrating part is that is usually way cheaper to put sound barriers during construction, than retrofitting later on.

We have been discussing this with my neighbors. We are both committed to eventually pull the trigger to retrofit, but the initial estimate is $70K and one apartment being under heavy construction for months...

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I’m struggling to understand how something along the lines of ripping out the existing drywall, rebuilding a few walls worth of framing with offset studs, and filling them with rockwool would remotely approach $70k for maybe 40 feet of wall in an apartment / condo. $10k, sure, that’s easy. What is the contractor proposing?

Maybe you should arrange to do it at the same time and get temporary rentals somewhere else.

Presumably you're doing a shared wall, but having the plumber or electrician out for two jobs is probably cheaper than having them out twice, right? Especially since there will be similarities in the levels of stupid they find in the walls.

It is a floor/ceiling situation. But the floor as a nice old intricate hardwood floor, and ripping it off would be a shame. Looks like we can do the sound insulation fro the ceiling of the apartment downstairs, but

1. It requires the occupants to vacate

2. It is expensive

3. It is difficult to estimate the change it would actually provide

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