For those who have used bumper plates w/ platform

[HitItHard]

Here is the deal and this might be a long writeup so please bare with me:


I live in the bottom floor of an apartment building. This would not even be an issue if I was on the 2nd of 3rd floors but since I am on the bottom I think it changes the issue quite a bit. I know our floors can handle a bunch of weight from experience because I have a 55 gallon aquarium filled to the top on top of a 100 pound aquarium stand made out of oak in my living room. So I know it can handle weight but that is not my specific issue.

Right now in my room (we live in a 2 bedroom, my room only has 1) my dresser 2) a small fish tank on top of that dresser 3) a small desk with computer and last but not least 4) a body solid powerline power rack, which is on top of a 4x8 slab of plywood covered in puzzle piece flooring. Also next to the power rack I have over 400 pounds of weights, a safety squat bar, and my other crap bar that I bought from dicks that came in my weight set.

I have been thinking lately about selling my power rack so that I can do the following:

Buy squat stands (less room, portable)
Add in 3 more pieces of plywood (to make a platform, I already have 1 of the 4 pieces needed)
Buy 2 horse stall mats to complete the platform
Buy a budget olympic set from Wichita Falls Club from Glenn Pendlay which includes a good oly bar and 100% rubber bumpers.

If I sell my powerrack I can buy the squat stands and come out with a little more money that I had to begin with. So the only things I techinically would need to buy would be the rest of the wood, stall mats, and oly set.

Now, this whole idea is a moot point if I went to all that trouble to build a platform and get 100% rubber bumpers if, even with the precautions of a good platform with 2 layers of wood, stall mats and bumpers, there was too much noise created when dropping the weights. Considering I live in an apartment I don't want it to be an extremely loud thump and really have no idea how much noise the platform would kill nor how much noise the weights would create, even if they WERE rubber.

So what I am asking is this:

for those who have lifted on a good quality platform with good rubber bumpers (I know some make more than others, these would be 100% rubber and would bounce a little more so they might be more quiet) how loud is it? Would I be able to theoretically oly lift in my room and be able to drop weights without it feeling like an earthquake for everyone above me? Or would it not be as bad and the noise just be a loud bang but nothing that extreme? I just don't want to go to all this trouble then come to find out the first time I drop some weights that BOOOOOOOM ~vibrate~ its incredibly loud because then I would have invested a bunch of my time and more importantly money for something I can't really use.

Thanks for the help.

[raffiki]

It will still be loud. When I lived in an apartment I got in trouble for playing my bass through a guitar amp that was turned down so low I could hardly hear. In the middle of the day!

Here is your best option: http://www.geocities.com/washingtonw...nforaQuiet.htm

How much cushion you use will depend on your ceiling height. I don't have any first hand experience, but it's something to think about.

[Cheetah]

It probably makes a difference to know how much weight you will be dropping.

[raffiki]

It probably makes a difference to know how much weight you will be dropping.

I haven't used a decibel meter, but it doesn't seem to matter much after a point.

[Arlecchino]

Loud. You will probably get threatening phone calls and letters if you do not get evicted.