sylvain881
New member
Hello all,
I recently bought a condo in California that has squeaking and cracking sounds issues coming from the upstairs unit. The short version of the question is: who is responsible for fixing squeaking/cracking subfloors?
Below is a more comprehensive explanation of the situation:
I have been trying to solve the issue by working with our condo property management company who has asked to perform an Impact Insulation Class (IIC) test using a tapping machine so that they could see if the sound was above the threshold. Unfortunately, this test is very expensive ($5,000) and would not highlight our issue, which is not about sound transmission, but about the subfloor not well attached to the beams (according to a number of contractors' opinions). The noise happens when our neighbors are walking, and are VERY loud: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7j4fvq99h80o8d9/AACirnXfHmaKsSL9L7N9_8Z8a?dl=0
The management company brought the matter to the board, who said they were not interested in taking care of a sound issue that an IIC could not measure. Our condominium CC&R's are silent. So I went to the California Civil Code, and based on section 4185 (b), it seems to me that faulty subfloors may be the HOA responsibility:
“Unless the declaration or condominium plan, if any exists, otherwise provides, if walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a separate interest, the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, and outlets located within the separate interest are part of the separate interest and any other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are part of the common area."
I brought that point to the property management person, who brought it to the HOA attorney who concluded that because there is nothing specifically said about "subfloor" in either the CC&R or Civil Code – therefore it is not clear who is liable, and that the HOA is not liable...
I have reached a dead-end and I have been working on this for the last 8 months. It is still unclear to me who is liable for fixing the subfloor. Anyone?
I recently bought a condo in California that has squeaking and cracking sounds issues coming from the upstairs unit. The short version of the question is: who is responsible for fixing squeaking/cracking subfloors?
Below is a more comprehensive explanation of the situation:
I have been trying to solve the issue by working with our condo property management company who has asked to perform an Impact Insulation Class (IIC) test using a tapping machine so that they could see if the sound was above the threshold. Unfortunately, this test is very expensive ($5,000) and would not highlight our issue, which is not about sound transmission, but about the subfloor not well attached to the beams (according to a number of contractors' opinions). The noise happens when our neighbors are walking, and are VERY loud: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7j4fvq99h80o8d9/AACirnXfHmaKsSL9L7N9_8Z8a?dl=0
The management company brought the matter to the board, who said they were not interested in taking care of a sound issue that an IIC could not measure. Our condominium CC&R's are silent. So I went to the California Civil Code, and based on section 4185 (b), it seems to me that faulty subfloors may be the HOA responsibility:
“Unless the declaration or condominium plan, if any exists, otherwise provides, if walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a separate interest, the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, and outlets located within the separate interest are part of the separate interest and any other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are part of the common area."
I brought that point to the property management person, who brought it to the HOA attorney who concluded that because there is nothing specifically said about "subfloor" in either the CC&R or Civil Code – therefore it is not clear who is liable, and that the HOA is not liable...
I have reached a dead-end and I have been working on this for the last 8 months. It is still unclear to me who is liable for fixing the subfloor. Anyone?