Is laminate really noisy?

[UpsyDaisy77]

I have just moved into my first home, a top floor Victorian era tenement flat. There is really old brown swirly carpet throughout and I was planning on putting down laminate in living room, hall & kitchen/diner but my mum has been freaking me out telling me that the laminate is really noisy and my downstairs neighbour will hate me
Originally l had planned to have laminate underlay laid on top of the original carpet underlay but the shop l am buying the flooring from has told me this isn't a good idea as they are different kinds of underlay? I have purchased 5mm thick underlay but have been looking online and see that there is audio reducing underlay that can be used, does anyone have any recommendations?

I live alone, no kids and l am generally very quiet and wear slippers indoors but still keen not to upset my new neighbours. The downstairs neighbor is an older retired lady and l get the feeling she could be difficult if l upset her

Karndean is expensive, but so worth it if you can do it
(Other vinyls are available! 😁😁)

@Upsy Don't panic/make self miserable. At least you're considerate enough to care and ask for advice. It's hard making these choices for the first time. Also we could maybe hope that downstairs being elderly might have poor hearing don't count on this obviously but you never know.

Are you sure your flat is freehold OP? Freehold flats are quite unusual. Are you sure it's not share of freehold of the entire building? (which is much more common) If it's a share of freehold flat, you will also be a leaseholder so you WILL be subject to the T&C of the lease.

I'm not disbelieving you about your flat being freehold but given you weren't aware of the issues with laminate/wooden floors, I'm a little doubtful that you fully understand the intricacies of leasehold vs share of freehold vs freehold flats. If you don't understand, you need to look into this and get up to speed quickly.

Laminate floor upstairs will make you an ASBO neighbour. Please don't do that to the woman living downstairs.

If you're set on hard floor, this site explains quite well the sort of steps needed for it to be quiet. www.soundservice.co.uk/part_e_timber_suspended_floor_R-10.html

Suddenly acoustic underlay and carpet seems a good option...