Soundproofing your home, what were your results??

[Evil.soup]

First off, can I ask the mods to leave this thread in the general section as its targeted at those that have soundproofed their home but may never visit the DIY section, thanks.

I am considering soundproofing my home against noise from the neighbours but I am still undecided if its worth doing, so I am after your input. I have had some great advice from a previous thread but it was mainly in relation to solutions and the technical aspects of soundproofing. What I am after here are real first hand accounts.

I need to hear from you if you have had problems with your neighbours and soundproofed your home. I need to know if it worked or not and just a little about your solution. It would also be great if you could give an idea of the problem just to see if it compares to the situation I am in.

I am considering soundproofing every inch of the wall that joins my neighbour in every room so its important I make the right choice so I need your help. I have put in the poll for quick reference.

Many thanks in advance

[Evil.soup]

Anything?

[Prof Prolapse]

I went for a new house. Worked a treat.

[Cupramax]

Evil.soup said:

First off, can I ask the mods to leave this thread in the general section as its targeted at those that have soundproofed their home but may never visit the DIY section, thanks.

I am considering soundproofing my home against noise from the neighbours but I am still undecided if its worth doing, so I am after your input. I have had some great advice from a previous thread but it was mainly in relation to solutions and the technical aspects of soundproofing. What I am after here are real first hand accounts.

I need to hear from you if you have had problems with your neighbours and soundproofed your home. I need to know if it worked or not and just a little about your solution. It would also be great if you could give an idea of the problem just to see if it compares to the situation I am in.

I am considering soundproofing every inch of the wall that joins my neighbour in every room so its important I make the right choice so I need your help. I have put in the poll for quick reference.

Many thanks in advance

I'm awaiting a quote from a specialist currently to carry out a similar project for my parents, noisey neighbour next door in a semi... you also need to consider the loft area.

[rohrl]

Some mates of mine soundproofed a double garage to use as a band practice room when we were teenagers and the egg box and old carpets nailed to the wall method worked a treat. Seek and Destroy at 120dB inside, nary a whisper outside. Whether or not you want egg boxes and carpets nailed to your party wall is a decision only you can make. Personally I'd consider talking to your neighbours, who may have no idea that they're disturbing you, or buying ear-plugs first.

[forzaminardi]

rohrl said:

Some mates of mine soundproofed a double garage to use as a band practice room when we were teenagers and the egg box and old carpets nailed to the wall method worked a treat. Seek and Destroy at 120dB inside, nary a whisper outside. Whether or not you want egg boxes and carpets nailed to your party wall is a decision only you can make. Personally I'd consider talking to your neighbours, who may have no idea that they're disturbing you, or buying ear-plugs first.

Putting carpet on your walls means you won't spill paint on the carpet when you're decorating - bonus!

[Evil.soup]

rohrl said:

Some mates of mine soundproofed a double garage to use as a band practice room when we were teenagers and the egg box and old carpets nailed to the wall method worked a treat. Seek and Destroy at 120dB inside, nary a whisper outside. Whether or not you want egg boxes and carpets nailed to your party wall is a decision only you can make. Personally I'd consider talking to your neighbours, who may have no idea that they're disturbing you, or buying ear-plugs first.

I have spoken to them and it is much better but the house is poorly built in the first place so its general household noise that comes through, even average volume voices so it isn't something that can be fixed in that way unless I kill them off.

Egg boxes wasn't my thinking either but an independant acoustic wall infront of the other, thanks for the tip all the same though;)

[Evil.soup]

Cupramax said:

Evil.soup said:

First off, can I ask the mods to leave this thread in the general section as its targeted at those that have soundproofed their home but may never visit the DIY section, thanks.

I am considering soundproofing my home against noise from the neighbours but I am still undecided if its worth doing, so I am after your input. I have had some great advice from a previous thread but it was mainly in relation to solutions and the technical aspects of soundproofing. What I am after here are real first hand accounts.

I need to hear from you if you have had problems with your neighbours and soundproofed your home. I need to know if it worked or not and just a little about your solution. It would also be great if you could give an idea of the problem just to see if it compares to the situation I am in.

I am considering soundproofing every inch of the wall that joins my neighbour in every room so its important I make the right choice so I need your help. I have put in the poll for quick reference.

Many thanks in advance

I'm awaiting a quote from a specialist currently to carry out a similar project for my parents, noisey neighbour next door in a semi... you also need to consider the loft area.

I will be interested to hear how that turns out! I have thought about the attic but it is quite well insulated with 2 layers of rockwool and filled with tons of crap. Its an area I was going to leave out at first to see if I can get away with avoiding it.

Do you have any idea as to what your parents have in mind as a solution, i.e. independant free floating wall or soundproof boards directly on the wall?




Its nice to see the mods were paying attention to my first post too........................not!!

[Bill]

Evil.soup said:

Its nice to see the mods were paying attention to my first post too........................not!!

Sorry, I thought you'd worked out why we have the sub-forums after most of a day without reply.

[Evil.soup]

Bill said:

Evil.soup said:

Its nice to see the mods were paying attention to my first post too........................not!!

Sorry, I thought you'd worked out why we have the sub-forums after most of a day without reply.

Fair point but I guess you see where I was coming from as not everyone that has done this will spend time on the DIY thread;)

[Cupramax]

Evil.soup said:

Do you have any idea as to what your parents have in mind as a solution, i.e. independant free floating wall or soundproof boards directly on the wall?

They dont, being in their 80's sound insulation technology in buildings is not one of their strong points, hence I have a specialist quoting me. Expecting some info back from him by the end of the week. Apparently its a fast moving technology with new products coming out all the time but as you say floating is always likely to be best due to isolation from the source of the sound.

[Bill]

Evil.soup said:

Fair point but I guess you see where I was coming from as not everyone that has done this will spend time on the DIY thread;)

True, but here you're more likely to find people who took an interest in what went on.

There's also been a similar thread fairly recently.

[masteryoda]

I’ve “sound proofed” every room along my party wall in a 1930s Semi. Current neighbours are fine, last house was a nightmare so as part of renovations I built isolated stud walls an inch away from the existing part wall. I used sound proofing insulation between the studs and 2 x sheets of 12.5mm acoustic (blue) plasterboard.

Next door have small dogs that used to seem as though they were in my house when then yapped. Now they are audible but distanced if that makes sense. The house being a 1930s style has fireplaces which haven’t had any treatment and it also shares a lintel across the bays which both transmit sound (I did wrap acoustic insulation around the lintel).

The sound proofing has done nothing for impact noise though (slamming doors) which I can hear as clearly as before and is also my biggest irritant.

My advice would be save the hassle and buy a detached house. If that’s just not possible at this stage then sound proof, there are some results to be had on the non-impact type noise reduction.

Matt

[Evil.soup]

masteryoda said:

I’ve “sound proofed” every room along my party wall in a 1930s Semi. Current neighbours are fine, last house was a nightmare so as part of renovations I built isolated stud walls an inch away from the existing part wall. I used sound proofing insulation between the studs and 2 x sheets of 12.5mm acoustic (blue) plasterboard.

Next door have small dogs that used to seem as though they were in my house when then yapped. Now they are audible but distanced if that makes sense. The house being a 1930s style has fireplaces which haven’t had any treatment and it also shares a lintel across the bays which both transmit sound (I did wrap acoustic insulation around the lintel).

The sound proofing has done nothing for impact noise though (slamming doors) which I can hear as clearly as before and is also my biggest irritant.

My advice would be save the hassle and buy a detached house. If that’s just not possible at this stage then sound proof, there are some results to be had on the non-impact type noise reduction.

Matt

That sounds like the situation I am in at the moment although the impact doesnt bother me as much as television and the sound of people talking. Moving is the ideal solution but right now I just cannot afford it.

I have the same solution in mind all bar one room where I csnnot fit an independent wall. Thanks for the reply though, it has given me the confidence to go with my idea. Its pretty clear its not a solution but it will make a difference by the sounds of things!!

[masteryoda]

I was the same, I wanted a detached house really but couldn't afford it at that stage

There are other solutions if you're short of space though - have you seen those resilient bars? When I was doing my research I think the key is to create an air space between old and new wall (assuming your current walls are solid - if cavity you create a triple leaf affect, making sound transmission worse!). You fix the bars to the wall and the plasterboard to the protruding part of the bar, creating a small 1-2cm gap that can be filled with insulation.

There are solutions where you stick stuff walls (i think the idea is to add mass to deaden the sound). I haven't experienced this though.

Cheers
Matt

[Evil.soup]

masteryoda said:

I was the same, I wanted a detached house really but couldn't afford it at that stage

There are other solutions if you're short of space though - have you seen those resilient bars? When I was doing my research I think the key is to create an air space between old and new wall (assuming your current walls are solid - if cavity you create a triple leaf affect, making sound transmission worse!). You fix the bars to the wall and the plasterboard to the protruding part of the bar, creating a small 1-2cm gap that can be filled with insulation.

There are solutions where you stick stuff walls (i think the idea is to add mass to deaden the sound). I haven't experienced this though.

Cheers
Matt

It was the resiliance bars that I had in mind attached to the independent new wall. I am looking to leave a 25mm gap between the old and new wall and fit 50mm acoustic wool in the cavity of the stud wall. I will fit resiliance bars to this with a 12mm and 19mm layer of acoustic plaster board. I will go into the floor also just to fill in next to the wall with 100mm acoustic wool.

The one room i have a problem with doesn't have enough space next to the window to put in an independent wall so i was considering the resiliance bars or possibly just 2-3 layers of acoustic plaster board with the floor packed as above.

I think I have reached the point now where I either do it or just try to live with it but its probably worth the cost to see if it helps as moving just isn't on the cards at the moment.

Did you do the work yourself or buy it in?

[FourWheelDrift]

Evil.soup said:

Fair point but I guess you see where I was coming from as not everyone that has done this will spend time on the DIY thread;)

You originally posted it in General Gassing, which is for car related threads only so it was never going to stay in there.

[masteryoda]

ah I see, try the extra layers of acoustic boards in the room with the window problem - it will add mass so will cut out some frequencies.

I did the work myself, except the plastering. I was pulling the ceilings down as well and replacing with plasterboard so it was easy to find the joists to secure my new stud wall structure too. Work out which way your joints run (opposite way to floor boards if you have then) and then poke holes in the ceiling (behind where the stud wall will go!) to find joists.

When building the stud frame don't secure in any way to the walls (only to joists/floor boards). The structure needs to be rigid but with some movement to absorb vibrations. I used acoustic mastic to fill air gaps around the perimeter of the plaster board.

You don't necessarily need to get a plasterer in (mine only only charged an extra £30 to do the party wall on top of the ceiling he was already doing). Instead you can tape and joint the joints (make sure you get tapered edged boards though). Use Gyproc tape and joint plaster for this - it's quite forgiving and easy to rub smooth if you're a novice like me!

[Evil.soup]

masteryoda said:

ah I see, try the extra layers of acoustic boards in the room with the window problem - it will add mass so will cut out some frequencies.

I did the work myself, except the plastering. I was pulling the ceilings down as well and replacing with plasterboard so it was easy to find the joists to secure my new stud wall structure too. Work out which way your joints run (opposite way to floor boards if you have then) and then poke holes in the ceiling (behind where the stud wall will go!) to find joists.

When building the stud frame don't secure in any way to the walls (only to joists/floor boards). The structure needs to be rigid but with some movement to absorb vibrations. I used acoustic mastic to fill air gaps around the perimeter of the plaster board.

You don't necessarily need to get a plasterer in (mine only only charged an extra £30 to do the party wall on top of the ceiling he was already doing). Instead you can tape and joint the joints (make sure you get tapered edged boards though). Use Gyproc tape and joint plaster for this - it's quite forgiving and easy to rub smooth if you're a novice like me!

thanks for the info. i will be doing the job myself too and had in mind to do exactly what you described. did you use resiliance bars in your wall? If you dont mind, where did you get the supplies from? I have a place in mind that will supply everything including the metal stud supplies.

Edited by Evil.soup on Saturday 7th July 17:09

[ssol]

I have read the previous comments with interest and agree the best way to soundproof a party wall is by installing an independent soundproofed stud wall. With older houses with existing fireplaces and chimney breasts the results will not be as good compared to walls without them. This is because the chimney breast has a direct link to the other side of the party wall allowing easier transmission of noise through it, even with the fireplace blocked up. The only real solution to overcome this is to install the independent stud wall in front of the chimney breast but rooms are usually not big enough to lose that much space so a compromise must be met.

It was also interesting to read about the Resilient Bar system. Basically there are two, one which has a depth of 15mm and another, the GenieClip system with a larger depth of about 45mm before any plasterboard is attached. The first one is only designed to be attached to the underside of joists for ceilings and a frame or batten system for walls. Battens should be at least 50mm deep and infilled with acoustic mineral wool. Fixing the smaller resilient bars directly to a wall's surface will not give any significant improvements and could also make the noise problem worse. Whereas the GenieClip system can be fitted direct and has been proved to give a worthwhile reduction in noise transmission from the other side of the wall to which it is fitted. Although it is not essential to fit mineral wool within the void a further improvement would be gained if it is included.

Flanking noise will always be a problem and this is where noise flanks around the soundproofed wall through the structure of the house, through chimney breasts, hollow floors and ceilings and adjoined walls. Post war houses are particularly bad for this because of their cavity wall system which allows easier transmission of noise. That is why there was no perceivable reduction in the sound of slamming doors mentioned earlier on, because the noise is being transmitted through the structure of the building. Blown mineral wool cavity wall insulation will help as will acoustic mineral wool installed between the floor and ceiling joists adjacent to the party wall. Adding another layer of high density blue plasterboard to the ceiling will add mass and therefore be more efficient at blocking noise from above. Adding more mass to the floor will help address the same issue from below and this is easiest done with the application of layers of high density soundproofing mats.

It is also possible to upgrade any attached walls with a thinner soundproofing solution but this will of course add to the costs and in many cases would be out of budget but could be considered in the future.

Sorry to take so long over this post but thought the points I have mentioned are valid and should be read. Oh and with regard to egg boxes and carpet on the walls of a garage to contain the noise from bands, any perceived benefit will only be in the mind. Egg boxes and carpets have no real soundproofing value although the pile of carpets will absorb higher frequency noise to a degree but the low end frequencies, the ones that annoy neighbours will always be heard. The only real solution to soundproof a garage is to build a room within a room but that is more information that I can refer to another time.