Party wall Sound proofing
Discussion
Hi all,
We live in 30's house with a solid party wall and i'd like to add some sound deading material to the party wall in the bedrooms when we come to do them in a few months. I won't go into why we need it because it's ranting and will divert from this thread but it's all loud shouting at kids and vice versa rather than base or thumping. We're getting both rooms plastered when we do it so happy to take it back to brick and put something onto bare brick but i don't know where to start.
Happy to do the work myself unless it's just some specific plasterboard in which case i'll get the plasterer to do it but i've got no idea where to start looking as the google searches i've been doing haven't brought much back.
Has anyone done this shed any light on material & method they used?
We live in 30's house with a solid party wall and i'd like to add some sound deading material to the party wall in the bedrooms when we come to do them in a few months. I won't go into why we need it because it's ranting and will divert from this thread but it's all loud shouting at kids and vice versa rather than base or thumping. We're getting both rooms plastered when we do it so happy to take it back to brick and put something onto bare brick but i don't know where to start.
Happy to do the work myself unless it's just some specific plasterboard in which case i'll get the plasterer to do it but i've got no idea where to start looking as the google searches i've been doing haven't brought much back.
Has anyone done this shed any light on material & method they used?
How much space are you prepared to lose in building out the wall ?
Are you doing anything with the floor in those rooms ?
What’s your budget ? £10’s, £100’s or £1000’s ?
Sound can be making its way through the wall - but it also finds its way very effectively through any air gaps. Where the floor beams go into the supporting wall is one such potential gap - and the sound can make it’s way between gaps in the floor boards - gaps around radiator pipes, where cables run into the backs of sockets etc.
I guess what I’m saying is it’s difficult and disproportionate - there are some things you can do - like using acoustic sealant - that can have a huge effect for not much outlay assuming the gaps are accessible.
You could build out an isolated stud framework and fill it with sound insulation, but it may not be as effective as you hope if the sound isn’t coming directly through the brickwork.
Have you been up into the loft ? Can you hear more/less up there ?
Are you doing anything with the floor in those rooms ?
What’s your budget ? £10’s, £100’s or £1000’s ?
Sound can be making its way through the wall - but it also finds its way very effectively through any air gaps. Where the floor beams go into the supporting wall is one such potential gap - and the sound can make it’s way between gaps in the floor boards - gaps around radiator pipes, where cables run into the backs of sockets etc.
I guess what I’m saying is it’s difficult and disproportionate - there are some things you can do - like using acoustic sealant - that can have a huge effect for not much outlay assuming the gaps are accessible.
You could build out an isolated stud framework and fill it with sound insulation, but it may not be as effective as you hope if the sound isn’t coming directly through the brickwork.
Have you been up into the loft ? Can you hear more/less up there ?
Thanks for this. I've got about 50mm of wall I'm willing to lose as I can go back to brick.
Floor will have thick underlay and carpet on it, I'm not keen on taking floors up to get to joists but I know where your coming from. I have £100s to play with rather than £1000's and I guess I am not looking for total loss of sound just fairly well insulated so it muffles them and doesn't wake us.
We don't want to move but might have to but then again kids could leave in 5 years roughly so a stop gap might help us.
Floor will have thick underlay and carpet on it, I'm not keen on taking floors up to get to joists but I know where your coming from. I have £100s to play with rather than £1000's and I guess I am not looking for total loss of sound just fairly well insulated so it muffles them and doesn't wake us.
We don't want to move but might have to but then again kids could leave in 5 years roughly so a stop gap might help us.
Ive not done any research, but I’d so something along the lines of-
Walls - build a stud wall in front out of 63mm ClS timber and fill the gaps with some decent sound deadening material.
Floor, fill between the joists with sound deadening material. I would think that you would only have to lift a few floor boards (presuming the most likely way the joists run)
Ceiling - something above the ceiling too.
I would personally do all of it myself apart from the plastering
Walls - build a stud wall in front out of 63mm ClS timber and fill the gaps with some decent sound deadening material.
Floor, fill between the joists with sound deadening material. I would think that you would only have to lift a few floor boards (presuming the most likely way the joists run)
Ceiling - something above the ceiling too.
I would personally do all of it myself apart from the plastering
If you’re replacing the flooring, then I’d fill every gap in the floorboards you can with acoustic sealant - usually comes in 900ml cartridges that look like bigger versions of the silicone ones and you need a gun for them.
I’d also screw down the floorboards whilst your at it - not for sound proofing but to prevent any future squeaking and then put 6mm ply on top and screw at 6” centres and seal that around any gaps. That gives a good base
The weakness with carpet, is that the most vulnerable point for sound ( the perimeters) has no underlay.....
A stud wall is useful to the extent sound is coming through the brick wall - can be [articularly useful for things like sockets - they are often the weak point of a brick wall as far as sound is concerned.
Acoustic insulation in the void and then ideally double board the wall - a layer of acoustic board - sealant on the joints and perimeter then a second layer of fire board - it has a different density s is effective for different frequencies.
Some of this may be overkill/ ineffective, but often you won’t know which bit really worked so the more you can cover the better
I’d also screw down the floorboards whilst your at it - not for sound proofing but to prevent any future squeaking and then put 6mm ply on top and screw at 6” centres and seal that around any gaps. That gives a good base
The weakness with carpet, is that the most vulnerable point for sound ( the perimeters) has no underlay.....
A stud wall is useful to the extent sound is coming through the brick wall - can be [articularly useful for things like sockets - they are often the weak point of a brick wall as far as sound is concerned.
Acoustic insulation in the void and then ideally double board the wall - a layer of acoustic board - sealant on the joints and perimeter then a second layer of fire board - it has a different density s is effective for different frequencies.
Some of this may be overkill/ ineffective, but often you won’t know which bit really worked so the more you can cover the better
Did this a couple of months ago.
First thing to note is you absolutely don’t want to fix anything to the face of the wall as you are then creating a bridge for the vibration, so you need to leave a cavity - the bigger the better.
We left 50mm cavity from face of existing wall then built independent studs using 4x2 inch CLS. Studs were filled with 50mm Isover APR1200 insulation roll, and all gaps between studs and walls were sealed with acoustic mastic from British Gypsum.
We then faced the studs with 2 x 15mm Gyproc Soundbloc boards, before skimming - board joints need to be staggered.
Then stuffed the floor and ceiling void with what was left of the APR1200.
I got all materials for free and did it all myself in a couple of days.
Has it made a difference - yes, absolutely.
Is it perfect and can I still hear the neighbours - yes, but noticeably less than before.
Would I feel ripped off if I’d paid someone a fortune to do it for me - probably.
First thing to note is you absolutely don’t want to fix anything to the face of the wall as you are then creating a bridge for the vibration, so you need to leave a cavity - the bigger the better.
We left 50mm cavity from face of existing wall then built independent studs using 4x2 inch CLS. Studs were filled with 50mm Isover APR1200 insulation roll, and all gaps between studs and walls were sealed with acoustic mastic from British Gypsum.
We then faced the studs with 2 x 15mm Gyproc Soundbloc boards, before skimming - board joints need to be staggered.
Then stuffed the floor and ceiling void with what was left of the APR1200.
I got all materials for free and did it all myself in a couple of days.
Has it made a difference - yes, absolutely.
Is it perfect and can I still hear the neighbours - yes, but noticeably less than before.
Would I feel ripped off if I’d paid someone a fortune to do it for me - probably.
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