Sound insulation

S

sparkyspike

Our semi-detached neighbour has decided to convert his loft but the firewall is not very thick so we can hear them next door. Plus the main party wall is not particularly sound resistant either. I think it's 9" solid. Question is, is there a sound insulation which could actually work? I intend to insulate the whole party wall and dry-line over the top. I've only seen the Rocksil type insulation; is that a good one to use? I don't want to have to use anything too thick though, as we don't want to lose width on the stairs. Also, once I've chosen the insulation, would it be a problem to screw the plasterboard straight into the wall, or would that transmit the sound through the screws and into the board? I could always use rubber screws... :confused: There must be a sound insulation expert out there somewhere :D
 
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weight and sound muffling are important elements of sound deadening. dense materials coupled with voluminous lightweight materials are an ideal combination. i.e. twin layer plasterboard fixed to studwork with a rockwool filling.

you are right in assuming, anything fixed to the masonry is likely to transmit sound, as are any joists or ceiling timbers that are fixed into the party wall, i'm afraid.

you mentioned loft conversion? does your neighbour and yourself have a party wall agreement?
 
We may have, I'm not sure. At any rate we intend to convert our loft also, but we'll be doing it through Building Regs unlike next door who are doing a cheap job. So we'll be insulating our side of the firewall in the loft soon anyway. The trouble is, at the moment the sound is entering our loft and as we have insulation between the rafters rather than above the ceiling, the sound is coming through the ceiling! The problem of sound through the main party wall is probably a separate issue. In any event we'll have to insulate both the main party wall and the firewall.

You mentioned using studwork to frame the insulation and plasterboard. Could I not just screw the plasterboard through the insulation (if it's a solid type) without using studwork, effectively clamping it to the wall, as I suspect wood transmits sound quite well.

And what's the best make of insulation (taking into account we can't have anything too thick)?
 

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