Soundproofing experts - low profile wall/ceiling options?

Dear all,

I’m looking all over for a low profile wall soundproofing solution for my flat. there are quite a few products out there for low profile sound proofing, like gyproc triline and Acara panels which perform very well but are expensive.

The noise is general talking and loud footsteps and I have 1920s red brick walls with no cavities, I plan to have the old render removed and the walls skimmed with soundcoat.

I also want to have the ceilings treated but again I want to preserve some ceiling height, keep it under 40mm. The ceilings have about 20mm of render and then what I assume is concrete because its a very hard substance and the floors are also concrete. I would like to remove the old render and then replace with something like 10mm soundcoat if thats advisable.

I don’t want to lose more than 30/40mm wall space because I'd end up living in a box. I've spoken to Gyproc about using soundbloc plaster and two layers of soudbloc but they told me that it would not have any effect, I'd be lucky if I got a 1db improvement! So back to the drawing board, I'm trying to decide between:

Walls

1.Coat bare brick with gyproc soundcoat plus 5mm, attach resilient bars at 400mm spaces to the walls protected by neoprene tape, fill spaces with smallest acoustic mineral wool panels (25mm?) and finish with 1 layer of soundbloc plasterboard. Will the mineral wool compress?

2.Coat bare brick with soundcoat plus plaster max 5mm. Attach one layer of 12.5mm soundbloc plasterboard, glue one layer of 2kg acoustic rubber membrane, then finish with another layer of blueboard 12.5mm.

Ceiling (low profile):

1. Use gypliner set to 25mm height straight to concrete ceiling (no cavity) protected by rubber tape (to stop noise transmission) at 600mm spaces. Infill spaces with 25mm acoustic mineral wool. Finish with 15mm soundbloc.
2. Same as above except using resilient bars straight to concrete but using neoprene tape to dampen vibrations.

I’d like to know based on experience if possible what kind of performance I would get from the above. My builder has noted that damp ingress might be a problem when using res bars and mineral wool, would I need to cover the whole thing with a DPM sheet?

Please take a look at the photo of a hole i chipped in the ceiling, does that look like concrete under the render? www.diynot.com/network/angrysmurf/albums/


Thank you so much to all who reply!
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Sorry I `m only an expert @ Making Noise - after sprouts @ Christmas ...Have you talked to Father Abraham about your Aural distress. Please feel free to join the multitude of forum members who put me on Ignore Merry Christmas, I hope you get an answer

Thanks Nige! Is there really a Father Abraham or is it a joke I dont get? Are you saying I should speak to a Catholic priest about my noise problems? Merry Christmas to you and everyone!

What you propose won't do much but will be ok for speech, useful for when slagging off the neighbours or formulating 'secret plans'

I'm talking about option 1. Don't bother adding anything to the walls prior to the resibar, your layer of soundcoat should go on the finished wall. Don't need neoprene strips in this instance either, the resibar itself is a dampener PROVIDED YOU INSTALL IT CORRECTLY < v.important.
The mineral wool will compress but not by much. You should leave a slight gap, 5mm should do around the wall perimeter and fill with acoustic sealant.

Same for ceiling as for walls. Again no neoprene. You could also use 15 or 19mm plasterboard if you can afford the extra few mm lost.

I don't see how resibar will introduce damp, unless you are in a basement with tanked walls. In which case your only neighbours will be moles and worms!
If your builder hasn't used resibar before then get him to RTFM before commencing work. Otherwise you will end up wanting to punch his lights out when you find out that it doesn't work due to bad practice.

Thanks Deluks

Are you saying soundcoat on over plasterboard and resi bars?

Gyproc think that soundcoat and double board would do sod all, so I found a rubber membrane only 3mm thick which I could sandwich between the plasterboard.

Do you think that gypliner is a better product for acoustic ceiling installations or resi bars?

Happy xmas!

Resibar is specifically for soundproofing applications so use that, it is designed to physically decouple the plasterboard from the existing wall/ceiling. So is the rubber membrane but you only need to decouple once and the bar performs better.
An airgap filled with mineral wool is better than just adding plasterboard directly to the existing wall.

Thanks Delux,

I wanted to try applying resi bars direct to a skimmed wall without battens. I thought of using mineral wool but its usually thicker than the resi bar so what do you think will happen if I compress it, is that ok? I would then finish with just one layer of soundbloc plasterboard, its complex which is why i looked at the rubber membrane sandwich.

Hi,

Sorry to drag up an oldish thread, but I'm currently very close to punching my neighbours, but before I do I'm giving serious thought to soundproofing my wall.

I've had a quote for M20AD panels - bit of a joke - so I'm resigned to the fact that I will have to lose some roomspace to keep my sanity.

My dad's an old shool joiner and tells me putting up a stud wall with a 100mm airgap will sort out most probs for far less money, and looking here I see the resibar solution may be the best to go for, but I was wondering - given that it is a flexible bar that absorbs the sound, does this mean the plasterboard mounted to it will also be quite "bendy" ?

Or will it be quite sturdy and able to mount a picture on it, etc..? Will it be able to take 2 layers of plasterboard, in which case this would make it more sturdy ?

Sorry for the daft questions, just getting to the end of my tether.

No the wall won't be noticably springy. You can hang 2 layers on there, you need to follow the manufacturers guidelines for spacings with rspect to exta sheets. Too much weight and you lose the 'resilience' (springyness) and thus the soundproofing.

Your old man's not wrong though. If you used 3x2 timber spaced 1" away from the wall, that would give you the 4" gap. The airgap is measured from the wall to the back of the plasterboard, not wall to studwork.

Thanks for the quick reply Deluks, I'll give this some serious consideration.

I'm not keen on losing roomspace because of these morons next door so the bar solution may be out of the question, but a "decoupled" stud wall using a layer of soundbloc/lafarge board then green glue dampening compound followed by another layer of soundbloc - what do you think?

Would it be worth in-filling the air gap with some dense fibre/rockwool type insulation?

Would it be worth in-filling the air gap with some dense fibre/rockwool type insulation

Click to expand...

Definitely

Not sure the green glue would be necessary in this instance. You only need to decouple once, the seperate wall with gap between already gives you seperation.

*edit* Hang on, think I misread. You are going to apply board straight to the wall, then another board using green glue?

Not as good as the previous solutions. The wall will still be 'as one' I can't believe that green glue absorbs more sound than an insulation filled void.

If you want revenge install some flat panel speakers behind the false wall.

Sorry to dig up and old thread, but it's happening, and I think it's better than starting yet another one about soundproofing.

I'm looking to just reduce the noise I transmit so that I don't have to tip-toe and whisper when I use my open-plan area, late at night, when the neighbours are asleep.

I really don't have any space in the room to put resli bars or a stud wall.

My only option is to put a soundproof membrane against the existing plaster, then soundbloc plasterboard over the top and a skim.

I will then be putting wooden shelves up across the entire length of the wall (it's a kitchen wall), which will of course need to be fixed to the brick. I suspect this will render all the other work useless. Am I right?