Building a soundproof wall

[ismellburning]

Greetings all,

I'm building a false wall this weekend to help insulate us from our neighbours, sound-wise. The frame will be all-metal, with insulation inside, then horizontal resilient bars, then a double skin of soundbloc plasterboard.

The question is: not having done this before, soundbloc plasterboard is mentally heavy (having heaved it up the stairs) and I am a bit worried that two skins of it on resilient bars will prove a bit much. The wall will be in our bedroom and I don't really need it falling down and killing us in our sleep. Or less seriously cracking and moving and generally falling apart and forcing me to do it twice.

Every online source I can find reckons two skins on a metal frame is fine and totally the Done Thing but I wondered if anyone here had built anything similar and cared to weigh in with their experiences.

If you've got anything to add I'd be eternally grateful.

 

[joe-90]

Which way do your floor joists run? If they terminate in the dividing wall you'll struggle to get any real sound deadening. Google 'flanking sound/noise.' What sort of sounds are you having problems with?

 

[ismellburning]

Hey Joe, the joists run parallel to the wall in question, i.e. the same direction as the wall and ceiling channels will when they're screwed down. I am a touch worried about sound coming through the floorboards but at the moment the party wall is plaster-on-brick-on-plaster so anything is going to offer an improvement.

My current big worry is about Big Heavy Plasterboard collapsing the steelwork underneath :0

**edited to say that a google on flanking sound was interesting. ta for the idea**

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

First move go up and check the loft, there could be holes in the party wall and the sound is coming down at you. Second move lift a floor board or two and check that there are no holes in your side of the party wall. Could the sound be traveling via open windows? Have you got dot and dab plasterboard walls? They really (always) need a parging coat on first (seldom done).
Frank

 

[ismellburning]

ha, the sound is *definitely* coming through the plaster. That's not to say it won't become audible from somewhere else once the walls are done but that's a chance i'm willing to take.

the only plasterboard in the house is what i've done myself, this place is *old*.

 

[angelboy]

Some people over on an AV site I frequent swear by this stuff for sound deadening. When I built my home cinema I'll be using it, but you may sh!t at the price.....

http://www.greengluecompany.com

 

[Tigger90]

I have just sound proofed a wall, different to yours but it has worked . I had an alcove that I could lose, so I built a stud wall, 100mm of sound slab rockwool, 2 sheets of sound bloc plasterboard, with the joints staggered and 3 tubes of acoustic sealant!
My bed is beneath the wall and no accidents yet

 

[ismellburning]

That's top work mate. 1st sheet of plasterboard has gone up, wall has a bit of "give" which according to my sources is pretty normal for metal framing and resilient bars. Plasterboard onto metal work was fecking knackering for some reason... Cheers for all the replies!