Sound insulation on internal wall shared with neighbour's?

[ch123]

I can hear my neighbour's alarm clock in my bedroom, and it wakes me up.

I want to fit some sound insulation to the wall, (which I think is plasterboard surface) losing as little space as possible.

Has anyone tried the Heavy density slab insulation from Wickes? Did it work?

Or has anyone tried any of the Heavy density barrier sheets that can be bought online?

Thanks,
Sophie

 

[Deluks]

You might need to poke about and see whats inside the wall. There should be plasterboard on each side with insulation in between. The dense slab (insulation) is supposed to go inside a wall, not on the bedroom side, it will do virtually nothing. One option is to add another layer of plasterboard which will cut down some noise but still might not be enough.

The best option would be to tear down all the plasterboard on your side, build a new wall from timber stud spaced 1 inch from the the old one, fill cavity with insulation (the wickes stuff ideal for this) and replasterboard/redecorate. It will cost you about 4 - 5 inches of floorspace on that wall. Probably a couple of days work and a few hundred quid.

Do you own this house? If so when did you buy it? If it's fairly new and you bought it recently you might have some warranty if the soundproofing doesn't meet regulations.


~ps. forget the heavy density barrier sheets.

 

[eggplant]

Might sound a daft, but if the only disturbance you get from next door is the alarm, have you considered asking them to either turn it down or move it to the other side of the room? We used to have an old alarm clock that was LOUD, thought nothing of it, then when we were round at next doors having a few bevvies one xmas, they mentioned that it woke them up everyday! Well, of course I turned it down a bit. The point is, they probably arnt aware that you can hear it, mention it, if you get no joy then just start drilling at 4am every morning for a week, they'll soon turn it down, cheaper than soundproofing!

 

[ch123]

Thanks both of you for your answers.

I bought the house in late November, and it's 13 years old, so it has past the 10 year warranty period.

The neighbour seems to work shifts, so I've never actually met him! The times when I'm around and want to introduce myself his lights are off, then I hear him come in around 10pm or later.

I can hear other noises like him putting his dishes away, him drawing the curtain in his room and his radio (sometimes). I don't mind those noises...

The alarm is the thing that really disturbs me because it has gone off at 4am a few times and 6 am and it usually carries on for around 1 minute . I've counted to 100 and it's still ringing!

I was thinking that installing more sound insulation in my bedroom would help with cutting down the noise generally, but specifically with the alarm...If it was muffled more, I might not wake up...

Thanks, I'll follow your advice and see what's behind the plasterboard. I have some workmen coming in March, so hopefully they can help me with this.

I just wasn't sure whether the sound insulation materials I saw online would work. (I have to buy all materials in advance)

I could also post a soundless vibrating alarm through his door!
Or if I get to know him a bit, like you said I could mention the alarm!

Thanks again,
Sophie