Sound proofing partying wall??

[diggy4]

Hi everyone

first post on this site and i am looking for some advice

I have a 1970s brick built semi-detached house (solid walls not cavity) and want to soundproof the alcove sections in the front room and bedroom above.This is due to voice noise (his black country voice) coming through from next door.Im not sure which way the floor joists run but im prepared to have as much of the walls, ceiling and loft sound proofed to stop his voice coming through.

Whats the best way to sound proof the walls, floor and ceiling? How much will i be looking at to sound proof the walls? How long would it take a builder to do this sort of job? Ive got a builder who i will use to do the job so i just need to buy the materials.

any advice or if you can point me in the right direction would be great

cheers

 

[Deluks]

Easiest way is to build a 3x2 stud wall, an inch from the existing wall. Completely fill the void with rockwool and couple layers of plasterboard/skim. Plus check for gaps under floorboards etc, plug holes with brick/mortar.

Scroll down to the bottom, and read some of the 'similar topics'

 

[^woody^]

Partying walls can be quite loud in my experience

 

[alittlerespect]

Hi

Do a web search on 'phonewell decoupled soundproofing'.

You should find varying solutions available!

Regards

 

[gtgt]

Hi diggy

I have a similar problem, and have spent quite a bit of time looking into this. There are several ways of doing this, but everything I've seen suggests that a stud wall is the best way to go - some of the proprietry solutions are very expensive! £30+ per sq M for materials alone!

So, I'm leaning towards going the stud wall route. One thing I've learned is that you need to take care to seal any gaps in the wall, including below the floorboards - a lot of sound can leak through a small hole and ruin all your hard work. You also need to make sure your stud wall does not touch the party wall, otherwise the sound can transmit through , same for your floor boards - separation is the key.

My question was about a stud wall with a cavity in front of a party wall but that attaches to an external wall (so a part of the external wall is exposed to the cavity), whether there is any risk of damp occurring at the cold part of the external wall --- have you thought about this?

Theres also something called "green glue" which you add between the plasterboard layers - supposed to absorb the sound energy and change it to heat. Expensive though...

Good luck! I'd be intereted on your thoughts on this (and everyone elses) - seems like this is a big problem in the UK housing stock.

 

[noseall]

You will not achieve true sound proofing especially when using regular building materials.

It is possible to lessen or deaden certain frequencies of sound, but those persistent bassy sounds will always persevere. You may be disappointed after spending £££ only to achieve a little muffling.

Adding mass or weight is the essence of quality sound proofing, this is the reason why proper sound proof rooms are lead lined.

 

[joe-90]

You have to sound proof from his side of the wall to stop the sound energy getting into the structure. Once in you can't block it. Think Papillon and tapping on the pipes.

 

[diggy4]

Thanks for your comments guys but has anyone had a joy with sound proofing party walls?
i'm going to start work on the 28th.We have decided to have the alcoves in the front room and bedroom above fitted with a 3x2 stud wall, an inch from the existing wall. Then Completely fill the void with the thickest rockwool and have 2 layers of sound proof plasterboard/skim.Also fill under the floor boards with rockwool etc. My builder suggested this idea and a building reg bloke also agreed.

 

[ajrobb]

There was a nasty practice in the 70s, now illegal, to run joists across the house and bury them in the party wall. They would often leave large gaps around the end of the joists. You might need to fill these gaps with mortar and seal them with mastic.

Adding mass is just one part of the equation. You also need to isolate and add damping. Consider a damping sheet between your layers of plasterboard. Damping is the only way to deal with energy once it is in the structure.

 

[diggy4]

thanks ajrobb

The best thing i can do is get the floor boards and fill/pack it with as much sound proofing i can and seal any gaps etc

I've been to my local builders shop and the materials i'm going to use are GTEC db wallboard doubled up and i got to decide on either ROCKWOOL FLEXI 100MM or SUPERGLASS M/P ACOUSTIC MAT??

The main noise i am trying to stop is voice conversation noise coming through.

 

[Deluks]

a 3x2 stud wall, an inch from the existing wall. Then Completely fill the void with the thickest rockwool and have 2 layers of sound proof plasterboard/skim.Also fill under the floor boards with rockwool etc. My builder suggested this idea...

er, am I your builder? Sorry, didn't realise

 

[diggy4]

a 3x2 stud wall, an inch from the existing wall. Then Completely fill the void with the thickest rockwool and have 2 layers of sound proof plasterboard/skim.Also fill under the floor boards with rockwool etc. My builder suggested this idea...

er, am I your builder? Sorry, didn't realise

Ha, yeah, your idea was also the same as what my builder suggested.Hopefully it works!!!!

 

[TedWhite]

Easiest way is to build a 3x2 stud wall, an inch from the existing wall. Completely fill the void with rockwool and couple layers of plasterboard/skim. Plus check for gaps under floorboards etc, plug holes with brick/mortar.

I'd say this is the winner. By the way, sound rooms haven't used lead in years. Rarely done anymore. Standard building materials deployed in non-traditional fashion can certainly stop a great deal of sound.

 

[plstering]

nope nope and nope use c stud and u channel from wickes or use the clip type then fill with acoustic insulation then use sound board scrim the joints and skim
you can even buy sound coat from british gypsom have a look m8 that is the best way too go then if the is gaps under the floor them foam them in

 

[TedWhite]

By "C-Stud," I assume you mean a steel stud. Not necessary if he's decoupling the wall as previously descrived.

"U-Channel" I assume would be applied to the steel studs. Again, this has no practical no role in the previously mentioned assembly.

Any low / medium density insulation will work. Whatever is cheapest. There's no additional soundproofing value using an insulation that says "acoustic"

Using standard plasterboard is quite massive. There are better places to put the cash rather than specialty drywall. Like a damping compound.