Home sound proofing, anyone done it??

[Evil.soup]

I know this isn’t a DIY site but its not DIY advice I am after. What I want to know is; has anyone soundproofed their dividing wall with a neighbour using "Resilient Bars". This is a bar screwed to batons with sound proof lagging in-between and then 2 layers of acoustic plaster board attached to this.

What I am interested in is the effectiveness of such a solution in relation to loud music, talking etc?? How do you rate it? Are you happy with the results? Was it worth the cost?

Thanks,
Ian

[davepoth]

Soundproofing will block out talking without much trouble. Loud bassy music will still vibrate through, and to mitigate that effectively you would need to isolate the walls, floor and ceiling from vibration by building a slightly smaller room complete with floors, walls and ceiling.

[farrendahl]

Evil.soup said:

I know this isn’t a DIY site but its not DIY advice I am after. What I want to know is; has anyone soundproofed their dividing wall with a neighbour using "Resilient Bars". This is a bar screwed to batons with sound proof lagging in-between and then 2 layers of acoustic plaster board attached to this.

What I am interested in is the effectiveness of such a solution in relation to loud music, talking etc?? How do you rate it? Are you happy with the results? Was it worth the cost?

Thanks,
Ian

Haven't done it myself but wish somebody would soundproof the screaming, car keying brat next door!

[v64motion]

farrendahl said:

Evil.soup said:

I know this isn’t a DIY site but its not DIY advice I am after. What I want to know is; has anyone soundproofed their dividing wall with a neighbour using "Resilient Bars". This is a bar screwed to batons with sound proof lagging in-between and then 2 layers of acoustic plaster board attached to this.

What I am interested in is the effectiveness of such a solution in relation to loud music, talking etc?? How do you rate it? Are you happy with the results? Was it worth the cost?

Thanks,
Ian

Haven't done it myself but wish somebody would soundproof the screaming, car keying brat next door!

So glad I am not the only one, next doors two sperms make a bit of a din but then the open arsed parents do not seem to be able to close a door quietly either.

Edited by v64motion on Thursday 20th January 16:46

[GuinnessMK]

A mate of mine worked on building Phil Collins new s-s-studio in Switzerland. They used resbar extensively and very effectively.

We've done sound proof rooms in offices before. Usually in HR areas, but we did a recording booth for a computer games company using this technique.

You have two types of sound, air borne and structure borne. A plaster board wall with insulation quilt will take out the high frequency stuff, but you need some mass in there to take out the low as well.

Quietest wall we built was 12.5mm plasterboard, air gap, 25mm plywood, air gap, acoustic quilt, air gap, 12.5mm plasterboard. All separated by foam / rubber etc etc.

[herbialfa]

I recently specified a sound proof booth for Dyno testing motor bikes (racing) where the recorded level was 128 dB.


Rigidur H plasterboard with another layer of soundbloc plasterboard

Fix them to some 75mm studs with a layer of 25mm ISOVER APR 1200 in the cavity should do the trick!

[Evil.soup]

The system i have been looking at would be 50mm batton with 50mm acoustic wool packed in, resiliant bars with a layer of 19mm acoustic plaster board followed by a 12.5mm board. I will also remove some of the floor boards and pack in around the joists and against the wall with acoustic wool. I I am having the attic insulated also and although its not sound proofing i would have thought it would help reduce any sound that comes around the wall.
Here is a link to the system:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_2.php
The secound choice is to add in an acoustic membrane between the battons and resiliant bars.
http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solution...

The main noise polution is from loud music and little bhes singing rather badly so i am hoping that the above will reduce this to a minimum. Other problems i have are from the fat fker snoring, i can even hear the guy taking a piss!! I know its not all their fault as the houses are rather badly made but i have had it for 5 years and the kid is now 14 so she has become a little witch!!!!!

They are rather heavy handed too so there is a lot of slamming doors etc but i doubt the above system will reduce this greatly due to the type of sound.

So how do the 2 above systems seem to the experts in relation to my problems? I am willing to stump up the extra cash for the system with the membrane if it really is such a vast improvment with it, it just doesnt seem that something a few mm thick could have much effect??

Is there a better place to get the required supplies than the above site in the link?
Thanks so far peeps for the help.
Ian

[herbialfa]

Where are you based?

There is a company in Norfolk.... Google Adrian James who are the UK specialists in sound proofing.

Good guys to talk to!

[Nineoneone]

The cheapest option would be to MTFU

& tell the said mouth breathers to turn it in.

[Driller]

GuinnessMK said:

Quietest wall we built was 12.5mm plasterboard, air gap, 25mm plywood, air gap, acoustic quilt, air gap, 12.5mm plasterboard. All separated by foam / rubber etc etc.

Triple leaf systems are less effective than dual leaf systems.

If you removed the middle plywood leaf you would have gained a whole lot more noise reduction with just the two outer plaster board leaves. Adding mass directly onto the out leaves helps.

Do a Google on Rod Gervais.

Evil.soup said:

The system i have been looking at would be 50mm batton with 50mm acoustic wool packed in, resiliant bars with a layer of 19mm acoustic plaster board followed by a 12.5mm board. I will also remove some of the floor boards and pack in around the joists and against the wall with acoustic wool. I I am having the attic insulated also and although its not sound proofing i would have thought it would help reduce any sound that comes around the wall.
Here is a link to the system:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_2.php
The secound choice is to add in an acoustic membrane between the battons and resiliant bars.
http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solution...

The main noise polution is from loud music and little bhes singing rather badly so i am hoping that the above will reduce this to a minimum. Other problems i have are from the fat fker snoring, i can even hear the guy taking a piss!! I know its not all their fault as the houses are rather badly made but i have had it for 5 years and the kid is now 14 so she has become a little witch!!!!!

They are rather heavy handed too so there is a lot of slamming doors etc but i doubt the above system will reduce this greatly due to the type of sound.

So how do the 2 above systems seem to the experts in relation to my problems? I am willing to stump up the extra cash for the system with the membrane if it really is such a vast improvment with it, it just doesnt seem that something a few mm thick could have much effect??

Is there a better place to get the required supplies than the above site in the link?
Thanks so far peeps for the help.
Ian

Ian the above solution you show is a good one. The larger the air gap (mineral filled) you leave between the original wall and your plasterboard one the better. The Accoustiblockl membrane helps massively.

As above, do not think of adding a third leaf in between the other two ie the original wall and the new, inner plaster board one, but you can gain even more noise reduction by adding further plasterboard layers to the others with some Greenglue liberally spread between them. http://www.greengluecompany.com

I can't stress enough how much research you need to do before taking the leap and that if you do not put sound isolation EVERYWHERE (walls, floors and ceilings) the whole thing would have been a waste of time and money if you're trying to protect against anything other than the quietist of noises.

Research "acoustic flanking" on Google.

Recording studio sound isolation (note, NOT acoustic treatment) works on exactly the same principles and there are some very good discussion sites out there with very generous folk who do this for a living in multimillion pound studios are wiling to offer help and advice.

Have a look at the acoustics forums on these sites, some notable names being Rod Gervais and Ethan Winer.

recording.org
soundonsound.com
studiotips.com
gearslutz.com

[Evil.soup]

Driller said:

GuinnessMK said:

Quietest wall we built was 12.5mm plasterboard, air gap, 25mm plywood, air gap, acoustic quilt, air gap, 12.5mm plasterboard. All separated by foam / rubber etc etc.

Triple leaf systems are less effective than dual leaf systems.

If you removed the middle plywood leaf you would have gained a whole lot more noise reduction with just the two outer plaster board leaves. Adding mass directly onto the out leaves helps.

Do a Google on Rod Gervais.

Evil.soup said:

The system i have been looking at would be 50mm batton with 50mm acoustic wool packed in, resiliant bars with a layer of 19mm acoustic plaster board followed by a 12.5mm board. I will also remove some of the floor boards and pack in around the joists and against the wall with acoustic wool. I I am having the attic insulated also and although its not sound proofing i would have thought it would help reduce any sound that comes around the wall.
Here is a link to the system:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_2.php
The secound choice is to add in an acoustic membrane between the battons and resiliant bars.
http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solution...

The main noise polution is from loud music and little bhes singing rather badly so i am hoping that the above will reduce this to a minimum. Other problems i have are from the fat fker snoring, i can even hear the guy taking a piss!! I know its not all their fault as the houses are rather badly made but i have had it for 5 years and the kid is now 14 so she has become a little witch!!!!!

They are rather heavy handed too so there is a lot of slamming doors etc but i doubt the above system will reduce this greatly due to the type of sound.

So how do the 2 above systems seem to the experts in relation to my problems? I am willing to stump up the extra cash for the system with the membrane if it really is such a vast improvment with it, it just doesnt seem that something a few mm thick could have much effect??

Is there a better place to get the required supplies than the above site in the link?
Thanks so far peeps for the help.
Ian

Ian the above solution you show is a good one. The larger the air gap (mineral filled) you leave between the original wall and your plasterboard one the better. The Accoustiblockl membrane helps massively.

As above, do not think of adding a third leaf in between the other two ie the original wall and the new, inner plaster board one, but you can gain even more noise reduction by adding further plasterboard layers to the others with some Greenglue liberally spread between them. http://www.greengluecompany.com

I can't stress enough how much research you need to do before taking the leap and that if you do not put sound isolation EVERYWHERE (walls, floors and ceilings) the whole thing would have been a waste of time and money if you're trying to protect against anything other than the quietist of noises.

Research "acoustic flanking" on Google.

Recording studio sound isolation (note, NOT acoustic treatment) works on exactly the same principles and there are some very good discussion sites out there with very generous folk who do this for a living in multimillion pound studios are wiling to offer help and advice.

Have a look at the acoustics forums on these sites, some notable names being Rod Gervais and Ethan Winer.

recording.org
soundonsound.com
studiotips.com
gearslutz.com

Thats all rather helpful, thanks! My biggest concern is the issue of flanking sound. I live in a 70's semi which is largly block construction as far as i am aware. On the 2 flanking walls i have 2 large windows and rads which is the main issue i have so i can only use a thin sound block system on these walls. I was looking at something like the following:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_1.php

How does this seem??

[Driller]

Evil.soup said:

Driller said:

GuinnessMK said:

Quietest wall we built was 12.5mm plasterboard, air gap, 25mm plywood, air gap, acoustic quilt, air gap, 12.5mm plasterboard. All separated by foam / rubber etc etc.

Triple leaf systems are less effective than dual leaf systems.

If you removed the middle plywood leaf you would have gained a whole lot more noise reduction with just the two outer plaster board leaves. Adding mass directly onto the out leaves helps.

Do a Google on Rod Gervais.

Evil.soup said:

The system i have been looking at would be 50mm batton with 50mm acoustic wool packed in, resiliant bars with a layer of 19mm acoustic plaster board followed by a 12.5mm board. I will also remove some of the floor boards and pack in around the joists and against the wall with acoustic wool. I I am having the attic insulated also and although its not sound proofing i would have thought it would help reduce any sound that comes around the wall.
Here is a link to the system:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_2.php
The secound choice is to add in an acoustic membrane between the battons and resiliant bars.
http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solution...

The main noise polution is from loud music and little bhes singing rather badly so i am hoping that the above will reduce this to a minimum. Other problems i have are from the fat fker snoring, i can even hear the guy taking a piss!! I know its not all their fault as the houses are rather badly made but i have had it for 5 years and the kid is now 14 so she has become a little witch!!!!!

They are rather heavy handed too so there is a lot of slamming doors etc but i doubt the above system will reduce this greatly due to the type of sound.

So how do the 2 above systems seem to the experts in relation to my problems? I am willing to stump up the extra cash for the system with the membrane if it really is such a vast improvment with it, it just doesnt seem that something a few mm thick could have much effect??

Is there a better place to get the required supplies than the above site in the link?
Thanks so far peeps for the help.
Ian

Ian the above solution you show is a good one. The larger the air gap (mineral filled) you leave between the original wall and your plasterboard one the better. The Accoustiblockl membrane helps massively.

As above, do not think of adding a third leaf in between the other two ie the original wall and the new, inner plaster board one, but you can gain even more noise reduction by adding further plasterboard layers to the others with some Greenglue liberally spread between them. http://www.greengluecompany.com

I can't stress enough how much research you need to do before taking the leap and that if you do not put sound isolation EVERYWHERE (walls, floors and ceilings) the whole thing would have been a waste of time and money if you're trying to protect against anything other than the quietist of noises.

Research "acoustic flanking" on Google.

Recording studio sound isolation (note, NOT acoustic treatment) works on exactly the same principles and there are some very good discussion sites out there with very generous folk who do this for a living in multimillion pound studios are wiling to offer help and advice.

Have a look at the acoustics forums on these sites, some notable names being Rod Gervais and Ethan Winer.

recording.org
soundonsound.com
studiotips.com
gearslutz.com

Thats all rather helpful, thanks! My biggest concern is the issue of flanking sound. I live in a 70's semi which is largly block construction as far as i am aware. On the 2 flanking walls i have 2 large windows and rads which is the main issue i have so i can only use a thin sound block system on these walls. I was looking at something like the following:http://www.soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_1.php

How does this seem??

For slamming doors and footfalls that's not going to do much TBH . And your system is only ever going to be as good as the weakest link so if you install that system with its tiny air gap there's no point in spending the extra on the other areas using a more complex structure.

Have you considered what you're going to do with your ceilngs and floors? I imagine that it is not practicable for you to drop a ceiling and have a spring loaded floor! Sorry to be negative, not wanting to be a Killjoy but I've heard so many stories of people throwing money away on this sort of thing for no added improvement in isolation.

Very difficult giving further advice without seeing the structure of the house first hand.

I really recommend you go over to those forums and spend a lot of time there asking questions like I did and learn about the subject yourself. That way you become your own consultant and having the room right in front of you you'll be able to take the right decisions.

I have the book Rod Gervais wrote about building home recording studios and it's really helpful.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Recording-Studio-Buil...

[Evil.soup]

Cheers for the info mate. I am not too bothered about doors slamming and simular, just the loud music, screaming and singing. The more i read though the more disapointed i become as it seems i will have to spend quite a bit more money than i first considered. I am ready to move because of it now though and considering i have spent 10's of thousands of pounds renovating the house and garden it may be worth the expense if it works. As for the roof i was considering packing the loft between the joists with 100mm acoustic wool. Would i need to do the whole roof or just above the areas i need to insulate? The other option would be to soundproof the attic wall so in theory dispensing with the need to insulate the bedroom roof??

Maybe i should try just doing the dividing wall first and see what the results are. I know flanking sounds can vary depending on construction so it may not be as bad afterwards??

I will visit those sites, thanks;)

[Driller]

Evil.soup said:

Cheers for the info mate. I am not too bothered about doors slamming and simular, just the loud music, screaming and singing. The more i read though the more disapointed i become as it seems i will have to spend quite a bit more money than i first considered. I am ready to move because of it now though and considering i have spent 10's of thousands of pounds renovating the house and garden it may be worth the expense if it works. As for the roof i was considering packing the loft between the joists with 100mm acoustic wool. Would i need to do the whole roof or just above the areas i need to insulate? The other option would be to soundproof the attic wall so in theory dispensing with the need to insulate the bedroom roof??

Maybe i should try just doing the dividing wall first and see what the results are. I know flanking sounds can vary depending on construction so it may not be as bad afterwards??

I will visit those sites, thanks;)

Acoustic wool really isn't going to do much I'm afraid esp. for the loud music part. Doing the attic wall would be the best bet but how are you going to do the part where the joists come into contact with the wall?

So you see what I mean about the money thing now. And doing it 90% is still not enough and 90% of st loads of money is still st loads and all for nothing if it doesn't work iyswim.

You can try doing the adjoining wall but theoretically it shouldn't be enough because of the structure born noise.

Good luck.

[Evil.soup]

Driller said:

Evil.soup said:

Cheers for the info mate. I am not too bothered about doors slamming and simular, just the loud music, screaming and singing. The more i read though the more disapointed i become as it seems i will have to spend quite a bit more money than i first considered. I am ready to move because of it now though and considering i have spent 10's of thousands of pounds renovating the house and garden it may be worth the expense if it works. As for the roof i was considering packing the loft between the joists with 100mm acoustic wool. Would i need to do the whole roof or just above the areas i need to insulate? The other option would be to soundproof the attic wall so in theory dispensing with the need to insulate the bedroom roof??

Maybe i should try just doing the dividing wall first and see what the results are. I know flanking sounds can vary depending on construction so it may not be as bad afterwards??

I will visit those sites, thanks;)

Acoustic wool really isn't going to do much I'm afraid esp. for the loud music part. Doing the attic wall would be the best bet but how are you going to do the part where the joists come into contact with the wall?

So you see what I mean about the money thing now. And doing it 90% is still not enough and 90% of st loads of money is still st loads and all for nothing if it doesn't work iyswim.

You can try doing the adjoining wall but theoretically it shouldn't be enough because of the structure born noise.

Good luck.

Thanks again. The joists in the attic run the opposite way to the rest of the house so they dont penetrate the party wall, thats why i thought that may be a valid solution. So in that respect then i could get a good job done of the party wall but i am left with the issue of flanking sound. As for cost both the thin and the thick systems work out about the same price and i would imagine the thicker system to be more effective. Im going around in circles here!! Thanks for the advice though, its been invaluable!