Sound insulation

[Hotwire]

I am having a water damaged plasterboard wall removed and i have some questions regarding sound insulation for the replacement wall. In a previous post i asked about why 3 layers of plasterboard were used on this wall and 2 contributors to the post said it would be for amongst other things sound insulation. One of these contributers said that bathroom to bedroom walls were sound insulated. My questions are what kind of insulation should be used and what kind of plasterboard is the norm for this job, the building surveyor said it would probably be aluminium backed. Ive never heard of this board before can anyone shed any light on it. I would also appreciate any info on the construction of this type of wall, bearing in mind its position. Such things as timber size and what would be the distance between studs.

 

[Mr Winston]

A current spec for internal dividing walls between a bathroom and bedroom would be something like this -

1 layer of plasterboard each side (10kg/m2 density e.g Gyproc TEN plasterboard) + layer of mineral quilt (10kg/m3 density)

studs @ 400c/c minimum 75mm thick

(Aluminum backed plasterboard must be foil backed plasterboard - wouldnt help in a wall or with sound resistance)

 

[Hotwire]

Thanks for the info, you will have to bear with me here as im no builder is the plasterboard you mention in anyway waterproof/resistant. How thick is the mineral quilt and how good is it at providing sound insulation, im presuming that this is its function. Now seeing as i havnt fully adopted the metric system what would be the distance between the studs in inches, i do know there about the 3" thick mark, is that 3" square by the way. The aluminium backed board i was told would provide a waterproof layer. Finally (thank god i can hear you say ) are there any building regs covering this type of wall used in this situation and is there any place on the net i could look at them.

 

[masona]

The aluminium backed board i was told would provide a waterproof layer.

Well not really waterproof, it's more moisture resistance and also reflect the heat loss back into the room.

Is this damaged plasterboard in the shower area?

 

[Hotwire]

Is this damaged plasterboard in the shower area?

Yes and no, there was a bath against the wall and it had a seal round top. There was an electric shower and the shower head was over the bath. When the bath was removed thats when the damage was discovered, looks as though pipework under the bath had been leaking. Looking at what you said over the plasterboard, im wondering why they dont use something a bit more waterproof.

 

[jbonding]

half inch boards or 12.5 for the outside skin, 50mm rock wool and moisture resistant boards in the wet room is the norm on site and these boards have to be pva before skimming because apparantly there moisture resistant.and masona is correct foil backed boards are more to do with heat loss.

 

[masona]

im wondering why they dont use something a bit more waterproof.

They do, it's called Aquapanel tile backing board which is a glass reinforced cement board & it won't be damaged by moisture because of the grout round the tile area is not 100% waterproof, only water resistance.

 

[Hotwire]

Thanks jbonding, so from the thickness of the rock wool insulation i presume the studs are 3" by 2" is that right as it was a question id asked earlier. masona, cheers for the info on Aquapanel looks good stuff, what i meant though was why arnt the builders proposing to use something a bit more waterproof. Ive just had a look at the prices on one site for aquapanel £36 for an eight by four, not exactly a kings ransom is it. It just seems like madness to me to not use it and instead use something were the same water damage could happen again.

 

[masona]

What you got to remember is that any grout is not waterproof and would be cheaper in the long run to use the correct materials to prevent further damage problem.

 

[Hotwire]

What you got to remember is that any grout is not waterproof and would be cheaper in the long run to use the correct materials to prevent further damage problem.

Yeah i agree 100% with you there masona. Thats what i was saying, why not use Aquapanel its not that dear.

 

[jbonding]

beleive me your lucky if you get any insulation never mind aquapanal i've worked on hundreds of sites and if its not on the job your getting whatever looks right, some of the customer care in these sites don't step foot in there till the final coat is on and they are only interested in wether it looks right and there is a lot of people who have been blagged with laminate floor (which hides a multitude of sins) sunken down lights (which hide dodgy plastered ceilings and walls, chrome light switches, chrome cooker hoods in my opinion look beyond these, start tapping on walls to see if they are insulated you will tell the difference, if theres blinds or curtains open them and if your house is being built start visiting straight away and if theres something you dont think is right let the agent know, i've met these moaning c**** on site but believe me there houses where spot on.

 

[masona]

Very true even the surveyor can't see the hidden materails.

 

[Hotwire]

I can believe you jbonding, this house is about 25yrs old and some of the stuff ive come across are just an eye opener. There seems to be so much incompetence about and not just in the building game. I put a lot of it down to some tradesmen not having much training if any, so they dont know how the job should be done to begin with. The worst is of course they pass this shoddy way of working on to anybody unlucky enough to be given training by them. Over the last 2yrs ive seen some beuats by people working inside and outside of my house. The gardeners who couldnt garden , these guys worked hard and were willing but clueless. Here,s one instance they were laying some edging stones under some trees, simple brief lay them parallel to the patio flags (i think it was the parallel word that confused them ). When i looks at what theyve done it would of been obvious to a blind man that these stones were less than parallel to say the least. So when i tells them this, there saying no it looks right to them so i said i will go and get a tape. I measures the distance and one end is 3ft longer than the other, well they were astounded and said they would fix it right away. So of they went to get started, muttering excitedly amongst themselves as to what a marvelous invention that tape thing was . But to be fair on the other side of the coin there,s been some brilliant guys a brickie who could lay bricks and a plasterer who could plaster