I live in a 60s house and the interior walls are so thin that you can hear everything that's going on in the room next door. Is there any way I could a particular wall between two rooms more soundproof? And what would the cost be? Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Sound proofing a wall
- Thread starter Daisy181
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There are few different materials and two different methods that can be used.
Absorption or Barrier
The cost will depend on which method you used and how big the area is you wish to soundproof.
Absorption or Barrier
The cost will depend on which method you used and how big the area is you wish to soundproof.
A false wall [studwork and plasterboard] with rock-wool insulation is one of the cheaper simpler methods, the deeper the space the better the sound insulation.
How thick are the walls? You might be cursed with Paramount partitions (I swear I could hear someone scratching through this rubbish).
Edit: I am confused. Are you talking about partitions between rooms in the same dwelling or a party wall between dwellings?
Edit: I am confused. Are you talking about partitions between rooms in the same dwelling or a party wall between dwellings?
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When we were boarding out our loft, we built a stud wall against the party wall, and insulated with Wickes general purpose insulation slab:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/General-Purpose-Insulation-Slab/invt/161197
It reduces some of the noise, but where joists are hung on the party wall, that noise will travel through anyhow
http://www.wickes.co.uk/General-Purpose-Insulation-Slab/invt/161197
It reduces some of the noise, but where joists are hung on the party wall, that noise will travel through anyhow
There are a few methods of sound insulating a wall depending on your budget and available space, and they come down to the principles of isolation and absorption.
In general, the best solution is to build a stud wall next to the party wall, but do not fix the studs to the existing wall, rather fix them to the floor and ceiling. Alternately, you can get fixings designed to attach to the existing wall but with a very small contact patch between it and your new wall. This is the isolation part and ought to significantly reduce the amount of vibration (noise) transmitted from your party wall to the stud wall.
Fill the new stud wall with a sound absorption material - most people use rockwool and it seems to produce decent results.
Many people have reported good results from products like 'Green Glue', which is a sort of rubberised goo you spread between the sheets of plasterboard used in your stud wall and and (here's where I get a bit fuzzy on the science) it dampens vibrations trying to travel through the plasterboard. It's apparently really good, but its quite a bit more expensive than just building a stud wall. There are other similar products and some self adhesive rubber mats too. I read someone tried the same thing with mastic but it didnt work so well.
As I have a long narrow house and I dont want to lose any more precious room space than I have to, I'm intending to put two layers 12.5mm thick 'soundsheild' plasterboard directly onto my party wall with green glue between the boards and the board and the wall.
Google is your friend and hi-fi / AV Forums often have a selection of helpful threads and experiences of home soundproofing.
In general, the best solution is to build a stud wall next to the party wall, but do not fix the studs to the existing wall, rather fix them to the floor and ceiling. Alternately, you can get fixings designed to attach to the existing wall but with a very small contact patch between it and your new wall. This is the isolation part and ought to significantly reduce the amount of vibration (noise) transmitted from your party wall to the stud wall.
Fill the new stud wall with a sound absorption material - most people use rockwool and it seems to produce decent results.
Many people have reported good results from products like 'Green Glue', which is a sort of rubberised goo you spread between the sheets of plasterboard used in your stud wall and and (here's where I get a bit fuzzy on the science) it dampens vibrations trying to travel through the plasterboard. It's apparently really good, but its quite a bit more expensive than just building a stud wall. There are other similar products and some self adhesive rubber mats too. I read someone tried the same thing with mastic but it didnt work so well.
As I have a long narrow house and I dont want to lose any more precious room space than I have to, I'm intending to put two layers 12.5mm thick 'soundsheild' plasterboard directly onto my party wall with green glue between the boards and the board and the wall.
Google is your friend and hi-fi / AV Forums often have a selection of helpful threads and experiences of home soundproofing.
Thank you for all your comments. Sorry about the confusion. I am talking about a partition between rooms in my own house, not a party wall. The rooms are quite small so I don't want to lose a lot of space by building an additional thick wall.
To use the minimum of space, you might want to consider replacing the existing partitions with acoustic partitions. There are various systems going right down to 40mm 'C' studs. I suggest you have a scout around the British Gypsum site and have a look at their Site Book.
Another system, for instance, could be Gypwall Quiet:
http://www.british-gypsum.com/systems/system_selector/gypwall_quiet.aspx
Another system, for instance, could be Gypwall Quiet:
http://www.british-gypsum.com/systems/system_selector/gypwall_quiet.aspx
What I'd do in that case then is to use green glue or similar and add an additional layer of soundshield/acoustic blocking type plasterboard on one or both sides of the partition.
Or if you were really keen you could remove the existing plasterboard, infill with rockwool and reline with a double thickness of soundshield plasterboard with green glue inbetween. - Just dont forget not to 'insulate' any mains cables and wall sockets that might be in the wall.
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