soundproofing on a budget

[dragonfly101]

I live in a 1960s mid-terrace and can literally hear neighbours conversations. No way I can afford the top professional sound-proofing jobs I see advertised, but I could afford to buy some acoustic plasterboard and fix it to the existing walls. Would this give any noticeable benefit though? My bedroom is on the other side of the wall of the neighbours bathroom, and I'm getting woken up by their morning showers and even the sound of their toilet seat dropping down.

 

[endecotp]

I think acoustic plasterboard by itself (i.e. fixed directly to the existing wall) is not going to make enough difference to make you happy.
You could consider fitting plasterboard (2 layers?) using resilient bars, or building an independent stud wall with a gap between it and the existing wall.
Getting details at floor, ceiling and wall junctions right is important.

 

[Ian H]

I put the blue boards in all our alcoves. Useless stuff, shouldn't have bothered.

Our daughter was coughing the other night and our neighbour thought it was their daughter

 

[StephenStephen]

I found that building a separate slim stud wall that was not attached to the existing wall did make a difference to conversation noise, infill with insulation, and single skin of 15mm plasterboard and skim. Working out the details of how to keep the structures separate, and dealing with noise bypassing underneath the floorboards, above the ceiling, etc can be a fiddle.

 

[dragonfly101]

I found this stuff that's expensive but looks easy enough for DIY, you just screw it to your wall: https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/store/-p52219211

34Kg per m2 though - doing a few walls you could end up increasing the weight of your house by a few tonnes - not sure the walls would take it.

>• Please note that our products have a great deal of mass, and will add weight to your structure. You may need to check with a structural engineer to ensure compatibility