Sound insulation

Semi-detached, noise from neighbours is too much (dog howling when they leave it at home, neighbours shouting at dog to stop barking when they're at home, older kid playing games console, younger kid crying and shrieking, adults sneezing, home theatre, you name it) yes I know the real answer is move to a detached house!

I understand that getting decent improvement is tricky so not expecting miracles, but I have to do something. Party wall is a double skin brick, joists run front/back so no pockets for them penetrating the wall, while doing other work on the house I've noticed the bricks are laid frog down, so the wall is effectively an array of air-pockets which probably doesn't help, wouldn't surprise me if builders had used brick on edge in various unseen places, or skimped on mortar. I suspect cable drops for aerial, mains and corresponding back-boxes are in same place on opposite sides of the wall reducing effective depth in places.

Anyway, I've recently increased width of the lounge by 1m (by subsuming most of the hall) so I don't mind loosing 3 or 4" to some insulation.

Is any of the heavy slab insulation, e.g. worth bothering with, reviews seem to rage from "shit" to "brilliant".

Or what about the rubber sheets, e.g. any cheaper sources of thick rubber on a roll for DIYing?

Couple of staggered layers of plasterboard on top of either of those, anybody had worthwhile results?

Reply to
Andy Burns
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That's nothing. Next door threw a party last night. Loud music and drunken behaviour into the early hours.

It was only after I had left that things quiteted down

Reply to
ARW

You seem to have checked for obvious holes but sound will get through cracks. What is on your side of the party wall? Direct plaster and skim, plasterboard on battens or PB dot'n dab? What is the construction of your internal walls?

Basically you want dead mass, absolutely air tight and no physical connection to the party wall or anything connected to the party wall. The last bit might be tricky if internal walls a brick bonded into the party wall. If stud walls they can be detached by 1/2" by moving the stud and trimming the ends of the wall and ceiling plates.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Anything said to be good thermal and sound insulation is likely to be a compromise. And in that case the compromise will be the sound insulation.

Does the sound appear to be coming directly through the wall? Ie can you position were it is coming from? As sound doesn't travel in a straight line - unlike say light. So just insulating the adjoining wall may not stop it completely.

The best way would be a free standing stud wall with a double layer of 'thick' plasterboard if it is coming through that wall. Fill the space between the studs with mineral wool to help prevent resonances. Fixing plasterboard to the wall directly would help too - anything to add mass.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Neighbours? What is "neighbours"?

Reply to
Huge

I was just about to say - didn't they invite you :)

The correct behaviour to having any loud party is invite the neighbours

- even if they don't come they usually don't moan because they thought you meant well...

Reply to
Tim Watts

I find the best thing to do if neighbours have had a noisy party late into the night is to make a lot of noise early the next morning.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Aye, but not "thick" you want the heavier "sound absorbing" it's still 12 mm (or WHY) it just weighs more. Much to the mild disgruntlement of the builders the other year.

I'd go for the firmer stuff in batts rather than thermal roll type. More mass again, having said that even the thermal stuff will reduce resonances and conduction via the space.

I'd disgree with that, assuming by "wall" you mean the party wall. Anything touching the party wall will vibrate with the wall to some extent and transmit/conduct that noise/vibration elsewhere. The free standing wall you mention at the top and isolating internal walls from the party wall.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Did you not get an invitation-)?

Reply to
ARW

Adding mass always works. It would also have the advantage of adding 'thickness' where mortar in the brick wall was missing.

The separate stud wall is better - but perhaps takes up too much room.

I've got some figures somewhere done on the interview rooms of 'The Bill' set. Made from studwork. With one layer of plasterboard and 2. The second layer made something like a 12 dB reduction in 'general' external noise - a very cheap gain.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Heh heh. I'd not want one to the one house where they regularly had late night parties. Not my sort of music. But they've long since (been) moved on.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Just a separate timber frame with plasterboard can give some benefit, but the benefit can be much improved by: using cement sheet or 2 layers of pb, or sound absorbing pb lining the wall with lead sheet and various other options

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Secondary glazing can really help too, at least when windows are closed

NT

Reply to
meow2222

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

Odd but I work in a converted garage next to the house which is detached these days;), but its quite surprising just how loud I can let the audio system go in here and really outside the noise level is very low indeed hardly noticeable in the house which is partly "attached" to the orifice.. Asked next door as well and no, they've never been troubled by any noise we make even some hammering and grinding in the metal bashing shed adjacent late at night!..

I used to live in a Victorian end terrace, 9 inch solid brick walls and yep!, you could hear everything especially at night including that bloody silly giggling that the wench next door made I presume they were having sex as its known but from the "noises off" I did sometimes wonder quite what it was they did;!...

As Dave sez mass is what's required and Isolation, but very difficult to implement without taking up quite a bit of space in the house. Radio studios are a typical example of that. Where a room within a room with air gaps between does the required..

Reply to
tony sayer

Mass Loaded Vinyl , lot thinner than 20mm rubber

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Green Glue, think there are a few alikes as well

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Reply to
Adam Aglionby

There's a product intended to soundproof lorry bulkheads and engine compartments. It's basically a sheet of lead bonded onto a rubber-like substance. The rubber side comes with backing paper which when peeled off reveals a very strong adhesive. I've used it to reduce engine noise in various large vehicles and it's very effective. You can use two layers if you like.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

There are lots of very effective products used on cars for this purpose. Tend to be pretty expensive to clad a wall with, though.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Brother in law had someone in to look at this (neighbours were elderly, and pretty deaf so telly was on uberload all day...)

Ended up fitting this stuff:

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The FAQ on that page titled "How would you acoustically upgrade an existing masonry wall" is probably worth a read.

Was amazingly heavy and was surprisingly effective. YMMV, and I've no idea of the cost but worth investigating?

Darren

Reply to
D.M.Chapman

I have been intending to stick an endoscope above the ceiling to check there's no unexpected gaps.

yes.

One downstairs wall (perpendicular to the party wall, mid-point of the joists) is breeze block, all others are "egg-carton" sandwiched between two 1/2" plasterboard sheets.

chimney breast isn't bonded into party wall, other than by plaster, perpendicular wall is.

Reply to
Andy Burns

Essentially yes, but if the dog is howling (as it is now!) I can also hear it upstairs when it's down - it's as though the party wall is plasterboard, when in reality it's brick.

I realise that, other rooms have less scope for losing a few inches though.

Reply to
Andy Burns

I wasn't planning on spending that much!

I swapped secondary double glazing for sealed units last year, that made the house a lot quieter in general, but that has perhaps concentrated my attention on the din coming from next door :-(

Reply to
Andy Burns

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