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Soundproofing query

Hello all,

Having just moved into a victorian terraced house, we're a bit annoyed to find that we can hear almost all of one of our neighbour's activities. They are a large family so the kind of nuisance we're hearing is doors closing/slamming, kids screaming, mum yelling at kids, teenage son yelling at mum and so on. They've also aqcuired a karaoke machine with a bass knob that seems to go up to 11 (although I don't believe there's a lot we can do about that short of unplugging it).

I've done a lot of searching for soundproofing here in the diy group archive and via a few of the suppliers of soundproofing materials. They all seem to offer at least some hope that sound levels can be reduced. However I'm wondering if anyone here can give me specific information.

  1. Has anybody here applied soundproofing to a terrace house. If so was the improvement 'just noticeable' or significant?

  1. How much might it cost? I've offers from my family to help install any measures but do the proffessionals do a better solution? We're talking about two bedrooms with chimney breasts and possibly lounge/diner too.

  2. We're looking to make the bedroom as quiet as possible. Given that the room has a blocked up fireplace and chimney breast is it practical or desirable to install insulation measures accross the entire wall by filling in alcoves rather than just doing the alcoves where most of the noise appears to originate from?

  1. Finally! Is treating the walls enough, or should we try and decouple as much structure from the wall in order to prevent unneccesary vibrations, i.e noise? Is any of this work subject to the Party Wall Act? From what I've seen so far, we wouldn't be altering the structural integrity of the wall in any way so wouln't need permission.

It's a shame that the idyllic house we saw a few months ago is now a stressful place to be. We even viewed it on several occasions to try and make sure it was quiet and didn't hear a peep from the neighbours back then - and yes, they're the same ones. Any information will be useful. Thanks, Mark.

Reply to
MJS
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According to a report I saw from the building research establishment a few years ago the only effective way to sound proof is either to build a brick wall or to build a new stud wall about 12 inches in and hang mineral wool from the ceiling inside the space. Both take up a lot of space. Sticking stuff to the walls just doesn't work.

Reply to
dennis

Which way do the joists run? I assume they go across what would have been the fireplace.

Reply to
Chris Bacon

This isn't a problem in the bedroom, we have plenty of room.

That's kind of what I've figured, but these companies are making big claims and I'm curious if anyone has actually tried them.

Mark.

Reply to
MJS

I can't say for certain as I'm at work. I imagine the joists run at right angles to the floorboards, so going on the wobbly one in the other bedroom I'd say you're correct.

Reply to
MJS

True. However a trip upstairs to the loft to see if there is, in fact, a wall between the two properties, will help..

The biggest source of noise ingress, like cold, is in airgaps. Sealing up each room with mastic may help. After that, its really down to what comes over the top in the loft, and bigger walls sealed to rafters may help.

Beyond that, you are into decoupled masses..extra walls being inserted.

No thin insulation will make any real difference.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

The idea is to completely seal any gaps between the rooms. There may only be a 1/2 brick thick wall between you and them. Have a board up near the wall, and see whether it's likely there is a gap. Also, go up into the roof and see what the dividing wall is like. It should be present and in good order (this should have been picked up on any survey you had done if not/uncertain, as it could be a fire hazard). Once you know that there are no ways for sound to get through gaps, then look into other options if necessary.

Reply to
Chris Bacon

he improvement 'just noticeable' or significant? Yes and it was quite effective. Better technology exists now that would do even better. I only did the alcoves as the chimney openings were bricked up and I took the view that it was a brick mass with cavity with dividing brick wall, cavity and then a further mass possibly bricked up. I built timber frames (3" by 2" on the floor and stood them up into the alcoves. I left a 2" cavity from the existing wall and I only fixed through the side so it was totally independent to the party wall. I filled the void with high density rockwool and applied mastic to the edges of my timber frame. I then applied a sheet of osb timber sheeting and finally clad with plasterboard which I then skimmed. You can by a ruberoid matt nowadays which is 10mm thick which is surposedly good at reducing noise levels. I think it is called R10.

3" by 2" approx =A31 per metre inc. Insulation dependant on grade between =A32 and =A310 per square metre. Chipboard or OSB approx =A315 per 8' by 4' sheet. 12.5mm plaster board at =A35 per sheet. Plus lots of free labour if you have it.

I would just try the alcoves to start with.

See 1 above and build your sound proofing independant to reduce impact noise as opposed to air bourne noise. If kept independent to the party wall then the act would not apply in my opinion.

Regards legin

Reply to
legin

improvement 'just noticeable' or significant?

I once did something similar to improve insulation for a half brick thick party wall between adjacent bathrooms in a terrace where the noise was getting a bit embarrasing. Made a timber frame from 2"x2", spaced on the outside 3" from the original brickwork (1" + 2") and put a double layer of 15mm plasterboard on the outside. Fixed the timber only around the edges to the side walls, nothing connected to the party wall. Air gap filled with rockwool. Cost was only a few quid for parts. Fortunately the joists were transverse and not connected between houses. It was 100% successful and now more noise comes in via an opened window than through the party wall.

john2

Reply to
john2

Thanks for all your responses, the situation is looking very hopeful now. In terms of walls between properties, then yes it's a full brick wall up into the loft and beyond (besides, we have a loft conversion too). I'll certainly be looking into some of the more exotic solutions. Just one more thing - would this impact on the value of the property in anyone's opinion? I can see it both ways, it says 'we had noisy neighbours and had to do something about it' OR 'We're considerate neighbours and didn't want to disturb them!. Mark.

Reply to
MJS

If the alcoves are deep enough you could try making them into wardrobes. The extra door might be enough if it has a good seal.

Reply to
dennis

The only solution is to up sticks and move into a detached property (as we did), or perhaps a more modern (as long as it is built to correct specs) property. You would lose a lot of space with effective soundproofing. A gap of a few inches is enough, but any bridging needs eliminating, ie having a complete air gap between, i.e. detached.

Reply to
<me9

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