sound insulation

n0fe4r

Hi all.

To cut a long story short I have come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to look into sound insulating our party wall in our semi. Problem is the bedroom, which has recently been decorated, is the main offender of TV noise coming from next door, so I don't want to disturb the decorating or as as little as possible anyway. Downstairs has not been decorated yet so virtually anything can be done (within reason). The strange thing is the TV sound comes from next doors living room and not their bedroom and yet it sounds louder in our bedroom than it does in our living room. I am yet to do some proper searching as to where the sound is getting through. We do have a chimney that runs up through the bedroom and next door will have one that backs on to ours. I don't know whether that is the problem.

Any ideas on what can be done?

jenny-wren

We have exactly the same problem. Something to do with the fact that we have only one layer of 'airbrick' between us and next door apparently.

We've used a product called 'GreenGlue' which is an acoustic insulation that comes in a tube and looks a bit like silicone sealant. Check out Greenglue.co.uk. We secured a layer of plasterboard to the party wall and then put a layer of soundboard on top with GreenGlue in the middle. All that remains is for us to get the wall plastered. We got our Greenglue from a company called RPG Europe and arranged our own collection and delivery to keep the costs down.

We'd previously tried building a stud wall with mineral wool insulation against the party wall but it was next to useless.

Realistically there's nothing you can do without disturbing your decor I'm afraid. It's a matter of weighing up what's worse - having to redecorate or having to put up with knowing what TV programme your neighbours are watching. As we have to listen to the TV, shouting and swearing (adults and kids) and a yappy dog we decided that it was definately worth doing for a quieter life.

n0fe4r

Thanks. I have heard of this green glue but wasn't exactly sure what it was. I presume your method of insulation worked? Did it stop the sound completely or or just reduce it? Also, how much extra thickness have you added to the wall by doing this ie. how much smaller is the room?

I understand the extra layer of plasterboard would be an extra bit of insulation but I suppose it would be feasible just to stick the sound board to the existing plasterboard using the green glue?

Thanks.

jenny-wren

I haven't noticed much of a difference so far but my OH says he has. The noise never seemed to bother him too much but it drove me nuts.

We haven't got the walls plastered yet, the coving hasn't been replaced, we have no skirting boards and the flooring is a bit of the old carpet with no underlay. I think when we have all the work finished it really will make a considerable difference.

I think we lost no more than an inch from the room, in fact I can't see much of a reduction in the size of the room. We also have a lot of sound transferrance through common joists so we also plan to use sound insulating boards under the new wooden floor.

The GreenGlue works when you make a sandwich with it between two layers of board. If your party wall is bare plasterboard then all you need to do is apply GreenGlue to the soundboard, stick it to the plasterboard and secure it with a few screws before getting the wall skimmed.

We ordered 24 tubes of Glue plus an applicator and it cost around £250. For us that was enough to do the through lounge of a semi (2 tubes per sheet of plasterboard) leaving enough to do one of the bedrooms with 3 tubes per sheet.

My brother has used GreenGlue and has noticed a considerable reduction in the transmission of noise. He used it on his walls and ceilings.

I'll be sure to post again when we have the work finished and can really judge how effective the GreenGlue is. Do a web search and check out the reviews of GreenGlue. It looks like it's the best product on the market at the minute and is worth shelling out a few hundred on.

bernlyn

please keep us posted

jenny-wren

Will do. It will probably be weeks before we get the plastering done so if you don't hear anything from me, bump the post back to the top to remind me!

Fire_Fox

I wonder if the sound is travelling up inside a communal chimney breast, would that make sense?

economiser

Common sound paths are through gaps between properties under floors or in lofts rather than through the walls themselves. I have come across this product before but will be very interested to hear how it turns out.