Soundproofing my flat

ankspon

Have you any idea if it is worth the expense of installing extra soundproofing in my flat.It is 3 years old but the current soundproofing is terrible.We can hear the residents two floors up moving about and the people above sound like they live in my flat.We have been assured by the builders it meets and exceeds the current legal levels(these levels must be c##p)Does anyone have an idea of the cost of this and if it really does work,i don't want to waste money if it is not worth it.We have thought of moving but the flat is large and looks out onto open parkland which is beautiful and quiet.

Plasterer

davidhwdn wrote: »

Have you any idea if it is worth the expense of installing extra soundproofing in my flat.It is 3 years old but the current soundproofing is terrible.We can hear the residents two floors up moving about and the people above sound like they live in my flat.We have been assured by the builders it meets and exceeds the current legal levels(these levels must be c##p)Does anyone have an idea of the cost of this and if it really does work,i don't want to waste money if it is not worth it.We have thought of moving but the flat is large and looks out onto open parkland which is beautiful and quiet.

Hi David, you could try overboarding your ceiling with soundbloc (Blue) plasterboard. It is a higher density board than normal and should help. Depending on just how bad the sound travels you may want to consider putting in a small suspended metal frame ceiling (and pack the void with insulation) however with this second option you are governed by your ceiling height.
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ankspon

Thanks plasterer,will the ceiling hold the weight of extra boards,we will also need the walls doing as sound travels down them as well.Any idea of the cost of these boards.I realise we may lose height but it's better than the noise.

Grz.26

its a little more expensive than the normal plaster board, and much heavier, more dense! i built a stud wall, not attached to the wall, sound travels through the batons. Then insulated with rock wall. not sure if it works yet, but feels much quieter if that makes sence. i get my sound system set up soon then if complaints from neighbour were know if it works or not..:)

Plasterer

davidhwdn wrote: »

Thanks plasterer,will the ceiling hold the weight of extra boards,we will also need the walls doing as sound travels down them as well.Any idea of the cost of these boards.I realise we may lose height but it's better than the noise.

Depends - Has your ceiling been overboarded before? how old is the house? how "thick" are your joists. As a genearl rule I don't like overboarding a ceiling that has already been overboarded if you see what I mean. If it has never been overboarded before you should be fine.
Expect to pay betwdeen £8-£11 per board 2.4 metres (obviously dicounts for bulk purchase)

naypo

We just bought 14 sheets of 2400 x 1200 x 12.5mm soundbloc for £8.72 per sheet delivered off an ebay shop which isn't a bad price after looking around and comparing prices. It depends how much area you want to cover as to where to go for a good price per sheet with delivery costs.

ormus

i would take the ceiling down and install rockwool. then reboard the ceiling.
rockwool certainly works as an accoustic barrier.