Sound Insulation - Party Walls

TMoose

Hi All

We're about to exchange as FTB on an Edwardian Terraced house in need of renovation.

When visiting the property last weekend, we noticed that we could clearly hear every word spoken in the adjoining house. This was a concern.

Because we need to do complete renovation, we are looking at putting some additional sound insulation on the party-walls between the properties.

Has anyone had any experience in doing this? How effective is it? What other tricks can we use to minimise the amount of sound that carries from the neighbouring property?

Thanks

Moose

timeou

www.rockwool.co.uk

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Sometimes I wonder if the sound actually comes through the walls or the floor & ceilings. Perhaps its vents through the wall or its single skin also?

TMoose

Would Rockwool work on a solid party wall - no cavity?

Thanks

Ionkontrol

You need to build a new stud wall against your party wall, filled with rockwool, then 2 layers of soundcheck plasterboard mounted on res bars, them plaster skim.

confuseddad_2

Sound is a strange thing as not only does it travel through the wall it also travels above or around the walls. This is known as flanking.

It would depend on how important this is and how much you want to spend. There are a number of products and wall types that could be retrofitted.

Google "robust details" as this gives differant types of wall make ups. or get in an expert whos a member of association of noise consultants for a survey and possible remedies.

todolistsocd

*Opinion Only*
Hi,

Walls can be treated to help make a room soundproof.
This usually involves tacking on some sort of heavy material that will block sound waves.
This material can range from carpeting to blankets to manufactured pannelling even cardboard egg cartons are sometimes used.

Hope this helps!

LoMax

Ionkontrol wrote: »

You need to build a new stud wall against your party wall, filled with rockwool, then 2 layers of soundcheck plasterboard mounted on res bars, them plaster skim.

Correct.

And best if the new studs are independent of the existing structure i.e. not connected to the existing wall in any way.

jc808

forget rockwool, wickes loft roll insulation 3 for the price of 1 is the way to go

jamesperrett

todolistsocd wrote: »

This material can range from carpeting to blankets to manufactured pannelling even cardboard egg cartons are sometimes used.

I'm afraid egg cartons for soundproofing are a bit of an urban myth. Yes, they're good at diffusing high frequencies which makes a room sound a little deader but sound will go straight through them to next door.

The same goes for carpets and roof insulation. And, before you ask, I've made both of those mistakes myself in the past when trying to build soundproof rooms.

The best way to stop sound is by using mass intelligently with a bit of flexibility. Two or more layers of plasterboard separated by a flexible layer mounted on resilient bars or a separate structure is a common method of soundproofing that works.

As confuseddad says, you also need to think about other ways the sound can be transmitted as sound will easily travel along floors, ceilings and other walls.

James.

brig001

Good advice about plasterboard above, but I would also look under the floors upstairs and down. Any gaps in the party wall here will allow the sound through. These gaps could be for joists, pipework or just sloppy building work. Filling these with something flexible will definitely help.
HTH, Brian.