Soundproofing Ceiling

theEnd

(I know this subject has been posted a few times, but wondering if anyone has any more recent experience).

Typical situation. Old Victorian house. A lot of noise (mostly footfall) from above flat. All hours.

Owner has agreed to add some layers, but that won't be till tenants move out, which could be ages.

I've looked on the net and there seems to be really good reviews for soundproofed ceilings. Can't find any bad reviews. I have the space, can afford it and will combine with rewiring anyway.

Is it worth it?

nickyg2000

In the same situation and done lots of research but still unsure if it's worth it. the cost is about 5k in our case for a one bed flat.

The company's I've spoken to, london sound proofing and soundproofing r us. Seem to say its better to do the flat upstairs which I don't have access to and put in a floating floor. But at the same time they say they can reduce impact and airborne noise by 80% but all depends on the building. I really want to speak to someone who has done it. A Full independent ceiling with rock wool, barrier matt, geni clips, sound plank and acoustic plaster board. that is not just res bars.

marleyboy

I would have thought soundproofing a floor being effective, but not sure you could soundproof the ceiling.

andyhop

30mm blue plasterboard and a heap of insulation in place of the deafening will stop most noise .

bradleigh1977

i fit soundproofing a lot nowadays, and as expensive as it seems. There are plenty of companys who provide sound proofing systems and they work and are very expensive. I use sound block plasterboard, 2 x 15mm sheets. You build a 50mm stud frame just in front of the said wall, fill the gap with the 50mm accoustic insulation, use accoustic mastic sealant around the edges. then double skin of acoustic plasterboard. and the plaster. For ceilings its the same proccess but up in the air. I am doing one party wall tomorrow. you can hear the toilet next door, as if you are in the same room. The price is £280. its about 10ft sq. Is it worth it? definately.

theEnd

nickyg2000 wrote: »

london sound proofing and soundproofing r us

These were the ones I was looking at. Reviews seem very good and genuine. Can't find any bad reviews.

I'm guessing expensive, but I need to do the rewire anyway, so can maybe combine with lighting and sort of justify some of the cost.

nickyg2000

Yeah me too. I Spoke to one of the companies and they wanted £1400 for the top ceiling system installed in a 3.5 x 4 bedroom plus £50 a day petrol as I'm out of London. Looking at fitting one of them myself with a friend to save money. You can by the parts for a geni clip system for under £700 and a hanger system for £500 but would want to upgrade it with green glue and barrier matt. So maybe £800 for parts. But if it works the websites says 65% reduction for both impact and airborne I would be happy.

andydiysaver

theEnd wrote: »

(I know this subject has been posted a few times, but wondering if anyone has any more recent experience).

Typical situation. Old Victorian house. A lot of noise (mostly footfall) from above flat. All hours.

Owner has agreed to add some layers, but that won't be till tenants move out, which could be ages.

I've looked on the net and there seems to be really good reviews for soundproofed ceilings. Can't find any bad reviews. I have the space, can afford it and will combine with rewiring anyway.

Is it worth it?

first of all you have my sympathy - I had a wild party all night chav for months next door and work the next day- so a more extreme version, then I moved thank heavens


MLV is the material that works, for a ceiling I reckon best way would be false ceiling with the MLV as the stuff isn't light, which is both the idea and the issue. Way I'd do it would be constructing false ceiling perhaps using aluminium to build lattice then put up MLV and reseal, though thank God, I don't have to think like that anymore...

Fraise

theEnd wrote: »

(I know this subject has been posted a few times, but wondering if anyone has any more recent experience).

Typical situation. Old Victorian house. A lot of noise (mostly footfall) from above flat. All hours.

Owner has agreed to add some layers, but that won't be till tenants move out, which could be ages.

I've looked on the net and there seems to be really good reviews for soundproofed ceilings. Can't find any bad reviews. I have the space, can afford it and will combine with rewiring anyway.

Is it worth it?

Of course it will be worth it to soundproof your ceiling, but you will lose some height, and it is costly. I had almost the same situation as yourself, and I spoke with the landlord of the flat above, and after some cajoling (not the easiest of men), I persuaded him to let me have impact lay underlay colour Red fitted on his floor, including carpet. It came to around £800 and at my own cost, but it saw it as an investment and it also gave me peace. Bliss!

The underlay is fantastic at absorbing impact noise, and I can promise you that you can barely hear pin drop from above now. It is not 100% soundproof! like a recording studio would be, but it's removed 99% of the noise and it as quiet as any house I have owned, in fact, more so.

You can also get acoustic matting if there's airborne noise, but I never bothered with at as it wuss only footsteps etc that caused the noise.

The underlay undergoes lab tests and really is the bees knees. If you'd like a link to the website let me know

nickyg2000

http://isostore.com/comparing-acoustic-underlayment/

Really interesting information on this website above. Debunking bogus underlay ratings.

Other useful resource is soundproofingrus.co.uk. They said they could fit impact underlay and expect about a 10% reduction in impact sound. They have fitted 1000's of systems. Also soundstop and London sound proofing all give good info

nickyg2000

http://isostore.com/solution/floors-isolating-airborne-noise/

FOAM UNDERLAYMENT

These types of underlayment products are often available through local flooring supply stores. The airborne isolation ratings advertised by the manufacturers of these products are often well above 60 or even 70. These ratings are not realistic. Foam underlayment will help soften the cushion a little resulting in minimal isolation gains for impact footfall noise, but no actual gains in isolating airborne noise.