New underlay & carpet over old carpet (trying to soundproof))

usman330

Hi,
I am trying to stop TV noise going from the living room to the upstairs bedroom which is directly above the TV as it affects sleep when me or partner are working different hours.

We are having new carpets and underlay soon, so I was thinking if it would be ok to put the new underlay over the top of the old carpet, then the new carpet. The reason for this is I think with the thick sandwich effect of layers it will block a lot of the noise from downstairs. In effect it would be something like this:

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New Carpet

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New Underlay

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Old Carpet

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Old Underlay

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Floorboards

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I have taken into consideration the height of the door which will need trimming.

The only problem I am thinking of is how gripper will be attached to the perimeter of the room, as under the old carpet/underlay there is already gripper. Would new gripper be ok to nail on top? Any other downsides to this.

Anyone else have any ideas for soundproofing that don't involve taking up the floorboards.

Thankyou in advance.

A_Frayed_Knot

You can buy good quality underlay that has a soundproof effect - even tells you the soundproof value, have a look at Treadaire dreamwalk (12mm) or cloud 9 (9mm), I can recommend the dreamwalk have it in all the rooms that are carpeted, might be a little pricey but you can buy from the auction site just scout about, but would probably cost almost double from a carpet shop.Of course you could try the good old fashioned way before you lay the underlay and that's putting down brown paper/newspaper to stop the drafts and sound.

martinthebandit

.......or just get wireless headphones

HappyMJ

If you don't get wireless headphone at the very least turn the bass down even if you change the carpet. Low frequency sounds travel further than the high frequency sounds even through several layers of carpet.

redmalc

Just fitted Duralay Hallmark 11mm underlay in a bedroom and it is a lot quieter,purchased offline for £50 per roll

PheoUK

None of the carpet underplays will be good at stopping airborne noise. The db rating quoted is for impact noise

I investigated this, and chose to fit mineral loaded acoustic matting. This stuff has the same weight and density profile as lead... But without all the nasty chemicals.

One layer of this and the difference was significant. We combined with 12mm underlay for comfort and a thick carpet, and the noise is much reduced.

usman330

Thanks for all the replies, I will definitely be going to good quality underlay. It sounds like leaving the existing carpet and underlay then putting new underlay on top isnt a good idea.

PheoUK, do you have a link to the mineral loaded acoustic matting product you fitted. And did you fit this over the floorboards, then underlay, then carpet?

Thanks