Soundproofing between units?
Hey everyone, currently living in a house-hack (over/under - we live in the upper unit). Original plan was to move on after a year, but we really like the area.
Problem is, it's a wood frame construction, and the noise transfer between the units is starting to bug me. Louder conversations can be heard as muffled speech, I often use the heat pump to drown it out. Social visits from either unit will cause a decent amount of sound to enter the other unit.
Considering living here longer, but we might address the sound issues. Does any one have any experience with this?
Hoping to mostly resolve speech/ect noises not impact as I know that is a different beast.
Planning on keeping the existing ceiling, but adding
-sonopan
-resilient channel
-5/8th dry wall
Would this make a noticeable difference? It will be a decent chunk of money.
Is it possible to just do the living spaces (living room, kitchen, hall way) and leave the bedrooms unchanged?
Thanks in advance!
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Carpet and padding on the upper unit should work as well. There is not much else you can do than what you prescribed.
- Chris Seveney
Carpet and padding on the upper unit should work as well. There is not much else you can do than what you prescribed.
- Chris Seveney
Thanks for the reply Chris. Carpet and padding was what was originally in the upper unit before I purchased it - likely effected a lot when it was removed.
Should I notice much of a difference after completing the work I have outlined?
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Are you talking about walls or floors? There are some things you can do with walls, but with floors (other than rebuilding) you are limited to carpet or floor coverings....
Apologies, should have specified. I am talking about approaching this from the ceiling of the lower unit as my tenants are currently away for the summer.
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Well then, you can fur out the ceiling with 2x2's, add insulation, special sound-resistant drywall etc... I've used these before and they work (at least somewhat :-)
https://www.certainteed.com/dr...
Oh excellent! How much of a difference would that all make in your experience? Noticeable?
What if I left the existing ceiling and didn't do insulation (not sure if it is currently insulated, i'll need to check).
Complete system would be
-sound dampening underlay (upper unit)
-5/8th dry wall
-sonopan (https://www.homedepot.ca/produ... )
-Resilient Channel
-5/8th dry wall
Thanks!
I know you're focused on the ceilings and you've already gotten advice there, but in the future you can use carpet on the floors or install an underlayment under whatever flooring you have to further reduce noise. I wish I had done that when we had vinyl plank flooring installed in the unit above us. Similar issue as you with the noise from the tenants above us is a bit much.
I actually did add sound deadening underlay to our unit when we bought the place. Originally it was carpet, the seller added laminate directly on the subfloor. I pulled up the entire unit piece by piece and redid the floors - it was a lot of work! Sound in the unit was slightly better, but still not where I need it.
Oh bummer! I figured that would help but was somewhat skeptical it would be enough. How much extra was it to install the underlayment?
Pretty cheap - well in the grand scheme of sound proofing. I think it was an additional $600-700 for the 1200 sqft unit.
Insulation between the beams and thicker sound proof drywall.
Also if the floor upstairs is creaking, consider screwing the subfloor down, this can help a lot
- Alan Asriants
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Do you mean the joists? And there is no 'sound-proof' drywall, just 'sound -resistant'
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Yes, it should be a noticeable difference....not scientific, but I'll say 30-50%.....?
Yes, I believe that's what he means.
From my research, the name of the game is mass. I guess my debate is how much better is insulation then 5/8th dry wall - as it will be quite a bit more costly to rip out the existing ceiling and purchase the insulation than it would be to add on top of the existing ceiling.
yes I mean joists, and yes it won't be sounds proof
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@Stuart Alexander
We used plywood, a layer of cork and LVP with sound proofing back (thick rubber) upper units. Definitely made a difference and we no longer install rugs. You may not need plywood.
Hi! I just wanted to say that if you ended up renting out the top unit to a family with kids, then it will be a complete nightmare for both parties. There is the potential for lawsuits if the bottom unit can’t stand the kids running and jumping. I’m not sure if you’ve experienced this before, but dampening the sound using literally anything you can is a great idea!
Depending on code in your area, you may have to have 5/8" fire resistant drywall as your ceiling in the lower unit which will help with the sound barrier. Another option would be to insulate the ceiling with Rockwool;
ROCKWOOL COMFORTBATT R-15 Attic Wall 59.7-sq ft Unfaced Stone Wool Batt Insulation Individual Pack in the Batt Insulation department at Lowes.com
It does double duty as a fire barrier and is a good sound absorber. I used it when I finished my basement and it helped.
I just renovated an up/down duplex. We added blow-in insulation between floors. The cavity was 9" tall and we filled it completely. We left the original plaster ceiling and added 5/8" drywall over it. It did almost nothing to dampen sound. You can still hear everything from above when in the lower unit, including voices when speaking at a normal level and every footstep. Even every footstep of the dog upstairs. We are now facing having to tear out all the layers of the ceiling and the insulation we just added. We are starting over with the more expensive methods. Paying to have all of that installed, and then immediately having all of it demo'd is going to end up costing about $8k. It's one of the most expensive mistakes I've ever made. We should have just gone with the more expensive and reliable methods from the start. Looking into this right now: https://www.soundproofingcompa...
Most expensive mistake I ever made was going variable when I bought this place ;) what did you use for insulation? I could see my current set up being similar to what you have now. I’m hoping the extra inch of mass/sound dampening brings Me to an acceptable level of noise transfer.
How is your house heated by the way? I’ve heard ducts pass a lot of sound.
I think at the end of the day there will always be sound transferring, the goal is to get it to an acceptable level. Lower units I’ll inherently have sound transfer issues - my main goal is to make the upper unit not experience sounds from the lower so as long as I can add enough mass to get rid of airborne noise I should be okay. Best of luck!
Someone else shared it already, read everything here - https://www.soundproofingcompa...
Then watch this guys stuff -
Overall for your situation, I’d do this (depending on budget)
1. Insulate ceiling. From most descriptions the sound dampening insulation provides negligible improvements over fiberglass. But do your own research.
2. Add resilient channel
3. Two layers of drywall with green glue in between them, or one layer that comes with green glue. You may have to do two layers for fire code anyway.
4. If you redo floor upstairs do sound dampen underpayment then the flooring. Or do carpet with padding. If you redo subfloor then you could put green glue up there too.
You’re going to ask how much it will help. Impossible to know so best thing you can do is watch YouTube videos and then test yourself after each step and decide if you want to go further.