Rockwool

[gwbailey]

I believe that Rockwool is very good for soundproofing a room, so does anyone know where I can get some and how much it's likely to cost?

Cheers,

[General Skanky]

B&Q.<br />Wickes.<br />Homebase etc.<br />About £8 a roll. 150mm thick. Don't know how long.

[gwbailey]

Hi Gen, hows things?

Is rockwool the same as the glass Wool we use for our lofts?

I checked the web sites you listed but no luck!

Cheers,

[Nike]

Hi,
Earlier this year I had my cavity walls done with Rockwool - I was told at the time that it can be purchased in sheets.
As its name suggests, it is mineral based. It is also porous.
It is not like the loft insulation stuff that most people have (thick yellow stuff).

[General Skanky]

Sorry, GW, I was on about the stuff we shove in the attic and feel itchy for a week afterwards.
Sometimes you'll see an ad in local papers offering grants for home insulation, maybe you'll get a contact through that????

[Nike]

Pretty sure that Wickes sell it (In sheet form).
Obviously not the same as the cavity stuff which is 'blown in'.

[ 04-10-2001: Message edited by: Nike ]

[gwbailey]

Thanks guys,

Nike, how much did it cost?

[Nike]

Sorry, I don't know how much it is in sheet form.
I only became aware of the product when I had my cavity wall insulation done. (Obviously not in sheets!)
Try giving your local 'Wickes' a call or failing that:Rockwool local distributors

[Monster]

Here is another one for you: www.isowool.com

As mentioned Rockwool is mineral based not like the glass fibre based thermal insulation you should have in your loft.

As a general rule (The Mass Rule) the denser the insulation the better the sound insulating performance. This is without going in to the complexities of resonating dampers, isolated structures etc.

[Gary Lightfoot]

I used the Wickes 2" thick loft insulation slabs in my loft between the roof joists. I left a 2" gap behind for air flow, and then fitted a vapour barrier and half inch plasterboard.

I did a sound test with my g/f in the garden, and whereas 2 to 3 on the amp is as loud as we would have it, I could turn it up to 6 and she still couldn't hear it outside (Hell Unleashed from Gladiator).

I also used their 30mm high density slabs for the false wall I built in front of one party wall, along with two layers of half inch plasterboard. Seems to have done the trick so far.

BTW - the rockwool will help stop higher frequencies, but do little for bass. Only mass stops bass, so that's why I used two layers of plasterboard.

What are planning to do to soundproof your room?

Gary.

[ 20-10-2001: Message edited by: Gary Lightfoot ]

[gwbailey]

Hi Gary, I will probably do it pretty much the same way as you.

A couple of questions though;

How did you fix the slabs to the wall?

How did you fix the two layers of plaster board together, and to the slabs?

Did you leave a gap between the slabs and the plaster boards?

If you use two layers of plaster board how do you hang things on the wall? (eg; speakers,etc)

And last but not least, I want to soundproof the gap between ceiling and the bedroom floor, how would I do this best?

Cheers,

Hi.
There is a product called Fermacell
it is like plasterboard but three times
denser.I have a garage full.My soundproofing
project should start next weekend.
It costs £10 for a 8 by 4 sheet 12.5mm thick.
Encon sell it there headoffice no 01937 524200.There are branches all over.
Good luck
Gary

[ROGER THE LODGER]

Hi Graham,
If you still need some more info on soundproofing a g


ood place to peek at is ....www.customaudio.freeserve.co.uk

They have loads of products including special carpet underlays

Regards. Roger

[Gary Lightfoot]

Hi gwbailey,

How's bedford falls these days?

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can..

When I built the false wall, I use 2x1 wood, and made sure the studs were at 600mm centres so that the edge of the boards line up with a stud. Then just cut the slabs to fit, and fill any gaps with silicon rubber (high modulus is best).

Another way to fix these to a wall is actually on the pack - use tile adhesive to fix the slabs to the brick or breaze wall, then when you put the plasterboard up, you drill through the board and slabs and into the wall. Use rawl plugs in the wall, then long screws to screw the plasterboard into the wall, sandwiching the insulation between board and wall.

Really I think you should build a false wall with a gap behind for extra soundproofing (4x2s are ideal, with an inch gap between that and the wall and fit 4ins of insulation). This makes it easier to screw the plasterboard to as well.

See my cinema page on my home page: g.lightfoot.btinternet.co.uk

To fit two layers of plasterboard, you fit the first layer using screws into the beams, then do the same thing with the second layer using longer screws. Before I fitted the second layer, I sealed the joins between each adjacent board with silicon rubber. I also used some liquid nails between the two layers to give some extra rigidity. Then use self adhesive scrim tape (it's easier if you don't do a lot of plastering yourself) and plaster across the joins. If you use a good straight edge you can get a good finish with tapered edge plasterboard.

I did not leave a gap between the slabs and plasterboard, as I'd already left a gap behind the false wall.

I'm not attaching the speakers to the walls because I don't want to transmit any sound/vibrations through the wall if I can help it. I'm using stands. But if you want to hang things on the wal, you can get special plasterboard rawlplugs. What I tend to do is drill a hole, use some no more nails in the hole and fit a rawl plug. I let it set before screwing into it. This seems to stop the plug turning or pulling out.

The best way to soundproof a ceiling is to build two false walls using 4x2 first, the put a new 'roof/ceiling on that, so it isn't touching the ceiling above. This is the most expensive way of course, and probabaly not practical.

Another way is to get some (expensive I think) insulating/soundproofing mat for upstairs. I have seen this used, and it included removing the skirtingboard. I think they removed the skirting to seal the gap between the wall and floor, and maybe even sealed the gaps between the floorboards. They fitted the soundproof matting right up to the wall and sealed any gaps, then refitted the skirting and sealed al gaps between skirting and wall and matt. Then they used high quality underlay before fitting the carpet, though I don't know how they fitted the gripper rod to the matt/floor.

If you can get all floor boards up, then fill all the joists with loft insulation, then refit the floorboards and seal all gaps with silicon. Fill any gaps between skirting and floor with silicon, then use high quality underlay before fitting the carpet. Fit another layer of plasterboard to the ceiling in the ht room.

Those are probably the cheapest options. feel free to ask me any more questions if there's anything else I can help you with.


Gary.

Now use the high quality underlay

[gwbailey]

Thanks guys!

How's bedford falls these days? What???????????