[pablo_paul]

We’ve just moved into a new house and we have a small problem with our shared wall. Our neighbours seem nice so I don’t think it’s them being overly loud (although they do have laminated floors which probably doesn’t help) i think it’s just very thin walls. Annoying seeing as we’ve just spent twice as much on our new house compared to our old mid-terrace, anyway....

After much reading on here I think i have figured a solution I intend to build a stud wall in the alcoves either side of the fire place I Thought i’d check on here and see what you all thought I still have some blank spaces to fill in my plan.

1) Wall will be fixed to the floorboards, Side Walls, and Ceiling (if i can find joists)
2) All the noise seems to be high frequency stuff mainly TV
3) I don’t want to loose to much space so i’m thinking of leaving a 1-2 Inch AirGap.
4) use 2x2 wood to build my stud frame.
5) Fill with Insulation, what’s the best option for this?
6) Cover with Plasterboard (the type that you can decorate straight onto)

I’m not asking for miracles a 50% reduction would be brilliant. I think what i’m really worried about is what they will hear from our side when I get my 5.1 system setup. Let’s be honest you wouldn’t want to live next door to someone with a 250 Watt Sub next to your wall.

Do you think this will be ok? What Isulation should I use? My total budget is about £400-500

Cheers

[awhb]

You want to use a acoustic plasterboard

[Ben120379]

Hi,

If you are studding the wall off the current wall, then fill the voids between the uprights with acoustic mineral wool. It comes in slabs with different density's, starting at 45kg/m3, with higher density's obviously providing better sound insulation.

This is more expensive than normal thermal mineral wool (appox. 15kg/m3), but will offer better sound reduction.

[pablo_paul]

i'd already thought about using the 15mm acustic board guess i will have to get someone to plaster it for me.

i.ve seen the heavy density blocks in wickes is this what you are reffering to? I've read comments that it will still transmitte the sound because it is to dense.

Doing this on my mobile so the spelling and grammer is rubbish. Sorry.

[Ben120379]

Hi,

You won't necessary have to apply a skim plaster finish to the board, you can fill / sand and tape it, and then paint it although the finish will not be as good and if you want to put up wallpaper, this is likely to tear the plasterboard paper when removed.

With regards to the sound insulation, if you are talking about airbourne sound, then a material with a high mass and a low stiffness is best, which is what this material is.

[pablo_paul]

Ben120379,

Sorry for the lack of replies to this thread I'm still waiting on BT to get my broadband up and running. Useless.

Can you give me any links/trade names for the insulation you are referring to? they don't seem to show densities of the materials on most websites etc. I'm looking to order all of the materials this weekend.

[Andywilliams]

Hi pablo
I have just done my party wall in the lounge in my new house i used the gyproc sound block board the heavy density insulation from wicks and 2''x2'' batons for the frame which was built with a 4 inch void in between my new wall and the existing wall all the insulation was secured by cutting and screwing through the wood frame in to the insulation which is very sturdy but very very itchy so wear gloves from reading up leaving the void detaching the new wall from the party wall is very important more so than any thickness or substance the wall is made of i will not be setting my system up till i have finished decorating so dont really know how effective it is at the moment but before i did it you could here next doors tv through the wall now all is silent the wall built was 12ft wide by 8ft high i think with materials it comes around £250 but then you have the plasterers fee on top.
Hope this helps.
Andy.

[pablo_paul]

I'm going to order all of the materials this weekend i had come to the conclusion to use the gyproc boards I've also found some information on the Insulations as well. Travis Perkins seem to stock the board and insulation from their website but I think they are for trade only which could be a problem.

I might have to become a builder.

BT have finally sorted my broadband out so i can do some proper research, you don't realise how much you use it until it's gone

[Andywilliams]

Originally Posted by pablo_paul

I'm going to order all of the materials this weekend i had come to the conclusion to use the gyproc boards I've also found some information on the Insulations as well. Travis Perkins seem to stock the board and insulation from their website but I think they are for trade only which could be a problem.

I might have to become a builder.

BT have finally sorted my broadband out so i can do some proper research, you don't realise how much you use it until it's gone

I got my gyproc board from travis perkins (any one can order) but they didn't sell the sound proof insulation i would get the insulation from wicks it fits easily in to the car. Shame you didnt live near me i still have 3 full sheets of the insulation left about £30 worth you could have had it for free.
Andy.

[pablo_paul]

Cheers for the offer but as you say a bit far.

[pablo_paul]

Well things are progressing but a little slow i like to understand what i'm doing before Commiting to doing something.

I've just had a quote to skim the room for £250 I've seen the guy's work so i'll probably go with him. I've ordered all of my wall plates and cables ready for chasing in. I will probably start a build thread when i actually start doing something

I'm going to ring round in the morning and order all of the materials for the stud wall.

[davee]

You would do well to read the information here:
Domestic Sound Insulation - Noisy Neighbours?
They are specialists in acoustic control and sell the right products, some of which are of course available as proprietary materials from standard builders merchants.

[pablo_paul]

Good reading thanks. One of the things on the website they show is fixing resiliant bars to the party wall. Would this not transmit sound? My solution is to float the stud wall fixing to the ceiling and floor. The transmitted noise only seems to come through the party wall not the floor and the ceiling, although of course this may change when i get the wall up.

I've been pricing up with builders merchants today. The prices aren't working out to bad. All of the sound insulation at builders merchants just won't cut it the highest i have found is 19 kg.m3 with thickness of 25mm the 50mm stuff is even less dense.

So the winner at the moment is going to be wickes unless anybody knows of an alternative?

I'm also thinking of adding another layer of of plaster board seeing as it's pretty cheap.

[Ted White]

Pablo, the double wall would be significantly better than bars.

[pablo_paul]

Ok I've ordered all of the materials they will be arriving on Monday. I ordered double the sound board I think this is the best option, i have thought about green glueing it as well but i can't justify the cost.

I will start a build thread later this might be a good little project for other people to look at.

[Ted White]

By "soundboard" you're referring to the heavier plasterboard available over there?

Would be better to buy heavy standard plasterboard and install damping in between, rather than pay an upcharge for a slightly denser plasterboard and omit the damping. I have no idea what the costs are over there for any of these materials, however.

Similarly, I would encourage decoupling and the use of light insulation for absorption. Overly dense insulation can start to act as a conductor.

[pablo_paul]

Basically its heavier density plaster board for the same thickness it's only a couple of pounds more.

I've heard people say about not using to heavy insulation but others say you want to get as much mass into the wall as possible. The stud i'm putting in will not be connected to the party wall i will have an air gap.

[Ted White]

There's plenty of bad info running around. Fortunately there are many independant lab tests for us to glean info from.

Added mass is a great thing, but insulation isn't the contributor you're looking for at all. Denser insulation tests well in open air... but we don't build open air walls. They are enclosed. And so the very dense insulation does not in fact perform better and you run the significant risk of the dense insulation coupling the wall surfaces.

While mass is very important, keep in mind that the rating of a wall will increase by 6 points if you double the weight of the entire wall. Adding the studs, plasterboard, insulation, everything. Only 6 points. Classic Mass-Law in action. So while mass is important, and you strive for as much as possible, when budgeting you have to consider other elements.

Significant damping of a wall adds 10 points in contrast.

Good about the air gap, but the unfortunate situation is that installing an air cavity in front of an existing air cavity doesn't improve things a great deal.

Installing an air cavity in front of a solid wall (no air cavity) is a great idea, however. So your success here will be largely defined by whether that original party wall is a single leaf (solid) or a double leaf (air cavity).

[pablo_paul]

This all seems a little bit of a Black art and the results can be hit or miss.
To be fair if they constructed houses properly in the first place you wouldn't have to do stuff like this. The house was built in the 60's so you you would have thought the construction would be pretty solid compared to some of the New Builds but I guess they didn't have building regs for noise in the 60's.

[Ted White]

I certainly agree with respect to the construction practices. They are much worse here in the States, actually.

There's really no black art. There is, however, a great deal of confusion and propagation of myth. Fortunately there is also extensive independent lab data available to prove / disprove many methods and materials.