Wall soundproofing - space at a premium

[NS-UK]

I want to improve the sound proofing of the wall joining my house to my neighbour.

I've read up a lot and appreciate a detached false wall is the optimum. Issue I have is that the stairs run up the wall to be improved - hence I can't lose 2-3", and instead only have an inch or so to work with - a little more than the width of the skirting.

With this is mind - has anyone got any recommendations? The sound coming through the wall is Low, but I really want to reduce it further. Secondly, I'd like to run my kit a little louder without concern for the neighbours who thus far (fingers crossed) haven't said a word.....

Thanks

[Neil Davidson]

In this situation it would seem that Green Glue is the best option. You would get best results from removing all current plasterboard (assuming not plaster walls) then applying a double layer of new boards as per the Green Glue instructions.

Wouldn't loose much space,1/2" or so, but would have significant reduction in noise levels both ways.

Neil

[NS-UK]

Thanks!
Would you also recommend a particular plasterboard / thickness plasterboard?

if your using green glue just use 12.5mm plasterboard

[Londondecca]

I asked about adding plasterboard and Green Glue to an existing wall without the traditional air gap, the response was that they thought it would work but had no tests to prove it

[mattym]

Originally Posted by Londondecca

I asked about adding plasterboard and Green Glue to an existing wall without the traditional air gap, the response was that they thought it would work but had no tests to prove it

Block wall is currently untested(afaik), but a plasterboard wall or stud is well documented and tested..

[Londondecca]

My apologies, I was referring only to brick walls, there is huge amounts of information on stud walls and plasterboards. Sorry for any confusion.

I still have some plasterboard to be fixed to a brick wall and I am tempted to use some Green Glue between the plasterboard and plaster/bricks. I still have two tubes of GG, so I have nothing to lose by trying.

This is a quote from Brain R from AVSforum in response to my question

"we don't possess brick-wall test data to answer that question at this time. the damping effect of green glue would be very valuable on a masonary construction, the question is "would green glue be effective in that situation?"

And i do regret that i cannot really answer what the results would be. Its a priority of ours to run a series of tests with masonary to support European customers (as this wall, while rare here, is very common in the UK and Europe), but this data won't be available for a month or 3.

The best support for your question that we can offer on a reasonably short-term basis would be a lab damping-only test (but this couldn't readily be converted into actual sound transmission data, only into estimates)

In some situations, adding drywall to masonary is a good idea as it allows the chance to caulk/seal the wall - seal failure via cracks and things seem to be common in masonary constructions"
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=693134