Hi,
I have a shared walls and I was looking for best way to sound proof. It seems there are mixed opinions.
I [saw these](https://www.catch.com.au/product/40pcs-studio-acoustic-foam-…
Just wondering if anyone had sound proofing experience and what tiles they recommend?
Not with neighbor. Sound proofing foam should be fine.
You can think of it as taking one room from a house that has independent access. We are just trying to make it as a seperate Airbnb type setup. So, lounge in that space shares the wall with kitchen in house. We just trying to minimize the sound.
So what noise from which space are you trying to minimise? If from both sides you need panels on both sides. By the way the noise could just go over the wall via the ceiling if the wall between does not continue through.
Sure we can consider that. Its just everyday noise of people talking, etc. It seems you worked on this before. What solution did you implement?
This sort of stuff (or something similar) should be mandatory as a layer in all, new apartment block builds flooring and walls.
I feel the soundproofing requirements in current builds are simply poor at best.
Imagine soundproofing paint? Now that would be something!
like green glue?
Yeah, 'like' green glue, but simple. E.g. in a Delux or Bristol can (or the likes).
Use a paintbrush or roller as if one was simply repainting over the existing paint.
The acoustic foam is more about changing how things sound in your room by changing how reflective your wall is, it will make the room less reverberant but it's not really intended to acoustically insulate one room from the other. It might help, but it's not really the intended use.
Carrying on from Melb88:
- you can build a second wall frame in front of the existing with a gap (discontinuous construction), Sound Screen insulation and Soundchek plasterboard.
- if the wall is only built up to the ceiling to sound can go over the top, you could use an acoustic baffle such as wavebar above the ceiling, or continue the partition wall above the ceiling.
If you don't want to do that and want to go down the foam road I would look into Autex Quietspace panels, again, it's not the intended purpose, but it could be more suitable than the product you linked. It probably wouldn't be cheaper than just adding a second skin to the wall. Just remember, you need to seal any crack or hole, it's only as strong as the weakest point.
Thanks. However, doing modifications to the wall is not an option. Second wall frame is not possible. I'll check the Autex Quietspace.
However, let me ask question differently. I have the loudest drumset that i want to play. How would one sound proof that room ?
Sound screen seems good. Between Gyprock Soundcheck and Sound Screen which one is better? We have a door there which we were going to seal with gyprock. It is feasible to do that over entire wall. Not sure how much it extra it would cost.
Do it properly or don’t bother. Any tiny budget, half hearted attempt will make little difference.
Unfortunately those foam panels will not do anything. To reduce sound transmission you need to: seal air gaps, add density, or decouple surfaces (gap between walls). Or any combination of these.
Air gaps: Is there ducted aircon shared between the rooms? Are there vents in the walls? Are there gaps under and around the doors that can be sealed?
Density: Ideally you want brick walls between rooms and a concrete slab between floors. Solid wood doors and thick double glazed windows. That's density, and will stop a lot of low frequency transmission.
Decouple surfaces: This is a 'room within a room', or traditional double brick construction (with air gap), and will reduce a lot of sound transmission, at the cost of reducing the size of the room, or being very expensive.
Foam panels don't achieve any of the above.
Any constructional changes are not possible unfortunately. Any suggestion on any other solution? We aren't trying to reach 100% soundproofing.
My suggestions are not for achieving 100%, they are for achieving any sound reduction - those are the only passive ways to reduce sound transmission. (There's also 'add distance between source and receiver', but obviously that's impossible).
To add density and decoupling, you could add an extra layer of drywall on top of the existing drywall, with https://foamsealant.com.au/green-glue/ to act as a decoupling medium. It's a bit of construction work, but not as much as building another room in a room.
If you can't do any construction at all, look at adding rubber seals and draft stoppers on all the doors, sealing up any cracks in the drywall or cornices, this won't get you much in terms of transmission from a neighbouring room though unless there was a significant air leak.
Thanks. I looked into in from above suggestions, It would be what you mentioned or gyprock or sound screen,
What trade would specialize in this? Is it a handyman?
@yjun355: depends on the skills of the handyman, they could do it, however you'd need a licensed electrician to deal with all the fittings. (powerpoints, switches, lights etc)
If your trying to stop noise from adjoining neighbour you really need to get acoustic insulation in the wall. It should be a fire rated wall and discontinuous. So you shouldn't get banging noise through wall. What is the noise issue?
Or are you playing music in your apartment and want to reduce noise to neighbour. Then the panels should help.