Basement sound-muffling? (subfloor, how much, window, heater)

[Bac0s]

We're finishing our basement and trying to determine the best way to go about sound-muffling in our basement, if any.

As it stands right now, when downstairs we can hear everything the kids do upstairs, every word they speak, etc, and vice versa. We're finishing the space in the basement to be a playroom (under the family room) and a bedroom (under the dining room, so sound muffling isn't quite as important b/c the room is rarely used). Will the sound improve once the basement is finished, or should we insulate it, or use quietrock? We don't want to spend a ton of money, and don't need it to be totally soundproofed, but would like to not have to listen to every argument they have down there.

Thanks!

[Barking Spider]

Putting insulation in the floor will help some. Drywall on the basement ceiling will help too. Two layers will work better than one, but the cost is higher.

You can Google sound proofing and you will get a lot of information about soundproofing walls and ceilings. Carpet on the floor above the basement also helps (if you don't have it already).

All of these things absorb sound: carpet, insulation, drywall, acoustic tiles, etc.

On a side note, make sure the basement bedroom has a window (the proper size and distance from the floor), or it can't be called a bedroom. It's for egress in case of a fire.

[broadbill]

When we finished out basement we put in a drop ceiling. We went with the drop ceiling instead of drywalls because you might need to have access to the pipes/wiring that was run there, and also it would have been significantly more costly to move/reroute all of that stuff.

That being said, I was surprised how much the drop ceiling dampened the sounds from the downstairs. Whatever you put between the ceiling of the basement and the ground floor is going to help.

There are more extensive and expensive solutions to this problem, it all depends how much sound proofing you want/need.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Since it sounds like you're doing a d/wall ceiling, this is what I'd sell to clients:
isoTRAX Complete Soundproofing System for Walls & Ceilings - isoTRAX
Isotrax insulates the d/wall from the framing members.
Quietzone® Volume Control for the Home™
OC has this specific sound attenuation batt that is much better than plain f/glass. You'd want to use the unfaced version.

The one thing that must people don't realise is sound transmission works both ways- you maybe concerned about noise from above but, there will also be the sound from below.
Granted carpet, window treatments, and upholstered furniture all have sound absorbing qualities- but a need to mitigate or contain such "noise" is easier with the items I mentioned earlier.

[BobKovacs]

Since our house was newer, the builder had put fiberglass batts in the basement ceiling already. When we finished the basement, we left them in and installed a drywall ceiling. We have no problems with sound transmission from one floor to the other, even with hardwoods on the whole first floor.

Resilient channels (like KB linked to above) or QuietRock would help even more, but unless you're planning on having a home theater or some other sound-sensitive area down there, they're likely to be money that doesn't need to be spent.

[Coldjensens]

If you can afford it, spray icynene foam on the floor joists and subfloor from the basmement. THen instal either drywall or a suspended cieling using some form of sound barrier between the drywall of cieling hangers and the studs. Not much sound will pass through that. IN our house, the basement rooms with suspended cieling are much quieter than the ones with drywall. We did not do the ICYNENE foam (too expensive for us) Wish we had. My Sister did it in her house and the room in her basement is the quietest room inthe house.