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I live in an in-law apartment attached to a relative's house. When it was built, apparently the contractors decided that there didn't need to be any soundproofing between us. I do not believe there is any insulation between the connecting walls.
As you can see in this photo, the wall to the right is the side wall of their house, to which only boards for tacking up drywall are attached. That is all the space between them and me.
This wall is the main problem:
Right in the middle of the wall was where a window used to be. The contractors put in plywood, I believe, on either side to close it up, and I'm almost certain there is space in between them. I believe this because of the amount of noise that comes through the wall. That is my front door to the right, and you walk directly into my kitchen/dining room, then to the left is my living room. Therefore, there is no other barrier between the very farthest corner of my apartment from the connecting wall. I can sit there in my living room and clearly hear my relative sneeze in the room connected to that wall, as if they were sitting in my apartment - it is not muffled at all. I can hear talking, being able to actually hear what is being said, when in my kitchen or bathroom (which is on the other side of the wall on the left of the photo). They have wood floors, and I hear every step they make. The room on their side is the computer/craft room, and the relative is in there a major portion of the day and night.
My biggest problem is not necessarily that I can hear them, although that is annoying, it is that they can hear me. That means that I cannot listen to music, or sing (and I love to sing, and even if I sing quietly in the corner of my living room, they can hear me). I want to re-teach myself the violin, but it is much louder than a sneeze, and I am self-conscious, so I keep putting it off, wondering how I can block the sound.
So, with all that info, can anybody help me with some ideas how to add some type of soundproofing? I have researched all about soundproofing, and Green Glue and Quietrock. I have looked at things like this: Soft Sound Acoustic Panels Aside from cost, one of the big problems is there is virtually no room to add these things - this is all the room there is on the other wall:
As you can see, the wall is actually wider going towards the ceiling than the floor.
I am to the point now where I am thinking of buying a queen-sized mattress off of craigslist and just shoving it against the wall, regardless of how bad it looks. I'm mostly kidding about that, but really, would that help in any way? The problem with putting a huge armoire or bookcases and loading them up, again, is that then the door cannot open very far, and the entire wall has to be covered to do any good.
I won't even mention the fact that my bathroom also has no soundproofing, nor that they have now moved their surround sound system into the room directly below and next to my bedroom - same issue, I cannot be anywhere in my apartment without hearing/feeling it. The only saving grace is that they upgraded their system to one with a lot less bass than their old one. I can even live with that since they don't use it that often. I just want to sing!
I live in an in-law apartment attached to a relative's house. When it was built, apparently the contractors decided that there didn't need to be any soundproofing between us. I do not believe there is any insulation between the connecting walls.
Any suggestions?
Builders leave hollow walls to save money but, in doing so, create a sound problem. They could have prevented the problem for a relatively small amount.
The small wall in your entry way can be taken care of in a couple of hours. I'm not sure how much space there is between the wall in your second photo and your radiator. However, I recently saw some new sound proof drywall at one of the big box stores that may help. If it will fit, you can try removing the baseboard and installing one or two sides of them against the present wall (from floor to ceiling). You also want to see if you can go straight up above the ceiling and insulate that area with pink fiberglass also. Then, you can reinstall the baseboard, seal the bottom and top of the baseboard with painter's caulk or silicone, finish the ceiling joint and paint it.
You can also remove the current drywall and install the sound proof drywall. If you do, it is probably best to insulate between the studs and above your ceiling line well before installing the drywall anyway. You can use acoustic panels between the studs. They probably work better than standard pink insulation, but they are more expensive. I heard they work well for musicians but I haven't actually used them. At the very least, install the standard thick pink insulation. Don't forget to seal the top and bottom of the baseboard and any molding with caulk, as even a small crack can allow sound to come through. You'll lose an inch of space in your entrance with the sound proof drywall, but it may be well worth it for some peace and quiet.
Mattresses are not good for soundproofing. I would strongly recommend that you consider hiring a good contractor to remove the drywall, use a quality sound deadening insulation, seal all the gaps with appropriate adhesives, hang sound control type drywall, probably off of resilient channels and be both QUIETER and SAFER -- I believe the common wall is NOT appropriately fireproofed in its current state.
Maybe you can share costs with the relatives... Budget might be a few thousand dollars.
Insulation will not do all that much with the configuration that you have. It will help, but you will still get a lot of sound transfer. The wall on one side vibrates the studs which then vibrate the wall on the other side. You need to break that connection. One way to do that is with soundproofing liners under the drywall or whatever makes up the wall. Another way is to build a double wall so that studs do not touch the other wall. You also have to deal with the cieling.
Merely throwing some insulation in that pocket, may help a little bit, but it is probably not the solution to your problem.
add an additional layer of 5/8 drywall going the opposite direction from the first with a layer of "Greenglue" between this is an accoustic product look up online. also use acoustic caulk around any electric boxes or other openings insulate INSIDE of any ducts. this should help considerably with the least mess and cost. also if there are any connecting doors get masonite Safe and Sound doors or other similar SOLID door.
Sound can also be dealt with at the source via carpeting, drapes and upholstered furniture in the living area where the sound is coming from. Tile and wood floors and bare walls just cause sound to vibrate. Alternately, if you want to deaden sound from your living area, carpeting, drapes, etc. will help. Hanging decorative rugs and tapestry on the walls helps too. Even if you have the walls redone, you won't hide much sound with those tile floors since it's a two story house.
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