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We're building a new house - and I want to know the best way to get the best sound insulation in the home. The home we're in now is HORRIBLE for sound (you can hear footsteps the floor above, if someone is talking in another room, you can hear it, if kids are fighting it's over). I want to avoid this as much as possible, and perhaps go a little overkill (I'm also building a theater room, but that is for another thread).
We have 4 kids (2 older, 2 younger). I want the older kids to be able to bring their friends over and not feel like they have to be quiet etc.
The home is a 3 level (2 story w/ basement), 6500sq ft home. So naturally if people are on opposite ends of the home, it's not going to be a big problem. The main issue is noise between walls (master is on main floor adjacent to great room), and noise between major living area sub floors / ceilings.
Do people usually just get thick carpet padding and call it a day? I know solid core doors help a lot and I'm probably going to get those. What about for the walls / adjacent rooms? I've seen some sound proofing material for sub floors, but I'm not sure if it's just an overpriced gimmick.
I want the home to be as sound insulated as possible, but without spending tens of thousands on exotic materials. What's the best way to go about this? I can ask our builder, but I wanted to get some second opinions.
You can use insulation between the bedroom and great room walls to reduce sound. If you want it sound dead you'll need to add an additional framed wall next the the common wall with the great room. Any nail is going to transmit sound. A separate framed wall cures the problem but adds significantly to the trim out. You could have sound board GLUED up on the studs common with the great room and then GLUE drywall to the sound board. You cannot use any kind of metal fastener as it is the source of sound transmission. These are some of the techniques we use here depending on how much sound deadening the customer wants. The separate framing is the best followed by the sound board. The insulation comes in last but it does stop about half of the noise. We use it primarily in bathroom walls so folks don't hear you doin' yer business in there. It works.
You can use red rosin paper under the subfloor but you're still going to get some sound via transmission/fasteners. An 8lb rebond pad should also help under the carpet. I would also HIGHLY recommend floor trusses over TJIs. They are far more solid and they eliminate the subs from cutting in the wrong areas weakening the floor structure. If you have heavy furniture, TJIs are not what you're going to be happy with unless you just like a bouncing floor as you walk across it.
If you are going to do it, skip the advice here and hire a qualified sound engineer to work with the builder/architect. Sound attenuation is not a priority in most modern construction. With a home that large, you will be dropping a sizable piece of change for anything worth doing.
[quote=harry chickpea;40977256]If you are going to do it, skip the advice here and hire a qualified sound engineer to work with the builder/architect. Sound attenuation is not a priority in most modern construction. With a home that large, you will be dropping a sizable piece of change for anything worth doing.[/QUOTE]
True, if you want it done effectively, it won't be cheap.
But, if you don't do it now during construction, it will be all but impossible later without tearing out sheetrock etc and then it will be really costly.
It will be costly to properly do sound insulation within the house. There are many techniques that can be combined together - wall within a wall, hat & channel framing, double dry wall with green glue, different types of insulation, etc. For my basement home theater with 144 inch screen, I did hat & channel on the ceiling, double dry wall with green glue, and R19 insulation on ceiling and two walls.
Wow - thanks for the replies guys. Didn't expect to get this much input.
I wrote an email to the builder asking if they had any default procedures for customers that want to sound insulate their home.
Also, it looks they they are using those TJI silent floors (according to the spec sheet). I think they JUST put them in yesterday, so I guess we're stuck with them.
As far as the cost - I guess we don't need to go overkill if it's going to cost a lot. We don't mind spending a few grand to put extra insulation between the walls that need it. What's usually the biggest bang for the buck?
If I ever have a house built I'm going to sound proof all the bathrooms! I can deal with all the other noises but I really wish I didn't have to hear bathroom noise.
Donna,
If your master bedroom is adjacent to the family room, you could use Quiet Rock on the wall between your bedroom and the family room. My friend who has a duplex in close quarters had this installed on the ceiling and walls in her bedroom, she swears by it. It works. It costs more than regular drywall, but if you just use it on specific walls, it will really work for you and wont cost an arm and a leg.
Also, the builder of my home, he used closets and bathrooms to separate the rooms in my house in such a way that it really helps with sound control. Wood doors really help too. Real wood, I mean.
If you have 2 bedrooms next to each other, to place the closets between each room really helps, and costs are the same, if you put closets in between bedrooms, or other rooms, they really help.
You know, every little bit helps. It doesn't have to cost a fortune.
You don't need the entire home sound proofed.
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