Sound Insulation (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

So I”ve got a new atmos system and love it and love cranking it up. And my wife retreats to the MBR and says crank it down. I am assuming there is no insulation in the interior wall separating the MBR and the LR. If I add insulation blown into that wall from the attic, would it make the MBR significantly quieter? There is of course a door leading to the MBR, would it defeat the attempt to cut down on the noise.

Is their specific sound proofing insulation that could be blown in?

BTW, my wife an hear a gnat’s whisker hit the floor at 50 paces. 25 it the room is carpeted.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Unfortunately, there is no quick-and-easy method for soundproofing.

Basically speaking, soundproofing requires mass and mechanical isolation. Recording studios typically have something akin to “ultimate” soundproofing. The construction consists of walls and ceilings of rooms fully decoupled from each other in “room within a room” fashion, with double- or even triple-layered drywall on both sides, along with double air-tight, solid-core doors leading in and out.

Any “downgrades” from there– less sheetrock, staggered-stud walls (where both sides share a common header and footer, but not upright studs), soundclips – reduce effectiveness, but can still be beneficial.

https://cdn.instructables.com/FJE/SE0N/FRL5KX3T/FJESE0NFRL5KX3T.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&fit=bounds

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Johnny Angell]

Unfortunately, there is no quick-and-easy method for soundproofing.

Basically speaking, soundproofing requires mass and mechanical isolation. Recording studios typically have something akin to “ultimate” soundproofing. The construction consists of walls and ceilings of rooms fully decoupled from each other in “room within a room” fashion, with double- or even triple-layered drywall on both sides, along with double air-tight, solid-core doors leading in and out.

Any “downgrades” from there– less sheetrock, staggered-stud walls (where both sides share a common header and footer, but not upright studs), soundclips – reduce effectiveness, but can still be beneficial.

https://cdn.instructables.com/FJE/SE0N/FRL5KX3T/FJESE0NFRL5KX3T.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&fit=bounds

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks for the reply and especially for the illustration. The first example is what we have, and I don’t want to spend the money to tray for either of the other two. I am not trying to prevent 100% of the sound from passing thru. I just want to decrease the sound enough to so it’s not an irritant to the person in the bedroom and would not prevent sleep. Can that be done by blowing in insulation and should it be a special kind of insulation?

 

[Johnny Angell]

The more I look at the illustration of the double-stud wall, material wise, it doesn’t look expensive. I’m guessing the killer expense would be labor.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I just want to decrease the sound enough to so it’s not an irritant to the person in the bedroom and would not prevent sleep. Can that be done by blowing in insulation and should it be a special kind of insulation?

No. Insulation has neither mass or isolation properties.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Johnny Angell]

@Wayne A. Pflughaupt What kind of company does this work? A standard construction company, home remodel company, or a home theater company?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

The more I look at the illustration of the double-stud wall, material wise, it doesn’t look expensive. I’m guessing the killer expense would be labor.

It’s not that hard to frame a wall and put up sheetrock. The hard part is the taping, floating and maybe texturing. Best left to a professional.

You could put of a free-standing wall on the living room side in front of the bedroom with double sheetrock. Adding a second later of sheetrock on the bedroom side wouldn’t hurt either.

Any remodeling contractor could do the work if you don’t want to. However, they’d need guidance on some of the details unless they’re familiar with construction for soundproofing. Such as, the wall needs to be air tight, even with the outlets installed. And the first layer of drywall needs to have the seams sealed. The second layer of drywall maybe needs to have something like green glue between it and the first layer, and the seams need to be off-set from the first layer. Etc. There are plenty of web sites and You Tube videos with tips.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Johnny Angell]

It’s not that hard to frame a wall and put up sheetrock. The hard part is the taping, floating and maybe texturing. Best left to a professional.

You could put of a free-standing wall on the living room side in front of the bedroom with double sheetrock. Adding a second later of sheetrock on the bedroom side wouldn’t hurt either.

Any remodeling contractor could do the work if you don’t want to. However, they’d need guidance on some of the details unless they’re familiar with construction for soundproofing. Such as, the wall needs to be air tight, even with the outlets installed. And the first layer of drywall needs to have the seams sealed. The second layer of drywall maybe needs to have something like green glue between it and the first layer, and the seams need to be off-set from the first layer. Etc. There are plenty of web sites and You Tube videos with tips.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Is that insulation shown in your pictures a special kind for sound proofing?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

No, it’s standard R11 et al. The only purpose it serves is to absorb any sound that might travel through the air pockets between wall framing.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Johnny Angell]

No, it’s standard R11 et al. The only purpose it serves is to absorb any sound that might travel through the air pockets between wall framing.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks. And my wife just said, hell no, we can’t afford it. The WAF strikes again.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

That’s great, actually. She can’t complain about the noise and then block efforts to improve the situation.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Johnny Angell]

That’s great, actually. She can’t complain about the noise and then block efforts to improve the situation.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Yeah, right!