Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Dec 16, 2009 2:54 am hi there I'd appreciate any input anyone could offer on this matter. I've purchased an apartment in a 3-storey building. I live on the second floor. Walls are concrete between suites, but wooden joists under foot. Above me, I can hear fairly clearly, the occupants speaking. There is no insulation in the joist space at all, from the sounds of things. If there is, it might be newspaper, hay, string, hamsters, I don't know.. but there is almost NO reduction of the vocal frequencies somehow, whatever is or isn't in there. My thought is to rip down all the drywall ceiling (or lathe and plaster) ceiling.. fill the joist cavities with "Roxul" mineral fibre "Safe n' sound" acoustic bats, then use resilient channel on the perpendicular, then re-install new 1/2" drywall (goodbye popcorn ceiling!! ) , leaving the edges maybe 1/8" from the walls, allowing the entire ceiling to float freely, and then use acoustical caulking between the new drywall ceiling and walls. I'm not sure there is ANYTHING more I can do for this issue, and would appreciate any input/experience that anyone could share on this matter. I don't expect to eliminate the sound of foot-fall or stomping around from above, but it's the conversations that I'd like to attenuate more than anything.. and of course, to know that what's going on in -my- bedroom won't be heard clearly from above. At this point, I can even hear the quiet little "BLINK" sounds of their kids' MSN messenger notifications popping up! There are NO vents (we have rads) between the units. Any input would be most appreciated! Cheers James. Re: Noisy building - built in 1920's 2Dec 16, 2009 10:49 am i was thinking exactly what you suggested sound proofing the roof will cut down on noise but if your on second floor then im sure the nabors below you can hear whats going on in your bedroom stay safe happy building Re: Noisy building - built in 1920's 4Dec 17, 2009 8:15 am thank you both for your comments. Fire code.. yes.. 5/8 drywall for sure.. and Roxul has a great fire rating. BUT. I've since spoken with an tech about the materials he uses for sound deadening. According to him, in order of performance, for use in my application ( #1 being the best. )... 1) cotton/mixed bats (natural fibre, has random lengths and attenuates different frequencies better) 2) Traditional Pink Fibreglass 3) Roxul. cheers James. Re: Noisy building - built in 1920's 5Dec 18, 2009 9:42 pm Is it an old building with high ceilings? You could save some money if you are prepare dto lose some headroom. Why not put in a suspended gyprock (soundcheck) ceiling and insulate the space between the old and new ceilings. It will be much cheaper than removing the original, and give you the added benifit of some (although sounds like very little) soundproofing from the original ceiling in adition to your new ceiling. Re: Noisy building - built in 1920's 6Jan 01, 2010 3:39 am You don't want to create a second air cavity. Unless the second cavity is significantly larger than the original, you won't see much of an improvement at all. Very well documented physics involved in that. Better to either remove that original layer and proceed as Hills Guy suggested or simply laminate more plasterboard on top of original. Consider a damping material in either case. Ted White Hi, I have a double and whenever the wind picks up I can hear alot of banging in certain areas of the house. I've had a look round and can't see any obvious issue but… 0 10649 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Thanks Chippy . Did also see a YouTube video before. Removed them . Thanks again for the advice. 2 13962 https://form.jotform.com/240284569218058 Please spare a moment to fill out this survey form for a project. You stand a chance to win a digital gift voucher. Legitimate… 0 2828 |