Sound Permeating Walls
I live on the ground floor and for some reason I can hear everything that goes on in the lobby outside my front door/walls. People chatting, checking their mail, calling the elevator. The construction does not seem at all shoddy and it’s a relatively new building in Brooklyn. Is there any remedy you guys can…
I live on the ground floor and for some reason I can hear everything that goes on in the lobby outside my front door/walls. People chatting, checking their mail, calling the elevator. The construction does not seem at all shoddy and it’s a relatively new building in Brooklyn. Is there any remedy you guys can think of to soundproof?
Check for gaps (leaks) like the door like previous poster stated. Here are two other possibilities;
The space behind the mailboxes. It could be that the mailboxes are cut into the hallway wall and are carrying noise right up the the inner (your wall), which then transmits it to your apt.
You would insulate inside the wall behind and around the mailboxes with rock wool and add sheetrock (thicken) the wall behind them (on your side). Possibly have them mounted out a few inches farther into the lobby to accommodate this.
Another possible problem area: sound traveling along the floor under a wall that is not properly attached or sealed to the floor.
The airborne (not actually transmitted through the flooring materials) sound of hard shoes on tile being loud in your apt would point towards this. Have someone tap two hard objects together near, but not on, the lobby floor while you listen.
Sealing the gap under the wall plates (the horizontal wall frame piece at the bottom) and where your sheetrock meets the wall behind your baseboards might help this. Do this with acoustic caulk, or any caulk that will stay flexible.
Besides gaps and leaks the wall may be too light.
Putting rock wool insulation in the walls and adding another layer of sheetrock in the wall on your side will help. The green glue mentioned above would be sandwiched between the two layers of sheet rock that comprise your inner wall.
Pay attention to sealing the edges of the wall is you do this.
There are building codes for sound transmission and walls ability to stop it between public ares and residences. It kinda sounds like your wall doesn’t meet them, or there is a problem like the two metioned above.
if you have the the stomach for it and you really want to nerd out on this subject visit the forums on recording.org, see the ‘studio construction’ forum. way too much good info on sound isolation there.
Soundboard is really not what you want in or on your walls. I say this based on many independant acoustic lab tests. Certified data.
All you have is mass, absorption, decoupling and damping. The only 4 elements you can bring to bear here.
It is of little mass, so it doesn’t help there. It is too compact to offer any absorption. It offers a very small degree of decoupling, and no damping (of the drywall panels) at all.
Great in floors, though.
Even a shoddy building has some mass, so this is most likely a sound leak, rather than going through your walls. So before I spent a nickel on soundproofing materials, I would identify the leak(s):
Door seals
Outlets
Gap under drywall (remove base moulding and see)
Ventilation
I assume you have a drywalled ceiling. Do you have any air vents of any kind on that wall, or close to that wall?
I have had excellant luck with soundboard. Anywhere I have used it, my clients are very happy with it. I agree with making sure the noise is not coming in along the sides, top and bottom of doors. Have also designed bookshelves for people, built over the soundboard and the full shelves have helped with noise reduction also.
Rick’s advice about soundboard is good, but I disagree…if the insulation is put inside the wall, the OP should get approval, if it’s ON the wall, probably not. On a different note, a friend bought a place and discovered that her adjoining neighbors were noisier than she liked. She installed the sound board insulation and has been very pleased.
I doubt that you would need their approval since it’s your condo unit. But it wouldn’t hurt to tell them about the problem and your plans to fix it. If you have any more questions you can reach me through my website at RickLaddBrooklyn.com
also if you can see light from the lobby coming thru the edges of your front door (make sure the apt is totally dark) then you will have sound transmission there. you can plug that up with stick-on weatherstripping found at any hardware store.
Rick- so does that mean ill need to go through condo board approval and such?
Yep, that’s shoddy. I would bet if you cut a 6″ hole in your wall you will see nothing but air between your studs. You will need soundboard insulation. Green glue and Quiet Rock are products that help keep sound out. You would have to layer the insulation, inside your apartment, on the wall that faces the lobby. It will not keep all the sound out but it will help.
Can you tell if the noise appears to be coming through the front door area, the walls, or both?