anyone 'soundproof' their floors? or try to?
I believe quietwalk plus and absorbasound by that same manufacturer are better suited for nail down hardwood. I’m sure HD could order if they don’t have direct listing.
dorkofwindsor
in General Discussion 4 years and 7 months ago
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thompson.molly99 | 4 years and 7 months ago
I want to sound proof my 2nd floor floors, I can hear whenever someone is walking (they are not doing it intentionally loud) I know mass loaded vinyl 2lb is one option but does it lessen the amount of noise I will hear from the 1st? any others that you guys tried? I am thinking about putting new hardwood flooring on the 2nd floor so putting something under is that new flooring would be easy now rather than later.
hkapstein | 4 years and 7 months ago
My research on this suggested the following. The greatest impact on sound transmission will come from decoupling the ceiling from the joists by use of resilient channels or similar products. Special products exist for this purpose. I’m told that barriers will not have much effect if the joists have a large contact area with the ceiling. In combination with the resilient channels, stuffing the joists space with mineral wool or similar insulation will help. I also understand that the sound proofing needs to be relatively complete to work, ie a 90% job will not give you the results you want sound can find a way around.
Regarding mass loaded vinyl, I was told this is not as popular anymore due to problems with moisture accumulating in the floor and affecting the floor or causing the usual problems that moisture can. I don’t know if that’s true, but my guess is it won’t work that well for sound without the decoupling step.
dorkofwindsor | 4 years and 7 months ago
There are far better solutions than MLV. Under wood floors and subfloors there are plenty of products to dampen sound transmission. If you are not re-doing your floors, a new ceiling underneath the floors connected to specialized soundproof hangers or isolation clips will be the most effective. For example, a 2-layer drywall (use quiet rock if you desire) on isolation clips will tremendously improve the sound transmission if done by a professional. Essentially a floating ceiling. You can’t really hire people who have not done this before, but luckily there are a lot of people in NYC who do this.
Keep in mind that the joists of brownstones that the flooring sits upon usually sits in a masonry pocket and is coupled with the wall that supports the house. So you are not eliminating all vibrations that could continue to resonate through the walls, but it should be significantly reduced.
dorkofwindsor | 4 years and 7 months ago
edit: my apologies I overlooked you stated you are re-doing your floors. If you are planing on new subfloors, you could do a sandwich of different materials. I don’t think you have to buy the most expensive materials as I have tested quite a few, and damping is damping, and promised benefits are usually embellished. Between subfloor layers you could use a cork, rubber mat, or cheaper marine grade mlv. Personally I will line the bare joists with long strips of rubber mat, lay first subfloor, lay of cork (or cheap marine MLV), 2nd plywood subfloor, final rubber underlayment , then install wood floor. I’m not sure you can improve too much on that.
I like varying materials between layers as they are slightly complimentary. But its not a deal breaker, whoever is doing your floors will be comfortable using certain products just specify several sandwiched layers. Realistically, what your installer prefers to use at least on the top layer under the hardwood is probably the way to go to avoid being a guinea pig given the cost involved.
Whatever the underlayment ma terial is, it is far superior just actually having them than not. I used to use Auralex Sheetblok (MLV ) for recording studios but when I empirically tested other materials it seemed wildly overpriced for a slightly marginal benefit.
yudashasom | 4 years and 7 months ago
I’ll be completely honest here.
Yes, there are great products, methods etc, but you won’t be able to eliminate all sounds. But working from on top, without doing something below, you won’t get any real results.
thompson.molly99 | 4 years and 7 months ago
yeah I know I can’t fully soundproof it but at least the footsteps? also from the bed making noise…….
yudashasom | 4 years and 7 months ago
Like I said, unless you are working from below you won’t get any real results.
hkapstein | 4 years and 7 months ago
Here’s what you can do in order of easiness without disturbing the ceiling below:
Put rugs on the floor.
Put cork under the floor.
Fill the joist space with blow in insulation.
Replace the subfloor and fill the joists with mineral wool, and use acoustic sleepers on the joists.
You might be surprised at how well a rug works.
cate | 4 years and 7 months ago
Be sure to use a nice thick pad under the rug. The thicker the pad/rug, the better the sound dampening qualities.
Guest User | 4 years and 7 months ago
I actually did the ceiling renovation design Urbandad & Dorkofwinser reference (working from below — added 6″ of rockwool between the joists, decoupled via sound clips, hat channels, 2 layers of 5/8″ drywall) It was a project that was worth the investment for reasons beyond just sound (lighting, plumbing fixes). I can’t speak specifically to how much sound transfer was reduced but I can tell you that I was mostly successful in eliminating airborne noise and moderately successful with the impact noise. The impact noise (footsteps) is still there but it’s no longer as bothersome or noticeable to me. Probably coming via paths other than the ceiling, like flanking to the walls.
That said, after a lot of research I’m convinced the project would have been more successful had soundproofing been considered when the flooring was done. So, start with rugs with rug pads. If you’re planning on doing the flooring anyway I would absolutely use it as an opportunity to try to mitigate some of the noise. If you’re removing the subfloor, add the rockwool between the joists. Would reco mmend blown in just in case you decide to do the ceiling later.. If you’re not removing the subfloor, add the various layers in ways described above (and google “soundproof floor design” for more)
If after doing that it’s still bothersome, you can still tackle the ceiling. Having the floor at least stopping some of that noise is going to make a new ceiling project more successful.
In the end though, most of my research has really just reinforced how sound is a complex thing. There’s different frequencies to consider and there’s both direct and indirect (flanking) paths for it. I posted a couple weeks ago about getting sound via a fireplace. Probably was always there but I only noticed it after completing the ceiling soundproofing….probably had louder paths before. So, if you’re going to start down this path, just know that it’s a game of wack-a-mole and if you’re going for a perfect score it will eventually be not fun to play any longer.
thompson.molly99 | 4 years and 7 months ago