Soundproofing an Apartment

We are starting a renovation of a ground floor apartment. The bedroom of the apartment is directly below our kitchen with a hardwood floor. I have read a few articles about soundproofing a floor from below. Has anyone actually done this type of work? If so, what technique(s) did you use and are you happy with the results?

I have read that it makes sense to install insulation between the joist. Any opinons on what type of insulation works best?

Some of the articles recommned attaching the new ceiling using sound clips that decouple the ceiling from the joist. There are several brands of clip systems on the market. Any recommendations on which clips work the best?

Does it make sense to spend the extra money to install two layers of sheet rock (staggered) and glued together with “Green Glue” and/or use Quiet rock? Doing this type of work looks like it can get expensive due to the cost of materials and the amount of labor invovled.

Any advice is sincerely appreciated.

dianeg

in General Discussion 7 years and 7 months ago

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neweco | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Sound insulation for sure in between the joist. Whisper clips on “C channels” with double layer 5/8ths , green glue in between, and layer of vinyl would be your optimal setup. Bare minimum, green glue and double layer with the insulation.

dianeg | 7 years and 7 months ago

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Thank you for the additional tips. Your posts, and others in this thread, have been extremely helpful.

Augustiner | 7 years and 7 months ago

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Don’t forget : those clips mount on a track and you’ll lose some more because those joists where the tracks are attached are not even throughout.
It is recommended to leave an airspace between subfloor and insulation for best result. So the material should be pushed between the joists, but not all the way to the top.
Look at denim insulation which is used a lot in audio applications. If you use Roxul, safe and sound works. If you want to be a perfectionist order Rockboard 60 at Marjam – it holds better between the joists and it is more dense.

If you have a strong bass vibration, shaking the ceiling – you should also look at reinforcing the joists.

dianeg | 7 years and 7 months ago

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I have found some low profile clips (GenieClip) which allow the ceiling to be decoupled within 1/2 inch of the joist. One of my goals is to reduce the vibrational noise from the kitchen above the bedroom, so decoupling the ceiling is important.

My current thinking is to take down the old ceiling, which is in very bad shape. Insulate between the joists and then use quietrock, in conjunction with the low-profile clips, which should only take up a 1 1/8 inch of ceiling height. The current plaster ceiling is 100-inches high so I should be OK.

Augustiner | 7 years and 7 months ago

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the more individual steps you take, the more layers, the better the result.
You probably don’t have the ceiling heights for clips or a suspended ceiling with dampers.
Instead of double Sheetrock it is easier to use QuietRock which is essentially the prefabricated version of 2 layers with Greenglue in between.

dianeg | 7 years and 7 months ago

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How necessary was the second layer of sheetrock? Did you test the transmission of noise before you applied the green glue and second layer of sheetrock?

kassie319 | 7 years and 7 months ago

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I’ve got a case of green glue and a bag of clips left over if you’re interested!

kassie319 | 7 years and 7 months ago

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I did this recently – Insulation, sound proofing clips, hat channel, two layers of 5/8″ sheetrock and with green glue. Similar to this>> http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproof-ceilings/spc-3-soundproof-ceiling/
It makes a great difference but I wish I had the money/ time to do the walls as well.

namahs | 7 years and 7 months ago

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We did something similar a few weeks ago. Due to the cost constraint, we just put Roxul safe and sound insulation between the joist and installed rubber underlayment on the floor above. The cost of material is not that bad, the labor is what will cost you. The result is ok, we still hear low impact noise which is difficult to eliminate. If you have a budget and you are sensitive to impact then install “resilient channel”. That should take care of it, assuming your installer can do it properly. I am no expert in this area..this is all info that I researched and from my experience. Good Luck