How To Soundproof Your Walls
Life can take a lot of interesting twists and turns. Through the good and the bad, your home should be the one place where you can always find peace and quiet. For major changes in life, it is best to be prepared. Moving to a new home often means living in a new area, where traffic or nearby business might cause a lot of noise. Becoming a parent is exceptionally rewarding. However, children never seem to sit still or remain quiet for long. Changing business trends might lead you to work from home more often and a busy household might be distracting you. These are a few of the reasons that lead you to search for expert advice to soundproof your home. Let's take a look at a few options to improve the acoustic quality of your residence to make it quieter.
When it comes to residential soundproofing your starting point is key to select from one of two main scenarios that greatly change your options: soundproof an existing wall or an unfinished wall / new construction. New construction or opening an existing wall, to expose the studs, both start with high-density insulation within the wall. If you are working on an existing wall and additional demo work is off the table, then the best method of soundproofing is to add additional mass. Let's consider a few different options for each scenario.
Scenario 1: Soundproof an existing wall - no demo work
In the first scenario, you are trying to soundproof an existing room: a home office, home theater, media room, music-practice room, bedroom, or garage. The fundamental soundproofing principles are the same to reduce noise passing through. You want to add more mass to the wall. Adding a sound deadening material such as mass loaded vinyl will help to increase the resistance to airborne sounds, making it harder for voices to disturb family or guests in other rooms.
Option 1:
- Attach MLV 1# using roofing staples or roofing nails with plastic washers
- Butt seams tight, do not overlap, and apply Seam Tape over seams
- Finish with a layer of either 1/2” or 5/8” drywall
- Offset the drywall to cover the MLV seams
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Mud and tape to finish the wall
Option 2:
- Add a layer of 5/8” drywall with Green Glue
- Apply Green Glue at a rate of 2 tubes per 4’ x 8’ sheet
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Mud and tape to finish the wall
Option 3:
- Attach MLV 1# using roofing staples or roofing nails with plastic washers
- Butt seams tight, do not overlap, and apply Seam Tape over seams
- Add a layer of 5/8” drywall with Green Glue
Apply Green Glue at a rate of 2 tubes per 4’ x 8’ sheet
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Offset the drywall to cover the MLV seams
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Mud and tape to finish the wall
Scenario 2: Exposed studs / new construction
The other scenario for soundproofing a room is during construction. If the house or building has not been finished or is being renovated, then this offers more options since you can access the wall studs. In this scenario, you add high-density insulation and isolation products to the studs to lessen vibration and impact sounds. You can also add a secondary wall separated by an air gap between walls to create “floating walls” that allow very little sound to pass through. While this scenario is more labor and material intensive, it can yield much better results, making it ideal for a home theater or recording studio.
Option A:
- Assume studs are exposed - demo existing drywall if required
- Start with mineral wool insulation between studs
- Apply Sound Isolation Tape, 1-7/16 wide over all studs, top and bottom plate
- Attach MLV 1# using roofing staples
Butt seams tight, do not overlap, and apply Seam Tape over seams
- Finish with a layer of either 1/2” or 5/8” drywall
- Offset the drywall to cover the MLV seams
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Mud and tape to finish the wall
Option B:
- Assume studs are exposed - demo existing drywall if required
- Start with mineral wool insulation between studs
- Apply Sound Isolation Tape (IsoTape), 1-7/16 wide over all studs, top and bottom plate
- Attach a layer of 5/8” drywall and fasten through IsoTape
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Add a layer of 5/8” drywall with Green Glue
- Apply Green Glue at a rate of 2 tubes per 4’ x 8’ sheet
- Offset the seams of the drywall between the 1st and 2nd layer
- Leave a gap not to exceed 1/4 along the perimeter of the wall - not between sheets of drywall
- Fill the gap with Acoustic Caulk Sealant
- Mud and tape to finish the wall
The Materials for Residential Soundproofing
In both scenarios, soundproofing a new or existing wall, a lot of the steps involve using the same materials: mass loaded vinyl, acoustic isolation tape, Green Glue, and acoustic caulk. Let's take a deeper look at each of these four products to better understand how they work and how to use them.
Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV)
Mass loaded vinyl is used to add a second layer to drywall. It is a non-toxic acoustic noise barrier that is designed to be easy to install and hangs limp on the wall. MLV comes in easy-to-cut rolls of varying thicknesses based on the noise reduction quality you are looking for. Simply cut the vinyl to the desired size and attach it to your walls or ceiling with roofing nails or staples. This dense material does a great job of blocking sound and covering any of the cracks that sound can pass through. When combined with seam tape, MLV creates an effective soundproofing barrier without any gaps. For new construction, sandwiching mass loaded vinyl between layers of drywall does not damage the walls. Add a layer of drywall over the MLV to finish the wall.
Isolation & Seam Tape
Isolation Tape is applied to studs and plates during construction when the interior of the wall is exposed. It is used to “isolate sound,” reducing impact noise and vibrations so they are reduced as they travel from one medium to the next. Isolation tape is made from a closed-cell foam material, making it durable, reliable, and easy to install in minutes. Sometimes referred to as joist tape, it works on wood and metal surfaces.
Seam Tape is a different type of tape that is applied over mass loaded vinyl to reduce sound leaks between the sheets. It provides a strong adhesive bond to the vinyl that lasts for years. Seam tape is designed with acoustical applications in mind.
Green Glue & Acoustic Caulk
Green Glue is a soundproofing sealant designed to dampen vibrations and sound transfer between plates or panels. It acts as a sound damping compound, by turning the vibrational energy of sounds into heat energy. This effectively diminishes the noise from transferring between two surfaces, such as the multiple layers that make up a wall in your home. Green glue is easy to apply and requires no measuring or troweling. Best of all, it is effective on floors, walls, ceilings, and just about any rigid building surface. Other noise proofing sealants such as acoustical caulk and caulk applicators are also available. Get the right materials for your next soundproofing projects and enjoy some peace and quiet.
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