Soundproofing a room?
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The previous approach will give some improvement (due to increased mass of the walls), but not as good as can be done with some type of resilient spacer.
First a few facts. Soundproofing is really a question of cutting low frequency (bass) transmission. Highs and midrange are comparitively easy (basically seal the room and you're done). Cutting bass require decoupling of the inner surface from the other side so the sound is not transmitted through the wall or damping the wall by adding mass (or both).
If the walls already exist you must recognize that you can't totally soundproof ... but you can improve the situation. Also recognize you have to consider sound transmission through the floor or ceiling, too, so they may also need to be soundproofed (The same principles apply).
One option is to put a new layer of drywall over the existing surface with an elastomeric glue. One such product is called Green Glue (See first link for details and test results).
A second option is the use of Resilient Sound Isolation Clips and metal furring strips with a new layer of drywall over them. This approach also works for new construction, although in this case you would also fill the wall cavity with fiberglass insulation.. See the second link for detais and test results.
If you are thinking of a new wall and doing the work yourself consider "staggered studs". Basically, you build on a 2x6 top and bottom plate, with two lines of studs (for the inner and outer surface of the wall) staggered from each other so they don't touch, and fill the cavity with fiberglass insualation. All openings must be sealed. Note that the commonest reason for failure of staggered stud soundproofing is unintentional bridging of the two surfaces ... so care is required.
All three approaches -- Green Glue, "RSI Clips" and staggered studs -- serve to decouple the inner wall surface from the existing/outer wall, reducing sound transmission.
The outer edge of the new wall surface in each approach must be sealed with a non-hardening elastomeric caulking (Read the labels carefully at your local hardware / building supply store). And of course the new drywall will have to be taped and sanded then painted.
See the links for further details, including expected results for various installation options.
I built a home theatre in my basement and used the RSI Clips on the ceiling and staggered studs for the walls. I chose this approach because, excluding labour costs, RSIC is more expensive to do. If I had contracted the work I would have chosen RSICs for both since they are quicker to install. The results from both approaches were excellent ... when the sound is turned up in the HT if you are in another area of the house you can tell it is on but levels are not objectionable.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
this question gets asked a lot.
This can be done in a few ways . One is to install 1/2 inch Sheetrock horizontal and go over that with 1/2 inch and install this vertical. Mack sure the seems are tight .Ive even seen contractors patch the seems in between installations .1/2 inch sheetrock works well for this .This installment depends on rather this is a new construction or a remodeling job .Theres a few ways of doing this .
would need more info.new construction? is wall already covered with a material? either way, u need to increase the air volume and reduce the solid material contact...email me and i can show u ways to help it...we did a machine room for the city that had 3 large motors in a room and we cut the sound from the motors down with a wall by about 80%..and these motors were so loud we had to wear ear protection while constructing the wall!!
lic. gen. contractor
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