Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 2000 01:37am | #1

   *
   If your
   i really
   serious and have the room, 5/8" gyp. board one side, staggered studs (2 x 4's on a 2 x 6 plate) 4" thermafiber mineral wool insulation sound blanket or batts woven between the studs, 1/2" Durock and 1/2" gyp. board other side. No cutouts for receptacles or boxes, no cracks, no holes. Better if you carry the finish materials up into the ceiling joist space, or insulate above (so you're not defeated through the ceiling cavity).

   STC should be nearly 60 and you won't hear much. The 1/2" Durock is overkill for most installations but you asked. I've used it when the toilet is pressure tank type (commercial) due to the loud flush noise.

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 2000 03:43am | #2

   *Jeff's advice is good. Just remember that it all has to be continous and well done - one gap defeats all the rest of the effort. Which leaves the door. You might use a heavy, well weatherstripped, entrance door. Lots of mass and sealed tight are the keys.

1. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 03:42am | #3

   *Clay, follow the advice above. In addition, use black iron for your DWV piping, especially if this is a two-story residence!Flushingly, Steve

1. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 04:43am | #4

   *Wassup?

1. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 04:45am | #5

   *Good point, Mongo.

2. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 02:31pm | #6

   *It's the breaktime equivalent of a blank stare ...b Been there, done that, can't remember ...

3. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 04:17pm | #7

   *I don't quite know where that "blank stare" came from...interesting...Since I'm here...I think Bill is dead on with the door being the weak link. Especially true since most bathrooms are small spaces with either hardwood or tiled floors. That makes it mighty easy for noise to transmit via the door/floor gap.Probably the easiest way (and probably the most objectionable, as it masks the problem and doesn't solve it) is to replace your current bath fan with a noisier one. Wire it in with the light switch so its use is unavoidable. I'd only consider doing that if the problem bath was a small "guest" half-bath, just off a main room, for instance...not an upstairs "private" bath that the family uses to shower/bath in, etc.An added plus, the tornado-level noise will encourage visitors to "get in, get out" in order to save their hearing.On the down side...to maintain their hearing, they may opt to go potty in the dark. Whch brings up the subject of floor drains...

4. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 09:48pm | #8

   *Also, if you need to quiet the sound in plastic pipes from a second floor toilet, I've wrapped the drain with spare R19. You can't hear it after the GWB is up. DH

2. 
   G_Gordon_Liddy | May 25, 2000 04:42am | #9

   *
   I think if you need to insulate your bathroom from noises from what you are doing in there, you don't need to be in the bathroom. You need to be in the zoo.

   b Watch out for Tricky Dick!

   b G

1. 
   Mark_Fritch | May 26, 2000 02:14am | #10

   *You could always .... No hat's really not a good idea. We're not really that short of water in most parts of the US yet. There is always the composting toilet.

3. 
   Guest_ | Jun 01, 2000 03:06pm | #11

   *
   Yes Clay, as a sensitive contractor, I have thought about the issue of trying to reduce bathroom noises. I have had a few clients ask for just simple insulation which seems to help although I see that some of my colleagues have far more serious solutions to your question (makes me wonder what kind of diet THEY are on...). At any rate, it reminds me of a job that I looked at just this past week-end where the alterations that the client asked for would result in the main bathroom being right off of the dining room. I pointed out that this would not be especially desireable particularly during a dinner party. Unfortunately, no cheap alternative was available. I suggested that when they have guests over, they can post a "Toilet Broken, Use Upstairs" notice on the main floor bathroom thus sparing the guests the embarrassment of imposing bathroom noises, not to mention bathroom smells, on the other still dining guests...Jon.

4. 
   Clay_Boehle | Jun 01, 2000 03:11pm | #12

   *
   I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on the value of insulating bathroom walls to deaden sound. Also some different ways of going about this would be helpful.