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I have a customer that is asking me
to blow in cellulose on the inside walls
of his house to combat the noise from adjacent rooms. The 2″ holes in the drywall would have to be patched.He seems to think it will also save on his heat bill. The house is modular and is constructed of 2×3 walls with 3/8″ drywall and plastic moulding over all seams.Would it be better to add 1/2 drywall and forget the cellulose?
John Keller
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Replies
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Wow, with such cheap construction no wonder he has noise problems.
I mentioned in a recnt post that I had done just this in a heavy plaster wall between the kitchen and dining room; as long as the kitchen was gutted and I was doing the outside wall, I figured what the heck. Anyway, low frequency noise (dishwasher motor, garbage disposal) still gets through without some sort of mechanical separation. You might consider resilient metal furring channels under that second sheet of drywall. (Haven't tried them yet but will soon.) Heck, go for 5/8" while you're at it. This all shouldn't cost that much -- mudding and painting would be half the work.
*John:To learn more about sound control go to this link. be sure and follow the link given at the bottom of the article too.http://www.askthebuilder.com/cgi-bin/column?071
*Keep in mind it's the air between the two sheets that stops the sound transfer and the channels on top of drywall do much less than if they are on the studs with several inches of airspace between the hard surfaces.
*I guess the ideal is as much of a mechanical disconnect as possible, with something mushy inbetween to catch noise passing between. I followed the "ask the builder" thread suggested above, and he recommends building two walls with space between sole plates and sill sealer under them. It would be nice to have a cost v. db noise attenuation comparison chart.You're right about the channels -- the less contact they have with anything the better. Laid across studs, that contact is minimal.
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I have a customer that is asking me
to blow in cellulose on the inside walls
of his house to combat the noise from adjacent rooms. The 2" holes in the drywall would have to be patched.He seems to think it will also save on his heat bill. The house is modular and is constructed of 2x3 walls with 3/8" drywall and plastic moulding over all seams.Would it be better to add 1/2 drywall and forget the cellulose?
John Keller