*
question: My wife and I have been investigating soundproofing materials and haven’t been able to locate a material that may suit our purposes. We live on a small lake in Florida and also have a bar located approximately 1/2 mile away. We are constantly bombarded with “boombox base” sounds emanating from this place, especially on weekends. The base sounds travel so well over over the water that on numerous occasions we have been awakened in the middle of the night. Since we are going to be adding a room to the existing structure, we were wondering what materials may be available for our purposes, whether they be intrnally or externally mounted. We are also planning to replace our old single pane windows with double panes throughout the house. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Ron Smolka
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
From plumbing failures to environmental near disasters, OHJ staffers dish on our worst and best moments.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
Ideally, you would use heavy (masonry) materials all around, or at least on the side facing the source. Second, as air tight as possible.
But keep in mind, even given great amounts of money, it is still a difficult task.
*You'll be pleased with how much of difference those double pane windows will make. If you can do major work on the side towards them, offset studs help a lot. Sound is still transmitted through the top and bottom plates and rough framing for doors and windows, but you can eliminate the transmission currently occurring through the vertical studs. Offset 2x4's every 12" on 2x6 plates, with every even one being set to the outside and every odd one being set to the inside. Then hang siding and sheetrock on the 24" centers you have on each side. Makes wiring really quick because you just weave it though the studs. I did it between my office and the nursery and the difference is really noticeable between that wall and the normal ones.Hanging more sheetrock has got to be the cheapest way to add mass to a wall, if you can allow for it in the windows, doors, and electrical outlets. I've hung a lot of double 5/8" rock because San Francisco has this paranoia about fire (my grandmother watched the City burn for 3 days and nights in 1906). It goes quick, because you're only hanging twice. Taping, mudding, texturing, and painting is still only done once. -David Kenai, Alaska
*Hate to be a lawyer on this, but isn't there a sound control ordinance? Even without one, you are entitled to the "quiet enjoyment of your property" ... meaning we call the police around midnight. (No, we don't have to -- the cranky old man around the corner always does so first, to our relief.)So try being a squeaky wheel before you spend too much. If it wakes you up 1/2 mile away, with the windows closed, and you're not hypersensitive, that's far too much noise.
*... and I'd like to put in a quick vote for Miraflex, a new white fiberglass formulation from Owens-Corning. They're producing Miraflex now in these DIY "multiproject" dense 3-pack plastic-faced batts that expand up to six inches -- yielding r-13 in a 2x4 wall, r-18 if permitted full depth. The plastic vapor barrier is thick enough for secure stapling -- I've been using it to soundproof a basement ceiling that I'm covering with drywall over metal furring channel -- and it is thus efficient to get complete coverage, no air gaps, along the joist faces. If I work quickly I can feed the 2" thick strips into place over furring strips before they fluff up to 6". As advertised, the Miraflex fiber is much much less irritating to the skin.I forget the numbers, but the price per foot was comparable to the thin easy-tear kraft paper R-11 soundproofing batts sold by the same company. I notice a significant difference in sound without having finished the drywall. There are more effective ways to reduce sound, but factoring material cost & labor this came out pretty well.Owens-Corning also manufactures an R-25 unfaced Miraflex batt for attics, wrapped in weak pink plastic for handling purposes only.
*I like that stuff, too. I'm hoping some expert doesn't come on and trash it cause I just went and bought 12 more rolls.
*
I want to thank you for your reply about my question regarding sounproofing materials. I was considering using styrofoam with additional drywall.
*I appreciate your info on the subject of double pane windows and will be discussing it with the contractor I choose. Thanks!RON SMOLKA
*Andrew,Thanks for the quick law info and your info on Miraflex.I have been the squeaky wheel for quite some time and still have to see results that last.I would also like to know what you were refering to in your reply "misses good old area 51"Thanks for the infoRon Smolka
*
Heavy sheathing - maybe consider 5/8 or 3/4 sheathing or eveb brick veneer or real stucco - along with thicker or multiple layers of drywall on the interior will help. Disconecting the two membranes - either with double studs or using resilent channes on one side - will also reduce sound transmission. But DON'T use rigid foam between. It will transmit the sound from outside membrane to inside very efficiently. (I fight the stuff on roofs like crazy - if I didn't know better I'd think it amplifies the rain drops!) fg would be ok as is cells - something fuzzy.
All the window advice is good - only better solution is separate windows - one in each stud wall - like some control rooms in studios.
*Ron,The masonry is a good idea. The double drywall is a good idea. The double wall is a good idea. The windows are a good idea.The miraflex/batts/poly is not going to help you any.You should use dense packed cellulose or mineral wool batts for the walls.The type of sound you are fighting (deep bass) is nearly impossible to stop because is a very long wavelength sound (relative to higher sounds)The longer wavelength makes it more difficult to reflect or absord. Only a mineral wool batt or packed cellulose will have enough mass to reduce the transmission of these sounds.The drywall can also be de-coupled from the wall framing through the use of resilient channel.Now that we have over killed the walls. You also should try similar methods with the ceilings and other interior walls on this side of the house.The floor platform should be held back from the edge of the foundation wall, and the wall should drop directly onto the foundation (ala Gene Leger Method) This will decouple the floor from the exterior as well.I now view the ceilings as the weak link.-Rob
*Ron Don't overlook landscaping as a sound barrier or a fence though i am guessing that these may interfere with your view of the lake. Skip
*Area 51 -- just a military sector in NV (?) reputed to be the site of alien landings or some such. I'm tired of all the real news.Maybe you haven't squeaked enough. If the town/county/police won't cite them, sue them for "nuisance." Just filing suit may make them take you more seriously. I'll take a wild guess they play the music with the windows and doors open? It makes a huge difference to stop the sound at the source -- parties at the house next door are only a problem when some morons decide to hold the door open and chat....Again, assuming you are a reasonable person who wants to sleep at reasonable hours subject to reasoanble noise (you get the idea), I don't see why you should spend the bucks an effective solution will take.Barring that, the little yellow earplugs are your dirt-cheap solution. Just be sure to roll them up tight and insert them securely in the ear canal befor ethey expand -- most people don't get that right. Or maybe some counter-noise -- Barry Manilow?
*I'm hoping Ron gets some huge speakers, sets them out on the patio, aimed at the bar, and blasts back at them with classical. LOLI can't take classical as a regular daily thing, but it is great when yer 37 hours into a sculpture, (non-stop), and have no intention of ever stopping.Somehow I don't think the regulars over there will appreciate it. Then negotiate with the bar owner, You turn yours down, I'll turn mine down. :-)
*Hey, some Prokofiev or Dvorak would be great.But for torture, just play the 1812 overture ... again ... and again ... and again ... (I suggest to spend the time away from the house.)Don't forget, THEY are imposing on YOU. THEY should fix it, meet you half way, or whatever. Maybe give you free drinks at the bar.(BTW, it's bass, not base, that is making you unhappy. And i don't mean fish.)
*
While this won't help any in the present structure, if you constructed the add-on using insulated concrete forms for the walls you would significantly reduce the noise. Get the type with 2" of foam on either side and 4" to 6" of solid concrete in between. These walls stop sound, even deep sound, very well due to the mass of the concrete. The other ideas suggested above for the roof and windows would work well, but (unless the room is really big) you might also want to consider a poured concrete "cap" roof (these are made by laying a corrrugated steel panel down, putting rbar in place, then pouring a few inches of concrete). While this might seem like overkill (okay, maybe it IS overkill), you'd not only have a room that would be quiet, but if you just put some stout shutters in place it could be your "safe room" when the Florida hurricanes/tornadoes roll through.
Mark
*
question: My wife and I have been investigating soundproofing materials and haven't been able to locate a material that may suit our purposes. We live on a small lake in Florida and also have a bar located approximately 1/2 mile away. We are constantly bombarded with "boombox base" sounds emanating from this place, especially on weekends. The base sounds travel so well over over the water that on numerous occasions we have been awakened in the middle of the night. Since we are going to be adding a room to the existing structure, we were wondering what materials may be available for our purposes, whether they be intrnally or externally mounted. We are also planning to replace our old single pane windows with double panes throughout the house. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Ron Smolka
*
From some years ago, I vaguely remember that one of the Federal Labs did a study of sound proofing for freeway noise and found that a barrier strip with a certain mix of tall and short trees and shrubs between the house and the noise source did a fairly effective job of muffling the noise. (If I remember correctly, the standard freeway noise walls of concrete blocks or whatever didn't do nearly so well.)