subject: Enjoy The Silence With Domestic Soundproofing [print this page] Anyone who has lived in an apartment, terraced or semi-detached house will know that one of the biggest causes of frustration and sleepless nights is noise emanating through boundary walls.
From a new baby, nightmare neighbours with no concept of time or volume controls or that one party a year that's still going strong at 4 am it's safe to say that where we share walls, we suffer from unwanted auditory intrusions.
Whilst newer houses are now subject to government legislation regarding soundproofing, older properties were not and unless you were lucky to get that terraced cottage built of nice, thick stone you will have no doubt heard more than one unwanted sound coming through the party wall.
Simple solutions are available, assuming you are only disturbed by that one annual gathering either ask them politely to turn the noise down or better yet secure an invite, however for those with horrendous neighbours it may seem like the only option is to move.
In fact it could be much cheaper and easier to soundproof that wall, and there are a large range of domestic soundproofing solutions available to help you do this.
The type of soundproofing solution used should depend on the construction of the wall itself, with different techniques being more appropriate for different wall types.
For example, on timber stud walls, where plasterboard is missing, a likely solution would be to fill a 50mm mineral fibre between the studs, before fitting an appropriately rated, acoustically insulated form of plasterboard over the top using sound resilient bars fixed to the studwork to isolate the new boards from the wall and improve their effectiveness.
Alternatively, for masonry wall applications, acoustic plasterboard can be attached to most double skinned brick walls or 100mm lightweight or dense block work to improve the overall sound insulation. Like with stud walls, for best results the acoustic plasterboard should be attached to the wall using sound resilient steel bars, filled with 25mm mineral fibre.
Once this board is in place, you can apply new plasterboard to the outside and decorate to your tastes like normal, and the total width of the sound insulating materials could be far thinner than youd expect.
If this sounds like a tall ask, there are many specialist firms available to take care of the supply and installation of your soundproofing, and as this is one job that needs to be done correctly to ensure its effectiveness it could be well worth getting some professional advice.
So dont suffer in silence, install domestic soundproofing and like Depeche Mode enjoy the silence!
