soundproofing for urban people

You don't have to demolish your walls to add insulation to your home.  Many people have asked me about affordable techniques for adding some degree of soundproofing to existing construction. And if you live in a home or an apartment with hollow walls, you might want to blow some insulation into them. At the very least, it will reduce the amplifying effect. That's because when you have drywall nailed on top of hollow studs, it behaves acoustically like the head of a giant drum and it echoes. And this problem plagues millions of American homes. It will not eliminate low-frequency engine noise that penetrates your building frame, such as construction equipment or large truck engines. Here's how you can remedy this echo situation. You can add insulation without even removing the walls by getting a blower and some cellulose insulation, drilling some round holes into your existing drywall, inserting the pressure nozzle into the open space, and blowing the insulation bet

I've just found some recent do-it-yourself videos online. So if you have 9 minutes to spare, don't miss this one from Matt Risinger . It covers a lot of the points I've made in this blog (double drywall with QuietRock, Green Glue inbetween the layers) and shows how to use putty pads around the openings and outlets in your walls. The outlets are a source of sound leaks and they can make your soundproofing efforts fail. Watch the video to see the proper application. A lot of these products are becoming available in the "big box stores" like Lowe's , so getting these essential materials is as easy as buying a box of nails. Note from 2018: When I first wrote this post in 2013, Matt Risinger had a wonderful blog, The Green Building Blog , which now redirects to his website . He now has a successful YouTube channel with over 200,000 followers. You can also follow Matt on Twitter . Thanks for all the great DIY advice!

Another YouTube video: layering drywall I have to admit: I never get tired of seeing other people's soundproofing videos. Here's a video from Acoustical Surfaces that shows two guys building a wall out of 2x4s and insulating them with cotton batts, and then layering two sheets of drywall over each side. They make sure not to overlap the seams between the two layers, and they use two tubes of Green Glue on each 4x8 sheet of drywall. We don't get to hear the results, but if I were them, I might have either staggered the wall studs (since they were building the wall from scratch), or put soundproofing green tape (aka " joist tape ") on every other stud to keep the first layer of drywall from touching the wood (a "fake" staggered wall).

Installing a soundproof ceiling  This video from Rockwool North America demonstrates some principles of soundproofing a room from upstairs noise. They're using Rockwool (Roxul) Safe 'N Sound batts -- a dense, fire-retardant product that insulates for sound much better than fiberglass, and is flame-resistant. I'll add two more suggestions here. 1) Before you add the batts, affix a layer of drywall with Green Glue (and a few screws) to the backside of the upstairs subfloor. This should add some mass and dampening to the footfalls from above. This means cutting a length of drywall to fit against the flooring, between each ceiling joist. 2) Use a dual-layer soundproof drywall, not just any drywall, for the ceiling itself. A single layer of drywall -- even though it's hung on the resilience channels -- will still not be as effective without further mass or dampening. Look into QuietRock  drywall. You can buy Rockwool (Roxul) insulation from Amazon , Lowe's,

Listen to how Green Glue dampens noise Here's a newer video (very short) that demonstrates the audible difference between a hard material that wasn't dampened with Green Glue versus one that used Green Glue. It does reduce the sharp impact noise quite a bit. The Green Glue side sounds muted, while the non-Green Glue side rings like a chime. Think of how this could make a difference with walls, floors, and ceilings in your home.

Matt Risinger shows how Green Glue, cellulose insulation, and double drywall can make a quieter home in this YouTube video.

If you're having noise problems in your home or business, you can measure the decibel level with inexpensive apps on your iPhone or buy a decibel-reading device. I downloaded a free app from the App Store called "Decibels" and purchased an inexpensive one - with more features -- called "SPL Meter," but there's many to choose from (just search for "spl meter"). Basically these apps help you measure the decibel volume in your home when it's quiet, and again in different noise situations -- your neighbor's TV or stereo, the sound of cars and trucks outside your windows, the sound of barking dogs, crying babies, etc. [update, Dec 2013: see this review of 30 decibel-reader apps.] All rooms have a decibel level, even when you think you're sitting in silence. So let's say the dB level in your home is 40 when it's quiet, but increases to 60 when your adjacent neighbors watch TV on their home theatre system. What does this mean w