R
RoughRider29 Oct 2010 10:28Hello everyone,
We are building a single-family house with a developer.
We are currently in the design phase.
In the first draft of the house, some questions came up, and maybe you can help.
1. The plot is quite narrow, so the first design has no roof overhang (to make the house as wide as possible) ==> the gutter is basically right on the wall.
Is this acceptable, or is it better to include a small roof overhang (30cm (12 inches)?)
What is the purpose of a roof overhang anyway?
2. The walls on the upper floor are planned to be only 12cm (5 inches) thick and made of gypsum plasterboard/drywall.
I’m now worried that these thin walls will hardly insulate against sound. In other words, that you’ll hear every little noise from the neighboring room. I want peace and quiet and to be able to have a conversation without everything being audible.
Are my concerns justified?
Which walls can we use to achieve good sound insulation? Brick walls?
We are building a single-family house with a developer.
We are currently in the design phase.
In the first draft of the house, some questions came up, and maybe you can help.
1. The plot is quite narrow, so the first design has no roof overhang (to make the house as wide as possible) ==> the gutter is basically right on the wall.
Is this acceptable, or is it better to include a small roof overhang (30cm (12 inches)?)
What is the purpose of a roof overhang anyway?
2. The walls on the upper floor are planned to be only 12cm (5 inches) thick and made of gypsum plasterboard/drywall.
I’m now worried that these thin walls will hardly insulate against sound. In other words, that you’ll hear every little noise from the neighboring room. I want peace and quiet and to be able to have a conversation without everything being audible.
Are my concerns justified?
Which walls can we use to achieve good sound insulation? Brick walls?
B
Bauexperte29 Oct 2010 14:21Hello,
That is certainly meant as a joke...
For facades with external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) and synthetic resin render, in my opinion, it is necessary to protect against dirt; with mineral-based render, it is not quite as critical. With the first option compared to mineral-based render, you will need to clean the facade more often. Depending on the building’s orientation on the lot, the roof overhang also provides some shading for the gable windows. A typical standard is about 50/60 cm (20/24 inches) all around.
This is a common misconception and is by no means true—the sound insulation is excellent.
Alternatively, if you still feel uneasy (it’s really just a matter of feeling), consider building the interior walls on the upper floor from calcium silicate blocks. Calcium silicate blocks offer poor thermal insulation but very good sound insulation.
Best regards
RoughRider schrieb:
1. ...to build the house as wide as possible ==> the gutter is basically right on the wall.
That is certainly meant as a joke...
RoughRider schrieb:
What is the purpose of the roof overhang anyway?
For facades with external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) and synthetic resin render, in my opinion, it is necessary to protect against dirt; with mineral-based render, it is not quite as critical. With the first option compared to mineral-based render, you will need to clean the facade more often. Depending on the building’s orientation on the lot, the roof overhang also provides some shading for the gable windows. A typical standard is about 50/60 cm (20/24 inches) all around.
RoughRider schrieb:
2. The walls on the upper floor are supposed to be only 12 cm (5 inches) thick and made of gypsum boards/drywall. I am worried that these thin walls will hardly insulate against sound. In other words, that every little “noise” from the neighboring room will be audible. But I want peace and quiet and to be able to have conversations without everything being overheard. Are my concerns justified?
This is a common misconception and is by no means true—the sound insulation is excellent.
Alternatively, if you still feel uneasy (it’s really just a matter of feeling), consider building the interior walls on the upper floor from calcium silicate blocks. Calcium silicate blocks offer poor thermal insulation but very good sound insulation.
Best regards
R
RoughRider29 Oct 2010 19:16I forgot to mention that we are building with facing bricks...
So, you mean that drywall will be sufficient?
I want to use bricks because of the sound insulation...
So, you mean that drywall will be sufficient?
I want to use bricks because of the sound insulation...
B
Bauexperte30 Oct 2010 10:50Hello,
In my opinion, the topic of soundproofing in the shell construction stage is overrated nowadays, especially with a wall assembly totaling around 40 for aerated concrete and 30 for hollow brick with ETICS (external thermal insulation composite systems), combined with triple glazing—where would noise even penetrate from outside?
Try searching the forum—I couldn’t find it quickly—but drywall partitions are definitely better than their reputation suggests. They also have the advantage that you can carry out renovations or modifications with much less mess and dirt, for example, after the kids move out. What you should pay attention to is that a metal stud frame, not a timber frame, is used and that the walls are acoustically decoupled from adjacent building elements; however, in my experience, this is standard practice among all reputable contractors. Alternatively, gypsum panels or, as mentioned, sand-lime brick walls are options if drywall doesn’t feel right for you.
What you should focus on more is a good and suitable ventilation system—after all, your house will be quite airtight due to the preferred masonry construction => risk of mold growth.
Best regards
RoughRider schrieb:
I forgot to mention that we are building with facing bricks... so you think that drywall partitions will be sufficient? I want the bricks for sound insulation...
In my opinion, the topic of soundproofing in the shell construction stage is overrated nowadays, especially with a wall assembly totaling around 40 for aerated concrete and 30 for hollow brick with ETICS (external thermal insulation composite systems), combined with triple glazing—where would noise even penetrate from outside?
Try searching the forum—I couldn’t find it quickly—but drywall partitions are definitely better than their reputation suggests. They also have the advantage that you can carry out renovations or modifications with much less mess and dirt, for example, after the kids move out. What you should pay attention to is that a metal stud frame, not a timber frame, is used and that the walls are acoustically decoupled from adjacent building elements; however, in my experience, this is standard practice among all reputable contractors. Alternatively, gypsum panels or, as mentioned, sand-lime brick walls are options if drywall doesn’t feel right for you.
What you should focus on more is a good and suitable ventilation system—after all, your house will be quite airtight due to the preferred masonry construction => risk of mold growth.
Best regards
RoughRider schrieb:
that the gypsum walls will be sufficient?
I want bricks because of sound insulation...Hello RoughRider
As the building expert already mentioned... many, unfortunately also many professionals, or those who call themselves that, are not familiar with the actual possibilities of drywall construction.
You can easily achieve all the desired sound insulation values with a system stud wall in drywall construction. The C-profile studs allow for all kinds of options and thicknesses... with the appropriate board covering selected according to the requirements and the interior filling (mineral wool insulation), you can achieve sound insulation values of over 73 dB... which you certainly won’t need in a single-family house. But even with simple stud walls, values well over 50 dB up to 60/61 dB are easily feasible.
In addition, it saves you from further construction moisture and time during finishing. Once this wall is built, you can immediately apply wallpaper, decorative plaster, or install tiles... so there is no waiting time for plaster drying or plasterers.
Similar topics