ᐅ How to Soundproof the Floor/Ceiling in a Multi-Family Building?
Created on: 13 Oct 2016 19:15
P
phi77
Hello,
A four-family house is going to be completely renovated from the ground up. There will be no more tenants.
According to the former tenants, it was quite noisy inside, which I think is probably due to the intermediate ceilings. My first idea would be to install about 4cm (1.5 inches) of screed/concrete in each room on top of approximately 2cm (0.75 inches) of 035 styrofoam boards. Special biodegradable insulation panels costing 58€/m2 (square meter) are beyond my budget, so I need a good and cost-effective solution for about 300m2 (square meters).
Has anyone had experience with this?
Thanks and best regards,
phi77
A four-family house is going to be completely renovated from the ground up. There will be no more tenants.
According to the former tenants, it was quite noisy inside, which I think is probably due to the intermediate ceilings. My first idea would be to install about 4cm (1.5 inches) of screed/concrete in each room on top of approximately 2cm (0.75 inches) of 035 styrofoam boards. Special biodegradable insulation panels costing 58€/m2 (square meter) are beyond my budget, so I need a good and cost-effective solution for about 300m2 (square meters).
Has anyone had experience with this?
Thanks and best regards,
phi77
G
garfunkel16 Oct 2016 23:04The problem is that you can’t be 100% sure what the cause is or how serious the situation really is.
At the moment, we only know that previous tenants found it insufficient. So, it can be assumed that there actually is a problem.
But it remains just an assumption.
Well, the likely theory is that due to the fixed fastening of the floorboards onto the wooden joists, sound passes through unhindered and radiates downward.
It might already help if a floating floor is installed over the floorboards with an appropriate soundproofing mat placed between the boards and the floor covering.
Whether that is truly a good solution, I don’t know.
Insulating the ceiling to reduce sound, in my opinion, might be a solution but rather a poor one.
Why?
If the sound first gets into the ceiling from above, it will also be transmitted through the walls. That’s why it seems most sensible to prevent the sound from entering the ceiling/floor in the first place.
It’s a difficult subject.
I would definitely not pour a screed without consulting a structural engineer. As you mentioned, the house is somewhat older. If you add too much mass to the ceilings/floors, the whole thing could collapse—and screed is really heavy!
If I were you, I would wait for now. Maybe you can find out the exact cause.
Perhaps you could try placing 1 m² (10.8 ft²) of good soundproofing mat on the floorboards, then cover it with a board or floor covering. Then have someone jump on it to do a listening comparison underneath.
If that helps, I would probably put the soundproofing mat on the floorboards and install a floating floor on top.
But these are all just guesses. Who knows…
Edit: If you want to keep the floorboards as the final floor covering, it could also help to unscrew them and decouple them from all the joists/supports they rest on by placing soundproofing mats or strips underneath.
At the same time, you could add an edge insulation strip.
Maybe just an idea.
At the moment, we only know that previous tenants found it insufficient. So, it can be assumed that there actually is a problem.
But it remains just an assumption.
Well, the likely theory is that due to the fixed fastening of the floorboards onto the wooden joists, sound passes through unhindered and radiates downward.
It might already help if a floating floor is installed over the floorboards with an appropriate soundproofing mat placed between the boards and the floor covering.
Whether that is truly a good solution, I don’t know.
Insulating the ceiling to reduce sound, in my opinion, might be a solution but rather a poor one.
Why?
If the sound first gets into the ceiling from above, it will also be transmitted through the walls. That’s why it seems most sensible to prevent the sound from entering the ceiling/floor in the first place.
It’s a difficult subject.
I would definitely not pour a screed without consulting a structural engineer. As you mentioned, the house is somewhat older. If you add too much mass to the ceilings/floors, the whole thing could collapse—and screed is really heavy!
If I were you, I would wait for now. Maybe you can find out the exact cause.
Perhaps you could try placing 1 m² (10.8 ft²) of good soundproofing mat on the floorboards, then cover it with a board or floor covering. Then have someone jump on it to do a listening comparison underneath.
If that helps, I would probably put the soundproofing mat on the floorboards and install a floating floor on top.
But these are all just guesses. Who knows…
Edit: If you want to keep the floorboards as the final floor covering, it could also help to unscrew them and decouple them from all the joists/supports they rest on by placing soundproofing mats or strips underneath.
At the same time, you could add an edge insulation strip.
Maybe just an idea.
Thank you very much. I also consider decoupling the first layer and the edges from the wall to be the most practical approach. We now have the following conflicting comments:
Laminate flooring on floorboards is usually installed as a floating floor. However, if you decouple the floorboards from the joists and walls, how will you then attach the floorboards again? Every screw used creates a direct connection to the joists, and rubber screws don’t exist yet, do they? 😉
MayrCh schrieb:
Not floating, by any chance?
garfunkel schrieb:
Place the soundproofing mat on the floorboards and then install a floating floor on top.
Laminate flooring on floorboards is usually installed as a floating floor. However, if you decouple the floorboards from the joists and walls, how will you then attach the floorboards again? Every screw used creates a direct connection to the joists, and rubber screws don’t exist yet, do they? 😉
G
garfunkel17 Oct 2016 19:24If only the screw is left as a sound transmitter, I think the problem will be solved (assuming that actually was the issue).
What I find strange is whether your floorboards are anchored into the wall or if the wall is built on top of the floorboards, or how exactly should one imagine this?
I haven’t seen this even in older houses. They all stop about 1cm (0.4 inches) before the wall, primarily because of the expansion joint.
What I find strange is whether your floorboards are anchored into the wall or if the wall is built on top of the floorboards, or how exactly should one imagine this?
I haven’t seen this even in older houses. They all stop about 1cm (0.4 inches) before the wall, primarily because of the expansion joint.
I own several (older) houses, and in all of them the floorboards are recessed 1-2cm (0.4-0.8 inches) into the wall. But the next time I’m at the house, I will check—it’s probably the same here... Thanks for all your practical tips, they have been very helpful. I might get back to you later, but it will take a little while.
G
garfunkel18 Oct 2016 21:51And how is soundproofing in your other older houses?
What have you done there, or how is the ceiling construction?
What have you done there, or how is the ceiling construction?
Just the usual thumping noise when walking, but you don’t really hear much when someone is talking. So nothing has ever been done here, and I’ve never really looked into the subject because of that.
Ceiling construction: floorboards on joists, clay plaster on wooden battens, cavity space, a secondary ceiling made of thin wooden battens, with reed attached and plastered onto it. I think this is quite common in old houses.
If you’re going to lift the floorboards to decouple them from the joists, you might as well fill the cavities with insulation wool and be done with it. I think that would be a practical and sufficiently effective solution overall. 🙄
Anything else will probably produce only minor results or become too complicated and expensive.
Ceiling construction: floorboards on joists, clay plaster on wooden battens, cavity space, a secondary ceiling made of thin wooden battens, with reed attached and plastered onto it. I think this is quite common in old houses.
If you’re going to lift the floorboards to decouple them from the joists, you might as well fill the cavities with insulation wool and be done with it. I think that would be a practical and sufficiently effective solution overall. 🙄
Anything else will probably produce only minor results or become too complicated and expensive.
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