Soundproof: What Works And What Doesn't!
This video shows the installation of 4 different ways to absorb and cancel sound. Here is the truth about soundproofing: Good, Better, Best and Amazing. You decide! But don't be fooled by TV renovation shows. You don't want to spend a ton of money and be disappointed.
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Here is the framing video I promised. Cheers!
• DIY How to Frame Your ...
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - STC Rating
4:29 - Good: Double Drywall Ceiling
7:40 - Better: Insulation
13:44 - Best: Green Glue
17:29 - Amazing: Decoupling Wall
26:58 - Outro
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@Joe Kinchicken Where's your video Mr. Know it All? I work commercial and have seen the drywall guys doing sound proofing. Only time I've seen them use isolation clips is when we were doing a radio station. They're way overkill for basic residential purposes, I'd hate to get a quote from you lol.
Hey, thanks for this. It was helpful to see some of the construction I hadnt seen before. Wanted to mention, for most sound situations, that two sheets 5/8s and good ol pink insulation may be fine. Where that heavy Roxul SafeNSound and Ultratouch are important is when low frequencies come into play. Subwoofers and kick drums and bass guitars will fly right through that drywall without a good trap for the lowend. Most TV watching, even loud volumes with a small woofer is not getting into those low frequencies, but a good subwoofer will definitely get down there. So it depends on the application.
Great stuff. Looking for something for our 2d floor Master. Living by the beach in Florida and county increased the traffic flow by widening a local road. Doing so increased the noise upstairs on that side (only the 2d floor master is affected). Home is 5 years old and we want to decrease as much noise as possible for that room. What would you recommend, since the walls are already finished with two shutter windows? Also that bedroom wall facing traffic is 45’ in length, tray ceiling with a walkable attic space.
@Joe Kinchicken Applying 1 tube of Green Glue per 4″×8″ sheet will deliver about 70% of the performance of 2 tubes. Sound isolation clips and hat track are painful and expensive. He is showing how to do an reasonable job at an affordable trade off. 2 extra tubs per 4x8' sheet has diminishing returns for only a 30% improvement. Since his sheet is 12' maybe he is hitting 60% performance. www.acousticalsurfaces.com/greenglue/green-glue-instructions.htm
Lovely video. I have a predicament. I DIY my bathroom, my first DIY if i might add. Anyways I didn't insulate the walls (silly me). The bathroom share a wall with one of the bedroom and when the tap is running or someone is having a bath. I can hear every sound coming from the bathroom. Is there a way I can insulate the wall with breaking the wall down. Thank You
i'm 16 and will not be soundproofing anything anytime soon i only came here out of curiosity but i stayed the entire vid for some reason. you have very good and friendly vibes. cheers
Jeff is super fun and nice.
If you are watching this at the age of 16, as opposed to what I got into at 16 (48 now) then you good, bro👍
Wait til you get older. Peace and quite will become an infinitely more valuable commodity!
Learn all the useful information you can while you're still young. Once you enter the workforce or buy your own home you'll be ahead of the game.
Tofire you should look into making sound baffles for acoustic modeling. That’s what I was doing at 16. Now 54 I’ve made a pretty buck on them. 😁✌️ Good luck to you young man.
i grew up in construction family, did all this with my father when I was a younger man. 5/8" drywall is a BEAST! people can't appreciate how much heavier it is than 1/2". You my friend are gold on youtube. there is so much on your channel that is the right way to build things compared to other people. Watching your channel is like listening to my father. you are awesome!
@merim123 ⅝" drywall is about 25% heavier than ½" drywall.
Amen to the Beast part! Making a COVID Home office in my basement - directly adjacent to furnace :( I went to follow these recommendations, see that they now sell even 5/8" drywall as 2 sheets taped together. No go on loading yourself ! Didn't bother to bring my "Posse" with me and too impatient to deal with lumberyard delivery. Looked at Homosote, about 1/4 the weight of drywall (and very cheap). And so easy to cut (basically 1/2" paper Mache) tho it makes a bit of a fuzzy dust cloud so best to do outside. So bought enough to double up (1 layer both sides of the wall structure, 2 layer would still be quite cheap on small rooms), made a 2x6" decoupled wall, Homosote on each side, paneling on office side, hardboard on the now storage room side. Roxul 1 layer in the wall. I think I'm at STC>60 or in that ballpark (!) Immediately the furnace was much "farther away" even before air gaps (Joists) were all resolved, and as I gradually took care of those, it kept getting progressively quieter - so I went further and installed Homosote 1 layer on the basement joists as well (roxul in the joists too) - much easier than drywall, no lift needed, etc. Actually this is working great, even helps quite a bit with footfall without using clips or Jtrack or whatever it is. Became impressed so went to homosote site to see how "good" this actually is -- the decoupled wall plus Homosote on each side as a wall system actually is potentially better than single layer 5/8" drywall on each side. Could still put drywall finish layer up if wanted (STC mid to upper 60's if I did, IE REALLY good) but the point was that drywall is a pain in the basement anyway, Homosote is WAY faster and easier to get downstairs, and of course drywall is a disaster if you ever have a water leak flood etc, need basement (moisture) grade drywall etc. Meanwhile this stuff apparently only absorbs about 7% if left underwater for 2 hours (data from Homosote site - the "glue" for the cellulose fibers is more like a wax). Some decent fire ratings too. It takes paint very well, actually if you caulk in the screw holes and paint with 1 liberal coat or ideally 2 coats (I used flat ceiling paint) it leaves an interesting mini-burlap like texture, nice enough I decided not to even cover it on one of the walls that will be behind my computer desk (free bulletin board lol). Supposed to leave a gap between boards (1/8") for expansion, but I used the stays-flexible GreenGlue accoustic sealant caulk in the gap and that made a nice junction, should be fine for movement and maybe a touch of spackle here and there for cosmetics (tho it might crack as it moves, we'll see). I did use Green glue soundproof green goo under it over one little section of drywall already there that was the wall the furnace is behind. Basically Very happy and my back isn't wrecked. Never heard of this stuff or knew what it was, but it's been around for 100 years - well past the hype and new on market up-pricing, etc. Richard Byrd used it for his shelters in Antarctica, and much of WW II forward deployed structures built with it, etc. Byrd Dropped some in the ocean (floats), recovered it and put it to work (try that with drywall lol). Took years of soaking in snow/ice etc. and remained intact. We've all seen and probably not recognized it. Makes great bulletin boards etc. as well... The company's also very green - recycled paper to make it and they actually recover all water used in manufacturing (closed loop system). And made in US. Who Knew it was right under our noses forever. No idea why this isn't part of code for apartments or why there isn't a product with this+plywood bonded as a single layer 1" flooring product. 2x R value of plywood too.
Ankle Donna hoist a couple full sheets of each and get back to us about that ‘minimal’ 25% disparity. Until you have had to move some sheets by yourself you just want have the appreciation of that additional ‘25%’. Just saying.
The sheet-rock jack is worth every penny of its rental cost - I’ve been able to do a couple of ceilings of 1/2” by myself. Approx 40lbs per sheet isn’t particularly back breaking to maneuver around, but if you’ve ever had to skim coat a nasty 4x8 ft ceiling patch you’ll know that overhead work is entirely a different story.
@Doug Sykes Hemp was only used in the past because it grew fast so the products made from it could be replaced the following year. Hemp fibers were bad for developing mildew and going to rot so was used for rope and sacks to hold root crops being taken to market. Now there's chemical treatments to prevent that.
One thing I will add as a hvac installer, If you connect the last 5 feet of pipe to the register with insulated flex duct there is much less sound transmission.
A staggered stud wall with 2X6 framing and 2X4 studs has almost the same sound transmission level that a double wall does. The advantage is that you lose less than 2 inches around the entire perimeter of the room instead of about a foot of area around the entire perimeter of the room. I designed a home theater for a friend of mine and he was on a budget. Instead of an acoustical door, we went to Home Depot and bought an exterior door for the entrance to the theater room. This actually sealed the room quite well. We used the staggered stud method. We installed a raised floor for the second row of seating and put insulation in this enclosure to keep it from becoming a bass drum. When building a home theater in an unfinished basement, you need to take acoustics into consideration to decide on the size of the room. Some size rooms are better than others for acoustics. One great ratio acoustically is 1X1.4X1.9, and this is what we used. He had 10 foot ceilings so we used that for the 1 in the ratio. Multiplying the other parts of the ratio by 10 gave us a room that was 14X19 feet. By my standards, he had very inexpensive audio gear. This room was so good acoustically that even with his equipment it sounded awesome. His family room was right above the home theater and his wife wanted it quiet in the family room. When we finished the room, we actually did exactly what you said and put Star Wars on at movie theater sound pressure level and went upstairs to check it out. When his air conditioning kicked on, you can hear air coming out of the vents if you listen very carefully. But for the home theater, you couldn’t hear that at all wether the air conditioning was on or not. He enjoyed this home theater for several years up until a couple of months ago when he sold the house. I guess someone else is enjoying my design now.
I don't know how many years it took you to learn all of these things. But as a construction contractor I praise you for all you do for the community, you are the king of diyers
Living alone is the best sound proofing.
Loving it!
LOL! So true!
....or, a short piece of string trimmer line stuck in your ears to gouge your ear drums out. I want to do this ever time I hear rap music.
ha who the hell can afford that?
LOL!!!!!!!!
I wish this guy was my dad. I'd have built a house by the time I was 16. This guy is almost my sole place for house reno info
This is the first link I clicked from my Google search, and this video was extremely informative. It gave me most of what I wanted to learn in one place: 1 the basics of how sound insulation works 2 rough comparisons of different methods 3 lots of useful tips (insulation choice, multiple on drywall installation, where to find a drywall lift, spacing/placement of the studs for the extra wall, etc.) 4 and pointed me where to look for additional information (wikipedia stc rating & a linked video focused on building a wall) The information was clearly stated and very easy for me to understand even as someone who only just became interested in anything home renovation related the other day. The video pacing was also very well balanced. There were no 10+ second patches of useless footage, but still showing everything without feeling rushed. 10/10 best video I've ever watched among the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) I've come across while researching something I was curious about.
Cheers , glad you like our style!
This is great! You can't hear the screams for help coming from my cellar anymore.
I come to watch a legitimate DIY video and there are still golden comments like this on here. hahahaha
The FBI is monitoring these comments. Just sayin'.
@@Lughnerson ha, the FBI is responsible for kidnappings and child trafficking.
Lughnerson good thing I’m Canadian lol
Isn’t that the point?
This should be on tv.....wow so much better than DIY shows. Awesome job!
Real Tool Reviews it’s awesome to see the approval of one of my favorite tool reviewers on a diy video I’m watching
He is on TV. 500,000 subscribers.
KZhead over cable
Too educational, people need mindless content to watch
You're right but only the first season would be good then the producers would add useless drama
Finally found down to earth, practical, clean, clear and to the point hands on guy!!! It wouldn’t surprise me you’re getting lots of offers from TV companies to do shows and entertainment using your extensive knowledge and experience. You’re awesome and so fun to listen to! I found you 5 min ago and am instant subscriber.
I love this guy! He’s made me so much more confident in doing DIY projects myself after watching his videos.
I have always found that grunting and snorting when lifting heavy objects is helpful also
It does. A sharp “whoo-ah!” from deep within actually contracts your core muscles, protecting your spine. Try it, you’ll feel it. You’ll pull in your abs, and feel it in your diaphragm. If you squeeze your glutes a little, too, all the better.
or a hi-yaaah!!!
With all the grunting and snorting. All I could think is this guy sounds like he is part of the red and green show.
Facts! Lol
it actually does lol, which is why when you hurt yourself letting out a noise helps to mentally shore up your pain tolerance. literally proven fact, seems silly i know lol
This man is saving lives here... For the sanity of silence.
I spent years designing custom audio video systems. The clients who were ultimately the happiest understood and addressed the notion that "The ROOM, is the BIGGEST component in any sound system design". If they agreed with that, then we'd utilize all of the techniques discussed in this excellent video and more. When we added really great components to a room DESIGNED for sound - the results were amazing. But ALL of these techniques are, in my opinion, spot-on.
no; that will be the speakers
@@frederf69 You're wrong. I have fixed a room where someone put speakers costing over $100,000 per pair into the wrong room and it sounded horrid - that's why the client - found me. The right speakers FOR the environment, wins every time. The environment is more important than the speaker - the speaker only makes ONE sound wave. The room, can change the sound up to SIX times before it hits the ear. A pair of speakers costing MUCH less, in a proper room can and did sound so much, much better. And I proved that to this client in person. Then I was hired to fix his situation. Sorry Fred - you're wrong.
The sound cancelation used when I was growing up was my mother's leather slipper across the head! Cheap, effective and reusable.
too bad i can't do the same to my oblivious overhead neighbors
Too funny! And I think we had a similar upbringing!! If not a slipper, a wooden-spoon worked well. Mom had pretty good range with that! (You - Italian-descent by any chance??)
@@bc-guy852 Hell yeah! The wooden spoon was her back-up.....Take care. Are you?
@@brunotulliani Ha ha ha. I figured. Yes - but I had Jewish neighbours - and I think that technique was in their first chapter of child-rearing too.
I'm a Plasterer by trade. I will test it out on my downstairs bedroom so I don't have to listen to my neighbours trying for a baby every single day in lockdown.
😂
Did it work my friend ??
😁
@@andrewh.3145 only after you've blown your beanz.
There's a quicker solution: try on his behalf instead :-D
I just found this channel yesterday; I’m already a subscriber. It is refreshing to hear someone talk sensibly and honestly instead of just pushing product and wasting their viewers money!
Thank you !!! I have learned so much watching your videos . I currently live alone but I can actually hear my condo neighbor Television program or just talking so I want to deaden all of the sound coming across those walls. Thank you for all this awesome info. 💗💗💗
Thank you. You just saved me tremendous money. I was about to purchase mineral wool and stumbled across your video informing me that the sound barrier qualities are nearly identical. Love it.
I didn't think I was gonna finish this video after work but you keep the momentum going, love the help and positive attitude!
Loved that nobody paid you to have your own opinion! Nobody pays me to agree either. Thanks for great insights!
If we ever do get a channel sponsor it will be because we love the company and believe they are the best product for the job to help our people. Not because we are paid to speak on their behalf. Cheers!
I went with 5/8" fiber soundboard under my sheet rock in the theater room. Best investment I ever made. I did the roof and all the walls. Also gave me a great opportunity to run all my wire etc.
How much would it be for a shed
I enjoy your videos, you seem to be a very good guy, i have been a carpenter over 40yrs and still learn a thing or two from you, thank you Sir.
Planning on converting my garage into a music studio and even though I'm an experienced builder the info in this video is priceless. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Just don't put the layer of drywall between the two isolated walls. It called triple leafing and is not helpful.
Hey Jeff! As someone with zero construction experience, I find your videos to be absolutely the most helpful ones on the internet. I stumbled upon your channel while researching methods to correctly soundproof a detached garage for music recording. As you know, soundproofing requires unique construction methods, and a close attention to detail to really produce a satisfactory result. In addition to your videos, I purchased a book "Home Recording Studio; Built it Like the Pros", by Rod Gervais, and regarding a double-wall assembly, he notes a rather interesting point on placement of building materials. And like I mentioned, I know nothing about construction and building codes etc., but I'd love to forward a passage of this book that seems to contradict the method (as I'm understanding it) you've outlined for achieving max sound isolation with a double-wall assembly, and hear your thoughts. Thanks so much for the videos!
I have been thinking about tackling this beast for some time. I feel like this is way cheaper than looking for another home. I applaud you for showing us neophytes the way. You sir have shown me the first few steps.
How did you go?
Excellent info, personable and knowledgeable host, and the rationale and alternative methods to soundproof were hugely helpful. Appreciate the contribution to our collective knowledge. Thank you.
I built a whole second bathroom with your vids. You're my hero.
Man I'm not even in a spot to renovate and I love this chan! Thanks for helping people who are trying to mkae their home nice for a reasonable price. Love it
You're the most knowledgeable person ever on home renovation. . I watch so many of your videos on almost everything. Very strong person as well.
Cheers Kevin, Thanks for watching. New videos every week.
It's so rare to find an informative video like this, I REALLY appreciated it!
Jeff - Ur so great!! You have sincerely been a lifesaver for me ... stuck by way of in-laws leaving this huge house to me ...built in 1926 in Macon Ga ... I am the only one who can’t stand by and all a lifetime of hard work by a wonderful man just crumble and fall apart ... for a long while ... I probably made things so much worse ... i have ADD TO BOOT ... Then I discovered your videos ... you have single handedly guided me in taking his immense hulk of junk house and stir it throws something that gives me pleasure and I’m even getting compliments from random neighbors! you’re expansive knowledge ... key to details .. the way that break things down and give amazing tips big and small ... and your attitude and infectious grin make it a real pleasure learning from you ... I am just surprised you’re not a lot more famous than you already are ... so yeah .. thank you SOO much .. I just can’t really even put it in words what a blessing you’ve been for me
Glad to help Joey! Cheers!
Just bought my first home - thinking of adding a basement apartment. THIS helps SOOOOO much! Thank you Jeff!
Jeff, thanks for the information and video. Kudos to you for tackling the drywall installation as a solo project. Ps ….. you taught me a thing or two about sound control. Thanks again!
This guy is great. Subscribed because of how genuine he is
I'm a musician and have had so many talks and conversations about the beginning of sound proofing this or that and honestly your honesty and your common sense approach is probably the best sound proofing video I've seen in a very long time. I understand that your talking about residential and I work and spend my time in a whole different classification and situation! HOWEVER, every sound guy should see this video before they even start looking or THINKING about the room they are going to sound proof! Thank you for your time sir and if anyone should read this I am here to say and I mean this " this guy is telling the dead honest truth and save your money and go with his suggestions!" Thank you once again sir it's a very informative watch on more than one level!!!
orvillelawton gotta do both bro lol
The number one way of stoping sound from going from room to room is kill the sound in the original room. So in addition to everything you said remember soft objects absorb sound instead of reflecting it. Carpet instead of hardwood will greatly reduce the sounds that reflects up to the ceiling. Keep speaker off of shelving connected to the walls or put 1/2 inch spikes to separate the speakers from the shelves. Curtains instead of blinds. Soft couch instead of hard chairs. Even felt on your card table will help. Thanks for the great video. It is nice to hear solutions instead of a sales pitch.
Cheers!
Not strictly true.. While carpet (or other soft stuff like foam) will greatly reduce reflection, it does Nothing to reduce transmission. If you were to completely carpet a room and put on Star Wars on 11, it would sound "dead" inside but could be heard just fine outside. When you see those knobby foam covers on studio walls, trust me, there are other sound stoppers behind them to keep it from getting out... like solid + soft walls (thick drywall + green stuff, room within a room etc..) Carpet on floors with a good backing will stop making the sound in the first place (footfalls), but won't do anything on walls or ceilings except make the room sound "dead" which you don't really want in a man cave/home theatre scenario
thats too much work his way is easier
When i finished my basement, i wanted a quieter office - I put the accoustic insulation (looked like shredded denim/fabrics) in the ceiling and divider wall adjacent to the tv room. Made a massive difference. single 1/2' drywall...sure 2 layers of 5/8 would have been even better but much more costly.
Very good tip about the screw higher up! In general, always try to avoid hard contact with the source, and close every little gap and hole.
Used floating floor underlay and 2 layers of drywall for ceiling. Z channel und underlay for the walls. Worked awesome
The decoupled is great and adds a lot, it'd be good to mention that while this is good, decoupling from the ceiling joists would also be good to enhance he wall decoupling. The microlams would also transfer sound from the adjoining room without ceiling decoupling. I like your videos, and believe more information is always better.
Hey Jeff, I have watched and loved your videos for years. I am a DJ and can now do my FM radio show from home. I have taken a 7.5 x 11.5 storage room and am building an in-home studio. The 2 exterior walls have NO insulation, so I'm gonna spray foam them. Then, I'm gonna install your 2 x 5/8" sheets of drywall with Green glue on all 4 walls and ceiling, too! I've got to deal with 2 small crank-out windows in that room, so I'll think of something. Thanks, brother!! Cubby
It's so obvious you know what your talking about. Great information and no bs! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I designed and built a sound isolation studio using some of these techniques and adding a few more. This information is correct, and the strategies work. It's based on the verified rules of acoustic physics. For my sound isolation studio, i built a room inside a room inside a room, and the interior room sits on 3/4" rubber mats made from ground car and truck tires. The innermost room is not attached anywhere to the middle room, so it literally floats on the rubber mats. I allowed more air space between the inner and outer walls--not a lot but perhaps 2 to 3 inches--and I used a lot of fiberglass insulation, which mostly absorbs low frequency sound waves and a bit of midrange. Another thing I did which is different is putting sheetrock on both sides of the walls. This creates Helmholtz resonating panels, and I varied the spacing of the wall studs, floor joists, and ceiling joists to create different size Helmholtz resonating panels, which included putting horizontal "cross bracing" to make smaller, fully enclosed sections in the framing. So instead of being just walls, floors, and ceilings, they are a set of Helmholtz resonating panels. If you understand acoustic physics, then great; but the way I put everything into perspective is based on anthropomorphizing sound waves. The rule in this respect is that it annoys sound waves when they have to travel through a maze of different materials; so the goal is to annoy sound waves as much and as often as possible. Traveling through air and then needing to travel through a layer of sheetrock annoys sound, but then surprising the sound by annoying it even more by making it travel through yet another layer of sheetrock is golden. Since the sound isolation studio is a floated room within a room within a room, the sound isolation is so great that someone can run a gasoline-powered Stihl chain saw 20 feet away in another room, and you don't hear it inside the sound isolation studio; and due to the innermost room being floated on rubber mats, you don't feel much of the subsonic vibrations. If you are in an apartment or want to do this without making permanent modifications to the outermost rooms, then you can float the middle and innermost rooms. Build it with wood screws, and you can disassemble it later if you decide to move somewhere else or want to repurpose the room. I did this in my house; but in the apartment scenario, using wood screws and a handheld drill has the additional advantage of not making as much noise as a hammer and nails. Eliminating subsonic bass and deep bass is not so easy, but you can control it in a way that probably will not annoy neighbors in the apartment scenario. If after doing this there are "hot spots" for deep bass, then you can put rolls of fiberglass insulation and cubes of compressed cellulose insulation in the innermost room to absorb the troublesome deep bass and by doing so eliminate "hot spots" or "standing waves". Great video, and excellent information!
You might try reading up on Helmholtz resonators, then doing the math.
I'd actually like to throw in Bolt's ratios into consideration as well. Designing the two innermost room dimensions to distribute modes evenly across the room.
Wow, that's a lot of sound isolation! There's a recording studio near me that has inner rooms isolated on springs because it is right next to a cement plant that has trucks rolling down a road that's only a few yards away. Works great.
Air Gap is the only Real way to control Sound. So yes a Room in side a Room inside a Room inside a Room is the way to go. The less contact from room to room will dampen sound. Wood to wood contact is not good at all. Poly rubber should be used when and were Wood contact Wood. Just saying.. Good luck
SurfWhammy: the best method is to suspend the inside room on magnetic bearings, like on a high-speed train, so that there is an air gap between the inner and outer room.
You videos are absolute gold, please keep these going as I can binge watch your videos for hours. I also love it that you're Canadian as alot of the construction and codes you speak about applies directly to me. Thank you and keep up the great work!
GREAT VIDEO, SUBSCRIBED!!! About 20 years ago, we hired a contractor to build-out a recording studio in the basement of our commercial building. The biggest element of our design concerns was killing the sound transmission from Room-to-Room and thru the ceiling to the ground floor business which occupied the space above the Recording Studio space. With the exception of the Main Tracking Room - which was completely de-coupled from the rest of the structure, using the 'Box in a Box' Principle and dense hard rubber half-balls between the real floor and the floor of the Tracking Room, we still had to run our inside/outside split-system HVAC from room to room within the studio AND not have any air-flow noises or transmission issues. SOLUTION: Was to take out ALL the existing metal duct work, and, replace it with coils upon coils of essentially Flexible Vent Tubing - like you have on the exhaust of the your home dryer for your clothes. Allow NO STRAIGHT LINES, make every inch snakey-windy and coil-like - causing the sound to travel through and within those flexible tubes a looooooong distance from return to return in adjacent rooms. IIRC, the type of Flexible Vent Tubing either had a layer of insulation going around the inside diameter of the tubing, and/or, the tubing was wrapped and buried in a bed of soft insulation within the ceiling space. Hope that info is helpful to those who want to use their existing HVAC System, but without the noisey 'Sound Highways' of metal duct work; and, the Radiant Heat option is not desirable for whatever your reason may be. Cheers!
Great demonstration of different levels of soundproofing. I live in a semi-detached home, we want to put a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub in our basement, and wondered how to soundproof the wall and ceiling which will be against the common wall. 👍
EX UBC journeyman. Worked once on a job (1986) where every room surface under the 5/8 and 1/2 inch wallboard double application, had an 1/8 inch thick lead sheet screwed to studs over 4 inch insulation. The sheets were 3 x 5 feet. The owner of the two floor apartment was a railroad magnate I was told with a net worth of over 600 million. Never knew who he was, but he had gotten a variance from the Buildings Department for this. NYC Buildings Department! When rooms were finished, and I walked from room to room towards the end of the construction, I felt the odd feeling you get in your ears from the lack of sound in every room. Is as if your hearing skipped a beat. That is the ultimate soundproofing....lead!
Ultimate foil hat I'd say! 270 lbs of lead is a lot of weight on a ceiling.
Damn, hope a pipe never bursts in that joint 😳
Yep! Shoot everybody and it'll be nice n quiet! Wha😳? Oh! Sheets of lead? 😬sorry!
Excellent info .. I'm in California and we did this staggered framing two walls floor to ceiling with the layout being tighter because of layout ... Dunno if you follow .. Insulation on both walls special drywall and even this sound deadening caulk .. Expensive but it's what the client wanted
Man, you're so easy to watch and listen to!! Interesting stuff, thx.
Idk how I ended up here but I'm subbed. You're a great host, you're entertaining, and very informative. Love your videos dude.
This was the best and most practical soundproofing video! Thanks Jeff!
Very helpful, thanks! Another note: any and all seams should be sealed tight - if you think of sound like water, it'll seep through anywhere there's a hole. Thumps and male conversation get reduced by the drywall/framing techniques but the complete seal reduces the high frequencies.
My brother in law talks smack about you but I think your fantastic. I’ve remodeled houses built decks and so on so I understand where your coming from and why these little things add up. He doesn’t get it because he’s worked in a restaurant his whole life. It’s the small little details that add up to a professional job. Keep delivering the good stuff I appreciate everything you do.
So helpful I have an old 1928 California bungalow could not afford insulation on the renovation and regretting it in the bedroom especially I'm looking at your four-inch wall addition I think that may be my option thank you so much I think I can do this myself yay
Yes, he does a great job of presenting. Has very useful topics. I’m happy he’s on youtube, because I cut the cable.
lol. I'll reference this when I'm ready to build my home theater. love renovision tv. God bless.
thanks for video having minor acoustical problems thanks again for your insight and knowledge
Love these videos! Staggered studs would decouple the walls even further, and works even better than metal channels. Insulation actually increases coupling and noise transmission for lower frequencies (which are the most problematic). Short of building a room inside of a room, staggered stud, no insulation, double drywall on each side is the best method. Add a floating floor to decouple bass frequencies even further. A bit extreme for many cases, but my experience comes from the recording studio side of things.
All good ideas here. Just wanted to add that issues with resonance typically arise when attempting to decouple, or when using the same type of material in multiple layers of the assembly. By introducing space between the materials (as in decoupling), you improve the sound reduction performance, but only at certain frequencies. When objects have been decoupled the air in the cavity created by decoupling acts quite similarly to a spring - resulting in resonance. At and around this resonance point, the performance of the assembly is actually worse than had it not been decoupled. In order to address this concern, one must both lower the resonance frequency by either adding additional mass, increasing the depth of the air cavity, and.or adding insulation (if none is present) while damping the decoupled system with a damping compound.
@@bluecar5556 I saw another commentator mention using different thickness drywall on either side of the wall to avoid both sides having the same resonance frequency. Would you also expect that to help?
Yup.. And send the green glue back.. Absolute waste of money... Intumescent fire sealant is easily as good or better at 1/3 the cost of the same size jumbo tube.. Dries to a rubbery consistency and as a side effect is great at decoupling if used between dywall, although heavy vinyl rubber sheeting would smash them all but is very expensive..
@@bluecar5556 This is golddust. would you do paid consultation at all?
@@iamdave84 wow did you get anywhere with this?
Your videos are excellent! I almost spent "too much" $$ soundproofing my basement which has vents!
Thanks for a very good vid. However please let me add a few tips. I did my own recording studio after reading more books than you'd believe. Instead of 2 layers of 5/8" sheet rock, use one layer of 5/8, and then make the other layer 1/2". Each thickness has it's own resonant mode. The frequencies that make it through one thickness won't make it easily through the other thickness. In other words, one thickness will make up for the small deficiencies of the other thickness. Also, I do like to use those metal J-channel strips. Not too much money, but yes, extra labor. The secret to using those is to make sure your walls of sheet rock do not touch each other where they meet the floor and ceiling and the corners. Leave a small gap, 1/16 to 1/8 inch. You need that slack because all the corners, etc., won't be perfectly even. You can still put the mud on your sheet rock walls like normal later, but do not use it on those gaps. Fill them in with clear silicone goo. That way the walls can vibrate independently and not influence each other. You say you don't wanna look at those silicone gaps? Mount molding with glue, but make sure the molding only is attached to one surface, not touching the adjacent surface. Attach so that the most visible part is the part glued, and leave a gap at the other side. I got by with a gap of 1/16" or less. Also, if doors are involved, get solid core doors. Need to make them even more soundproof? Put metal thresholds at the bottom and install rubber wipers at the bottom that are shaped like tubes. Use strips of insulation on the door sills/jambs for a better seal. The whole idea is to pretend you're making a room hermetically sealed. Of course you aren't really, but you try to get in the ballpark. Need to make the doors more soundproof? Screw sheet rock to them. Looks bad, but there are ways to trim them out and make them look nicer. Think about how you're gonna do that later before you go ahead. Or maybe it won't matter to you. Have window issues? Get that dual pane thermal glass. I believe there might even be triple pane glass out there, but might be hard to find. Yeah, you can do more stuff that studios do, but not likely worth it for homeowners. The whole point is getting it much better for not too much money, just as he said in the video. However, if you're building a brand new house, so much cheaper to take care of issues in the beginning. Most builders won't know all the tricks, so you might wanna consult an acoustician or someone known to have experience with studio construction, then pick and choose the tricks that fit your budget. You probably hired an architect, they could consult with someone. If you replace air ducts with insulated ducts, that can help problems, but the stuff is crazy expensive. Upstairs floors? Better while building a house, but if really needed you could add a layer of Enkasonic then put plywood and a rug or normal flooring on top of that. Not cheap. It's a 3-D mesh that absorbs impacts and noise. The stuff was around at least 25 years ago when I built my place, though I didn't use it. You can still look them up, probably have even better stuff now. Final thoughts: You're trying to make a room that keeps noise out. Or a room that keeps the noise in. In the case of a studio, both. But for homeowners, you're likely focusing on just one room, so figure out the goals for that room. Likely keeping the noise in, though it seemed like in the video it was keep noise out. Most people will try to keep the noise in, as they can't afford to treat every room in the house. But I get the feeling that in the video, there was basement space available for a quiet room, no one wanted to rip apart the loud room, thus the goal.
He pretty much cheaped out on the wrong stuff. Different thickness of the fiber-plaster boards is a good tip but probably better to go single sheet and apply a flexible sandwich like Dynamat on surfaces not touching any beams (from inside ofc). Where they touch the beam, they should be separated by soft narrow layers of foam and some rubber under the screw heads. That green glue in such amounts is pretty much rigid and the whole assembly just transfers it all as one piece. Then he used that thin sheet of fiber insulation, it should actually be thicker to absorb bass, uncontrolled air - air gap does nothing, why do people still believe otherwise? So rather not use any fiber and dampen + separate the resonant boards to save, but adding 3 inches of fiber doesn't compensate, must be thicker (but not squeezed to the top, ofc). Scratch that, how about gluing real thick rockwool to the drywall (if not wanting the Dynamat)?
has its*
Brilliant explanation of sound proofing for the lay person. Better than any websites I've read on the topic
I am very glad to find this video. I am very much bothered from the outside noises from the street. I will try to install like this. Love from India
Great content. You just helped me immensely with my air bnb business. Thank you!
Combining materials of different density does a lot to diffuse sound waves. I imagine the green glue just acts as a dampener to keep the outer layer of drywall from vibrating the inner layer. Great video.
Yes the GG decouples the layers of drywall and converts kinetic energy to heat.
I’m going to renovating a garage into a full recording studio. This was very insightful. I have experience building a commercial studio, but that was on investors’ dime. This time the studio is gonna be my personal love-labour and for my personal business; so seeing where I can cut a few costs, without any real compromise, is super helpful. Thank you!
I was expecting to see foam insulation and soundproofing squares.
How is it going?
@@violetjames7534 the squares on the walls you see are more for absorption and diffusion. Not going to really keep the neighbors from hearing anything. Gonna trap it all first! Then the squares! 😺
@@JohnnyArtPavlou it’s coming along. About to finish up the audio/hdmi network, and install a couple more windows and mini split. I should be done this summer. 😎 thanks for asking!
@@sauce_aux Excellent!
Since I'm gonna get into construction on my land I hope I find all the info on here. For now you've earned my sub, good job.
I never thought sound proofing could be so interesting thank you for sharing 👍😁
Hi Jeff, I enjoy your entertaining and informative DIY videos. Although I'm not doing any DIY projects, when I watch your videos, I could at least "vicariously" do DIY projects. Anyhow, on this topic of soundproofing a ceiling against impact noise, you had a shorter video where you first said that a "usual" way to do this is to hang a sheet of 5/8" dry wall and then hang another sheet over it, which was covered with Green Glue (@$20 per tube x 2 tubes for each 4' x 8' section). You estimated the cost as around $9,000 for professional installation. Then you suggested a much cheaper and more effective way, which was to treat the floor upstairs by placing carpeting over thick sound absorbing padding. Where is this video? I need to show it to my friend who is actually considering the "usual" way to stop impact noise from the ceiling. Thanks. And, Jeff, keep up the good work. (If anyone know where I can find this video, I'll be happy if you tell me.)
Your channel is amazing for folks like me. I love your videos. Thank you.
Thank you for a great video. Very clear and well edited. This is of very high quality and value. Much love from Calgary in Canada.
Seeing you lifting those drywalls and making the noises bring back memories 😂 they are just international 👌
After so much research. I've spent more time than most people ever should trying to come to a budget conclusion to reduce sound transmission. You confirmed for me the that drywall layers alone, can reduce noise. Even more with acoustic sealants and materials if needed It was so simple after all that time. I remember years ago when i was a teenager, I had a stacked pile of drywall in front of me and i noticed how well it could deaden sound. Thanks for all the additional info.
I'm legitimately curious to know why you had a stacked pile of drywall in front of you as a teenager.
@@Kalbintion 🤣
Surprised me. You're absolutely right about researching info vs entertainment info. Good info is often very boring and crap info is exciting.
I love this and I would do it if I wasn't renting a cheap flat but ironically I actually need it because I'm on the top floor above 4 other flats and the sound travels from them and I'm sure they can hear my sim racing rig! Noted for when I eventually buy a place, thanks for the pro advice.
thank you for the video. You approach the subject in a comprehensive yet concise way that is easy to understand. I love practical engineering.
Thank you William, Cheers!
9:37 When I younger, my dad delegated me as the drywall lift.
been there too. Cheers!
I built a soundproof room for an audio engineer who built specialty amps once.... this is pretty accurate, I used the green glue as well. We also added Vinyl/Rubber batts suspended between the wall systems and suspended secondary ceilings. You can also add the red firestop putty around outlets or wall penetrations as needed to help prevent "noise leaking"....
Would you recommend this method for flooring in an apartment? Trying to soundproof it, it’s made out of wood, neighbors can hear every step.
Your videos not only good but make me wanna get up and start a project.
I love this channel, as a new home owner this is like the holy grail for diy projects.. New sub earned 👌🏽
Welcome aboard!
Great Lecture! You come across super well and natural....great GUY!...love your video to bits!
Thank. You so much for sharing the double wall system . I am building a sound studio . it is hard to imagine a wall within a wall system . Unless it is explained to you in-depth Like you did . thanks for taking the extra time to create this Vidio !!!!!
And I've had problems with 8 ft boards, good on you sir for gettin' it done!
Nice advice Jeff- thanks for your efforts. Many comments below are worthwhile and yes resilient bar is for minimizing contact point where transmission/vibration continues along; there may be something about the holes however I think reduction of material costs and weight were also considered by the manufacture. Reducing Sound and Thermal Bridges is what you need to consider. Changing the material densities within the assembly; whether sheetrock, insulation, Buffalow/Donnaconna/Wafer board, Concrete, Air, Acoustic Panels, alternating materials will breakdown both thermal and sound waves. This will alter the wave length as it attempts to move to penetrate a denser ( or less dense) construction material. Changing the wave length will weaken the property along its direction of transmission. Here's another hint ( for those of you that think ahead for the next trade/step after), - if you plan to employ a painted finish surface afterward, DON'T use pen or marker on finished drywall faces - it will eventually bleed through your painted finishes. Good Work
do you do paid skype consult? This is SOOO helpful you sound like a major expert
This guy knows what he is doing and he explains it very well. Great job.
HI I am here from the Philippines .Thanks for a very educational renovations tips. Am also a small contractor here. God bless
Man, I cannot tell you how much your videos have helped me! Thank you!
Glad to hear it!
I built a basement studio using a 6" baseplate with a 4" "staggered stud" configuration with Mass-Loaded Vinyl woven between the staggered studs. This isolated the inside wall from the outside wall, and I created a sopheted ceiling with the lighting inside the sophet with the remaining vinyl. Room turned out awesome. My little brother brought in his drum kit and the only room you could easily hear him in was right above it. It was super cheap because in 2005 that j-bracket wall kits were expensive! Cost Wood, sheetrock, and mass loaded vinyl. I still think its the cheapest way to soundproof!
I would recommend floating the ceiling rather than screwing it on. Any sort of elastomer channel system will be a big improvement. Totally the right sort of a method to have multi-layer drywall construction and use green glue.
Agreed, screwing in the second layer defeats the purpose of the (expensive) green glue. The screws will pull that 2nd layer tight up against the 1st, pointless using the glue. I use two layers of board with resilient channel for the ceiling, green glue on the walls.
Thank you! Just bought a fixer upper and had no idea that there's a race track right behind it! Lol! This is awesome!
Several years ago when I worked for my Dads construction company, we sound proofed a in an office building That had a print shop on the other side of the wall which was quite noise on the office side of the wall. We soundproof the wall using rolls of sheet lead and covered the lead with 5/8” drywall covered with vinyl. The results were outstanding when we were done with the installation you could barely hear the printing machine on the other side of the wall.
Very cool.
Also also Peace Maker rubber mats are awesome.
Happy new year Jeff. I really enjoy watching your videos. Very fun to watch and professional! Regarding soundproofing between basement and main floor, all my basement speakers will be in ceiling, is there hope? I’m not looking for perfection, just a descent level of soundproofing. The basement will have 3 rooms, play, gym and office. I’m not too worried about sound traveling around the basement as it travelling upstairs. Thanks Cheers
Jez I learned more about soundproofing here than researching it for ages back when I was looking into it years back.
I have an apartment building where one living room and a kitchen is next to the adjoining apartments bedrooms. The bedrooms are large with no closets. I built bedroom closets across on the wall to the kitchen and living room. Now there are two walls with four layers of drywall and insulation plus anything stored in the closets. Very quiet lots of storage and no complaints.
i honest to God think this is one of the best youtube videos i have ever watched. I dont even own a house and i watched it till the end.
This is for home theatres or media rooms in the basement only: Skip the insulation in a basement, save your money. Put 5/8 on the existing ceiling then frame in the theatre room so that it does not touch any other part of the house other than the cement floor. Isolating the room where the noise is generated from the rest of the house will be the most effective way to prevent transfer of noise from a media room. You can employ some of the other sound transference prevention techniques in this video, but honestly just creating the independant room will prevent most of the sound transmition issues as there is no physical contact. When you think about the rails, the green glue are all trying to dampen the vibration the sound transmits via touch. The sound vibrates the materials and that vibration or wave is carried through the material. Hold a board and hit one end with a hammer and you feel it at the other end. Now hold anothet board near that board, repeat. Obviously you will feel nothing because it is not connected and a waves are not transmitted. So just physically issolate the room where the sound is coming from. If you really want to take your home theatre to the next level keep reading. As a former theatre owner I also recommend not squaring your walls, they should taper, wider at the back and narrower at the front. Does not have to too drastic. You also want a soft surface on the back and front walls and likely some on the side walls. Even better if it is wavy or non perpendicular to the wall. This prevents sound living too long, aka echo. When you clap your hands in any normal room there is always some echo. A theatre should deaden sound. Sound is produced, heard once, and dies.
My basement ceiling where I'm gonna build the theatre room is too low for thicker or double dry wall. I'm thinking to help a little, I'm thinking at least put in that insulation. What's the product of that insulation?
@@tubetop123 Rockwool Safe and Sound
@@tubetop123 Dig the floor deeper or you'll regret it.
@@tubetop123 5/8" more seems neglible...what did you end up doing as I am in same situation. Thanks
Thats why my theater room is in a coffin, in a basement, and it’s hovering with suspension cables. I call it the dobly death scene. Mwa haha, i want to watch in peace! (Vlad accent emphasis)
We did a hydronic heating system with a 2" gybcrete over pour and thus not ducts. There were ABS pipes for plumbing. We did ROCSUL and Resilient channel for the drywall and 3/4" drywall. It worked fairly well. We should have done the accoustical caulk and double drywall. He is spot on in his perspective