soundproofing for urban people

What is Rockwool?  Roxul Stone Wool is an insulation product that comes in the form of batts. It's composed of mineral fibers and it's considered to be green, fire-retardant, and very good for sound control. Like cellulose fiber, it insulates airborne noise better than fiberglass. In the USA, you can buy Roxul at Lowes and some Home Depot locations. In Canada, you can buy Roxul in Saskatchewan at  Rona Corporation  in Prince Albert or at  Econo Lumber . Roxul comes in packages of pre-cut sizes that fit the dimensions of your wall cavities (for example, use  these 15 1/4-inch batts  for wall studs that are 16 inches apart). Be sure to select the right size for the job – not just the width, but the depth as well (wall versus ceiling or attic). Rockwool is great in walls This video from Roxul demonstrates how to install Roxul in a wall. As you can see, it cuts easily with a bread knife and can be custom fit around electrical lines, plumbing, and wall outlets. It holds

Have you ever gone out to eat and found yourself shouting to be heard? Did you ever have your "night out for dinner" ruined because it was so noisy you couldn't hear everyone at your table? A lot of these problems could be solved if restaurant owners would add sound panels to their ceilings. It's not that expensive and it's not that hard. But most of them don't do it. Maybe some restaurant owners think it seems more "lively" if it's deafeningly loud. And maybe others want to turn the tables over faster – because their customers often say "let's get out of here and go someplace where we can hear each other." But I've seen many people pass on a restaurant that's unbearably loud. Noise is actually bad for business. Let's take a look at one restauranteur who did "the right thing." Thanks to Acoustical Solutions for posting it!

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).