soundproofing for urban people

A decoupled ceiling might eliminate most of the noise between floors, but not all of it.   If you're thinking of decoupling a ceiling in your home or apartment, you might not eliminate all the noise between two floors. This doesn't mean that it's not worth doing. It means that resolving noise issues in your home might be an iterative process. Because after you address one noise source, you might discover another one. Noise paths A noise path is how a noise enters another space. For example, this could be through the air or through a thin wall, through the joists and studs in a building frame, through a wall outlet, or through a vent. You might soundproof one noise source only to realize afterwards that there were other points of entry for that noise. So if you're thinking about removing your existing ceiling and decoupling it with soundproofing materials, keep in mind that some types of noise might be coming from different sources via different paths. You might reduce o

This video (from Hush Soundproofing  in New York) talks about how they soundproof a ceiling.  The original video I inserted in this post in 2009 no longer exists, so I've edited this post to include this clear and helpful explanation from 2021. Their process involves multiple materials and processes for addressing noise. They remove the drywall that's already on the ceiling and spray any gaps they find inside the open cavity to seal them (pipes, etc.). Then they insert two layers of sheetrock between the joists, against the subfloor upstairs, combining it with mass-loaded vinyl (MLV). Like most soundproofing experts these days, they use Roxul Safe 'N Sound insulation and they also use Rockwool Comfort Board. Then they attach a resilient channel to the joists (to keep the new drywall from touching the joists), and attach a layer of drywall to the resilient channel with more MLV.  I would have used QuietRock drywall instead of regular drywall, because it's already dampene