Keep It Down By Soundproofing Your Home

How to Reduce Unwanted Noise in Your Home

Your home should provide somewhere to rest, work and spend time comfortably, but unwanted noise can make that difficult. Conversations from an adjoining property, footsteps from a flat above, traffic outside or sound from another room may all become distracting when they can be heard regularly.

Home soundproofing can help reduce noise passing into, out of or between rooms. However, the most suitable solution depends on the type of noise, the construction of the property and the route through which the sound is travelling.

It is therefore important to investigate the problem before buying products or beginning building work. Treating the wrong surface, overlooking a gap or ignoring a flanking sound path can limit the improvement achieved.

Start by Identifying the Type of Noise

Most household noise problems involve airborne noise, impact noise or a combination of the two.

Airborne noise

Airborne noise travels through the air before reaching a separating wall, floor, ceiling, door or window. Common examples include:

• Conversations and television noise from an adjoining home
• Music from another room
• Dogs barking
• Traffic, aircraft and railway noise
• Kitchen appliances and household equipment

Airborne noise is often addressed by increasing mass, improving airtightness and introducing separation or resilient layers within the relevant construction.

Impact noise

Impact noise is caused by direct contact with a building surface. Footsteps, dropped objects, moving furniture and children playing on a hard floor are typical examples.

Because the vibration travels through the structure, impact noise usually requires a different treatment from airborne sound. Resilient floor layers, acoustic underlays, floating floors or isolated ceiling systems may form part of the solution.

Find the Main Sound Path

Noise does not always pass directly through the surface that appears most obvious. Sound can travel through several connected parts of a building, including:

• Party walls and internal partitions
• Floors and ceilings
• Joists, beams and structural frames
• Doors and door frames
• Windows and glazing
• Ventilation openings
• Chimney breasts and fireplaces
• Gaps around pipes, cables and sockets
• Loft spaces, floor voids and ceiling cavities

Sound travelling around rather than directly through a treated surface is known as flanking transmission. For example, noise may bypass an upgraded wall by travelling through the adjoining floor, ceiling or side wall.

Listening in different areas of the room can help indicate where noise is strongest, but more complex or persistent problems may require professional assessment.

Soundproofing Shared Walls

Noise from neighbouring properties is frequently heard through party walls. The most suitable wall soundproofing system will depend on whether the existing wall is masonry, lightweight blockwork, timber stud or another form of construction.

A wall treatment may combine acoustic insulation, resilient bars or isolation clips, dense boards and carefully sealed joints. Creating some separation between the new lining and the existing wall can help reduce vibration passing directly through the structure.

Products such as JCW Silent Board Plus may be used within suitable wall or ceiling systems, but no single board should be considered a complete solution for every property.

Electrical sockets, pipework, skirting boards and junctions with floors or ceilings should also be checked. A wall system can be weakened if sound is able to pass through untreated gaps or surrounding structures.

Reducing Noise Through Floors

Floor soundproofing may be needed where noise travels between storeys or adjoining rooms.

Where impact noise is generated from above, the most effective place to treat it is usually at floor level, close to the source. Acoustic underlays, resilient layers or floating floor systems can help separate the walking surface from the structure beneath it.

Airborne noise passing through a floor may require additional mass and acoustic insulation within the floor cavity. The correct approach will depend on whether the floor is timber, concrete or another construction.

Floor treatments also need to account for door clearances, stair thresholds, skirting boards, fitted kitchens and changes in finished floor height. Some systems are manageable for experienced DIY installers, while others require a competent tradesperson.

Soundproofing Ceilings

A ceiling soundproofing system may help when footsteps, voices or household activity can be heard from a room or flat above.

Options can include acoustic insulation between joists, resiliently mounted boards or an independent ceiling installed beneath the existing structure. Independent systems can provide greater separation, but they require adequate ceiling height and careful detailing around lights, walls and services.

Ceiling treatment may reduce sound passing directly through the floor above, but noise can still travel down surrounding walls or through connected structural elements. These flanking routes should be considered before work begins.

Check Doors and Doorways

Internal doors are often lighter and less airtight than the walls around them. Noise can pass through the door leaf and around gaps at the frame or threshold.

A soundproof door may be worth considering where the doorway is a confirmed weak point, such as between a music room and the rest of the home. Its performance depends on the door construction, frame, perimeter seals, threshold and quality of installation.

Replacing a door will make less difference if most of the noise is travelling through a wall, floor or ventilation route. The doorway should therefore be assessed as part of the complete room rather than treated automatically.

External Noise, Windows and Ventilation

Traffic, aircraft, trains and outdoor activity commonly enter a property through windows and ventilation openings.

The performance of a window depends on more than the number of glazing panes. Glass thickness, the spacing between panes, frame condition and perimeter seals can all affect sound reduction.

Small gaps around a window or door may allow a noticeable amount of sound to enter. However, openings should not simply be sealed without considering ventilation, moisture control and building safety.

Trickle vents, extract fans and other ventilation routes may require specialist acoustic products or redesigned airflow arrangements. Any changes should maintain adequate ventilation and comply with relevant building requirements.

Seal Gaps and Service Penetrations

Sound can pass through gaps around skirting boards, pipes, cables, ducts and board joints. These weaknesses are sometimes overlooked when a new wall or ceiling system is installed.

A flexible acoustic sealant can be used to close appropriate perimeter joints and small gaps as part of a properly designed system.

Sealant alone will not soundproof a wall or ceiling. It supports the performance of the wider construction by reducing openings through which airborne sound could travel.

Service penetrations may also require suitable fire-stopping products, particularly in flats and converted buildings. Acoustic treatment should never compromise the fire safety of a separating structure.

Soundproofing Flats and Apartments

Noise problems can be especially complex in flats because several homes may be connected by the same walls, floors, ceilings, beams and service routes.

Footsteps from above may be accompanied by voices travelling through a wall or pipework. Treating one surface may therefore reduce part of the problem without addressing every sound path.

Our information on flat and HMO soundproofing explains some of the common considerations in multi-occupancy buildings.

Leasehold restrictions, fire performance, permitted working hours and responsibility for shared structures may also need to be considered before alterations are made.

Soundproofing and Sound Absorption Are Different

Soundproofing helps reduce noise passing between spaces. Sound absorption helps control echo and reverberation within a room.

Absorption panels may improve speech clarity in a home office, reduce the liveliness of a large room or make a home cinema sound more controlled. They do not, however, provide the same function as a wall, floor or ceiling soundproofing system.

Acoustic foam should not be relied upon to block conversations, music or traffic noise passing through a building. Some rooms may benefit from both soundproofing and absorption, but the two treatments should be selected for their separate purposes.

Choose a Complete System, Not Just a Product

Effective soundproofing usually depends on several principles working together:

• Adding suitable mass
• Reducing rigid connections
• Introducing resilient or isolated layers
• Filling appropriate cavities
• Sealing gaps and perimeter joints
• Treating significant flanking paths

The best combination depends on the source and level of the noise, the available space, the existing construction and the intended use of the room.

Before ordering soundproofing products, consider how every component will work together. Mixing unrelated materials without a clear system design may add cost and reduce room space without delivering the expected improvement.

Set Realistic Expectations

Soundproofing can reduce unwanted noise, but it will not necessarily create complete silence. The result will depend on:

• The source, level and frequency of the sound
• The construction and condition of the property
• The severity of existing weak points
• Flanking transmission
• The system and products selected
• The quality of installation

Lower-frequency noise and structural vibration can be particularly difficult to control. It is therefore helpful to define the main objective before beginning, such as reducing audible conversation, limiting television noise or lowering impact sound from an upper floor.

Discuss Your Home Soundproofing Project

Every property and noise problem is different. Identifying whether the sound is airborne, impact-based or structure-borne is the first step towards selecting an appropriate treatment.

Call Acoustic Supplies on 01204 548400 or contact the team online to discuss your soundproofing project.