Continuous renovations in a residential complex, neighbors’ musical hobbies, or simply excessive household noise can negatively affect our mood and general condition. Sometimes customers turn to the designer with a request to protect themselves from extraneous sounds at the very beginning of work on a project, but it often happens that this task has to be dealt with after the fact. Together with the co-founder of the DSGN HUB studio, Nina Voinova, we figure out in what cases soundproofing of walls may be necessary and what tools exist to reduce the noise level in an apartment.
When might you need soundproofing?
It cannot be said that there is any clear need for soundproofing walls in certain cases – rather, this is a personal matter for everyone. It all depends on your sensitivity and lifestyle. But this, of course, if we are not talking about some exceptional situations because in general, excessive noise can negatively affect a person’s mood and health. For some, it is difficult to sleep if the room is not completely dark with blackout curtains, while for others, extraneous sounds will be just as critical.
Most often we are faced with the request to soundproof the bedroom. That is, customers want to isolate themselves from their neighbors so as not to hear them. But it also happened the other way around, when a young man asked for soundproofing in order to listen to music loudly and protect his neighbors from it.
Other common reasons for soundproofing a bedroom are if it borders on a common area, is located close to an elevator shaft, or the head of the bed is adjacent to a wall behind which there are neighbors. However, you need to understand that even if you soundproof one wall, you will not find yourself in complete silence: sounds will still spread across the ceilings and “walk” around the house. The most problematic case we observed was in an old house. Part of the inter-apartment walls was made of shingles, that is, from boards, between which one could find garbage and rags.
IN THIS CASE, AUDIBILITY REALLY LEFT MUCH TO BE DESIRED. IF ONE OF THE NEIGHBORS WAS TALKING, YOU GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU WERE NOT ALONE IN YOUR APARTMENT.
Basic techniques and tools
Speaking about sound insulation, it is important to mention the need to roll out a soundproofing mat (acoustic substrate) along the floor – under the screed. This is a mandatory requirement established by law. If this is not done, then the neighbors below will hear your steps and suffer from the slightest movement of your chairs around the dining table. But, despite the fact that this requirement is mandatory, one day we were faced with the fact that the developer neglected this: the apartment was rented in a white box finish, that is, there was already a screed, but there was no sound insulation under it.
THEREFORE, WE ADVISE YOU TO TAKE A SPECIALIST WITH YOU TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE APARTMENT, WHO WILL EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF THE WORK AND HELP YOU CORRECTLY DRAW UP A REPORT OF VIOLATIONS.
Often, in pursuit of sound insulation, customers ask to install special material in the ceiling. But the fact is that in this way you are more likely to isolate your neighbors from your noises than yourself from what is happening with them. This is because the acoustic substrate, which must be rolled out on the floor of your neighbors above, is responsible for preventing sound from reaching you from the ceiling.
Good sound insulation of walls is a “thick” story that will eat up part of the apartment’s area. Agree, it’s a pity to sew up 10-15 centimeters around the entire perimeter of the room. Therefore, such options are often abandoned in favor of more subtle ones.
I can talk about the material that we ourselves encountered. One of the thinnest and at the same time effective sound insulation is ZIPS panels. The thickness of such insulation is only 5-6 centimeters. True, if you want it to work fully, you will need to make special socket boxes. After all, if you sew a wall with sound insulation, and then make holes in it for sockets, then the idea will be violated.
Closets also absorb noise well, especially with clothes. If the layout allows, turn the head of the bed towards the partition inside your apartment, and install wardrobes or a dressing room along the wall that you share with your neighbors.
The most important thing about our X that it is for
those who are in a hurry
