Walls and Ceilings - Soundproofing walls

Has anyone here have any experience with soundproofing an existing wall. Also, has anyone used QuietRock from Quiet Solutions, they claim to reduce sound through walls almost to nothing. So far all I have done is remove one side of the wall and fill the wall with 1/2 inch styrofoam, topped with fiberglass, and then finally covered with 5/8 inch standard drywall. STILL, getting much noise through it. any advice would be greatly appreciated. :wall:

Styrofoam is great for thermal insulation, however it is a great conductor of noise. It probably has reduced the noise blocking properties of your wall. You should add another layer of drywall, the thicker/heavier the better . This will help increase the mass, which will help reduce the noise. Oh and get yourself some Green Glue and sandwich it between the two layers of drywall. It is less expensive than Quiet Rock and has is better at blocking out low frequency noise.

Green Glue
http://soundproofingwithdave.com/2007/06/journalist-writes-about-his-experience.html

http://soundproofingwithdave.com/2006/07/club-owners-used-audio-alloys-green.html

http://www.thegreengluecompany.com

Dave
http://www.soundproofingwithdave.com

You have to think of soundproofing a room like building a completely sealed, water filled aquarium. No mater how small one leak is, the water WILL get out.

Sound "proofing" is almost inmpossible, especially in home, DIY situation. Sound ISOLATION is possible. What types of noises are you trying to stop? My reading up on the Quietrock (at least the affordable Queitrock) is that it is desgined to reduce sound in the vocal range. If you are trying to build a home theater and stop a much larger range of sound, then there is far more work to be done.

The double drywall and Green Glue (which is NOT a glue but a viscous damping material) appears to be the best, most bang-for-the-buck and easiest DIY way to go. I plan to use it in my basement build, on all walls and ceiling.

You want to use a 50-year caulk to seal ALL gaps. Since you have an open wall, you should not forget to seal behind the electric outlets either.

Sound travels in mysterious ways. Treating one wall is probably not sufficient.

Good luck,
Tom

Try building a second wall with no contact with the existing wall. This should help. Studios will do this. In condos I have seen metal clips in the ceiling to float a second layer of drywall. Both 5/8 inch thick. :)