For most of us, noise pollution is a daily occurrence unless you live in a house with exceptionally thick walls in a distant area of the country. The common noise pollution that frequently penetrates our houses when we are attempting to unwind after a stressful day are noisy neighbors, loud televisions and radios, and high levels of traffic loudness.
Environmental consultants in the UK think that excessive noise pollution can potentially cause health problems in addition to being annoying. The government has approved laws known as Building Regulations Part E, or “Resistance to the Passage of Sound,” for all new construction and renovations in response to the issue of noise pollution. These rules are designed to increase sound insulation not only between residences but also within them, as well as between communal spaces like hostel, hotel, and residential homerooms.
Although noise pollution is a serious infringement of privacy and a health hazard, there is not much you can do about it… or so it may seem at first. In this article, we will provide you with the best tips about soundproofing your home before deciding to leave the continual clamor. Following this advice, you will not hear a peep from outside from your windows to your walls, ceilings to your doors. Moreover, if you are on a limited budget, we offer a ton of useful advice that will quiet any property without breaking the bank.
Soundproofing Methods
Three basic techniques are utilized to soundproof a space:
Sound Absorption
The most typical technique used to absorb sound inside the space is the use of dense foam, or acoustic insulation as it is often known. Insulation slabs of different kinds are typically used in order to absorb sound waves, reducing the amount of noise that travels through the walls. These high-performance materials provide immediate assistance in absorbing traveling sound.
Noise Cancellation
Another alternative is to give the building enough bulk so that the sound energy bounces back into the space or is transformed into heat. There are several more factors related to the building’s structure and safety that need to be considered in this situation.
Decoupling
The sound vibration that travels from one wall construction to the next will be reduced by removing it. Depending on the thickness of the walls and the amount of sound being emitted, the space in between the two can either be covered with acoustic insulation or left open. It is substantially more difficult for sound waves to travel with clarity when a wall is built inside another wall.
Soundproofing can be a tricky and complex process when looked at from a distance. In order to assess which rooms require efforts to reduce outside noise pollution in it, pay attention to which rooms are most affected by the background noise. These may be the rooms that need the most care if outside noise is the main problem. The room above, below, or next to the problem should be soundproofed if a noisy neighbor or busy traffic outside is to blame for the disruption.
Wall Thickness and Insulation
Contrary to appearances, a room’s walls may not be a very effective noise barrier. There are alternatives to standard thin drywall if you want to reduce outside noise.
Simply increasing the number of drywall layers on a wall can increase its sound absorption. The general consensus is that the better the drywall, the thicker it should be. On the wall’s stud side, just use silicone caulking, a sealant, to fill in any gaps and seams. Use screws or nails to secure such drywall. After that, add another sheet of drywall and a second application of caulk.
Your walls’ insulation can help them absorb sound better too. When moving into a freshly constructed home, knowing this is especially helpful because you can apply fiberglass insulation to the wall before both sides of the drywall have been installed. Again, the general rule is that sound will be more effectively absorbed the thicker the insulation. However, if your walls have already been constructed, do not worry; you may still install insulation by drilling holes in the drywall between the wall studs. You then blast insulation made of paper or foam to dampen sound.
You can put wall covering material with soundproofing properties on the outside of your walls if you are renting or simply do not want to get inside your walls. Any reputable soundproofing business should have access to these materials, which can also be painted to match the decor of your room.
Chimney Stacks – A Noise Pollution Leak Source?
Should your chimney stacks be addressed as part of any soundproofing investment? This question is often posed by homeowners as their property ages. The answer is a definitive “yes”, so it is highly suggested to soundproof the chimney stack on the party wall. However, if you do not utilize the chimney stacks, you should consider getting rid of it altogether to avoid further noise pollution from it.
If you want to soundproof your chimney stack right, instead of working around the chimney stack itself, it is more efficient to run a complete soundproofing system across the entire wall behind the chimney.
Ceilings Play Their Part
The ceiling of the living room or dining room must always be soundproofed when action is taken in the realm of soundproofing semi-detached homes and other private houses. Acoustic mineral wool and different acoustic barrier mats are frequently employed as sound insulation, as well as providing mass to the side facing the living room.
In addition to giving you solitude and reducing your noise traveling next door, treating this flanking region will stop noise from next door from overriding any soundproofing investment. Any expenditure made to soundproof a living room from loud neighbors should include the ceiling.
Windows and Walls Around Them
Although treating the window wall actually makes a good soundproofing investment, soundproofing window walls are always overlooked. In order to determine whether these elements of your house need noise cancellation treatment, just place your ear against the window wall. Specifically, look at the window wall’s reveal that is connected to the party wall. Check this wall portion to see whether you can hear your bothersome neighbors. It is very possible that you will, in which case you should soundproof this adjacent space as part of any investment in party wall soundproofing.
Soundproofing Floors
Floors are one of the most crucial components of any soundproofing job, although they are frequently ignored.
Your floor joists are very likely running into the party wall if you hear light switches, plug sockets, hammering, thumping, and can make out words or TV shows. This indicates that sound energy is accumulating beneath your floor between the subfloor and the floorboards and that vibration is being transmitted through the floor joists. When the floor joists are disconnected, you may sometimes lose the ability to hear your neighbors’ front door bang.
Disconnecting the floor joists from the wall of the noisy neighbor is a much more efficient soundproofing method for the majority of semi-detached homes. As a result, your joists will no longer be affected by the vibration coming from next door. The ideal candidates for disconnecting the floor joists are clients with semi-detached homes, highly noisy neighbors, or clients with impact noise issues.
We hope that, with the help of this article, your home will become a safe haven you will be able to escape into for some peace of mind and clarity of thought, which, after all above mentioned advice is taken into practice, will never again be disturbed by a loud engine on the street or argumentative neighbors around their yard.
