I am doing a renovation that will involve taking down walls–replacing drywall in some cases with new drywall and in others with tile (in the bathroom). As long as I am taking apart the walls, I would like to install sound proofing.
Soundproofing generally consists of 3 layers, a layer of lead about 0.25" thick sandwiched between two porous sheets which are usually either plywood or gypsum board/drywall. It is also possible to have a 2-ply soundproofing where the lead sheet is affixed to a single porous layer.
So, in terms of installing this, the normal recommendation I see is that the sound proofing be used as the wall itself, so you just screw the soundproofing into the studs, just like normal drywall. The only problem with this is that if a 3-layer solution is being used, then the wall will be much thicker than normal, so that might affect the way electrical cutouts are made.
The other option would be to make 16" panels that would fit between the studs. In this case, the question would be how the panels are attached to the studs. Also, since the electrical will use EMT conduit, there is the problem of trying to install the sound proofing panels in a way that will not conflict with the EMT and water pipes, which might require extra wide walls.
Does anybody have experience with this kind of installation and can comment on best practices?
Best Answer
Well, what we ended up doing is cutting the sheets into pieces that fit into the bays between the joists. So, the cross section looks like this:
An acoustic caulk was used between the sound proofing layer and the joist flanges.
The result was very effective. There is no sound transmission between the two rooms through the floor. It also made the floor much more stable. I can jump up and down on the floor, no vibration at all.