Soundproofing Your Ceiling Part II: Reduce Footfall / Impact Noise & Airborne Noise

I have updated and tweaked this posting a bit. Be sure to consult an expert such as Soundproofing America before trying any of these projects.

Part II of Soundproofing your ceiling. First, some information on structure noise from the Specifications Construction Institute, Noisy Neighbors, and the Institute for Research in Construction.

1. Use Resilient Channel and MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl). This usually requires that you have open studs. So if you already have an existing ceiling in place this may not be your best choice. More information on this type of soundproofing can be found at the following websites: SuperSoundProofing Company, and Soundproofing America.

2. Your going use Sound Clips/Isolation Mounts and in most cases they will connect to flurring channels. There are several of these types of clips on the market: Aero-Support, Super Sound Clip, and Springers and Hangers. More information on this subject can be found here: SoundProofing America, and SoundClips Vs. Resilient Channels.

3. Soundproofing an existing ceiling with mass loaded vinyl. You will want to attach
flurring strips to the existing ceiling and attach the MLV to the strips as outlined here: Mass Loaded Vinyl Installation.

4. Soundproofing an existing ceiling with mass loaded vinyl backed with foam. More info on this procedure can be found here: Decoupled Mass Loaded Vinyl for walls and ceilings.

6. You may be able effectiveness of any above methods by replacing the sheetrock with an engineered pre-dampened sheetrock prouduct. You could either use QuietRock or Supress. This is if you have a lot of $$$$$

7. The most interesting and promising method of soundproofing your ceiling is using The Green Glue Company's Green Glue. This product is a viscoelastic dampening material, basically it can convert noise and vibration to heat. See my other posts about Green Glue and download the Pratt School of Engineering's paper of QuietRock vs Mass Loaded Vinyl. QuietRock also incorporates an viscoleastic dampening material. You can use Green Glue for existing or new ceilings. This method also requires less labor and is less expensive. Check out these articles Upgrade Existing Floors and Dealing with Impact Noise.

For some additional thoughts and info on Green Glue go here: Green Glue SoundProofing, , The Green Glue Revolution, and check out the Green Glue thread at AVS Forum sign-up required.



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