Soundproofing Walls - Some Treatments

Soundproofing is to reduce the sound pressure coming from a specified sound source to the receptors. There are many ways to reduce sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, noise barriers, damping structures and others. Soundproofing walls might make you go beyond the Building Code.

Ideally, in soundproofing the walls it can be good to apply the soundproofing materials on the noise-producing side of the wall. If your neighbor is the culprit for the noise, you need to treat your side.

Acoustic treatments

Two soundproofing problems have to be considered when you are planning to design acoustic treatments. These are how to improve the sound within a room and how to reduce sound leakage to and from adjacent rooms or outdoors.

Some solutions include acoustic quieting, noise mitigation, and noise control can be used in limiting unwanted noise.

Other problems like unwanted indirect sound waves (reflections that cause echoes and resonances that cause reverberations) can be reduced by soundproofing. The main action is to suppress the transmission of unwanted direct sound waves from the source to the involuntary listener by way of using distance or some intervening objects in the path of the sound.    

DIY wall soundproofing

There are some techniques that can be a DIY project regarding soundproofing your new or existing walls. The first one is to add mass behind these walls where the noise is coming from. If the neighbors are the one making the noise, you need to treat your side of the wall, not theirs.

In dampening the noise, you can use MLV or mass-loaded vinyl. This is used in big industrial complexes to reduce earsplitting noise. MLV is a flexible material that also comes in rolls so you can trim them easily. It is sandwiched between drywall layers to reduce transmission of noise and deaden the sounds.

Leaky walls /irritating sound waves

Like water, sound waves also leaks through small cracks and openings. You can plug these holes and gaps around switches, door casings, and receptacle boxes with acoustic caulk. The sound coming from these little holes can be irritating especially those that produce high pitches.

The sounds can be absorbed with acoustic panels that do two things: it clarifies the sound in a room and reduce transmission of sounds through most wall types. You can also enhance the wall soundproofing by sealing door frames and door perimeter seal and door sweeps.

One other method of reducing transmission of sounds through most wall types is by using fabric-wrapped acoustic panels. They are fully customizable and can blend with your home décor. 

STC

Sound transmission class ratings (of STC) measures how much a particular soundproofing construction material can reduce sound. Higher STC ratings indicate materials that are better at noise reductions.

For instance, a wall with an STC rating of 30 will allow most sentences to be heard clearly inside the room. A wall with an STC rating of 50 will block most of the loud speech and can transfer only faint sounds of loud musical instruments. If you are doing the DIY project of soundproofing walls, knowing STC can guide you through.