Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

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buteman
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Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by buteman »

I'm exploring the possibilities of installing soundproofing to our existing living room ceiling. I'd be most interested to hear from anyone who has done this.

I did " Google " this idea but really didn't come up with anything definitive and nothing much in the Okanagan area at all.

Any ideas / comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Tony
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by Tony »

It depends on what soundproofing you want. Are you wanting to soundproof between floors, or killing reverb or something in the room itself? There's some great products out there, but it also depends on what you are planning on doing. Most sound deadeners between floors have to be installed between the joists, which means you have to get above the ceiling. If you have a drop ceiling, it's not an issue, but if you have a solid (drywall) ceiling, then you're in for some work.
youjustcomplain
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by youjustcomplain »

buteman wrote:I'm exploring the possibilities of installing soundproofing to our existing living room ceiling. I'd be most interested to hear from anyone who has done this.

I did " Google " this idea but really didn't come up with anything definitive and nothing much in the Okanagan area at all.

Any ideas / comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.


I installed sound bar in my basement. It runs across the floor joists and is a stretched out "z" shape and I followed up with installing insulation between the joists. I don't notice a lot of smaller, quieter sounds, but when kids are running around upstairs, it's still loud downstairs. Also, if you have an HVAC system, you'll notice that the pipes that move the air around are big open voids that transfer sound very well.
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GordonH
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by GordonH »

OP you could look into sound dampening drywall (I believe its called Quiet Rock) as well as sound dampening insulation.
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my5cents
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by my5cents »

One product is Roxsul

http://www.roxul.com/products/residenti ... umentation

I installed a lot with a friend who built a new house and works shift work. For the bed room we doubled the studs and wove the roxsul between, put an exterior door on the bedroom and sealed the room for air. I hadn't thought of it, but if there is air transfer there is sound transfer.

Unless you've got a very high ceiling in the basement, about the best you can do is roxsul the ceiling. The product looks like the heat insulation but is not the same. It's quite dense and every wire, box, or protrusion has to be cut out of the roxsul.
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Jflem1983
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by Jflem1983 »

Roxsul is good product . Itchy . Made in bc as far as I know . Has many good properties . There are many products available for sound proofing . Not all are 2 inches thick like Roxsul . If u have the space look to Roxsul as I believe it is very good .
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my5cents
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by my5cents »

Jflem1983 wrote:Roxsul is good product . Itchy . Made in bc as far as I know . Has many good properties . There are many products available for sound proofing . Not all are 2 inches thick like Roxsul . If u have the space look to Roxsul as I believe it is very good .

I think the stuff I put in was around 3". For inside the joists I'm sure doubling it up would work
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my5cents
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by my5cents »

You cut it with a bread knife
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Relentless
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by Relentless »

buteman wrote:I'm exploring the possibilities of installing soundproofing to our existing living room ceiling. I'd be most interested to hear from anyone who has done this.

The best success I have ever had when it comes to soundproofing was to install as much insulation between the floor joists as you can get(without compacting too hard) make sure it is fit tight to the joists with no gaps.
Then screw 1-1/2" thick styrofoam to the bottom of the joists with 2-1/2"screws and washers to hold it up, then install a suspended ceiling with a 3" air gap in between the styrofoam and ceiling tiles.

Another method is to install the styrofoam leaving access to each row of joists, and blow in insulation, and then install a suspended ceiling.

Also, the floor above should have heavy underlay and a good thick carpet.
These are the best results I have had with sound deadening.

I have tried Roxul (Safe & Sound) alone, Roxul and Sound bar, insulation & Roxul and Soundbar.
The best results are the Insulation, styrofoam and drop suspended ceiling.
The above floor carpet and underlay quietens it another appreciative level.

The reason I said the best is all insulation and no Roxul, is because of cost. Roxul is way more money.
Blow in insulation is cost effective as well.

Sound Bar in my opinion hasn't proven to be of any benefit if you have hardwood or laminate floors above, as the sound still transfers through the joists. Installing carpet and underlay stops the sound from transferring.

I guess it all depends on your budget and who is doing the work, and of course what you want for a finished product.
Drywall on the ceiling will transfer the sound, sound bar helps a bit, but is a pain, and I wouldn't recommend it, as it is a lot of work with only a minimal decrease in noise transfer.
Tony
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by Tony »

I know Roxul well. It's a 3" bat that is way denser than anything else on the market. It's about 50% denser than fiberglass. The beauty of the 3" bat is that it doesn't touch one side of the wall, therefore it doesn't transfer noise via contact. It is a little pricey, but it works to kill the noise between the joists. You can then do a variety of things to kill the noise through the joists.

The resilient channel works well - but it must be used in conjunction with the Roxul. The thing to remember with resilant channel is that the channel gets screwed to the joist, and then the drywall gets screwed to the channel away from the joist so the screws don't transfer noise.

A product called Green Glue is awesome as well, and it goes on every joist. Another one is Acousti Seal from Lepage. Neither one of these products harden, and therefore work as a rubber seal.

The sound deadening drywall works well as well, but is very expensive - somewhere around $50 a sheet.

If you need more sound deadening info, feel free to Roxul.com and check out their website.
TylerM4
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Re: Soundproofing on ceiling, have you ever done that ?

Post by TylerM4 »

There are 3 good options for a ceiling.

1) Roxul - SafeNSound is the product you want, not their standard Batt insulation. Problem is that you need access to install it.
2) Sound channel/Z channel and another layer of drywall
3) Drop ceiling with acoustical ceiling tiles.

#2 and #3 work best but I think you'd be disappointed if you used any 1 of the 3. Use a combination of the above for the best result.
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