Soundproofing

What is music to one person’s ears is noise to another’s, and vice versa.

In other words, our perception of “noise” is subjective.

Subjective or not, if you’re building a new house, you’ll want to establish the noise levels to which you are willing to be exposed beforehand. As a general rule, the more airtight your house, the less you’ll be disturbed by noise.

In general, air leakage and vibrations are the two major threats to your tranquility. Since air is a good sound conductor, a wall that lets air through will also let sound through.

A few definitions:

• Sound: a vibration that passes through air, water, or another media, and is perceived by the ear.
• Noise: undesirable sound, according to the listener’s subjective perception of sound.
• Decibel: an objective measurement of sound.

Wall soundproofing

The first step is to identify whether the noise is caused by an impact (e.g., the sound of high heels) or carried through the air (e.g. a voice or the sound of a radio or T.V.).

Concerning wall insulation, you have a number of possibilities:

• Go for a structural investment, e.g., alternating double walls (in staggered rows).
• Install rockwool batt between the walls to reduce the level of sound travelling between two rooms.
• Install resilient bars before the gypsum.
• Use a double layer of gypsum: start with a plaster joint or an acoustic sealant on the first layer of gypsum, and stagger the joints of the second layer to avoid overlapping them with those of the first layer.
• Finally, place acoustic sealant around the edges of the walls.

The basic principle is that when you close off air leaks, you also block out sound.

There are several ways of building walls to increase soundproofing, but take note that improvisation, in this particular area, does not produce good results! Acoustical consulting could guide you in this process.

Your legal protection against noise

Noise falls under Section 5.9 of the National Building Code (2005). The Sound Transmission Index (STI) establishes the minimum acceptable noise levels in accordance with ASTM standards.

Also see: Home insulation, wall insulation, basement insulation, attic & roof insulation, floor & ceiling insulation and urethane & polyurethane foam insulation