Basement Sound-Proofing

[onewhippedpuppy]

Anyone installed soundproofing products in their basement?

I’m about ready to sheetrock my basement, but want to insure that it is quiet. There’s nothing that bugs me more than hearing footsteps upstairs. We’ll have tile and hardwood upstairs when I’m done, so it’s a real concern. Right now I’m leaning towards sound insulation batts in my ceiling, as well as in the walls by the stairs, HVAC room, bathroom, and sump-pump room. Something similar to this product: http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzone/products/products.asp

No home theatre or anything crazy, so I don’t need to go overboard. Any other suggestions?

[VincentVega]

Rockwool works really well for sound insulation.

[legion]

If you're doing a drop ceiling, you can get tiles that have a layer of fiberglass insulation built into them. They are more expensive, but they do work and allow you to remove the ceiling/insulation in one step for mechanical work.

[onewhippedpuppy]

We're doing a drop ceiling in two rooms, we plan to use the insulating tiles in those rooms. Everything else is sheetrock.

[javadog]

Options:

Acoustically decouple the ceiling and the structure above. Google the details.

Use multiple layers of 5/8" sheetrock on the ceiling. Density/mass is your friend.

Add a sound absorptive material above the sheetrock. Google for the best materials.

Make sure you have no air leaks between upstairs and downstairs. Air carries sound.

Add Persian rugs to the floor above. Ask Tabs for guidance here.

JR

[kaisen]

+1 for decoupling. We just did that in our house in Minnesota when we redid the fourth level. They sell heavy rubber membranes, decoupled fasteners, etc that can really help. Do the walls too, or the ceiling will be in vain.

[tcar]

Do javadog's and kaisen's.

Or... make everyone wear Crocs.

Impact noises (leather soles, heels on hard surfaces) are fairly difficult to damp.

Air ducts connecting upstairs w/ basement could be an issue. If you can't get rid of them, a duct liner will help some.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks guys. Anyone tried sound insulating batts?

[creaturecat]

I filled the ceiling with rockwool, covered with soundboard, hung the drywall from the ceiling with the aluminum rails. Worked amazingly well.

[onewhippedpuppy]

My only catch is that being a basement that already isn't quite 8', I don't want to drop the ceiling any more than I have to.

[RWebb]

then, that makes it hard

BTW - I hear Quietrock is good.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Thanks guys. Anyone tried sound insulating batts?

Not enough, on their own. There's a lot of information out there on creating home theatre rooms. Read up a little about the basics of sound control.

JR

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by RWebb

then, that makes it hard

BTW - I hear Quietrock is good.

I believe it is also 8x the price of normal sheetrock.

[turbo6bar]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Thanks guys. Anyone tried sound insulating batts?

It is but one point of attack. Reread post #5 and decide where you goals and budget meet.

If you do not need access to the area between floors, fill with blown cellulose. Dense pack would be great, but the framing members would still transmit some noise.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Honestly, I'm looking for a fairly quick and affordable solution to damp the noise of footsteps upstairs. Many of the solutions here are good, but probably overkill. I just don't want it to sound like a parade of elephants upstairs.

[javadog]

Matt,

You can have a quick and cheap solution, or one that actually does some good. You get to pick which one. I can tell you that one layer of sheetrock, with some batt insulation on top of it, won't do doodly squat to block the sound. You'll hear every footstep above you.

Seriously, you're at a stage where a little research and a reasonable amount of money will do you some good.

JR

[RWebb]

IIRC, 2 layers of sheetrock with some kind of viscoelastic membrane between them is good - how good, can't say -- try Googling those terms + layer and see if the thing I browsed ops up.

[tcar]

This stuff looks interesting, just happened to see it. Sound-engineered drywall.

Says it can replace up to 8 layers of conventional sheetrock.


http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/green-products/sound-engineered-drywall-from-supress-products.aspx

[dad911]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Honestly, I'm looking for a fairly quick and affordable solution to damp the noise of footsteps upstairs. Many of the solutions here are good, but probably overkill. I just don't want it to sound like a parade of elephants upstairs.

You can do something like this, but on the ceiling. Stagger ceiling joists between the floor joists, abd attach the drywall to the ceiling joists, not the floor:

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by RWebb

IIRC, 2 layers of sheetrock with some kind of viscoelastic membrane between them is good - how good, can't say -- try Googling those terms + layer and see if the thing I browsed ops up.

+1

Acoustic insulation, then double sheetrock with acoustic caulk in between (google "green glue").