Building a Soundproof Wall

Building soundproof walls is often necessary for privacy between rooms. Some of the places a soundproof wall is necessary is between bathrooms and living space, between bedrooms and just about anywhere a teenager may be practicing a musical instrument or listening to a television.

There’s a lot of noise that penetrates the wall of a home, from both inside and outside the house. This noise cannot be entirely eliminated but it can be toned down by building a soundproof wall.  Outside noise such as heavy trucks passing by your home isn’t quite as bad as inside noise because outside walls are heavily insulated. Most home builders do not insulate inside walls unless there is a special request to do so by the buyer.

Some inside walls seem like amplifiers, especially in a kid’s room when they are watching television or listening to music. While it is impractical to soundproof all the interior walls, it does make sense to insulate some of them. For existing walls it is not an easy task but it is not as difficult as it may seem. However, an ideal time to insulate interior walls is during initial construction or remodeling.

Building soundproof walls:

 If you are remodeling and want to soundproof a wall, it is best to build a 2x6 stud wall. A 2x6 stud wall can accommodate R-19 fiberglass insulation which is an inexpensive way to insulate a wall and will cut the penetration noise by eighty percent. Another good soundproofing material to use is two inch Styrofoam insulation between the studs. There are other soundproofing materials that can be used but they are very expensive.

If you are not remodeling and you want to soundproof an existing interior wall, you can simply pump cellulose insulation into the cavity between the wallboard. This is done by cutting a three inch hole in the top of the wall board and pumping in the cellulose insulation. The plugs that are removed to make the blow in hole are reinstalled with joint compound to repair the wall. Cellulose insulation will cut the noise penetration through the wall by approximately 85%.

Not only will soundproofing walls offer a little privacy, the decreased noise will permit more peaceful rest period or sleep.

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