Sound proofing/insulating existing interior walls

[hockeybc69]

I have 2 walls in the house that I would like to do something in order to cut the noise down.

One wall in my home office has the laundry room on the other side of the wall. I am tired of listening to the washer and dryer running.

The other wall is one of our bedroom walls. The other side of that wall is my kids bathroom, and on that wall is the shower head for their shower. So needless to say that is a bit annoying at times.

What good options are there to do something to soundproof?

I called Menards and the only suggestion the guy had for me was vermiculite... thats $15 for 3 cubic feet..... if my calculations are right, that would be one bag per cavity in the wall.

Its an 8 ft wall.

He said cellulose would settle too much and spray foam isnt an option on an enclosed wall.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[amateurfishing]

First, Mendards is not the place to ask for this, sorry u wasted your time. Best items for soundproofing are cavity insulation, vinyl sound barrier, double up sheet rock with green glue in between.

if individual household items are bothering u, try and mitigate them on an individual basis however u can, if thats not possible or does not meet your satisfaction, only other possiblity im aware of is adding second layer of drywall to your walls with green soundproofing glue in between or somehow adding noise reducing foam, pannels, whatever to prevent sound waves from reaching the walls

[Tom7227]

Or move to a different bedroom.

[seasock]

Spray foam has no soundproofing capabilities, I learned first hand, sheetrock some, but needs to be very thick. If you need quiet, lead sheeting is the best, but kind of costly, mass loaded vinyl with a foam backing does an excellent job and is quite a bit cheaper.

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

Or move to a different bedroom.

Swapping bedrooms with the kids isnt an option.... A master bedroom is called that for a reason... I dont have 3 other master bedrooms to choose from....

Maybe I should clarify a little. I am not looking for a soundproof room.... maybe sound reducing is a better description.

Lessons learned on each house we have built... Next one will get some insulation in key areas before its rocked...

[Lemr]

IM A INSULATER FOR 18 YEARS USE CELLULOSE INSULATION BY DRILLING A WHOLE A COUPLE FEET FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WALL USE A SMALL TUBE UP THE WALL CAV. TURN THE SHUTE SO IT IS A QUARTER THE WAY OPEN SO YOU GET A HARDER PACK KEEP A EYE ON THE WALL ANY MOVEMENT OPEN THE SHOOT A LITTLE MORE OR TURN DOWN THE PREASURE ON THE MACHINE I DO THIS ALL THE TIME FOR SOUND PROOFING BETWEEN ROOMS OR FLOORS ITS NOT 100% BUT YOU WILL REDUSE IT GREATLY YOU CAN DO THIS BUT BEST TO CALL A INSULATION COMPANY BECAUSE THE HAVE ALL THE TUBES FOR WALL CAV AND THEY CAN PATCH THE WALL TO PAINT READY HOPE THIS HELP

CELL WILL NOT SETTLE IF PACKED PROPERLY

[Kyhl]

I'm not an expert on what you are attempting but I have some experience with sound absorption and room treatments for audio.

There are really three ways to treat in an attempt to lower sound transmission, add mass, seal, or absorb.

Since the walls are there we can assume they are effectively sealed. Cross that off.

Mass, isn't really effective and adding concrete between walls just seems silly. Cross that off.

That leaves you with absorption. Absorbtion works by turning sound waves into heat. For this to work, sound needs to enter the material where the vibration can be trapped. This means some sort of open product, not spray foam.

Audio and home theater rooms most commonly use fiberglass or roxul and more recently recycled industrial cotton.

Back to your plan, some sort of fibrous insulation fairly loosely blown should be helpful. About 2.5 - 3 pounds per cubic foot seems to be the sweet spot for the best absorption across all frequencies.

[Kyhl]

As follow up to my previous post. You probabably don't care if the sound is reflected back into the room on the other side of the wall, back to it's source.

So you could revise that to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot or greater. Sound waves tends to bounce off when you get above 3 pounds per cubic foot.

[hockeybc69]

Good feedback guys. Thanks.

By no means is this a major problem, nor an issue that I want to completely soundproof the walls. If I can get things mitigated to some degree, it would be nice.

[kerryd15]

Can you feel the vibration in the floor from the washer and dryer? You may be able to set the legs on some kind of mat or material that would not transmit to the floor. Like pieces of a workout mat? If the vibration of the appliance is getting in the floor and the floor is hollow you may be getting a drum effect from the floor.

[hockeybc69]

Definitely a good point Kerry. The washer is just 3 ft from where I am sitting now.. on the other side of the wall. And you are darn right, when the washer goes into its drain cycle, she can get bouncing around pretty good.