Soundproofing a wood or tile floor

 

 This is a question we get quite often here at Soundproofing America, How do I soundproof a wood or tile floor to stop the transmission of sound to the people below. This is a very common issue in condos, co-op and apartments. Generally with a condo or co-op there are regulations called CC&R’s for which govern the amount of noise that can be transmitted from one floor to another. A very big concern with condo associations is the amount of impact or foot traffic noise which is transmitted through a wood or tile floor and down to the neighbors below.

 In most condo or apartment situations, the upper units have installed carpet and padding. The reason for this is that these materials are soft and absorbent and will stop most the of the harsh foot fall noise that would otherwise transmit through a wood or tile surfaced floor.

 So, what do you do if you live in an upper unit condo or apartment and you want to put in a wood or tile floor? Well I’m glad you asked. There are very effective floor underlayment’s which can be installed directly over top of your clean bare sub floor. Generally these soundproof floor underlay’s are made of high grade recycled rubber (basically recycled car tires) For some scientific reason, recycled rubber is quite effective at blocking unwanted foot fall noises from being transmitted through an normal wood structure floor assembly.

 When looking at a soundproof floor underlay you will need to be concerned about 2 numbers or ratings. The first rating is the STC rating which stands for (Sound Transmission Class) this number refers to the amount of airborne sound that will be transmitted through your floor assembly.  Sounds like TV’s telephones, stereos etc. These noises are much easier to combat than the Impact or foot fall noises that can be transmitted through a floor ceiling assembly.

 The second and more important rating is the IIC rating which stands for (Impact Isolation Coefficient) this number tells you how effective a floor underlay product is a stopping foot fall noise from being transmitted through a floor ceiling assembly. The IIC number is the number that most condo and apartment associations are most concerned about. They want to keep the downstairs neighbors happy.

 Now when looking for a high quality soundproof floor underlay you will need to consider the complete floor ceiling assembly.  In other words what is in your assembly? Is there insulation between the joists? Is the ceiling down below floated on resilient channels or sound clips? Is the ceiling below 5/8” or thicker drywall? All of these factors added up give you the complete picture when you are looking for the highest STC and IIC numbers.

One good example of an effective floor underlayment is our American Impact Standard soundproof floor underlay. This material is a 3/8” thick recycled rubber that comes in rolls that are 4’ wide X 25’ long. It has one of the highest STC and IIC rating of any soundproof floor underlay on the market today. It is the product we recommend most for both efficiency and cost effectiveness.

 Now let’s talk about the installation of the American Impact Standard. First of all we recommend cleaning the bare sub floor thoroughly before beginning the installation application.  Once the floor is cleaned we strongly recommend applying a rubber to sub floor adhesive. One of the best is the DA-5 subfloor adhesive. This product comes in a 5 gallon can and is applied directly to your wood or concrete sub floor using a 3/16” notched trowel. After you have applied the DA-5 adhesive, you will then roll out the American Impact Standard directly over top of the applied adhesive. You want the Impact Standard to cover the floor from wall to wall. If you are able to get this product up under the base boards, that would be great, but if not bring the underlay as close to the baseboard as possible. As you roll the Impact Standard out onto your floor, make sure that you butt all seams together tightly. It is a good idea to lay down a bead of acoustical caulk to the edge of the Impact Standard before you roll out the next roll, this will insure that this product is sealed at the butted seams. The next step would be to caulk around the perimeter of the soundproof floor underlay, this will help to block the airborne sounds from escaping to the floor below and visa versa.

 Hey we’re almost finished. The next step is to lay down your wood or tile floor. One quick note, if your wood floor is a nail down wood floor you will need to glue a backer board directly over top of the Impact Standard so you have something to nail the nails into besides the rubber membrane. If you are putting down a snap together or an engineered wood floor then you can do so directly over top of the Impact Standard underlayment.

 That’s basically the entire procedure for soundproofing a wood or tiles floor. Keep in mind that if you are planning to install a marble floor we do recommend using a backer board to prevent the marble from shifting or cracking. This is simply a recommendation; many of our customers install their marble floors directly over top of the American Impact Standard underlay.

 Take a look at all of our soundproof floor underlay’s such as the Impactless brand for carpet and pad applications as well as the Impact Standard and the Impact Pro recycled rubber underlayment’s.  I hope this has been helpful. Before installing any new floor in an upper floor apartment or a condo, check with your association to see what requirements they have set forth for installing a hard surface floor in an upper unit. This is Dr. Bob, Bye for now.

Soundproofing an upstairs floor using Impactless

 

Let’s talk about soundproofing an upper floor when you are on a budget. Soundproofing any hard surface floor can be time consuming and sometimes expensive, but if you use your head when purchasing floor soundproofing agents you can save a lot of money and time.

 The floor underlayment we will be talking about is called Impactless. Impactless is a lighter weight recycled rubber product that can be sued effectively under carpet and padded floors as well as hardwood and tiles floors. To get the same results as the more costly underlay’s there are some rules that need to be adhered to carefully. For a carpet and pad installation you would simply place the Impactless floor underlay directly atop of a thoroughly cleaned wood or concrete sub floor. It is a good idea to glue this material to the floor using a common sub floor adhesive that can be found at any Home Depot or Lowe’s.

 It is not essential to glue this material to the sub floor but gluing it does help with the soundproofing characteristics of this material. Now there are 2 sides of the Impactless underlayment product, 1 side is a rubber faced side and that other is a white scrim faced side. When installing carpet and pad, you want the white scrims facing to face upwards. The scrim face gives you a smooth surface in which to glue the carpet pad directly to the Impactless material.

 After you have rolled out the Impactless floor underlay, you would then caulk all of the seams as well as the perimeter of the rubber membrane with an acoustical caulk that you will purchase with your Impactless package. The acoustical caulk seals the membrane at the seams as well as sealing the outer perimeter of the membrane.  After the Impactless is sealed you will spot glue the carper padding directly to the white scrim facing if the Impactless.

 We’re almost done now! The last step is to nail down the new carpet tack strips (nail board that the carpet stretches too) right through the padding and the Impactless and directly into the sub floor. Once the tack stripe and nailed into place simply install the new carpet, stretching it tightly to the tack strips. That’s it, you have just installed an economically and very effective soundproof flooring assembly. For more tips on how to soundproof a floor, call the professional at Soundproofing America, they’re here to help. This is Dr. Bob, Adios.

Commercial and Industrial Soundproofing

 

Commercial and industrial soundproofing offers a unique set of challenges. As a

general rule the areas to be soundproofed are larger and more open. For example, if you are soundproofing a metal crushing machine in a factory setting, you need to deal with the high ceilings and open spaces. If you plan to construct an enclosure around the machine, many times that enclosure will

be free standing on at least 2 legs. Also you will want to construct walls

that are a minimum of 8' tall, the higher the walls of the enclosure the

better the soundproofing will be. The enclosure will need a gateway or a door

where workers will be able to work with the machine as well as maintain it.

 If the machine is in a corner, that makes building the enclosure much easier

because you would only need to construct 2 soundproof walls for an enclosure.

 It is always best to construct an enclosure much the same as building a room

around the machine. In other words using metal studs and constructing  solid

walls that will contain soundproofing agents such as American mass loaded

vinyl or the America Mat closed cell foam ma, maybe a combination of both

materials.

 The mass loaded vinyl (MLV for short would be screwed to the stud structure

using self taping drywall screws with washers on them. It is recommended that

the MLV be installed horizontally across the studs and that the seams be over

lapped by at least 1 inch. You will need to caulk all of the seams as well as

the over lap and around the entire perimeter of the vinyl membrane.

 Once the MLV is installed and sealed with the caulk, you have the option of gluing a layer of the 1/2" or the 1" closed cell foam mat directly to the

back of the MLV membrane.

 Now the America mat will help, but is not essential to obtain good soundproofing from this system. Once the MLV and the closed cell foam are installed onto the stud framework

it is time to drywall both sides of the wall assembly. I would recommend using 5/8" drywall on both sides of the wall to add additional mass and

therefore additional soundproofing to the enclosure.

Finally, when you install your door, you will want to install a solid core door which will help to block the noise from escaping through the door.

Well that's about it for soundproofing machinery in an Industrial

application. I will be writing more on other commercial soundproofing

projects in later articles. This is Dr. Bob...Adios!

Soundproofing a drop ceiling

 

  Soundproofing a drop ceiling or a t bar ceiling is not nearly as difficult as it may seem. The first of order of business is to see how many ceiling tiles you actually have in your acoustical ceiling assembly. Are they 2’ X 2’ or 2’ X 4’? All of these factors are important when calculation the amount of soundproofing material you will need to get the job done.

 Today we are going to use a simple method called the Fibraboard method.  What is Fibraboard you may ask? Fibraboard is a bonded cotton based material that is compressed into a board like material.  In the world of soundproofing and acoustical treatment material, cotton is one of the most efficient and cost effective materials on the market today.

To soundproof our drop ceiling, we are going to first bring down all of the individual ceiling tiles. Once you have removed all of the tiles and you now have them stacked up, you are going to be soundproofing these acoustic tiles using a product called Fibraboard.  The bonded cotton Fibraboard will be spot glued to the backside of each of the acoustical ceiling tiles. We then recommend that you stack the ceiling tiles one on top of another and let them dry all night.

 The next day it’s time to re-install the treated acoustical tiles back onto the ceiling grid.  It is a good idea to put a small bead of acoustical caulk on the inside of the T bar in order to seal the tiles into the grid. This is not an essential step, but it does help seal the grid ceiling assembly.

Now that you have your ceiling tiles back in place, do a sound check using a boom box or a loud stereo to see just how effective your new drop ceiling really is. The above application works for any drop type acoustical ceiling. This method is used extensively in doctors and psychologists ‘offices, not to mention dentist’s offices and massage therapy rooms and spas. The Fibraboard is an amazing product.

For more information on how to soundproof a T-Bar ceiling, call one of the professionals at Soundproofing America, Inc. This is Dr. Bob, Adios.

Soundproofing a ceiling that has recessed lights

    As promised, I am going to talk about how to deal with recessed (canned) lighting systems when soundproofing a ceiling. First let me start by saying that I always discourage using any kind of canned lighting system when soundproofing a ceiling. Basically canned light are a hole in your ceiling, pretty much like a screen door in a submarine. That being said, there are ways to soundproof a ceiling and still retain your canned lights.

 If you are planning to float your ceiling on sound clips and furring channels, then it would be best to construct drywall boxes and line them with the America mat closed cell foam. These boxes can be made of other materials besides drywall, but they need to completely surround the recessed light can from above,. The 1” America mat will both block and absorb the noise that would normally pass right through the canned light assembly. This is a very effective method for isolating the recessed light assembly so it is unable to transmit sound through the can. The America mat is extremely flame retardant and will resist the heat of the canned light units.

 The box method is very effective but it can be cumbersome when it is installed on top of the floated drywall. There is another effective method that can be used to block the transmission of sound through canned lights and that is the use if the America Mat alone. I would recommend taking a piece of the ½” thick America mat and completely wrapping the canned light in it covering the sides and the back of the light assembly. The newer recessed lights are what we call self ventilating so they vent from the front of the light. Wrapping the entire can so that the foam fits tightly where the can of the lights meets the drywall will prove to be quite effective and blocking the sound in both directions. One quick little tip, take some silicone caulk on your finger and swirl a little bit of the caulk around the circumference of the decorative trim piece that fits onto the surface of the drywall. This will help to better seal the canned light can and will prevent the transmission of sound. Well that’s if for soundproofing recessed lights and a soundproofed ceiling. If you have any questions or comments, please post them on this forum or call one of the  pros at soundproofing America @ (877) 530-0139. This is Dr. Bob, Adios!   

www.soundproofingamerica.us

www.soundproofingamerica.com

PH (877) 530-0139

Soundproofing a food or catering truck

  

  Generally when dealing with any type of food or beverage vehicle the owner is always concerned about the welfare of his clientele. One of the worst hazards of a food service vehicle is the loud and obnoxious generator unit. Yet a portable gen set is essential for electricity that powers the fryers and other food preparation devices. As a general rule most portable generators are either diesel or gas powered and have an annoying exhaust system.

 How do you deal with these noisy generators? The best way is to construct a generator enclosure that will completely cover the gen set and will reduce the noise while the truck is parked and helping customers. When designing your generator enclosure, be sure that you allow for proper ventilation of the unit itself. Improper ventilation could do damage to the gen set and will void any warranties it may have.

 Your enclosure can be built from any weather resistant material such as treated wood, or aluminum, other metal or even plastic. Once you have decided on an enclosure for the generator and you have made sure that the generator will have proper ventilation, you will want to line the inside of the box enclosure with a product we call America Mat. America Mat is a closed cell foam that works as both a blocking agent as well as an absorber. This mat is to be cut to fit the 4 sides of the enclosure as well as the top on the inside of the box. Generally the bottom of the enclosure will be left open for ventilation of the unit. It may be necessary to incorporate a small computer type of fan on the enclosure to assure proper generator ventilation. Now as far as the exhaust noise and breathability, it is a good idea to add a duct from the exhaust port of the enclosure that directs the exhaust and the noise away from the vehicle and its patrons. Now that you have addressed everything from the exhaust ducting to the ventilation of the gen set, it’s time to test out the enclosure. Place it over top of the generator leaving enough space for the unit to breathe properly and for the exhaust to be duct ed away from the enclosure. An effective ducting is the foil type of duct used for dryers to duct off the hot air. That being said, you have now soundproofed your food service truck and both you and your customers will be very happy campers.

 Lastly, if your vehicle already has an enclosure built onto the truck, all you will need to do is add the 1” thick America mat to the inside of the enclosure and you will be good to go. Remember, if you have a service door for the gen set that will also need to be treated with the America mat closed cell foam. Well that about covers it. If you have more questions about soundproofing a food service vehicle, don’t hesitate to call the pros at Soundproofing America at (877) 530-0139. That’s it for now, this is Dr. Bob, Adios!

www.soundproofingamerica.us

www.soundproofingamerica.com

PH (877) 530-0139