cost to sound proofing a townhouse common wall

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Feb 6th, 2017 9:12 pm

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Feb 5th, 2017 2:01 am

pandorazw [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 24, 2007; 783 posts; 87 upvotes; GTA

Feb 5th, 2017 2:01 am

cost to sound proofing a townhouse common wall

The wall size is 17ft by 8 ft. I want to rip the existing drywall and double the depth of the stud (it's probably only 1.5inch thick now with crappy insulation) and use thicker/best grade insulation. Would also consider to build in two wall sconces as decor or some other artistic elements on the wall. what's the best sound proofing materials to use? And any contractor would be good at knowing the sound proofing material as well as the decor/art part? I'm in GTA. Thanks

15 replies

Feb 5th, 2017 6:42 am

RCGA: Deal Addict; Dec 10, 2008; 4864 posts; 1397 upvotes

Feb 5th, 2017 6:42 am

Adding two layers of 5/8" drywall is your best bet.

The difference between "builder grade" insulation and Safe n Sound isn't worth the effort and cost to rip out it all out.

Let's hug it out

+1

Feb 5th, 2017 1:12 pm

engineered: Deal Expert; Feb 11, 2007; 16191 posts; 17626 upvotes; Oakville

Feb 5th, 2017 1:12 pm

You're not going to be able to do very much unless you physically disconnect the houses, which is unreasonably expensive. At best you add drywall layers as RCGA mentioned and muffle the sound a bit. You'll never get rid of the sound of someone running up the stairs or loud music, etc.

Win a PS5 with RFD!

Feb 5th, 2017 1:31 pm

MacGyver: Deal Addict; Mar 8, 2002; 4232 posts; 871 upvotes; Ottawa

Feb 5th, 2017 1:31 pm

We had this same problem with the neighbours snoring loudly, hearing their birds chirping, etc. We fixed it by moving to a single family home.

+1

Feb 5th, 2017 8:52 pm

MyDream1: Deal Addict; Oct 20, 2011; 1113 posts; 410 upvotes; Mississauga

Feb 5th, 2017 8:52 pm

engineered wrote: ↑ You're not going to be able to do very much unless you physically disconnect the houses, which is unreasonably expensive. At best you add drywall layers as RCGA mentioned and muffle the sound a bit. You'll never get rid of the sound of someone running up the stairs or loud music, etc.

I agree that adding drywall is probably the lowest price alternative and that's what my in-laws did, but they say it wasn't worth the money as they fell it's still way too loud. They now realize that the best solution would be to purchase a detached home.

Feb 6th, 2017 9:30 am

Chickinvic: Deal Fanatic; Dec 27, 2009; 7292 posts; 4536 upvotes; Victoria, BC

Feb 6th, 2017 9:30 am

engineered wrote: ↑ You're not going to be able to do very much unless you physically disconnect the houses, which is unreasonably expensive. At best you add drywall layers as RCGA mentioned and muffle the sound a bit. You'll never get rid of the sound of someone running up the stairs or loud music, etc.

I don't know how our townhouse was soundproofed (built), but we honestly don't hear the neighbours, and they say they don't hear us. We have a theatre room (loud) in the basement and I play electric guitar (pretty loud), and two Jack Russells. I'm pretty happy with the soundproofing between the units. We are an inside townhouse so have neighbours on both sides.

Feb 6th, 2017 11:31 am

pandorazw [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 24, 2007; 783 posts; 87 upvotes; GTA

Feb 6th, 2017 11:31 am

Chickinvic wrote: ↑ I don't know how our townhouse was soundproofed (built), but we honestly don't hear the neighbours, and they say they don't hear us. We have a theatre room (loud) in the basement and I play electric guitar (pretty loud), and two Jack Russells. I'm pretty happy with the soundproofing between the units. We are an inside townhouse so have neighbours on both sides.

I've seen the structure when I was gutting the bathroom. It's pretty standard cider blocks and plus some yellowish/grey insulation. The picture shows where the tub was.

The room I'm concerned with is the master bedroom. I can budget $1000-2000 if the materials are good and work.

I've been seriously thinking of moving as well, but time isn't right now (probably need another 2-3 years) and sadly the decent double garage detached are now heading to 2 millions.

Images

Feb 6th, 2017 11:42 am

MyDream1: Deal Addict; Oct 20, 2011; 1113 posts; 410 upvotes; Mississauga

Feb 6th, 2017 11:42 am

Since we don't know the size of room type of finish on the wall, e.g. paint, wallpaper, wainscoting etc, whether you have crown molding, stucco ceiling etc, professionally adding a couple layers of drywall, mudding, taping, sanding, paint etc could use up most of your budget and it won't do much to eliminate the problem.

Feb 6th, 2017 12:13 pm

pandorazw [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 24, 2007; 783 posts; 87 upvotes; GTA

Feb 6th, 2017 12:13 pm

no crown moulding, stucco ceiling yes (but I can add the labour to remove it). Reason I want to rip the existing drywall is because I want to double the depth of the studs. Anyone has really gone to this scope and how is the result?

Feb 6th, 2017 12:24 pm

Quentin5: Deal Expert; Feb 8, 2014; 20065 posts; 7410 upvotes; Socially Distanced

Feb 6th, 2017 12:24 pm

RCGA wrote: ↑ Adding two layers of 5/8" drywall is your best bet.

This is the worst bet

Op, its doable of course, how much noise is there, how loud, the cause, what does is wall currently made of and how much can you spend all affect how to solve this.

I've posted many times about noise abatement, so instead of reinventing the wheel which i don't have time for right now i will search for my posts on this later (or you can)
If you can answer the questions i just asked then i can give you ideas, but proper soundproofing involves materials such as Roxul, resilient channel, green glue, quietrock drywall, and other decoupling and sound absorbing strategies.

In fact in Rand McNally they wear hats on their feet and hamburders eat people

Feb 6th, 2017 12:31 pm

ChubChub: Deal Addict; Oct 9, 2010; 2760 posts; 918 upvotes; Windsor

Feb 6th, 2017 12:31 pm

If it's lower-frequency (people going up and down stairs, subwoofers, general banging) you're probably not going to be able to do much cheaply, since your home is physically coupled to their vibrating surfaces. You could try to decouple the house, but that'll be pretty prohibitively expensive.

If it's talking, TV, forks on plates, etc ... some more drywall would work well enough.

One who is offended by truth, has no place among those who seek wisdom.

+1

Feb 6th, 2017 1:20 pm

pandorazw [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 24, 2007; 783 posts; 87 upvotes; GTA

Feb 6th, 2017 1:20 pm

Quentin5 wrote: ↑ This is the worst bet

Op, its doable of course, how much noise is there, how loud, the cause, what does is wall currently made of and how much can you spend all affect how to solve this.

I've posted many times about noise abatement, so instead of reinventing the wheel which i don't have time for right now i will search for my posts on this later (or you can)
If you can answer the questions i just asked then i can give you ideas, but proper soundproofing involves materials such as Roxul, resilient channel, green glue, quietrock drywall, and other decoupling and sound absorbing strategies.

I've sent you a msg. thanks

Feb 6th, 2017 3:13 pm

Cas77: Banned; May 12, 2004; 9759 posts; 4117 upvotes; Ottawa

Feb 6th, 2017 3:13 pm

Roxul. It doesn't get any better for the $

Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.
- Mark Twain

+1

Feb 6th, 2017 5:14 pm

Jerico: Deal Guru; Jan 25, 2007; 10063 posts; 5325 upvotes; Paris

Feb 6th, 2017 5:14 pm

The resilient channel and double up drywall I have seen so wonders of even low frequency bass.

Feb 6th, 2017 8:16 pm

peelhic: Deal Addict; Aug 20, 2007; 1930 posts; 707 upvotes; Kitchener

Feb 6th, 2017 8:16 pm

I would do roxul, resilent channel on the studs and then install quiet rock drywall as your first layer, then double up with regular drywall on top. The quiet rock is expensive but if your doing a small wall then it shouldn't be more than 400-500 bucks in drywall.

Feb 6th, 2017 9:12 pm

pandorazw [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 24, 2007; 783 posts; 87 upvotes; GTA

Feb 6th, 2017 9:12 pm

peelhic wrote: ↑ I would do roxul, resilent channel on the studs and then install quiet rock drywall as your first layer, then double up with regular drywall on top. The quiet rock is expensive but if your doing a small wall then it shouldn't be more than 400-500 bucks in drywall.

Any contractor to recommend?

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