Newer/Modern townhouse owners: Noise Insulation?

I know with the homes and even commercial buildings we design, always call for wall cavities to be infilled with a mineral fibre batt insulation like the products from Roxul.
Like Steve98 mentioned, in the building code there is a Schedule in the back of the code that is a list of assemblies for walls, floors & roofs and the give information such as flame spread ratings and sound transmission.
It all comes down to the Contractor, how thorough they are with their work.

aznrsx1979 wrote: ↑It all comes down to the Contractor, how thorough they are with their work.

Right, which makes for dilemma. If you were to buy a condo and try to get better sound proofing, just demanding they use certain materials wouldn't be enough (although it would help) since a sloppy job will allow sound to transmit. So having an STC requirement as measured is a better idea, but I doubt you can get a condo maker to agree (never tried).

So part of me thinks you're better off planning to do it yourself with your own contractors after you take ownership.

I purchased a townhouse that is currently being built. Below is what separates the units. This should be fairly quiet, correct?

5/8" firegaurd drywall
1/2" soundbar
R12 insulation
2x4" spruce
1" airspace
2x4" spruce
R12 insulation
1/2" drywall (Additional 1/2" drywall on one side of party wall)
5/8" fireguard drywall

My TH is built with cinderblocks. I only hear certain noises such as heavy foot steps going up/down stairs and the odd drawer opening/closing in the washroom lol. I watch movies late at night with a 10" sub and my neighbour has never complained so far...

Justin wrote: ↑I purchased a townhouse that is currently being built. Below is what separates the units. This should be fairly quiet, correct?

5/8" firegaurd drywall
1/2" soundbar
R12 insulation
2x4" spruce
1" airspace
2x4" spruce
R12 insulation
1/2" drywall (Additional 1/2" drywall on one side of party wall)
5/8" fireguard drywall

How is the 5/8" attached to the 1/2"? Screwed right on?

Steve98 wrote: ↑How is the 5/8" attached to the 1/2"? Screwed right on?

No idea. I'd assume so.

A gentle kick, I am looking at buying a townhouse in Alberta. The builder gave me these specs:
5/8" type "X" drywall (taped at all joints).
2x6 studs @ 16" O.C. (staggered from studs in adjacent wall).
R20 friction fit insulation
1" continuous airspace.

I am worried about the sound proofing, somebody here has some insight what I can expect from this?

JaneDil wrote: ↑ Not sure why that wouldn't just be standard in new builds.

For the cost of soundproofing between units, compared to the discomfort/annoyance of hearing
neighbours on either side, it seems like good value for the money.

I think this is the biggest head scratcher. Why not go that extra mile? It would cost the customer a small fortune to soundproof their home, but a drop in the bucket to a builder. And if the builder is cutting costs there, where else are they cutting costs? This is where going with a good reputable builder is beneficial. Their reputation is important and a happy client should mean more than anything. Imagine if you bought a well built property. You would tell other people, you would also return to that same builder and buy from them again.

This is why Tridel and Daniels has repeat buyers. I understand Tridel goes even beyond the low building code recommendations. Other builders build to code, some others try to build to code but either poor contractor or cheap materials, don't actually meet the code. Purchasers have no idea though since when the walls are up, it's pretty hard to win.

Plenty of newer "luxury" townhomes are built with wood beams. Yes, even the $2M townhomes are built the same as the $500K stacked towns. Imagine that.

Frankie3s wrote: ↑ Townhouses are not usually sound proofed between the walls and you will hear everything. The ex-gf was renting one and when someone flushed the toilet you knew about it. Even when the cupboard door was slammed we heard it! I used to think that there were cinder blocks, sound proof insulation between the units but nope, not much other than walls.

Our townhouse in Ottawa did not have noise transfer between the units. We were in a middle unit and never heard our neighbours. We had a theatre downstairs and I play electric guitar, and our neighbours said they didn't hear us. A well built townhouse can have good noise separation. It was a Minto and built in 2001. We loved that place. Sold it and bought a detached with an acre so the dogs had a huge yard to run around in.

I honestly don't know the soundproofing and insulation on our townhome condo. It was built in 2011 by Tridel and we hear next to nothing around us.

I would go back to the builder and ask him to put Roxul in there with drywall channel.

Maybe build a 2x4 wall in front of it too with insulation to double up the walls?? This should cost almost nothing to do and will improve a lot.