Roxul safe n sound worthwhile?

I did this but wouldn't do it again in my books was not worth it.

I did furnace room walls and I feel like it made a difference. Ceiling would be a bit harder and expensive and sound would still travel through vents.

Drywall itself is a decent sound insulator, maybe do a thicker layer

Yes. I used it and it made a difference. Can’t hear a thing down there.

We did all of our basement ceiling, furnance walls, washroom laundry walls and washroom walls.

It definitely helps with the noise coming from upstairs and the basement rooms that are in use.

Cheers!

Contractors will tell you that Safe N Sound is not a "sound proofing" material but more of a sound muffling material.

That green Sonopan board that you see at Home Depot is much more effective but pricier.
https://sonopan.com/

And as someone else mentioned most of the sound you hear is travelling through your ductwork.

When I did our ensuite reno, I used safe n sound on the wall that is shared with my son's bedroom. Made a very noticeable difference and I'm glad I did it.

Sound proofing insulation will help block out the "highs" so people talking, vocals for music etc. It wont block the bass from music or a movie but it may help a little. Yes I would for sure install the insulation because it will help quiet things down. For best results you would want to add the sound proof insulation and also add sound proof drywall but it does get expensive.

sickcars wrote: ↑ Sound proofing insulation will help block out the "highs" so people talking, vocals for music etc. It wont block the bass from music or a movie but it may help a little. Yes I would for sure install the insulation because it will help quiet things down. For best results you would want to add the sound proof insulation and also add sound proof drywall but it does get expensive.

So best practice would be to just use it around specific rooms (i.e. media room and bedroom)? That would keep costs down.

I used it in my computer room and there's not a lot of noise that travels outside of it but I don't know how it would compare with insulating the room with regular insulation.

True, if you a homeowner is on a tight budget then that would help, however noise can travel through another room and up so you need to be careful about that too.

chimaican wrote: ↑ So best practice would be to just use it around specific rooms (i.e. media room and bedroom)? That would keep costs down.

With rampant inflation you'd better to do it now. Five years ago it was selling for $40/bag now it is over $80. It is always worth it as the price will only go up.

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah I am on the fence because of the cost and not sure how well it’s really going to work. Also considered just doing it under my bedroom and just doing it for the furnace room etc.

I’ve already spent extra money getting spray foam insulation done in the basement on all the walls and the
joists.

I’m on the fence about ever renting it out so if I don’t go that route I can’t see it being worth the cost to me.

Recall reading few years ago that it's just marketing ploy from Roxul.

That regular Roxul insulation is just as effective as Roxul safe n sound. Perhaps a small difference but really there is more variables to sound proofing then the insulation so really not going to get true sound proof unless spend $$ on the other variables.

Some reading:

https://soundproofcentral.com/soundproo ... cheap-diy/

https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/so ... ndproofing

https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/ ... dproofing/

nielboy wrote: ↑ Contractors will tell you that Safe N Sound is not a "sound proofing" material but more of a sound muffling material.

My buddy used to be in charge of the industrial rock wool sound proofing division. It’s 200% a sound proofing material. Issue is that its a part of a larger package.

Jerico wrote: ↑ My buddy used to be in charge of the industrial rock wool sound proofing division. It’s 200% a sound proofing material. Issue is that its a part of a larger package.

Sorry I misspoke Jerico....I meant sound dampening material. I can't find anywhere on the Roxul website where they claim that their Safe N Sound is completely soundproof...maybe I missed it.

We're doing our basement right now and all of the contractors who gave us quotes said the same thing which you just referred to about how good Safe N Sound is; but with a big caveat.

That is in a perfect world the cavities between the joists or wall studs there would be nothing impeding the Safe N Sound batts....but that's never the way it is especially in the ceiling joists with wiring, ductwork etc. With all of the misc stuff that gets in the way in the ceiling joists especially the Safe N Sound effectiveness is drastically reduced.

The best way to combat the sound is with a tiered approach, as you also mentioned, but the costs go through the roof especially in the post pandemic time.

The priciest option we got was Safe N Sound, Resilient Channel, Sonopan on ceiling and 5/8" drywall on ceiling...we decided right away not to do this approach because of cost and and reduction in ceiling height as we are also putting in a subfloor.

Lastly even with the priciest tiered approach you really have a difficult mitigating the sound travel that the ductwork creates. The sound travels exceptionally well through the ductwork....akin to the styrofoam cup and string phone trick from days gone by.

Like others have mentioned , the sound travels through the vents no matter how good the insulation is done elsewhere.

rdx wrote: ↑ Like others have mentioned , the sound travels through the vents no matter how good the insulation is done elsewhere.

still better than nothing reduces alot of foot steps talking etc.