Soundproofing Your Home: A Guide for the Uninitiated

We all want a home that is our sanctuary, one where we can retreat to and be free from the unwanted noise of the outside world. But what if your home isn't quiet enough? If you want to know how to soundproof your house from neighbours, then read on!

Building regulations in the UK now require sound resistance. Still, if your property was built before these regulations, you may experience noise from your neighbours. Even if you don't have a particularly noisy neighbour, they still need to hoover, watch TV etc. These sounds can penetrate the walls of older dwellings.

Part E of the Building Regulations sets out soundproofing standards for new homes and conversions. It deals with dividing walls and floors but also requires some insulation to protect bedrooms from noise.

There are two types of sound covered by the regulation airborne and impact:

The minimum level of airborne sound resistance for dividing walls or floors between homes is 45dB (decibels) in new builds and 43dB in conversion projects. This level should easily cut out normal levels of speech, TV and music playing.

With so many people working from home now, it's a relief to know that unwanted noise can be addressed in most homes without major works and completed by a competent DIY'er or Handyman.

Can you improve the sound resistance in your home?

The good news is yes! In this post, we'll walk through an example of adding sound resistance to a shared wall in a terraced property that is approx 150 years old.

In this case, the party wall was brick with standard plasterboard that has been fixed using the dot and dab technique, offering very little sound insulation.

Step 1:

Baton the wall and fill it with 25mm Rockwool sound insulation; the batons were backed with acoustic/soundproofing tape to aid their isolation against the wall.⁣ Note: I left the original plasterboard in place; while it didn't offer much to stop the noise, it is still an additional layer and was in good condition.

Step 2:

Screw specialist acoustic plasterboard to the batons and use acoustic sealant on the joins. I used a 12.5mm acoustic plasterboard bonded to a 5mm/10kg/m² mass loaded barrier mat.⁣

Step 3:

The completed wall finally needs to be skimmed with plaster. I got a professional plasterer to do this as the wall was nearly 10m long. Once dried, I painted the wall with a quality emulsion. This soundproofing solution only took a total of 45mm of space out of the room and massively cut the noise (according to the manufacturer, 59db), benefiting both sets of neighbours. Other thinner and thicker methods can be used, with differing results (between 39db and 63db).⁣

Are you looking for a way to soundproof your home?

Soundproofing your home is achievable and well worth the investment to obtain the peace and quiet you desire. Reducing noise transmission can be completed as a DIY project.

If you would like The Brentwood Handyman to help you with this, give us a call or drop us an email.