[Greenbuilding] Noise between floors

[John Salmen]

The drum affect can simply be joists undersized for the loading - stiffness
in the framing material changes the vibration. Insulation is minimally
affective as sound transmission is typically carried through 'thru' members
and metal fasteners. 

A layer of some rated sound material is best used to isolate spaces. Cork is
actually the most environmentally friendly and affective material. 1/8" of
cork material has the sound barrier equivalence of 3" of concrete (or so it
says) in sound dampening across frequencies. 

In my youth we used lead spacers in condo work in N.Y. between wall and
floor assemblies.


JOHN SALMEN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
4465 UPHILL RD,. DUNCAN, B.C.  CANADA, V9L 6M7
PH 250 748 7672 FAX 250 748 7612 CELL 250 246 8541
terrain at shaw.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Keith Winston
Sent: March 6, 2007 5:18 PM
To: Greenbuilder list
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Noise between floors

Just to be clear: an underlayment beneath your finish floor could make a 
BIG difference. There are a bunch of products on the market, like 
duracoustic:

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoust_flooring/duracoustic.htm?d=16

Carpet will help, with the right carpet helping a lot. However, once the 
noise is created, mitigation requres a more thorough treatment, as 
described well here:

http://www.greengluecompany.com/dealingWithImpactNoise.php
http://www.greengluecompany.com/newConstructionFloors.php

Take the time to grok the flanking noise issue if you really want to 
mitigate sound.

We installed icynene under a floor in a house recently to mitigate 
sound. It definitely quiets it down, I haven't been there since the 
finish floor was added so I can't tell you how good it is, but I had the 
impression it might be quite effective...

Warmly, Keith


Jefro wrote:
> Is this the same thing as (or similar to) sound board? 
>
> We have a similar "drum" situation in the house we are building, with 
> bedrooms over kitchen & living room.  We milled our own beams and thus 
> have left them exposed as joists, with a 1-1/8 sturdi-floor subfloor.  
> The plan right now is to put a wood floor over that and then a good 
> thick rug in each bedroom.  From the bottom, between the big joists, I'd 
> like to add 1/2" sound board and then exposed paneling, or something 
> fancier if more time materializes out of thin air. 
>
> However, I have zero faith that any of this is going to stop the "drum" 
> effect.  It isn't the end of the world, but if there is something 
> inexpensive I can use to mitigate it, I'd be happier doing it now than 
> later.  How much would an underlayment help?
>
> Alan Abrams wrote:
>   
>> Woodstalk was a high quality not-quite-structural panel manufactured (or
at
>> least distributed) by Dow, using agricultural waste material.  
>>   
>>     
>
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-- 
Keith Winston
Earth Sun Energy Systems
Hyattsville, MD 20781
301-980-6325
send me mail at 
keith at the company below
www.EarthSunEnergy.com


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