Soundproofing apartment: what material to prefer?
Thin walls in the apartments are a real scourge of modernity, thanks to which you hear all the details of the life of your neighbors. Particularly acute is the question of sound insulation arises when a small child appears behind the wall, a noisy family, or you decide to arrange your confidential privacy without devoting plans to the whole entrance. To realize our plans, you need to choose a material for sound insulation of the walls in the apartment under the wallpaper or other coating.
Types of insulation materials for the apartment
Noise insulation of the apartment is designed to set obstacles in the path of sound waves and prevent the spread of noise in the room. What materials are used for sound insulation?
Slabs of mineral wool and fiberglass – they differ in thickness from 3 cm and high efficiency, installation is carried out by inserting the sheets into the inner frame of the sheathing;
Foam polyurethane panels – the material can be fixed with an adhesive even on an unaligned wall, the thickness is from 3 to 10 cm;
Liquid soundproofing – applied with a thick layer of 3 cm without much leveling; plasterboard or panels are laid over the surface;
Cork sheets – decorative material up to 1 cm thick is also suitable for sound absorption. Maximum performance can be achieved if the pressed chips have a diameter of up to 3 mm.
Thin sound insulation of the walls in the apartment is very real, but more often it is necessary to sacrifice a small part of the usable floor space to comfort. The most popular materials are basalt or glass wool.
How to choose a material for sound insulation quality?
When searching for a sound-proofing material, attention is paid not so much to quality as to cost – no one wants to overpay for useful, but optional manipulation. There are a couple of criteria for choosing a material that protects apartment residents from noise:
Who performs the installation work – the owners themselves or a professional team. In the first case, it is better to choose a sandwich panel, they are easy to install, they are assembled in a frameless way. Also suitable are any coatings that stick to the surface of the walls, and leave the pros to more complex materials;
Are you ready to put up with a decrease in the area of the apartment? If the room allows, choose the thickest materials for sound insulation, and if the area seems small to you, give preference to thin coatings.
In general, the thin sound insulation of the walls in the apartment is a very popular option for today. However, it cannot be a self-sufficient material, it has a low level of protection against noise. But if you can not use thicker coatings, yet the result of the mineral membrane or lead foil will be.
Conducting soundproofing in the apartment with their own hands
To put up with the noise coming from the neighbors is not worth it, especially since you can defend yourself with your own hands by installing high-quality sound insulation. To the tenants behind the wall did not bother, it is recommended:
Seal all the slots and holes, blowing them with assembly foam and gently putty;
Use a good plaster with an optimal level of adhesion, applying a thick layer;
Install additional acoustic insulation. For example, decorative panels with a loose substrate, liquid sound insulation or wood panels.
In spacious rooms, use multi-layer structures featuring high levels of noise reduction. You can carry out the work yourself, because the installation of sound-proof materials is a very simple process. But if you cannot boast with experience in repair and finishing works, entrust this business to professionals.
