SOUND BARRIER (MLV) INSTALLATION

Start with the obvious and easy fixes, and proceed through your list, attacking each noise leak separately.

Take the obvious steps to seal off all cracks, crevices, and paths where sound could escape from. Every little crack will offer sound an escape route. Unless you are thorough in sealing off the entire room, you will not be successful with your soundproofing project. You need to create an airtight seal, so noise will not pass through. Just as water would pass through a crack, so do sounds! Sometimes this can be difficult to a VINYL2 ccomplish, depending on the number of vents, electrical plugs, windows, doors, and other breaks in the wall.

Doors and windows are often overlooked. Make sure that doors and windows fit their frames snuggly and that they form a tight seal.

The quality of the soundproofing depends a great deal on the artisanship and attention to detail of the builder. There must be no loose studs, and the sill plates must really hug the floor. The wallboard must be well fitted and all potential cracks must be caulked. (Caulk should be flexible, not rigid, and should not crack when the building settles.) Do not put holes in sound walls for outlets or pipes-- use surface mount electrical fittings and caulk around any wires that pierce the gypsum.

Sound can travel through any medium-- in fact it passes through solids better than through air. Sound intensity is reduced in the transition from one material to another, as from the air to a wall and back. The amount of reduction (called the transmission loss) is related to the density of the wall-- as long as it doesn't move in response to the sound.

All walls are somewhat flexible. Any motion caused by sound striking one side of the wall will result in sound radiated by the other side, an effect called coupling. If the sound hits a resonant frequency, the wall will boom like a drum. Most isolation techniques are really ways to reduce coupling and prevent resonances.

WE WILL GIVE YOU FREE SHIPPING IF YOU ORDER MORE 10 ROLLS OR MORE OF THE MASS LOADED VINYL PRODUCT (1000 SQ. FT).

THIS OFFER IS GOOD IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. ONLY AND FOR A LIMITED TIME.

Airborne Noise and Soundproofing Floors

For airborne noise, we have the perfect answer. Our mass loaded vinyl Sound Barrier is an effective, relatively inexpensive treatment for airborne noise. This type of noise is primarily conversations, TV's, and any sound traveling through the air.

Airborne noise, like any other, must be treated at the source. For multi-level buildings, Extreme Soundproofing Sound Barrier (mass loaded vinyl) can be used as an underlayment under the floors.

To install Sound Barrier on the floor, just lay the barrier down in lengths. Use a resilient caulking to caulk the seams between the rolls and around the outside edges of the vinyl. It can be covered with carpet pad and carpet. It can be laid directly on the floor or between sheets of plywood, or over cement. It makes floors more comfortable while also reducing noise from above and below.

There is no special application required other than caulking the seams to prevent sound leaks. For best results, lay the Extreme Soundproofing Sound Barrier down first, then add padding and carpet to prevent the sound of footsteps and other airborne noise from being carried though the floor and disturbing the occupants below.

Beware of imitations. Some companies sell a similar product that tears easily and will not hold up, but offer it at a lower price. It does not pay to cut corners here. Our Sound Barrier is of high quality, will not tear or rip, and will continue to perform over time. Remember that any cracks or holes will allow sound to pass through, and are almost impossible to repair once installed. It does not pay to cut corners here, since the amount saved does not justify the compromise in quality...

Our Sound Barrier is likened to lead, as it is very heavy, wear resistant material, which adds mass to the floor, helping to keep the sound from passing through.

Walls

When installed in a wall, mass loaded vinyl Sound Barrier more than doubles the STC rating. For instance, a standard hollow sheetrock wall, with 1/2" Gypsum board on metal studs has a STC rating of about 23 (ordinary conversation through it can be understood). Adding the Sound Barrier mass loaded vinyl brings the STC rating up to about 49. This is a great improvement!

You can make an amazing contribution to keeping the sound in your room by filling all cracks and holes, no matter how small or indirect.

Install the vinyl in strips across the wall, be sure to go from edge to edge, covering the entire surface. Use a commercial staple gun to keep the vinyl in place during the installation. Screws and wall anchors may also be used if the vinyl is too heavy for the staples (depending on the length of the strips). Be sure to caulk the seams of the Sound Barrier with our acoustical caulk before proceeding to the next step! Each strip must have the seams caulked with resilient silicone cauling to keep sounds from leaking through the seams. Very small gaps will greatly compromise the quality of the soundproofing, since sound will easily travel through the smallest gaps. To visualize this, you can imagine you're creating an airtight wall and need to seal off all possible places where air could escape. Pay attention to detail and don't leave any gaps between seams.
Next, cover the layer of sound barrier with another layer of sheetrock, preferably 5/8" thick. Finish as usual.
If you have structural noise as well, we recommend using resilient channels (RC-2 on ceilings, RC-1 on walls). This involves an extra step of putting the channels up on top of the sound barrier prior to the sheetrock. Ask us for instructions if you are considering this approach. We don't use Resilient Channels on floors.

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If you have any doubt as to its effectiveness, please let us know and we will ship you a roll to cover 200 sq. ft, which weighs 200 lbs! For the convenience of our customers, we divide the rolls up into two 100 Lb. rolls, since they are easier to ship and to handle.

If you are shopping for a deal, however, we can offer you a great discount on bigger rolls that weigh over 1000 lbs! (Special equipment is required on the jobsite to handle this).

Heavy appliances or speakers should be mounted with our Extreme Soundproofing vibration pads. They are made from elastomeric neoprene, and can support 50 lbs per square inch.

Residential Construction and Insulation

The most effective soundproofing must be planned and implemented into a house when it is first built. A typical residential wall is made of a frame of 2x4 wood studs covered with 1/2" or 5/8" thick gypsum board. Provided that it has no holes, this will provide about 35 dB of isolation. Fiberglas filler, R-7 or better, will increase this by 5 to 8 dB and decrease wall resonance. This is also called "insulation" but it designed primarily as "thermal insulation" such as that manufactured by Owens Corning. Its acoustical properties are limited because it wasn't designed to provide protection from noise, but as a climate control product.

Structural Noise and Preventing It

Doubling the thickness of gypsum gives another 3 to 6 dB of overall isolation, but its most important effect is lowering the resonant frequency, hopefully below the audio range.

Here are some strategies for reducing coupling between the two sides of the wall.

One is to make the gypsum to stud connection flexible or springy, by hanging a second layer of gypsum on resilient metal channels (i.e. RC-1 or RC-2), perpendicular to the studs, 24" o.c.

Another variation of this is to use isolation clips and hat track channel (slightly more effective but also more costly), between the two layers of gypsum. The isolation clips have a neoprene grommet and fit onto a hat track channel to decouple the second layer of gypsum from the first.

Still another way is to use separate studs for each face of the wall so there is no direct connection between them, in effect, building a double wall. This takes up a lot of space, but can give a transmission loss of over 60 dB. This is actually better performance than simple cinder block or poured concrete construction!

These same principles can be applied to ceilings. Sound Barrier, then RC-2 Channel and a second layer of drywall can be installed on a ceiling, provided it isn't a low ceiling.

A heavy false ceiling hung on springs can match the performance of a double wall.

More challenging is dealing with sounds transmitted through the frame of the building. The problem is sometimes caused by machinery such as air conditioners and refrigerators, which are mounted on floors or walls and can actually shake the structure. Footsteps can cause similar effects to a somewhat lesser extent. Bass frequencies also vibrate through the building structure, rattling windows at the other end of the house if not isolated.