Interior Walls

noise reduction of interior walls

For residential sound control, there are more than a half-dozen ways to increase the noise reduction of interior walls.

Acoustical Caulking
Sound Control Insulation
Double Layers of Drywall
Resilient Channels
Staggered Stud Construction
Double Wall Construction

Sound control is most efficient when two or more methods are used together. There are many possible combinations of these six techniques. How does one choose which to use?

The table below lists typical STC values for a variety of construction types. It also shows the improvement in noise reduction provided by the different sound control options, using as a baseline the most basic wall construction of studs and drywall with no caulking. Notice that a wall with an STC value of 50 ( studs, drywall, resilient channels, sound control insulation ) provides four times more sound reduction than the basic wall with an STC value of 30.

Type of Construction

STC Value

Improvement

Studs/ Drywall/ No Caulking

30 (MAX)

1 (baseline)

All remaining Types include Caulking

Studs- Drywall

35

1.42

Studs- Double Drywall One Side

37

1.63

Studs- Drywall-Sound Control Insulation

39

1.87

Studs- Double Drywall One Side - SC Insulation

41

2.15

Studs- Drywall- Resilient Channels

42

2.3

Studs- Double Drywall One Side -Resilient Channels

45

2.84

Studs- Drywall- Resilient Channels -SC Insulation

50

4.0

Staggered Studs- Drywall- SC Insulation

51

4.3

Studs-Double Drywall 1side-Res Channel-SC Insul.

52

4.6

Staggered Studs-Double Drywall 1Side-SC Insul.

53

4.94

Double Wall- Double Sound Control Insulation

59

7.46

Remember that STC values are based on the number of decibels of transmitted sound reduced by the wall. Just as a 50 dB sound is four times louder than a 30 dB sound, a 50 STC wall is four times quieter than a 30 STC wall.

Using the values shown in this table and factoring in costs and construction time, three sound control combinations stand out as the most logical choices:

noise reduction of interior walls

Type of Construction

STC Value

Improvement

1) Studs, drywall, caulking, sound control insulation (e.g. Extreme Soundproofing's Sound Barrier);

2) Studs, drywall, caulking, resilient channels, sound control insulation; and

3) Staggered studs, drywall, caulking, sound control insulation (e.g. Extreme Soundproofing's Sound Barrier)