Soundproofing: How to reduce noise between floors

Of course, walls can also play a part in transmitting sounds, but here we’ll be focusing on what you can do to your floors and ceilings to improve your acoustics.

Airborne noise vs. impact noise

There are two main types of noise behind your decibel dilemma.

Airborne noise

• This comes from people’s voices, phones ringing, the TV, etc.
• It travels through the air to make its way through floors and ceilings or through openings in the walls.

Impact noise

• This is caused by direct contact with a surface: something dropped, a child’s footsteps, walking on your heels (or in heels), etc.
• It travels as vibrations through the building structure itself (the wood frame, for example).

3 effective ways to reduce noise between floors

The idea here is to separate materials that are attached to each other—flooring, joists, wood furring strips, and ceiling panels.

CAA-Quebec Residential Advisory Services can recommend insulation and soundproofing specialists or help you prepare to do the renovation work yourself if you prefer. 

A – Replace the ceiling to improve the acoustics

1. Remove the ceiling drywall (or other surface) and the furring strips attached to the joists.
2. Fit insulation such as fibreglass or cellulose wool between the floor joists to completely fill the cavity. Pro tip: Studies have shown that all variants of this type of insulation provide roughly equal sound-absorption performance.
3. Fasten resilient channels spaced 24in. (61cm) on-centre beneath the floor structure.
4. Install two layers of ½ in. (12mm) Type X drywall, screwing it into the channels and overlapping the layers by at least 12 n. (300mm).
5. Apply acoustic sealant around the entire edge where the wall meets the ceiling between the two layers of drywall.

B – Soundproofing a ceiling without demo

You can also improve your sound insulation by building a drop ceiling beneath the existing ceiling. Here’s how:

1. Attach standard 2½in. (64mm) metal studs spaced 24in. (61cm) on-centre to the existing ceiling’s wood furring strips.
2. Insert 2½in. (64mm) pink fibreglass batting between the studs.
3. Affix a layer of ½ in. (12mm) drywall panels to the studs.

C – Change your flooring for better soundproofing

You can also improve your acoustic insulation by changing your flooring.

Again the idea is to separate the floor from the building structure. By installing an acoustic membrane as a sublayer, which is not nailed or screwed into the structure, you’ll reduce both airborne and impact noise.

• Research the features of the desired product; membrane thickness and density are the most important aspects to consider.
• When deciding on flooring, the softer the surface, the less it will conduct impact sound (carpet vs. wood floor, for example).

If noise issues in your home have been giving you a headache, these corrective measures should help bring you the peace and quiet you’ve been yearning for!

Source: Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)