Stop Noise Bleed Through Common Wall

Problem: One common wall separates two rooms. The noise generated in room A bleeds through the wall into room B, and vice versa.

Solution: Apply dB-Bloc to the common surface and disconnect the walls.

DENSITY + DISCONNECTION

To properly combat the transmission of noise through a common wall, you must first understand that the noise transmitting through is actually energy. Energy vibrates through any common surface, whether it be brick, concrete, studded walls with drywall, etc. It's like the old days of talking into a coffee can that ris connected by a string to your friend at the other end. The string carries the vibration of your voice.

If you took a scissors and cut the string, you break the communication.

The same holds true for your walls, where the studs are actually the conduit for noise. To combat the issue of noise transfer, you need to first figure a way to split the wall apart. Do NOT let the studs inside the wall connect both sides of the wall together. Once you've done this, simply add our dB-Bloc barrier into the wall and you've got it. The density is the easy part here, the disconnection takes some effort.

In a NEW BUILD scenario, you can either build a double wall...with two walls standing side by side that do not connect together, and add dB-Bloc with a staple gun to one or both sides. Or you can build a single wall, but start with a 6" wide floor plate. Then stagger your 2x4 studs left/right/left/right so that the odd numbered studs support the drywall on Room A's side, and the even numbered studs support the drywall on Room B's side, but no stud connects all the way through. Again, add dB-Bloc to this framing technique and you'll generate a 15-20 dB drop on average. Note that every 3 dB is actually a 50% drop in sound pressure.

In an EXISTING wall scenario, you have to think a bit different. First, can you frame a new wall immediately infront of your existing wall? If so, do it, add the barrier, and finish off your new wall. If not, you're like most of our callers. So here's the next best thing. First, staple dB-Bloc right to your existing drywall. Then secure thin firring strips or resilient channels to your wall horizontally up the wall. Then apply a second layer of drywall to your firring strips and finish off. Here, we've still got the density of the barrier material up, and the disconnection takes place as the only contact straight through the wall is where your horizontal firring strips OVERLAP the vertical studs in the wall. You've got 95% disconnection. Not perfect, but a whole lot better than what you've got now!

A couple of other points. First, stuffing the walls with insulation does little to help combat sound transmission. Why? No density, no disconnection. Second, no matter what steps you take to treat this issue, you will still have SOME noise leaking through. NOTHING you will do will completely eliminate the problem. Common wall scenarios also share outlet plates, vents, ductwork, pipes, windows, doors, etc where noise is going to leak. On average, a standard wall has an STC rating of 38. A staggered wall/double wall scenario with dB-Bloc jumps your STC rating up over 60. Again, note that just a 3 dB drop in sound coming through cuts your noise levels by 50%.