Sound dampening a basement ceiling without drywall?
I just bought a new house with an unfinished basement. I can't play music very loud at all without being able to hear it upstairs. I've been checking online about how to help with this, but almost everyone says to put drywall up on the ceiling. I like quick access to the wires up in the rafter beams. I was thinking of putting some stiff insulation in between the beams, but i don't want to do it if it won't make any difference. Also, would a hanging ceiling help with the sound, that way i could quickly take off a panel to get to the wires and pipes? thank you for your time.
Reducing echo in basement?
Acoustically it's echo and reverb your suffering from so what you need to do is provide some absorption of sound so it's not bouncing from surface to surface. The best way to do this economically is hang a couple of wall rugs that have a pattern or picture you like and hang them on two opposing walls. That will give you a concert hall type of sound. How do I know acoustics’ and what will work best? I have built recording studios and many basement and home theaters. Mike Lonergan TradesProfessional, Inc http://tradesprofessional.us http://tradesprofessional.com
Soundproofing basement ceiling?
To sound proof you need to do two things, isolate and absorb. This means that the surface facing the basement should not be in direct contact with the floor above and some sort of material with adequate mass needs to be between to absorb the sound. It sounds like you don't want to go overboard with this project so I would suggest insulation batts and a dropped ceiling. Dow makes a 'safetouch' insulation that does not create dust and that you do not need to use a mask while installing (though I still would). There are newer styles of dropped ceilings out there now with a lower profile that use tracks that are relatively easy to install. I think one brand is called CeilingLink. This will look nice, block a lot of sound and allow access in case it is needed in the future. Best of luck, and maybe consider a radon gas detector.
How can I stop foot and dog noises in basement ceiling?
Sound control in an existing structure is one of the most vexing problems you can face. Sound can be transferred both through the air and through solid materials, and it can be next to impossible to eliminate it without constructing a complete additional layer (ceiling or floor) which is completely isolated from the existing one. A dropped ceiling with mineral wool insulation above would be the least expensive, but be sure to install meticulously so every square inch is tightly fitted.A lot can sometimes be accomplished by carpeting— obviously on the floor above, to reduce both the generation of noise and the transmission, but also on the floor beneath if there is none, as that can reduce reverberation in that space.Closing any obvious holes (e.g. pot lights or other recessed fixtures) may help, but don’t be surprised if there is not much effect.Sometimes even just masking the sound with a white noise generator or fan can be helpful.
What can be added to an existing (finished) room ceiling to insulate the sound (kids running, jumping, etc.) coming from the neighbors above?
You will never completely eliminate the noise. Just know that. Never.But if you build a false ceiling down about 4” and put 5/8 drywall with a layer of sound Roxul between the two ceilings you can have a measure of success.There is a drywall product made specifically to reduce sound transmission which is insanely priced - but it has the equivalent of something in the order of 10 sheets of drywall. That’s another option.But noise from above transmits down through your walls too from above and you can’t really dampen that - but you can try.It’s cheaper to move
What is the most affordable way to soundproof a finished basement apartment? I can hear everything my upstairs neighbor does.
Move.Seriously, the chances of being able effectively to soundproof without changing the structure of your ceiling/their floor are poor.The sound generated by them has been transmitted into the floor which then acts as a vibrating membrane. Sounds which may be inaudible to them can be amplified by the membrane so that they are all too audible to you.Unless you can get them to empty their apartment, remove their floor coverings install a system of vibration mounts or materials which acoustically isolate their covering from the structure of the floor then you are never going to achieve anything.The only solution that might be possible (and might not be hugely expensive) would be to install some sort of noise cancelling speaker system - wire microphones into the ceiling to pick up the noise as transmitted then feed that into a noise cancellilng system. I’ve no idea if a system like that is commercially available or how well it works in a three-d space. It might possibly work for a single listening point in your apartment (in which case noise cancelling headphones would be a cheaper alternative). But if it’s too effective you won’t be able to hear yourself speak!Sorry.
Why is my ceiling making a tapping noise, like dripping water, but there is no sign of water? It has been constant, but going on for weeks now.
I have a wall in my bathroom that does this intermittently. It’s very quiet, and you usually only hear it at night when the house is very quiet.I thought it might be our upstairs plumbing. To check it I turned the water off at the meter and drained the pipes. No dice, I still heard the drip.That was perplexing.I went in the attic and checked the wood in the area. Bone dry.I went in the basement and checked there. It was bone dry too.Hmm.Perhaps it was the gutters very slowly drip-drip-dripping because they were clogged? No. I cleaned them and flushed them with a hose.Drip.Drip.Drip.Then I had an epiphany. I turned the air conditioner off. Within a minute the dripping stopped.We have a split air conditioning system. The air handler/evaporator is in the attic and the condenser is just outside my bathroom, not coincidentally on the wall that makes the dripping sound. There are two copper refrigerant lines inside my dripping wall, and one of them is the source of the noise.I was delighted to find the cause. Candidly, if I didn’t figure it out soon I was going to call either a psychologist or a psychic for professional advice.