Sound insulation in a monolithic house: the choice of material and recommendations for installation

Nowadays, monolithic houses are built on the latest technologies using modern building materials. Heavy reinforced concrete structures are replaced by lighter and thinner, less protected from the penetration of external noise. Create in the purchased apartment the most comfortable conditions for the next stay can be by sound insulation.

Noise isolation (or sound insulation) is a series of works to reduce the impact of natural and artificial noise on human hearing.

In contrast to private houses in apartment buildings, the external space is often limited to the ceiling part, walls and floor.The same floor slab can act as a ceiling and at the same time the floor for apartments on different floors. The walls in the apartments located on the same floor, also have a good noise, if they are common (bearing).

The situation is complicated by modern design solutions. If 30 years ago, houses were built according to standard designs (the layout of the apartments was standard), then at the present time different rooms can be attached to the interroom walls. For example, on one side of the wall is the master bedroom of the apartment owners, and on the back of the same wall is the bathroom of the occupant of another apartment. Noise loads can be very large and it is very difficult to rest in such conditions.

After acquiring an apartment in a new monolith-brick or monolithic-frame house, it is better to initially do not repair it, but to work on improving sound insulation - this will avoid frustration in the future. The soundproofing process of the apartment begins with the insulation of floors from noise, then moves to the walls and, in conclusion, insulates the ceiling.

The most effective will be the work carried out in three stages.At the first stage, the installation of sound-proof material is done. Next comes a layer of sound-absorbing material. The third part of the work includes the installation of a material that increases the massiveness of the entire structure.

Great attention should be paid to the tightness of sound insulation: the joints between the walls, ceilings and the floor should be carefully sealed. The presence of cracks and voids will lead to the possibility of penetration of impact noise into the apartment (elevator operation, movement of occupants' stairs, and other factors).

Modern manufacturers have created a large number of sound-absorbing and soundproof materials. It does not matter what the house is built in which your apartment is located - anyone with minimal construction and installation skills can independently conduct a protective isolation of their home from external noise.

Among the popular sound insulation materials that are widely used both in our country and abroad are Tecsound.Its price is rather low with high quality characteristics. Let's apply it to various designs, including for monolithic-frame and monolithic-brick houses.

This material is a membrane up to 4 mm thick, made on the basis of the aragonite mineral. The mineral aragonite, in turn, is part of the marble. The insulation material obtained by combining these components is very dense and elastic at the same time. It has established itself as a sound-absorbing layer, mounted in the vicinity of materials such as drywall and plywood (sound-conducting). Tecsound is completely safe to use and non-flammable.

Buyers pay much attention to Quiet House cotton wool material, made on the basis of quartz. It also includes limestone and soda. The use of this sound-proofing material will allow to isolate the airborne noise within 54 decibels.

The material is safe for health, not subject to burning and ignition.Sold in the package, after removal of which does not require additional preparatory actions (cutting into pieces). It is easy to install, well protected from noise in places where partitions are installed.

In the monolithic frame or concrete buildings to isolate the apartment the best use of the material "Stop Sound Prime Prime". These are thin slabs containing basalt fiber.

The standard size of the plates is 27x600x1000 mm with a thickness of 27-50 mm. Since the material is quite thin, it gives him the opportunity to maximally fill the space between the profiles in the cladding structures, while the area of ​​the room will not decrease.

“Stop Sound BP Prime” is used most often as an average noise-absorbing layer in the whole sound-proof frame system. It is not combustible.

There are noise insulation frame and frameless systems. They differ from each other in the way of installation. A less labor-intensive process would be the installation of a frameless construction. The installation of such insulation on its own will take much less time.

When installing a frameless design, sandwich panels of various thickness are most often used: within 40–120 mm. They insulate walls well from noise penetration. They are fixed on the walls or partitions with one layer, and then additionally covered with weighted drywall.

Frame systems sound insulation of walls or ceilings consist of the main frame, which is fixed on the surface to be soundproofed, using vibrating hangers.

The whole frame complex includes:

• acoustic plates (for example "Shumanet" and "Aku Light");
• vibration fasteners and vibropodvodsy (for example, "Vibroflex");
• acoustic and sheathing materials (three-layer soundproof triplex “Soundline-dВ”);
• sound insulation pads;
• acoustic sealant;
• screws, guides metal profiles.

Installation of frame system is a laborious process.During the work, it is necessary to strictly observe the installation technology (correctly connect all the components with each other). The voids in the frame are filled with material such as acoustic wool. Eco-friendly wool is made from polyester fiber or basalt. Being multi-layered and massive, it absorbs sound well (reduces shock sound waves).

• Masters engaged in the installation of soundproofing systems recommend before starting the whole complex of works to acquire knowledge on the distribution of audio streams in the premises, using the reference book on acoustics. You can put this knowledge into practice by properly placing the furniture and audio systems in your apartment. This will be the first step in correcting room acoustics.
• To work on the installation of sound insulation systems were effective, in monolithic houses you need to remember to remove the soundpenetrating through partitions. They are made of light materials, which not only do not absorb noise, but, on the contrary, strengthen them.
• When installing sound insulation in the area of ​​the walls, then attaching a profile to them is best avoided. For example, the Knauf PS profile is characterized as a rigid material: it can be installed without fastening to the wall between the ceiling base and the floor. If it is impossible to mount the profiles without fastening, they should be fixed to the wall using vibrating hangers.

• Sound insulation of the floor is best done using mineral wool. It should be placed on a concrete screed. A layer of sound-proof material must be laid with a continuous coating, bending it onto the walls at the border with the floor - this will not allow the formation of voids.

• In the case of ceiling insulation, a suspended ceiling is used. A special acoustic wool is placed between the reinforced concrete slab and this ceiling. The thicker it will be, the more reliably you will be able to protect yourself from the noise from an apartment located on the floor above.

The vast majority of homeowners who carried out work on sound insulation of their apartments, agreed that it would be better to install sound insulation systems using the help of specialists or specialized firms.

Acoustic professionals at first glance can give an estimate of the power of sound signals passing through the apartment, as well as suggest what materials should be soundproofed your home and what design to use. You should not rely on the fact that you will be able to completely get rid of the penetration of external sounds into the room, but you can remove their effect on hearing as much as possible.

In any case, the thicker the insulation materials and soundproofing structures are, the more reliably you can protect yourself and your family members from extraneous sound waves. The choice is yours!

You will learn more about noise insulation of the ceiling in the apartment in the next video.