Pumps are often noisy because they are sitting directly on a base with no anti-vibration insulation between. Installation of our Acousticel M20AD anti-vibration mat between the bottom of the pump and the base on which it sits will absorb much of the vibration based noise often experienced.
Airborne noise may also be a factor to be addressed and for this we recommend the pump is enclosed within a sound insulated box. 12mm MDF or ply is good for this and can be lined on the inside with our SA25FF/B/6 Sound Barrier laminate. This insulation is 33mm thick so the box will have to be of a suitable size to accommodate this.
Washing Machines, Fridge/freezers and Dishwashers are often noisy because they are sitting directly on a base with no anti-vibration insulation between. Installation of our Acousticel M20AD anti-vibration mat between the bottom of the appliance and the base on which it sits will absorb much of the vibration based noise often experienced.
No adhesives are necessary, simply cut the M20AD to the required size with either a jig saw or sharp craft knife and place a thin sheet of 6mm water resistant board on top to support the wheels/feet of the appliance.
When insulated in this way, much of the vibration based noise is contained making life much quieter for yourself and neighbours.
It is usually impractical to completely sound insulate a room within a domestic property but if the following advice is taken, reasonable levels of sound reduction can be achieved which will reduce any noise nuisance affecting your neighbours.
If light through the windows is desired, they should be triple glazed with different thicknesses of glass at staggered intervals and installed so as to be completely sealed. If light is not an issue, the window reveal can ideally be bricked up. As this is a fairly permanent option, it may be preferred to infill with a more easily removable alternative when required. In this case we would suggest two layers of 12mm plasterboard are fitted into the reveal, one immediately behind the other and tight to the glazing. The remaining void should be filled with our Acousticel M20AD and another two layers of plasterboard fixed over the top sandwiching the M20AD insulation. This could be made as a removable plug to be inserted whenever required, but it must be an airtight fit when installed so may require draught proofing seals.
Party walls and any other walls as may be required should be insulated before anywhere else and can be upgraded with our Acousticel M20AD recycled rubber product. However, it must be noted that modern properties with cavity walls and built with more lightweight materials may allow flanking noise around party walls. Mineral wool insulation in the cavity helps reduce this problem but the only effective solution is to insulate any juxtaposed cavity walls with our M20AD.
If there is sufficient ceiling height, the best method of insulation is to incorporate a new suspended ceiling beneath the existing and supported on new joists suspended from wall mounted hangers and not touching the original ceiling. Acoustic Mineral Wool (AMW) can be fitted between the joists and the underside clad with two layers of plasterboard.
In many cases this is impractical so a good alternative is to use our Resilient Bar system.
If the room to be insulated is on the first floor, the ceiling below must first be insulated with our Resilient Bar system. If the floor is of the square edged variety, it can be overlaid with SBM5 to seal up the joints. A floating floor using Acousticel R10 as the resilient layer with a new t&g floor installed on top should now be installed.
Normal domestic doors are too light and ill fitting to provide effective sound insulation. If more sound insulation is required, they can be replaced with plaster filled fire doors, fitted so as to be airtight when closed which will entail the fitting of a threshold. Good seals can be achieved using good quality draughtproofing. Mortice locks and open holes through the door should be avoided.
A double door entry system will be more effective at reducing noise breaking through. This entails two plaster filled fire doors fitted so one opens outwards and the other opens inwards. Both should be fitted so as to be sealed when closed as previously described.
Before installing sound insulation as described above, your room would have had a very poor insulation value which would no doubt, be very disturbing for your neighbours.
The newly insulated room will substantially reduce noise nuisance in other rooms but it must be appreciated that loud noise will still be heard, particularly low frequency sounds as emitted by drums.
Now the room has been insulated, you will want to reduce the reverberation. Reverberation amplifies the sound originally emitted so the sound has to be absorbed. To achieve this we recommend Foamsorption is used to line the upper walls and ceiling. This will reduce the reverberation and also the amount of noise breaking out of the room.
Effective soundproofing of a garage is rarely possible due to the lightweight structure of the walls, roof, windows and doors plus the confined space usually available. The best that can be achieved is a reduction in the noise breaking out of these buildings. Because the windows and doors are the weakest points, these should be addressed first. Assuming it is a masonry built garage the following can be utilised but if it is a timber built garage, they are usually too light and small to derive any benefit from sound insulation so we suggest an alternative location is found.
If light through the windows is desired, they should be triple glazed with different thicknesses of glass at staggered intervals and installed so as to be completely sealed. If light is not an issue, the window reveal should ideally be bricked up. As this is a fairly permanent option, it may be preferred to infill with a more easily removable alternative when required. In this case we would suggest two layers of 12mm plasterboard are fitted into the reveal, one immediately behind the other and tight to the glazing. The remaining void should be filled with Acousticel M20AD and another two layers of plasterboard fixed over the top sandwiching the M20AD insulation. This could be made as a removable plug to be inserted whenever required, but it must be an airtight fit when installed so may require draught proofing seals.
Thin pressed steel up and over doors are impossible to insulate so should ideally be removed and bricked up or replaced with heavy, solid wood swing doors, fitted so they are sealed when closed. If this is not possible, assuming there is an alternative entrance, a timber stud partition should be built on the inside of the door, infilled with Acoustic Mineral Wool (AMW) and clad with two layers of 12mm plasterboard.
A double door entry system will be more effective at reducing noise breaking through. This entails two plaster filled fire doors fitted so one opens outwards and the other opens inwards. Both should be fitted so as to be sealed when closed as previously described.
The supporting joists of a flat roof can be infilled with our AMW, Resilient Bars screwed to the underside of the joists and two layers of 12mm plasterboard screwed to the bars. This will not be ideal but height rarely allows for more effective solutions. With pitched roofs, if access allows, AMW can be placed between the rafters and then clad with a layer of 12mm plasterboard. More AMW can then be installed on top of the ceiling joists if access is possible. Resilient Bar screwed to the underside and another two layers of 12mm plasterboard screwed to the bars.
Before installing sound insulation as described above, your garage would have had a very poor insulation value which would no doubt, have wound your immediate neighbours up. As the windows would have been one of the weaker points, the sound insulation value of these would have been no more than 24dB across the frequency range. This means if music was being played at 110dB, 86dB of noise would be penetrating the window, which is still pretty loud. After installing the above described materials, and the window was triple glazed as first decribed, the window insulation value would be improved to around 34dB but if blanked off with the plasterboard and M20AD system, the insulation value would be equal to the walls at around 40-45dB. This means a maximum of 70dB would still be penetrating the walls of the structure. A vast improvement! but still too loud for nearby neighbours, particularly at night when other background noises are very much reduced, so if space permits, further measures are necessary. A 'room within a room' will have to be created. This entails the installation of timber studs installed around the walls and across the ceiling constructed 12mm from the existing structure, freestanding and not fixed. The studwork should be infilled with our Acoustic Mineral Wool AMW and clad with two layers of 12mm plasterboard, the second layer overlapping the joints of the first. The sound insulation improvement should give the walls of the garage an insulation value of at least 52dB which is much better.
Now the outside shell has been insulated, you will want to reduce the reverberation of sound within the room. Reverberation actually amplifies the sound originally emitted so the sound has to be absorbed. To achieve this we recommend our Foamsorption is used to line the walls and ceiling. This will reduce any reverberation and also the amount of noise breaking out of the garage.
Depending on the level of background sound, noise usually decreases by 5db for each doubling of distance, so it is possible that a sound level of 110db generated within the garage can be reduced to as little as 40dB from a comparatively short distance away. However, low frequency sound may still be a problem which can be reduced if our 65mm thick Foamsorption is installed as already described.
Now all this work has been done, the 'drums' have been set up and you are ready to produce some serious sounds, more air may be required after a while so it may be prudent to install a ventilation system. For this it will be necessary to form a hole through the wall on each side, one at the bottom and the other at the top of each wall. Using 12mm ply or MDF, an open ended box should be fixed over each side of the holes so there is no direct line of sight into the room. The interior of the boxes and the walls must be insulated with fire resistant sound absorbing foam (SA25FR) to absorb some of the sound that will exit through the vents.
Most motor vehicles these days have sufficient insulation installed during production. However, if more is required, we can offer the following:
SAPT220 Spaced layer Sound Barrier Mat for the bulkhead and floor of the vehicle throughout. SAPT220 Sound Barrier Mat is designed to reduce mechanical and road noise penetration. To further reduce engine noise, an acoustic bonnet pad can be fitted and for this we can supply SA12(FR)SA A self-adhesive, totally fire retardant sound absorbing foam black in colour. This insulation is also available 25mm thick and without a self-adhesive backing if required.
SD1SA Self-adhesive Damper Pads can be used to reduce the resonance produced by steel panels prior to installing any other insulation. However, we do not recommend SD1SA is installed beneath bonnets or inside doors. Bonnets get too hot in summer and doors allow water ingress. Both of these are detrimental to the self-adhesive backing of the product.
Van bodies and floors are often uninsulated and create a lot of noise and vibration. The floors of vans can be insulated with our Acousticel M20AD matting which can be bonded to the floor with our Sprayable Adhesive. M20AD is a recycled rubber product that presents a hard wearing and durable surface but due to its open cell structure, will allow dirt contamination and so is difficult to clean. Therefore, we recommend a board surface is bonded to the top of the M20AD to make the floor more durable.
The interior bodies of vans can be insulated with our SA6V Grey Trimfoam which is a perforated PVC faced sound absorbing material that is easy to cut and fit and can be glued in situ with our Sprayable Adhesive.