Noise insulation of walls in apartment: modern materials, characteristics and technologies

The problem of noise in a private house today is quite acute. Living in multi-apartment buildings with poor-quality sound insulation sometimes becomes a huge problem for their tenants. And especially it concerns those families in which there are small children or elderly people, who necessarily need to rest in a quiet quiet environment.

What is the use of isolation from extraneous sounds

Noise can penetrate into the apartment not only through the windows from the street, even if they are modern plastic, but also through adjacent main walls. As a result, the comfort of a person is completely disturbed.

That is why the noise insulation of the walls in the apartment is so urgent today. Modern materials for carrying out this work on the market are presented in a huge variety, so it is sometimes difficult for a layman to determine with their choice. Of course, you can ask the seller which of the proposed options is the best.

The material for noise insulation of walls must be bought only after the owner of the apartment has already decided on what method or type in the technical plan this work will be carried out. This dilemma will be easily solved by professional builders. They, like no one else, know what material to use for noise insulation of walls, how to conduct this work cheaply and, most importantly, effectively.

But what if the apartment owner decides to carry out this process on his own, without resorting to the help of the masters? To do this, he will need to know in advance what types of noise insulation walls exist, what materials are suitable for his specific case and only after that start work.

All about the type of noise

By nature and source, they differ from each other. There are the following varieties:

• Air;
• Acoustic;
• drums;
• Structural.

The reason for the first kind of sound can be just a loud conversation or screams, and music, and even a loud-working tape recorder or TV. Acoustic noise or echo, as a rule, is formed in an empty room. It is eliminated by intelligently arranged furniture and other interior items in the apartment.

Many of us often feel discomfort when neighbors hammer a nail into the wall or just walk in shoes knocking on the parquet floor. This is a shock type of sound. In turn, structural noise appears due to work in high-rise houses of the elevator, pump, ventilation or other systems.

It is believed that only the neighbors can be made the most effective noise insulation of the walls in the apartment. Modern materials, which carry out such work, have a rather attractive appearance. But, despite this, it is sometimes difficult enough to agree with the neighbors about such a complex reconstruction in their apartment. Therefore, there is another option - it is noise insulation for its part.

To begin with, experts recommend carefully checking the condition of the walls of the apartment, their integrity. The master, going to do the work himself, it is necessary to plaster all the existing cracks, cracks and holes. Especially it concerns those who live in panel skyscrapers. And only after this, noise insulation of the walls in the apartment should be carried out. Modern materials make it possible to carry out this work in one of the existing ways efficiently and without much difficulty.

Existing technologies for soundproofing

Noisy company behind the wall or a neighbor's child is a novice pianist, from morning to evening the gamer, the TV set behind the wall of the nursery and much more - all these are reasonably enough for the apartment owner to start thinking about the soundproofing fence of his home.

The functions of sound insulation are:

• Noise absorption;
• soundproofing.

The latter is aimed at ensuring that all noise emanating from the neighboring "source" is reflected from a special coating on the wall and not reach the human ears.

Panacea for comfort

In turn, the reverse process is the noise insulation of the walls in the apartment. Modern materials, thanks to their special composition, can absorb any sounds.

For today there are two ways of noise insulation of walls - frame and frameless. The first option is more labor-intensive. In this case, a frame is assembled on the walls, assembled from wooden racks or metal profiles. Special anti-vibration pads are also used to isolate from structural noise. Then between the profiles is laid a layer of soundproof material - mineral or glass wool, polyurethane foam, gypsum board, cane, or slabs of coconut coir.

In the case of a frameless version, prefabricated panels are already used, which have very light weight and ease of installation. They are provided with end connections of the "groove-spike" type. Due to the existence on the market of a very wide range of textures and colors of such boards, it became possible to create a wall surface for every taste.

Another method has not been widely used, even despite its practicality. It consists in the following: - plates of colored foam are fixed to the wall surface with the help of clerical buttons or "hot" glue.

Preparation

Before the start of "global" noise insulation in apartments, after which one can enjoy the silence, it will be necessary to carry out some preliminary work. In addition, that you need to eliminate all existing wall cracks or tears at the corners, you will need to pay attention to the sockets. Usually in panel buildings, the holes under them were made at one time through, and therefore the neighbors could be aware of everything that happened to those living behind the wall. They also need to be fenced off with soundproofing material.

Water pipes and heating pipes, too, do not need to be ignored, especially those that pass through the walls. The places of their entry and exit must be carefully closed using a soundproof sealant. Good noise and joints are missed, where the walls are connected to the floor or ceiling. They also need to be properly sealed.

Sound "veil" with gypsum plasterboard

In itself, "dry gypsum plaster" is rarely used. But with its help you can get the best combinations of materials for noise insulation of walls. With gypsum plasterboard, porous materials such as eco- or mineral wool, as well as cellulose insulation, etc. are combined. The advantages of such combinations are not only excellent protection against extraneous sounds, but also the creation of additional thermal insulation for external walls.

But this method has several disadvantages. First of all, noise insulation with gypsum board in combination with porous building materials is characterized by the complexity of installation and the loss of a large area in the premises, since even the best material for noise insulation of the walls of the room has a minimum thickness of twelve centimeters.

Decorative panels

This option to reduce the amount of extraneous sound penetrating from outside, has become popular relatively recently. This noise-proof material for walls is made of fibers of coniferous trees. It is similar to the standard wall panels and has grooves and studs on the ends, provided for ease of installation. The surface of this soundproof material has a decorative coating. This frees the owner of the house from the need to additionally trim the walls after installation. In addition, this noise-proof material for walls is very well used in relatively large rooms, so it has found a wide distribution in the fight against extraneous sounds both in offices and in trade halls. Of the drawbacks of decorative panels, the most important is their high cost.

Polyurethane plates

This option is used even in recording studios. Plates of polyurethane have excellent noise-insulating characteristics. They are produced in standard sizes: sixty to one hundred and twenty centimeters. The thickness of the sheets is no more than fifteen millimeters. The advantage of polyurethane plates is their ease and simplicity in installation, as well as high efficiency. But they have one significant disadvantage - high cost. Therefore, this option - is not the cheapest noise insulation of walls in the apartment.

Other solutions

Other materials, such as sandwich panels, cork and soundproofing membranes, also have a high price, but they have other disadvantages. Along with the ease of installation and beautiful decorative appearance, their quality characteristics are somewhat lower.

Judging by the opinions of experts, the most effective option is combined noise insulation. For it, you need to use two different materials at the same time, for example, mineral wool plates and a soundproof membrane. After that, the two layers obtained are covered with plasterboard. This method gives a fairly good effect, however, it significantly increases the repair budget.

Operating procedure

The installation of thin materials, glued to the walls, will not cause problems for anyone, even for a beginner master. The technology for the production of noise insulation of walls in an apartment using modern materials is not very difficult.

Before starting work, it is absolutely necessary to completely turn off the electricity. After that, all the holes in the walls should be sealed, especially under the sockets. This can be done both with the help of mineral wool, and using other similar materials. In the process of work you will need a plaster for putty. He has one big plus: he quickly grasps, so do not wait long for it to dry out. Similarly, you need to do with the holes from the pipes and other communications.

After this, on the walls, using the building level, it will be necessary to vertically install the guide metal profiles in steps of forty to sixty centimeters. Mount them directly to the wall is not necessary. It is necessary to retreat a little, and so that under them later it would be possible to lay soundproof material.

Then between the profiles you need to put very tightly "mattresses" from fiberglass, mineral wool or any other material for noise insulation of the walls of the room. They should be fastened with special anchors, which have wide hats. The resulting joints should be covered with a mounting foam or covered with putty. In the process of work, it is necessary to pay attention to the tightening density of the guide metal profiles, since if it is small, the vibration will further amplify the noise in the room.

At the very end of the installation, with the help of screws, the gypsum boards should be fixed to the ready-made frame from the profiles. So is the noise insulation of the walls under the wallpaper. If the finish is intended for the owner to paint or whitewash, then he also has to putty.

It is necessary to know

If modern panels with decorative coatings have been used for sound insulation, the plasterboard finish will no longer be required. It will not be necessary to install the guides, since this noise-insulating material is fastened directly to the surface with the help of liquid nails. But if the walls themselves are uneven or have large differences, then the preliminary crateing still have to be done: it will be necessary to install decorative panels on it.