Insulating between floors?

[BellyUpFish]

Hey guys-

Just got a quote back from an insulation company and they're wanting to insulate between the upper and lower floor of our house for sound deadening.

I'm curious as to how much this would really help, as I thought the sound was transmitted mostly through the framing?

Any one have an opinion on such things?

 

[Gerald O]

It will definitely help sound deadening.
It will also help their profits.

You'll have to decide if there's enough noise expected upstairs to be worth it.

 

[kwschumm]

I doubt it would help much. The two basic methods to stop sound propagation are mass (think concrete) and isolation (like sound wall construction, two stud walls next to each other but not touching).

 

[bczygan]

It will help.

But to get a better quality solution, have them use a real sound deadening material, rather than the standard FG insulation they are using everywhere else.

I would also seriously consider it for all interior walls as well.

Bill

 

[kwschumm]

There are some sound deadening paints that might help, something like this:

http://www.hytechsales.com/prod150.html

Google for sound deadening paint.

On the car forums people have been impressed by how well this stuff works, but that is on metal body panels, not sure how it would work on wood.

 

[larry_g]

When we remodeled the old farm house we did insulation between the floors and it made a difference in the noise of the house. It also allows one to isolate a floor for heating purposes.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[bzinsky]

Hey guys-

Just got a quote back from an insulation company and they're wanting to insulate between the upper and lower floor of our house for sound deadening.

I'm curious as to how much this would really help, as I thought the sound was transmitted mostly through the framing?

Any one have an opinion on such things?

I'm pretty knowledgable as far as DIY guys go.

There are two types of noises, the kind that you hear with footsteps and bangs, and the kind that is talking or music. Regular ol insulation does actually help considerably with the voice/music type of sound. It's pretty much the best bang for your buck there is in regards to that.

Footsteps and impact noise is indeed transmitted through the materials. Insulation will do little to nothing in regards to these.

You are unlikely to prevent this without doing things like decoupling the layers and/or adding mass. But decoupling and adding mass will prevent sound transmission from all sources effectively. It's also expensive.

People always want to go overboard in this area, but I think there are some reasonable things you can do on a budget.

-use a heavy/thick pad if your going with carpet or floating, it won't cost much more.
-hardwood, use real 3/4" thick wood
-If you're tiling, use cement board. 1/2" cement board + tile = quiet
-Use 5/8th's firerock for your ceiling, just for the mass, and it's cheap.
-Make sure all points are caulked/sealed well, nothing will transmit noise better than openings between the two places.

I could go on for awhile in the different types of noises, frequencies, and how to prevent them, but sticking to the basics is usually a much better bang for your buck if you just want to live peacefully and don't have a specific reason for blocking out sound (ie home theatre below your childs bedroom)

 

[BellyUpFish]

I'm going for peaceful living, no theatre room under a child's bedroom.

I'm seriously considering skipping the insulation in the floor, I just don't see the bennies, but I may reconsider..

 

[bzinsky]

I'm going for peaceful living, no theatre room under a child's bedroom.

I'm seriously considering skipping the insulation in the floor, I just don't see the bennies, but I may reconsider..

I would skip it, it's your own house, not like an apartment where someone else is living on the other floor.

On that note, i rented a thermal camera for my own house that I personally insulated and made sure it was done well.

Well, from looking at my house while outside, I had a big ring of heat loss all the way around my house. Not sure of the term for it, but it was the space between the 1st and second floor. I never thought to insulate the exterior space around the house where the joists are. Just a suggestion if you have access to it.

 

[MagKarl]

We insulated the interior walls and floors when we built and it's a huge noise benefit in my opinion.

 

[BellyUpFish]

How much is the expense and what percentage of the build id the expense and what percent will you gain back on quick sale because you did it right?

It's only about $1,200 to do it. I'm just weighing the pro's and con's..

I don't know that not insulating the floor between stories isn't "doing it correctly." As many have said, it depends on the goals..

If I'm selling this house, things have gone terribly wrong. I know life happens, but I rolled the dice on this one and am building it like it's my forever home.

But most importantly, what does the current regulations say?

No code on it, AFAIK, but I'm in the county where "codes don't have to apply."

 

[BellyUpFish]

My lord.
I'm not sure but I think that's triple the price that I expected you to say.
I also would hesitate.

Heating wise, will the insulation help keep the heat/temp where you want it?
Without the insulation won't all the heat just migrate to the upper floor, thermostats are on the lower floor... Lots of cycling and an upstairs like an oven?

LOL.. Yeh, if it was like $3-400, I'd be all over it.

The vast majority of reading I can find on the internet says basically there are only two real reasons to do it - 1.) sound deadening and there are "better ways" and b.) if you expect to have 2 very different climates in the zones.

Sound deadening for me, doesn't play too huge of a roll, as my bedroom won't have anything above it, so if the kids want to get loud while I'm trying to sleep, it shouldn't be a huge deal and if they get loud while I'm trying to watch TV (which is rare), we will discuss it. Their "playroom" is located over the garage which makes sound a non-event again.

From all the reading, *if* I do it, it would be only for sound deadening.

The benefits for insulating a floor between for purposes of climate control are more for the upper elevation than the lower and with a dedicated unit, it's not a huge deal again.

We will have a 3 ton unit on the main floor and a dedicated 1.5 ton on the 2nd floor, each with their own smart thermostat on their respective floors.

 

[Kaizen]

I've struggled with noise in my old colonial converted to 2 family. so when it was built zero insulation. I've added fiberglass in one room. zilch. no real change. I also had open foam sprayed into 2 rooms. a little better but not to outway the cost. in one of those rooms I installed 2 thick fireproof layers of drywall and you can still clearly make out a conversation. only thing I've had luck with is safe and sound insulation and gator glue....think that was the name. basically you use it on joists before putting the drywall up and if its not quiet enough you can put on another layer of it and drywall. one layer of drywall and the safe and sound worked. and not expensive. if your ceiing is open i'd do it. if not I wouldn't. oh also in all these instances I sealed all air gaps with caulking and foam.

 

[BellyUpFish]

"All" air gaps will be sealed.

 

[PT Doc]

If you walk in a house with interior insulated walls and ceilings , it is very noticeable. Closing doors and other sound just sounds much different. Fairly cheap to do now.

 

[BellyUpFish]

If you walk in a house with interior insulated walls and ceilings , it is very noticeable. Closing doors and other sound just sounds much different. Fairly cheap to do now.

Well, we skipped it for the most part. Main level of the house doesn't have enough doors to worry about and they don't slam, they slide..

 

[ADSR]

I've done many for new builds and renos. The only time we get the request, is if there is a rental unit in the house, or the owners want just the master bedroom done so no adult noises come out of there.