How to reduce noise from noisy neighbours through a separating wall

As you can imagine, complaints from noisy neighbours is a very common problem and stopping noise travelling through connected walls in existing buildings is something we advise on every day of the week.

Everybody is searching for the ‘Soundproof Solution’ to reduce noise from next door. This is very difficult unless you are prepared to line all internal construction of the property. For example, to ‘Soundproof’ an area you need to build a ‘room within a room’ type solution, which means isolating the ceiling, the wall and the floor.

I appreciate that this could be a costly and disruptive solution but without creating this ‘room within a room’ solution it is impossible to achieve close to the perfect ‘soundproof’ solution.

Therefore, the solution to our client’s demands is normally to reduce rather than “block out” sound from the neighbouring property.

I would suggest looking at two systems to treat an existing brick wall that separates two properties.

The first is the Hush HD1055 System. This is a wall lining system that includes an independent lining that is completely separate from the existing structure. All information can be found at here.

The second system is the HD1057 System. This wall lining system includes a resilient bar solution that is fixed to the existing wall and therefore is the thinner of the two systems. All information can be found at here

I have detailed a pros and cons list below for the two systems so you can decide which is most suitable for your property.

HD1055

Pros

• A complete independent system that is not in connection with the existing structure. Sound travels through connected construction, the more connections the lesser the performance. Therefore using a system like the HD1055 removes all the direct connections from the existing wall to the new wall lining, which in turn improves the acoustic performance of the wall dramatically.
• This system uses the correct density of sound absorbing material within the new stud frame. This is obviously a pro for the system as it is imperative that you use the correct absorbing material within the new stud frame to reduce passing airborne noise. Hush Slab 100 is manufactured to the optimum density for sound absorption and is most effective at 100mm. The HD1055 system includes a 100mm stud frame so that you can incorporate the Hush Slab 100 Sound Absorber for maximum performance.
• High mass wall linings are used within this system. This is imperative as the other important factor when reducing sound transmission is the mass of the products used. The HD1055 system incorporates a lining of two skins of 15mm Soundbloc plasterboard. This high mass is crucial to the performance of the system as high mass levels reduces the passage of airborne noise. It is imperative that standard plasterboards are not used when creating an acoustic lining.
• The system is isolated at the top and the bottom using the Hush Isolation Tape. When installing any stud lining it is imperative that the Hush Isolation Tape is used to break the connection of the stud frame from the structure. The Hush Isolation Tape isolates the stud frame and by breaking these connections you are reducing the sound transmission paths within the existing construction and this improves acoustic performance levels.

Cons

• The only con with this system is the amount of space you will lose off a room. The system can range in depth from 150mm-180mm depending on the void size that is left from the existing wall to the new stud wall lining. 150mm is normally too much for most people to except losing off their room and because of this people look at thinner systems like the HD1057 and except a lesser acoustic performance to maintain a higher room volumes. If you are willing to lose the space within the room in questions and you can except a lining like the HD1055 then I strongly recommend that it is used as there are no systems that can compare with the performance levels achieved when you create complete separation from the existing wall to the new wall lining.

Estimated cost for supply of all materials within this system – £40.00 m2 + VAT for all components (budget cost). Please not that the price is for supply of materials only and does not include labour for the installation.

HD1057

Pros

• The main pro with this system is the overall depth of the system compared with something like the HD1055 system. The HD1057 is 60mm in depth. This is far better for anyone that is concerned with losing space within their room. The HD1057 is the thinnest system I suggest to use to show an improvement on the amount of noise that transmits through a separating wall. Although the system is thin, it is still a decoupled system and will create separation from the existing structure because of the use of the Hush Bar Deep Resilient Bars. Any thinner system will create direct sound paths, which will transmit sound through from next door and will not be effective. It is imperative that you break the connection of the wall lining to the existing structure and this is done in the HD1057 System by using the Hush Deep Resilient Bars.
• Again the HD1057 System uses the correct density of sound absorbing material between the Hush Bar Resilient Bars. This is obviously a pro for the system as it is imperative that you use the correct absorbing material within the system to reduce passing airborne noise. Due to the void created by the Hush Deep Resilient Bars the insulation thickness that can be used is 25mm not 100mm.
• Higher mass wall linings are used within this system. This is imperative, not only as high mass is crucial at reducing passing noise but as the void created by the Hush Deep Resilient Bar is only 30mm you will need higher mass linings to reduce the transmission of sound. The HD1055 System has a wall lining that is 28 kg/m2. The HD1057 System has a lining that is 38 kg/m2. This increased density is designed into this thinner system to try and make up for the lack of void and decoupling.

Cons

• The wall lining is decoupled from the structure but the system does have some connections due to the use of the Hush Deep Resilient Bars and not an independent timber stud frame. To ensure the system remains as thin as possible, we have replaced the independent timber frame with the Hush Deep Resilient Bar. This does virtually decouple the wall lining from the existing structure but the bar itself is connected to the wall. This means that the performance of the will be slightly less than the HD1055. As already pointed out, this system is more commonly used to reduce noise issues from neighbours as it achieves a good level of reduction but maintains a large room volume. In my experience I think people except a slightly less sound reduction to maintain maximum room volumes.
• As the wall lining only creates a 30mm void you can only incorporate the Hush Slab 25 between the Hush Deep Bars whereas the HD1055 incorporates the Hush Slab 100. The 100mm Hush Slab will obviously achieve a better level of noise reduction than the 25mm.

Estimated cost for supply of all materials within this system – £48.00 m2 + VAT for all components (budget cost). Please not that the price is for supply of materials only and does not include labour for the installation.

In conclusion, there is no wall system available that will drown all noise from the neighbours as to do this you would need to create a ‘room within a room’ scenario. This scenario would include lining the walls, the floors and the ceilings of your property. However, both the HD1055 and the HD1057 will significantly reduce the level of noise that comes through the wall from next door and will give you a far better standard of living.