Probably. Or if the noise really is excessive, management can deal with that. Neighbours come and go; you could buy a quiet place you love and then have noisy neighbours move in.
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- Thread starter PIX
- Start date
TheKingEast
Senior Member
You'd have to build another wall on top of the current wall with studs and insulation. So your living space would be shrunk down by 5-6 inches?
Personally, if I planned to live in a condo for some time, even if the soundproofing was decent, I'd spend the money and completely soundproof the unit. That way I can play music as loud as I want, have parties, etc..
Read this: http://www.acousticalsource.com/wall-soundproofing.html
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NikoS
Active Member
Thanks for the advice! My other half freaked out... I think its do able/fix able... Its the top floor and the floor below is a business so its actually only one shared wall - bedroom wall... What sound proofing should I look into? Does anyone know / recommend a contractor?
TheKingEast
Senior Member
I think any contractor who has experience with condos can help you out. It's really not difficult to build a soundproof wall....they should know exaclty what to do.
NikoS
Active Member
Really? I was thinking about calling up an engineer... I was thinking it might cost 10K.... I think I am going to see about getting someone in ASAP to check this out.
doug
Active Member
Yes it is.
To 'soundproof' a room you have to build a completely isolated, sealed room within a room.
Recording studios are soundproof, they are rooms within rooms.
Using 'green glue' and drywall will provide some attenuation of sound, but it is not soundproofing.
Niko, is this place in the dundas and carlaw area?
NikoS
Active Member
What if only one wall is shared... Would I still need to isolate the whole room?
TheKingEast
Senior Member
Why would he need to soundproof the entire room when the noise is only coming from one wall? If he builds essentially another wall with studs, green glue and insulation, he should be able to block out a good amount of sound (ie: people talking, music, tv, etc)
NikoS
Active Member
The unit is in the St. Lawrence market area.... I am actually going to look at a place on carlaw tomorrow. now I am nervous...
doug
Active Member
I mentioned that in my post.
If you want to soundproof a room, you ned to buil a room within a room, if you want to attenuate some of the noise from one direction, do the green glue thing that i mentioned....it's not soundproofing though, it's moderate atenuation, which may or may not be effective against impact noise.
SlickFranky
Active Member
Let's take the initial post in context and assume they're not looking to actually 'sound proof' the condo. The answer was really as simple as 'Yes, you can fix that. No, it's not terribly expensive or complicated. Here's how you do it.' No one here's talking about building a recording studio next to a gun range.
doug
Active Member
If that were the answer, you'd have a point.
daveto
Active Member
The thing about soundproofing is that sound is like water travelling through air. If there is a hole (or poorly insulated section), the sound will pass through.
Think about talking to someone through a door - the door has little effect because of all the gaps. Whereas with a wall (with no gaps) the sound is much more effectively hindered.
If you want to improve the sound insulation on one wall, it is important to make sure that you are not inadvertently leaving "gaps" in your new insulation. Otherwise the insulation will have a minimal effect.
So if you insulate the wall (with green glue,etc), but the sound can seep through at the corner of the wall with the floor, or wall with the ceiling), or through piping/etc, then you will be disappointed with the results.
Get a professional to take a look at your situation.
I fully agree that poor sound insulation is endemic in most recently constructed condos. Surprisingly so.
Think about talking to someone through a door - the door has little effect because of all the gaps. Whereas with a wall (with no gaps) the sound is much more effectively hindered.
If you want to improve the sound insulation on one wall, it is important to make sure that you are not inadvertently leaving "gaps" in your new insulation. Otherwise the insulation will have a minimal effect.
So if you insulate the wall (with green glue,etc), but the sound can seep through at the corner of the wall with the floor, or wall with the ceiling), or through piping/etc, then you will be disappointed with the results.
Get a professional to take a look at your situation.
I fully agree that poor sound insulation is endemic in most recently constructed condos. Surprisingly so.
TheKingEast
Senior Member
That's the thing. I think it's impossible to completely soundproof a condo due to sound traveling though vents and your front door. So you spend all this money on soundproofing your wall and then you can hear your neighbour's dog 2 floors up through the vent. LOL. In this day and age, new condos should have much better soundproofing than they do. Imagine paying $1M for a unit at the Ritz and hearing your neighbour's TV next door? LOL. Before people jump on me, I'm sure The Ritz has wonderful soundproofing.
AKS
Senior Member
I find the walls are pretty sound proof? Well, either that or my neighbours are quiet people because I don't really hear sounds beside me. I do hear sound blasting from doors of units if I'm in the hallway. The biggest issue I find is sound travelling from the ceiling. Previously, it was just sound of things dropping once in a while but since the new neighbours moved in, they've been making a lot of thumping noises (like hitting a ball against the floor or something) above every night and way into 3am. I'm not trying to be racist, but mainland china people can be so inconsiderate (-_-)