Giamik 17

• Acoustic Panels
• Bass Traps
• Acoustic Foam Panels
• DIY Acoustic Panels
• Church Acoustics
• Studio Acoustics
• Home Theater Acoustics
• Restaurant Acoustics
• Acoustic Insulation
• Room Acoustic Treatments

For those living in a multi-unit dwelling like a condominium, a duplex, or an apartment building, there is a constant battle against noise. Whether it is the neighbors making too much noise or you making too much noise for the neighbors, it can seem like everyone has to walk on egg shells to avoid irritating the people in the next unit. This means that home theater systems, stereo equipment, musical instruments, and even woodworking equipment can barely be used, if at all, without causing a either a complaining phone call or a a knock on the door. If only there were some way to keep the neighbors’ noise out of your unit, while keeping your noise in. Fortunately, this is actually within the realm of possibility.

The poet Robert Frost once wrote that “good fences make good neighbors.” In today’s world of multi-unit dwellings, that might be translated as good acoustic insulation makes good neighbors. The use of noise-damping acoustic room treatments can add barrier around your room or even your entire apartment. That greatly reduces the ability of sound to pass through to or from the next unit.

Acoustic insulation, even when high quality materials like Owens Corning 705 is used, is not an absolute barrier to sound in residential applications, but it does greatly reduce the amount of noise that bleeds through the walls to adjoining units. If you live in a multi-unit dwelling and you are planning on installing a home theater system, you should also plan to add acoustic insulation to the ceiling and walls unless you want to listen to the latest action films in whisper mode.

For the best results, several layers of different materials should be used. Sound waves tend to lose energy when they make the leap between materials of differing density, so a multi-layer approach can really take down the noise level. Different materials also tend to work best at damping a certain range of frequencies, so the multi-layer acoustic material strategy also helps cover a much broader spectrum of noise.

While it isn’t always possible to add acoustic insulation to the floor, noise transmission can still be muffled with a good carpet and a thick carpet pad. As an alternative, you can talk to the neighbors below about adding acoustic insulation to their ceiling.

For home theater rooms, the worst offender is usually the bass tones that seem to ignore walls and go right through to the neighboring unit. Corner bass traps can add a little extra bass damping if the other room acoustic treatments don’t do the trick.

It is still possible, with the right room treatments and acoustic insulation, to live in harmony with the neighbors without spending your life walking on eggshells.