How To Properly Soundproof a Wall

Maybe the neighbors are arguing, or they've just had a child who doesn't quite want to adapt to the sleeping rhythm of our world, whatever it is, you don't really want to hear it. To ensure you have peace and quiet, you can reinforce your wall with sound insulation. In this article, we'll explain which materials you can use for this and how best to install them.

Options for soundproofing a wall

Of course, the best soundproofing is the one that is taken into account when the wall is being built, but it is usually too late for that. Nevertheless, you have a variety of options. First of all, you should determine what type of sound needs to be insulated. If the sound is coming from an adjacent room, such as the apartment next door, then the soundproofing must be constructed differently than if you want to prevent sound from your apartment from escaping to the outside.

sound insulation for outgoing sound

Outgoing sound is about dampening sound waves before they are transmitted to the wall and into the adjacent room. This can be solved in various ways, even after construction.

• Foam : It's not very pretty to look at, but it's very effective and very easy to install. You can attach foam panels to the wall with glue or simple screws.

• Sound-absorbing wallpapers : There are different thicknesses that absorb different sound frequencies. They can be applied to the wall like normal wallpaper and are sometimes available in decorative patterns.

• Curtains : Hanging curtains in front of a solid wall may sound pointless at first. However, the fabric works in the same way as the foam. It absorbs the sound waves and does not pass them on to the wall.

• Furniture : Furniture also absorbs sound waves before they hit the wall. Furniture that does not produce any sound itself, such as wardrobes and bookshelves, is particularly suitable. Cabinets full of porcelain are less suitable.

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sound insulation for incoming sound

Incoming noise is less easy to stop with household remedies. These are no longer sound waves that are transmitted through the air. Instead, it is so-called structure-borne noise. This is transmitted differently than sound waves.

To achieve soundproofing here, you have to be a little more clever. Here, you put a wall in front of the actual wall. This is called a facing shell.

Soundproofing with egg cartons?

One variant that you may know from television or from grandpa's well-intentioned advice is the egg carton. Unfortunately, it doesn't really help. Soundproofing from the outside is about either heavy material absorbing the sound or stopping it in air chambers. Egg cartons are neither heavy nor do they have effective air chambers. So unfortunately they aren't really suitable for soundproofing a wall.

Sound insulation of a wall with facing

To build a facing shell with proper sound insulation, you need the following:

• Soundproofing mats (e.g. made of acoustic foam)

• wall adhesive

• sealing tape

• Profiles for ceiling, walls and floor (UW or CW profiles)

• spirit level

• Screws and dowels according to your wall, floor and ceiling conditions

• plasterboard

• drywall screws

• filler

• permanently elastic sealant

• cordless screwdriver

insulating the wall

The first step is to insulate the wall that transmits the sound. To do this, attach the sound insulation mats to your wall using the wall adhesive.

profiles

Now you prepare the profiles for the second wall. It is important that the wall you are now drawing does not come into contact with your insulated wall. Otherwise the sound would just be transmitted again. So attach the profiles about 2 cm away from the wall to the floor, adjacent walls and ceiling. To ensure that the profiles do not come into direct contact with the walls, you can stick sealing tape on the contact side.

Attach the profiles by pre-drilling holes accordingly, pushing in dowels and then screwing the profiles tight with a cordless screwdriver.

In addition to the profile frame, you will need vertical supports that will support your plasterboard panels. The distance between these depends on your plasterboard panels. The distance should be half the length of one of your panels.

Installing plasterboard

Now you can start with your plasterboard. Leave a distance of about 1 cm from the floor and ceiling and install them horizontally with staggered joints. So start your first row with a whole board, the second with half a board and so on. Screw the ends and the middle to the profiles. Drywall screws are ideal for this.

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Fill the plasterboard and seal the connections to the wall.

Fill the joints between the plasterboards and also fill the screw holes with filler.

Once the filler has completely dried, you can sand it smooth to prepare it for painting or wallpapering.

You can read how to paint plasterboard to achieve an even result in our blog post on the subject.

Before you start painting or wallpapering, you should seal the edges of the wall. Use a permanently elastic sealant. This won't tear even when dry.

Once this mass has dried, you can start with the visual enhancement. And just like that, you have completed the soundproofing of a wall all by yourself.