Green Glue Can Help You Easily Noiseproof Your Apartment Walls

Posted by BIP on 12th May 2015

There are pros and cons to every living situation however Apartment living can be the best life choice you've ever made or it can be a living nightmare! Lets look at the Pros and Cons of Apartment Living:

Pros:

Mortgage payment (no thanks)

Low Rent (yes please)

Mow the lawn (funny)

Sinks dripping (call the super)

Cons:

Weird Cooking Smells Down The Hall (yuck)

Stairs, Stairs, and More Stairs (hey its good exercise)

Older Lady Blaring "I Love Lucy" reruns on one side (Lucy I'm Home)

Aspiring Hip Hop Artist on the other side (key word is "Aspiring")

Ok, all jokes aside, the last two Cons are ones that can make your Pros quickly disappear into a hellish nightmare of sleepless nights staring at the ceiling. Most neighbors are loud, however if you have paper thin walls, a simple alarm clock from an early rising businessman next door can drive you up the wall when its your day to sleep in.

The problem isn't always the neighbors, its usually the wall between the two of you. Most of the time the only thing separating the two apartments is a 2 x 4 and two thin layers of drywall. Learn how to soundproof apartment walls easily with Green Glue!

Basic Wall (most likely in your Apartment / Condo / Home)

2 x 4 Wood Studs with single layer of 5/8" Drywall with basic R-13 Fiberglass Batt

STC: 40

This is your basic wall, your wall that you are having issues with may or may not have that fill of R-13 Fiberglass Batt Insulation which could even lower the rating below STC 40! Most loud noises easily transmit through this structure, especially televisions, radios, alarm clocks, conversations, etc. If you have ever had that neighbor who left for the weekend and forgot to turn off his alarm clock, you know if you have this type of wall between your apartments!

Ok, so you have the wall above, it's not the end of the world, we can fix this. Let's see how Green Glue can help you soundproof apartment walls.

Basic Wall Plus Green Glue and an Extra Layer of Drywall on 1 Side

2 x 4 Wood Studs with single layer of 5/8" Drywall with basic R-13 Fiberglass Batt and an additional layer of 5/8" drywall with Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound between the layers on 1 side.

STC: 52 (30% Increase!)

The nice thing about this wall structure is that it can easily be made from the Basic Wall by simply adding an additional layer of drywall and adding two tubes of Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound between the two layers. We don't have to rip the drywall down, or make any major mess in the apartment.

Overall, a 30% increase in the STC rating of the wall will not evict your noisy neighbors, but it will block out a good portion of noise and lower most of the louder noises that have been keeping you awake at night.

One Step Further:

Before adding your additional layer of drywall, cut out the existing drywall around electrical outlets and light switches. Add sound blocking putty pads to the back of the boxes and then put the drywall back in place (caulk the joints). A lot of sound channels through electrical boxes which can greatly reduce the STC Rating of a wall. Putty Pads help seal up these channels.