Living in a home with noisy neighbors, on a noisy street, with a construction site nearby, etc., can be an extremely unsatisfying experience, but is there something you can do about it besides buying a pair of earplugs?
In this article, I will be going over what soundproofing is, if it works, how it differs from acoustic treatment, what STC, or Sound transmission class is, the different STC ratings for various materials used in soundproofing, and more.
Without any further ado, let’s get started!
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Soundproofing vs Sound absorption
Insonorización is the process of isolating or blocking the sound, not allowing it to enter or leave a room.
Para ello necesitarás utilizar materiales diseñados para no dejar pasar el sonido, como paneles de yeso.
Absorción de sonido Se basa en materiales que absorben bien el sonido, como paneles acústicos, mantas acústicas, etc. para reducir el eco en el interior de una habitación.
Absorción de sonido, aunque no es excelente para la insonorización, aún así ayudará, por lo que es posible que desees usarlo junto con materiales que bloqueen el sonido para lograr los mejores resultados.
Puedes aprender más sobre el diferencias entre insonorización y tratamiento acústico aquí.
How effective is soundproofing, does it really work?
Proper soundproofing can make it so that even a highway right beside your windows won’t be heard, but this requires high-quality insulation to be installed during the construction process, high-quality double- or even triple-pane windows, weatherstripping, and more.
The question we should be asking, however, is how effective soundproofing an already built home, room, ceiling, door, etc. is, especially if we want to do it in an affordable way without having to tear open half the walls.
I would recommend finding out first where noise is coming in and trying to seal all those gaps with weatherstripping tape or acoustic caulk (generally used for soundproofing windows and doors).
That should already help you quite a bit.
However, if you need to soundproof even further, say a wall, ceiling, floor, etc., then you may need to fork out some extra cash since this will require you installing some drywall, double- or triple pane windows, etc.
Does soundproofing keep noise out?
Soundproofing is designed to keep noise from coming in as well as getting out by using materials that block it, be it because they have a lot of mass, because they cover every single hole where sound can get in or out, etc., and it basically works both ways.
Now, soundproofing helps to keep outside noise from coming in, but you have to do it properly, which is actually the hardest part.
Sound, just like heat, can get in or out through the smallest of cracks, which means that everything needs to be completely sealed off, otherwise it won’t work nearly as well.
You can test this out for yourself: Shut a window or a door completely and then open it just a little. The difference in noise will be massive.
However, if you open the door all the way, more sound will be able to get in, but it’s definitely not proportional and the biggest difference you will notice is between the closed- and slightly opened door/window.
What about soundproofing/acoustic foam panels, do they work?
Acoustic panels are designed to treat the room’s acoustics, or in other words, how sound behaves inside of the room (go back to the top to read the difference between soundproofing and acoustic treatment, since acoustic foam panels are designed for acoustic treatment).
When there’s a sound generated within the room, those soundwaves bounce all over the walls, ceiling and floor, which is known as reverberation (or you could call it echo if you’d like), but without any acoustic treatment or soft materials that can absorb those soundwaves, they will take quite a long time to die out.
Acoustic panels, no matter what they’re made of, are designed to make those soundwaves die down quicker, making the room “feel” quieter because they can’t bounce around for too long before getting absorbed.
As far as actually soundproofing goes, however, they won’t help at all because they don’t block the sound, which means that outside noise will still be able to get in, or any noise from the inside will be able to get out.
So, whenever someone recommends you to get acoustic foam panels installed in your room to keep outside noise from getting in, don’t do it, it doesn’t work.
What is the STC Rating?
STC, o Clase de transmisión de sonido, es la clasificación utilizada en los EE. UU. para describir qué tan bien una partición de un edificio puede atenuar el sonido, como particiones interiores, techos, pisos, puertas, ventanas, etc.
En la mayoría de los demás países se utiliza el índice de reducción del sonido (SRI).
The STC rating reflects the decibel reduction of noise that a partition can provide, where a higher number, or rating, equals better results or overall attenuation.
Aquí hay una tabla que muestra lo que representa cada calificación STC:
| STC | que se puede escuchar |
| 25 | Se puede entender el habla normal. |
| 30 | Se puede entender el habla en voz alta. |
| 35 | Habla en voz alta, audible pero no inteligible. |
| 40 | Habla en voz alta, audible como un murmullo. |
| 45 | Se escucha un discurso fuerte pero no audible. |
| 50 | Sonidos fuertes que se escuchan débilmente |
| 60+ | Buena insonorización; la mayoría de los sonidos no molestan a los residentes vecinos. |
Hay múltiples factores que intervienen en el cálculo de la clasificación STC, como el medio acústico, la masa, la absorción del sonido y más, de los materiales, pero no entraré en demasiados detalles sobre esto ya que no pertenece al artículo en sí.
STC Rating of materials
Here I will be going over which type of insulation material works best when put inside a typical interior wall with ½” of drywall on either side, which has an STC rating of 34 on its own, and how it increases this rating:
| Material | STC |
|---|---|
| Lana Mineral | 45 |
| Fibra de vidrio | 39 |
| Celulosa | 44 |
| Espuma en aerosol | 39 para celda abierta 37 para celda cerrada |
Now let’s take a look at the STC Rating of Window glass, drywalls with and without studs as well as with and without insulation, and lastly floor underlayments:
STC Rating of Window Glass
| Single pane glass | 27 |
| Dual pane glass | 29 |
| Soundproof Window over a single pane window | 48 |
| Soundproof Window over a dual pane window | 48 |
Clasificación STC de paneles de yeso
| 33 | Single layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, wood studs, no insulation (typical interior wall) |
| 39 | Single layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, wood studs, fiberglass insulation |
| 45 | Double layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, wood studs, batt insulation in wall |
| 46 | Single layer of 1/2″ drywall, glued to 6″ lightweight concrete block wall, painted both sides |
| 54 | Single layer of 1/2″ drywall, glued to 8″ dense concrete block wall, painted both sides |
| 55 | Double layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, on staggered wood stud wall, batt insulation in wall |
| 59 | Double layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, on wood stud wall, resilient channels on one side, batt insulation |
| 63 | Double layer of 1/2″ drywall on each side, on double wood/metal stud walls (spaced 1″ apart), double batt insulation |
STC Rating for floor underlayment
| Floor Underlayment (under laminate flooring) | 66 |
Diferentes tipos de ruidos
There are two types of sound that you should mainly be worrying about:
Ruido transmitido por el aire: Estos son los sonidos que viajan por el aire, y si hay huecos o grietas entre las paredes, puertas, ventanas, etc. a este tipo de ruido le resultará muy fácil entrar o salir.
Ejemplos de ruidos transmitidos por el aire son; La televisión, la gente hablando, la música reproducida, el ruido que hacen las herramientas del garaje, etc.
Ruido Estructural: Este tipo de sonidos se crean cuando un objeto golpea a otro y las vibraciones generadas viajan a través de dichos objetos como paredes, techos, pisos, etc.
Ejemplos de ruido transmitido por estructuras son; Pasos, objetos que golpean el suelo, maquinaria que vibra contra el suelo o contra la mesa de trabajo, etc.
¿Cómo eliminarlos?
En el caso del ruido transmitido por el aire, lo principal es evitar que se filtre, lo que significa sellar todos los huecos y grietas que pueda encontrar.
For Structural Noise you need to absorb the vibrations that are being allowed to spread through the structures using anti-vibration materials, adding mass (like installing drywall), etc.
I wrote multiple guides on how to soundproof specific parts of your home, so check those out if you’re interested in learning how to do it:
Conclusión
Soundproofing can be a lifesaver when you have noise neighbors, if you live on a loud street, if there’s a construction site nearby, etc., and it really does work.
The difficult part about it is soundproofing an already existing home since proper soundproofing is always done during construction.
Otherwise, you may need to add a couple of sheets of drywall on top of your existing walls, replace your windows it double-pane windows (and get a professional to install those), and all of this will cost you quite a lot of money.
Última actualización el 11 de mayo de 2022 por facundo
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