Sound insulation in a monolithic house, advice from acousticians and reviews on soundproofing floors in an apartment in a monolithic brick house

Audibility in houses is a problem familiar to many residents of both new buildings and apartments on the secondary market.

Legally, sound insulation is not one of the defects of an apartment that the seller must notify the potential buyer about. In fact, audibility in apartment buildings is a personal problem for residents, which they must solve themselves.

If you want to buy a home, you need to know which type of home has better soundproofing, because the seller will most likely hide the truth, and the new owner will have to spend a considerable amount of money to save the situation.

Providing sound insulation in a monolithic house

For such an apartment, the only effective way out of the situation is to insulate the entire apartment: walls, ceiling, floor, door and window openings.
The fact is that in such houses the thickness of the floors is minimal, and the concrete used in construction is an extremely poor soundproofing material. Partial insulation will not bring a significant effect - sounds spread from the walls, ceiling and floor. For this reason, complete installation of sound insulation is required, which reduces the usable area of the apartment as a whole.

,block house audibility

I’m considering buying a two-room apartment in a Soviet block house, many after major renovations. How is the audibility there, especially from the upper neighbors? Like in a panel building or is it deaf? A colleague says that it’s like being in a tank in such a block number 218 Is it worth taking the last floor there if I can’t stand it? noises from above? I mean strong
I live in a single-entrance 12-story building, I can’t hear my neighbors at all, neither above, nor below, nor to the side.
And we heard the neighbors on the side and very well, we could watch TV without sound. But this was the only such wall in the corner apartment. They made soundproofing. I could hear my neighbor getting up at night to relieve himself, as if he was weighing on my head. The walls are 12-block, if not load-bearing, then you can hear everything very well. The partitions are made of straw and cement; in one room you drive a nail into another and it comes out. We are lucky, the neighbors upstairs are elderly, otherwise it’s scary to imagine. But in my opinion, it’s normal to live in a three-room apartment in such houses, it’s on the corner. Everything is individual, but in terms of soundproofing these are terrible apartments
My mother has such a three-ruble note on the top floor. As a child, when I visited my grandmother there, the neighbor from below was hammering on the radiator. Despite the fact that my grandmother did not allow me to jump/run. I heard the descendants of this grandmother when they were swearing in their house. But that was before we opened up the floor and re-arranged it.
I don’t know, I don’t need to lie, we really can’t hear anything or anyone, the apartment is in the middle of the house. And you can’t really hammer nails into our walls; my husband uses Victory drills almost everywhere. The only thing is that our house is a cooperative one, the inside was built according to a slightly different design, we don’t have three-room apartments at all, only two-room apartments and one-room apartments.
Some other project, probably.
I have been living in a 12-story block since 1989. Before the renovation of the new neighbors (2014), we never heard anything. They removed everything down to the concrete slab, poured screed and laid down laminate flooring without any sound insulation. And that's it. You can hear absolutely everything - every conversation, not to mention the stomping and all sorts of sounds. But you can’t hear the sounds of the bathtub - water. It depends solely on what repairs (if any) the neighbors above/below have had. We have good sound insulation - for 10 years the neighbors below haven’t complained, although sometimes children make noise. I think it’s audible smaller than in the panel, although they also complain about the monolith.
I live in the same one. Either the neighbors are quiet, or I’m not picky. I don't hear anyone.

Types of sound insulation

For monolithic houses, both full and partial sound insulation is used - the choice of methods depends on the budget of the work and the level of silence required by the apartment owner. You can avoid unnecessary costs only if you carefully select the building material - the modern market offers a wide range in different price categories. When choosing, you should focus on the optimal balance between price and quality of products.

Apartment soundproofing scheme

For complete sound insulation, the following work is required:

floor soundproofing;
ceiling soundproofing;
sound insulation of inter-apartment walls;
soundproofing of interior partitions;
replacement of low-quality windows and doors.

You can carry out the work either independently or with the assistance of specialists. Today there are many organizations specializing in soundproofing houses and apartments, and, if you have the slightest experience in construction, it is recommended to trust the professionals.

However, for an experienced homeowner, soundproofing an apartment with your own hands does not fall into the category of complex work, and is comparable to carrying out a major overhaul.

Partial sound insulation is used to localize a separate area of the apartment, which is the strongest source of noise.

As a rule, such work consists of eliminating minor defects made during construction and can be easily carried out on one’s own.

The most popular methods of partial sound insulation include the following:

insulation of entrance doors. Often, when installing them, installers do not completely fill the voids with insulating materials, which negatively affects the ability to absorb sounds. You can use both polyurethane foam and a more modern material that is superior in quality - non-hardening sealant;
window insulation. The work also includes filling voids and adjusting double-glazed windows;
insulation of sockets, junction boxes and other equipment that is a source of sound from neighbors;
It is recommended to insulate sewer risers using foamed polystyrene. Modern plastic pipes transmit sound perfectly, and the entire entrance can often hear when you go to the restroom.

Floor insulation

The most common, inexpensive and easy-to-use method is to install a so-called “floating” floor. No, no, you won’t flood your neighbors, and your apartment won’t become the new Venice. The name was formed on the principle of forming a “pie” of the floor - the screed is not laid directly on the floor slab, but through a layer of sound insulation. Stone wool slabs are laid as insulation, covered with film on top and filled with screed. After drying, the finishing floor covering is installed. There are modern roll insulating bases. Their properties as a barrier to sound are slightly worse, but there is a space saving if this is important to you.

There is also a frame method of sound insulation. The floor is mounted on logs, which are attached to the base using anti-vibration pads. The space between the joists is filled with insulating material. The entire structure is covered with chipboard sheets, plywood or floorboards at the request of the apartment owner.

In addition to the above, if ZIPS slabs are for the floor. They are equipped with everything necessary for installation, are easy to install even by inexperienced craftsmen, and the quality of insulation is quite high.

A professionally installed floor allows the owner of the apartment not to hear relatives walking in the rest of the home, and also allows the neighbors below not to disturb you or hear your movements.

Options for getting rid of noise in the apartment

Offers of new materials on the modern market arrive almost daily. Today it is not difficult to find a soundproofing material that optimally suits the apartment owner both in terms of sound-absorbing characteristics and appearance.

Many materials make it possible to do sound insulation quite well yourself, without resorting to the services of companies. Such building materials are usually easy to install and do not require further maintenance. They combine excellent insulating qualities and a spectacular appearance, which allows owners to save on further finishing of the apartment.

Not all property owners are able to correctly select the required material and perform installation work. Numerous construction organizations specializing in soundproofing work offer their services to them. They have at their disposal all modern types of building materials and extensive work experience - they often use several coatings at once, which together provide one hundred percent protection against sound penetration.

To the extent that soundproofing almost any apartment in a monolithic building is a whole complex of works, the complexity is not much different from a major overhaul; their implementation should only be trusted to professionals. This will allow you to avoid many mistakes that property owners often make when trying to get rid of the problem on their own.

Materials used

When carrying out work, you need to choose what the thermal insulation layer will be made of. There are several options, each of which has its own pros and cons.

Polyurethane foam

This material adheres well to the wall surface and is durable. Its weak point is that it is destroyed by direct sunlight. Therefore, it must be protected from their entry. Polyurethane foam is invulnerable to fungus or insects. When installing it, there is no need to install a fastener.

Cork slabs

They do not require decorative finishing. Known for durability and lightness. They have good noise-absorbing properties. Cork boards have high mechanical strength. Small dents on them level out on their own.

Mineral wool

Installation of such a coating is not difficult even for beginners in matters of repair. This material is lightweight, fire-resistant, and combines well with other materials. Mineral wool is sold in the form of rolls. It is made from metallurgical waste and crumbs obtained from minerals.

Expanded polystyrene

It has significant sound-proofing and heat-insulating properties. It is very light, has a high density, does not allow water to pass through, and has a service life of over 50 years. Expanded polystyrene does not grow fungi or mold.

Ceiling soundproofing work Source mr-build.ru

Insulating an apartment step by step instructions

To improve sound insulation, mineral wool and plasterboard are often used - these are some of the relatively inexpensive, but very effective ways to deal with sounds penetrating from everywhere. Along with these materials, basalt (stone) wool, polyurethane foam blocks, cork, coconut fiber and many other insulating materials are used.

Ceiling soundproofing

To insulate the ceiling, a number of works must be performed: first of all, a system is installed that holds the entire structure, and only then the insulating material is laid.

Ceiling soundproofing systems come in three varieties:

False ceilings mounted on a metal frame. The covering of such a ceiling consists of plasterboard, and all insulating materials are hidden behind the covering.
Stretch ceilings are materials made of plastic or fabric stretched just below the main ceiling. They also allow you to hide insulating materials and communication systems.
Suspended ceilings, commonly used in office spaces. They are easy to install and highly functional.

Sound insulation, electrical wiring, ventilation systems and other options for decorative finishing of ceiling systems are easily hidden behind finishing materials, and the choice largely depends on the imagination of the apartment owner.

Increasing the thickness of walls and ceilings is an excellent way to increase the sound insulation of an apartment.

Acoustic insulation is a design that combines sound-absorbing materials and sound-proofing materials. Mineral wool is used as a sound absorber, which is used to line the walls and ceiling of the room. The sound passing through it is muffled, and the external insulation, which is also a decorative finish (wall panels, drywall, etc.), completely prevents the penetration of sounds into the apartment.

Thus, despite the fact that sounds penetrate through the walls, additional layers of insulation completely load them, allowing the owner of the apartment to fully enjoy comfort.

Wall insulation

After you have gotten rid of the usual wall covering (if the work is being done in a habitable room) or before you start doing anything to the walls (in a new building), inspect the walls themselves. Look for cracks, holes, crevices and the like. Then hide what you find under a layer of gypsum plaster.

The most common and inexpensive method is mineral wool insulation. The wool is laid in cells created by a metal frame in the same way as was done with the ceiling. Here, too, we attach the profile to the wall and ceiling through rubberized gaskets. This method allows you to completely drown out your neighbors’ conversations and the noise of their TV. A brick wall about 20 centimeters wide has a similar throughput capacity.

The most meticulous customers ask that all voids, including the actual metal guides, be filled with mineral wool or polyurethane foam. The outside of the frame is covered with a double layer of plasterboard. The second layer is applied with offset joints in order not to leave the slightest chance for sound. It is important that the drywall does not rest against either the floor or the ceiling - it is necessary to leave 5 mm gaps for filling with a special sealant. Ready! You can plaster, glue or paint.

As you understand, this was a frame method of soundproofing walls. There is also a frameless method. Installation of ZIPS - soundproofing panel systems. Everything necessary for their installation is included in the kit. The panels are attached directly to the wall. This method has some disadvantages - the system is quite heavy, it increases the load on the walls, so it is attached quite deeply. In this regard, installing panels to walls whose thickness is less than 8 centimeters is not recommended. But if you use the system, you will not have to additionally level the walls (because the surface of the panels is intended for finishing work). You also don’t have to cut through old brick to lay cables - you can stretch everything you need between the wall and the panels in a corrugated pipe.

Soundproofing in a monolithic house. Who did it and how, tell me

I bought a house in a new building. Made an excellent renovation. Wasted a lot of time and money. And then the neighbors moved in. It turned out that there was a kitchen behind the wall of the living room. From the kitchen there is a constant noise of furniture doors slamming, pots, stools scraping on the tiles, etc. The water pipe sounds at 30 decibels. I checked it with a sound meter on my smartphone. So much effort was put into the repairs that I’m not mentally prepared to radically redo everything without knowing what the result will be. There are no music lovers, drunks or night-time partygoers among the neighbors. I just grew up and lived in brick houses with thick walls and apparently a normal layout. I'm used to silence. Who was able to significantly isolate themselves and in what ways? It is in a monolithic house. Tell.

Well, if you are ready to reduce the area a little. You can place a 5 cm foam block in parallel with the walls bordering the neighbors and the elevator. Yes, the gap is at least 1.5 - 2 cm. And push rolled PPE Izolon into this gap. It is even better to plaster these blocks. Who cares, but that’s what I do. Everyone is happy so far

How to reduce audibility without major financial investments

The reality is that not everyone can afford to make renovations with high-quality sound insulation of the entire room. There are situations when everything acquired through back-breaking labor has already been given away for their beautiful square meters, and there is no strength or money for the rest. But you have to live somehow. And preferably not somehow, but comfortably.

Therefore, we thought and counted several quite suitable ways to reduce audibility in an apartment without spending crazy amounts of money on it:

Grandma’s famous carpets hung on the floor and walls for a reason. In addition to their warming function, they muffled the sound from neighboring apartments. If you don’t have your own carpets, ask your grandmother, she probably has a few more in stock besides those already hanging (lying);
Contrary to new trends in the free arrangement of furniture, place bulky pieces (wardrobes, sofas) against the walls. They will create an additional barrier between you and neighboring sounds.
Thick curtains not only shade, but also dampen extraneous sounds. Hang massive, heavy curtains on the windows, and the noise from the street will be much less.
decorate the wall-mounted headboard with a thick panel. It can be upholstered in fabric or leather. But you will do without a carpet, and your interior will not exude the aromas of mothballs, as is the case with your grandmother’s carpet.
interior doors can be keepers of silence if they are made of solid, dense fabric and close without leaving gaps in the walls and floor. Well, you understand what to do, right?

We forgot to indicate the cheapest, but most uncomfortable way to be in silence. Sold in pharmacies, they are called “earplugs”, or anti-noise inserts. Moreover, modern “smart” earbuds can filter human speech from other sounds. With earplugs you can dream of your own home, or you can survive your neighbor's renovation without additional sound insulation. Take care of yourself!

Vasilisa Ivanova

Soundproofing in an apartment with terrible audibility

I bought a new apartment in a new monolithic building. After living for a while, I realized that the old one had a wealth that I didn’t suspect about - an intoxicating silence. Either the neighbors were quiet, or the house was of better quality, but there was no noise at all, even between rooms the audibility was low. Now I have the feeling that I live in a communal apartment or a marginal hostel - sounds are coming from everywhere, from all corners. And not only from the four apartments behind the walls and from above and below, but also from the periphery, i.e. out of 8 Conversations, TV, knocking, children running on their heels (this is actually a horror movie), drunken voices, karaoke. And you can hear not only sounds of increased volume, but even just ordinary everyday sounds - the noise of water, the toilet, the slight creaking of doors, I can even hear the man below relishing toothpaste in the morning. Now it was the first NG at this place, all the neighbors were at home, I spent 80 percent of the time wearing earplugs, the rest with headphones. I thought about soundproofing, although I didn’t budget for it. I found a company and a surveyor arrived. On Saturday they sent an estimate - for two large rooms the cost is 300 rubles. I'm already desperate, so I'm ready to pay that much. I have a question - people, who did it, who encountered it, what was the result? If they give me, as they promised, a “room within a room” made of the most absorbing materials, I will shell out such money, and then I will hear the sounds again and go to the neurosis clinic. Does this thing work? There was an idea to sell this apartment and buy a one-story house in a neighboring cottage village, but the sale and purchase transaction was long and complicated, and I’m not ready to get involved in this again. Although maybe it is more rational in this case?

What is the audibility in the monolith?

And what is the audibility in brick-monolithic houses compared to panel ones, I mean the neighbors above? Maybe someone has experience of comparison. How lucky, or rather, it depends on the specific house. Both monolithic and panel.

There are fewer dull noises, such as conversations, etc., but more voiced ones. We have terrible hearing. We hear people peeing behind the wall (especially the neighbor!).

There is a real war with the neighbors above. And yesterday, (I’m even embarrassed to say it), at 1 am we went out to smoke in the elevator to the window, from the neighbor’s apartment (they didn’t have a vestibule) they heard something soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooiously, they were running home))) )) damn, the question is right on topic. And ours is absolutely perfect

) no one at all!

Maybe, of course, it depends on the neighbors, but... Sometimes they stomp upstairs, they have children. No sounds can be heard. like this. that on weekends it seems like you live in a 15-story hostel.

Honestly. The house is beautiful, business class type, decent neighbors, underground parking, everything is ok except.

audibility. I’m somehow more calm, but my husband is freaking out, we’re really thinking about leaving. to a cottage, to a town in the extreme, such an allergy to high-rise buildings after the monolith. We lived in brick, panel, Stalin, there is something to compare with, I never wanted to “escape”, I’m lying, or rather, I wanted to go to a “decent” house, and now from “a decent house” - somewhere where there are no neighbors at all. Well, from a monolith for sure. And we have a monolithic twenty-five-story building, NO NEIGHBORS ARE HEARD Or maybe you are hard of hearing, since you use caps lock?

What kind of sound insulation you make during repairs will determine how audible you will be.

+1 otherwise they’re laying laminate on concrete and waiting for absolute silence!

And the freaks got here. We don’t hear any extraneous sounds in the monolith (unless someone starts drilling, but this is extremely rare).

In the panel you could hear everything that was happening above and to the side in the neighboring apartments.

It's definitely better in a monolith. Friends in a couple of monolithic houses are complaining, while previous apartments in block and panel houses did not cause any complaints.

If we get lucky. Buyers came to us (we were selling an apartment) and told us that they bought an apartment in a monolith for their son. The son's family are simply hanging themselves!!!

You can especially hear sounds from above, and not only steps on the ringing laminate flooring, but words and, for example, neighbors sneezing, grunting, you want to directly answer “bless you”

.We ourselves are now buying a panel house (new building) and taking an apartment at the end, so there will be fewer neighbors.

IMHO, it’s the same as in a panel house. I didn’t notice the difference. Soundproofing is a must. This has nothing to do with it at all. We lived in different houses and our renovations are no different (by the way, we don’t put laminate on concrete - the difference is colossal!

In Stalin, you can actually have a night disco (haven’t tried it)

What does an ideal partition consist of?

The best sound insulation in cross-section resembles a multi-layer pie, and ideally all the walls in the house should consist of such a “pie” - both interior and exterior. The main filling of the walls is reinforced concrete, on both sides of which there should be insulation, and then wall stone.

Scheme for soundproofing a wall

For internal partitions, the thickness of the reinforced concrete base should be 60 mm, just as in external walls it should be at least 180 mm.

Also, the quality of double-glazed windows and entrance doors plays a significant role in sound insulation, and in addition to sound insulation characteristics, the thermal insulation of the apartment also depends on this.

If, after purchasing a living space, the happy owner of square meters begins to note with dissatisfaction the presence of extraneous sounds and noises, then it is time to do additional sound insulation.

There are more than enough options for doing this - starting from large-scale work that reliably isolates the owner from any noise, and ending with the localization of a particularly annoying sound source.

Myths about soundproofing

Like any branch of construction and finishing work, the installation of soundproofing systems has become overgrown with myths and superstitions, growing from those times when there were not enough high-quality materials or good specialists capable of correctly forming sound protection. Therefore, today we will dispel these misconceptions.

Myth No. 1.

Polystyrene foam is a good material for sound insulation.

Truth: in order for the foam to cope with this task, the thickness of its layer must be significantly more than 10 centimeters. There are much more subtle options that provide silence. However, if you don’t mind the extra square meters, you can use it. Just remember that while polystyrene foam copes well with sound, it cannot cope with vibration at all.

Myth No. 2.

To soundproof cracks, just use foam.

Truth: people who have experienced the installation of windows in an apartment note that extraneous sounds disappear only after the foamed slopes undergo finishing treatment. That is, foam can do anything: fill space, maintain shape, compact, seal, and perhaps even keep heat out. But it definitely can't handle the noise. For noise you need a special type of sealant, and this is the next myth.

Myth No. 3.

Acoustic sealant and sealing tape are tricks of insidious marketers.

Truth: All acoustic accessories intended for installing sound insulation in an apartment are important and have a physical justification for their existence. It would be foolish to buy cheap materials to eliminate extraneous sounds, but give up what makes the job successful and complete. Vibration-absorbing pads, suspensions and washers for self-tapping screws will put an end to your dispute for silence. Or an ellipsis if you still decide not to buy them.

Myth No. 4.

Sound insulation reduces the area of the apartment.

Truth: Yes, but not always. It all depends on your needs and capabilities. Modern materials make it possible to create complete insulation without affecting the usable volume of the rooms.

Myth No. 5.

The materials used for the noise are toxic.

Truth: Mineral slabs and cork substrates are completely natural materials. Therefore, for sound insulation, you can choose those components that will not harm nature and the residents of the apartment.

Monolithic house pros and cons

Advantages of a monolithic house

Quite high construction speed.
Low shrinkage.
Light weight. Thanks to improved technology, the required thickness of external walls is reduced.
Uniform distribution of load on the foundation.
High strength. Achieved by minimizing the number of joining seams.
Free layout of apartments.
Increased living space by reducing wall thickness.
Long service life.
High seismic resistance.

Cons of a monolithic house

Price. Compared to a panel house, material costs are 10-15% higher.
Influence of weather conditions. Since the creation of building elements is carried out directly on the construction site, the air temperature significantly affects the quality of the structures created and the construction time.
The importance of strict adherence to the correctness of technological processes. Good thermal and sound insulation, high strength of the building and its durability are achieved only with the proper level of control over all operations
The need for high-quality compaction of the poured mixture.
Reinforced concrete walls require the use of insulation.
Sound insulation is also poor in monolithic structures.

How to choose a soundproofed apartment

Apartments with the proper level of sound insulation can be identified by several features. For example, at the joints, seams and places where walls meet the ceiling, a special polyethylene-based material should be used (looks like white elastic tubes). It is also recommended to ask the developer or former owner if a floating floor system was used during construction.

Hollow floors made of reinforced concrete have several times better soundproofing characteristics than monolithic ones. The reason for this is both the considerable thickness of the floors and the use of different fillers in their manufacture. Expanded clay, expanded polystyrene or mineral wool are added to modern materials, and shavings or construction waste are added to old structures.

Monolithic floors are perhaps one of the “noisiest” materials - they perfectly transmit all sounds and noises, so sound insulation in a new building made of monolith is simply necessary.

Tips for choosing an apartment

An expensive apartment, offered immediately with interior decoration, looks like a tasty morsel in the eyes of buyers. However, as practice shows, even in modern houses with elite class apartments, the level of sound insulation leaves much to be desired. The point usually lies in maximum time savings on the part of the developer - the use of technologies that allow you to quickly erect a partition often comes at the expense of quality.

For modern apartments, tongue-and-groove walls (hollow gypsum blocks 8 cm thick) have almost become standard. But its purpose is to install a barrier that does not allow neighbors behind it to see each other, and it is difficult to relate the wall thus obtained to a serious partition.

In modern construction, the construction time of buildings is put in first place, often to the detriment of the operational characteristics of objects. Today, when the amount of profit received by the developer depends on the speed of construction, they prefer not to even pay attention to the state of sound insulation, and future residents have to deal with this problem.

Soundproofing the apartment

The quality of sound insulation in inter-apartment partitions directly depends on their thickness. Therefore, it is preferable to opt for houses that have undergone a major renovation - the downward partitions are usually reinforced with asbestos-cement slabs with an air gap, and the sound insulation of apartments in a panel house after a major renovation is close to ideal.

In new buildings, boards and plaster coating are often used to install interior partitions, rather than bricks. This is the reason for the extremely low sound insulation between rooms, which clearly does not add comfort.

The best sound insulation in ancient houses built before the revolution.

Unless, of course, it was worsened by construction companies during major repairs. The walls in them are supported by metal beams, and earth is filled between the wooden panels, which perfectly absorbs any sounds and noises. In such houses, you can hardly hear your neighbors, regardless of the strength of the noise they produce.

Which house is better, monolith or panel?

First, let's figure out what a monolithic house means. This is a building constructed by pouring a concrete mixture into a prepared formwork, inside which a reinforcement cage is located. In this case, each subsequent element is connected to the previous one without connecting seams.

There is also one more concept. Monolithic brick house - what is it? The difference between a brick-monolithic house and a simply monolithic one is that in the first type of building the outer walls of the building are additionally lined with brick.

Let's go through the main properties that characterize housing construction.

How to soundproof an outlet from neighbors - 3 effective ways

A common problem faced by residents of apartment buildings is good audibility of neighbors. It occurs due to poor joining of slabs, cracks in the walls, as well as due to the peculiarities of installation of electrical installation products. The latter is especially often observed in panel houses. Therefore, we decided to talk about how soundproofing of sockets, switches and junction boxes between apartments or rooms can be done.

Causes

Let's start with the fact that when installing hidden electrical wiring and installing built-in electrical installation products, you drill holes with a crown. In any case, this makes the wall thinner and leads to a deterioration in the soundproofing properties of the walls and partitions in the apartment.

Particular discomfort is caused by poor sound insulation in the bedroom if this room borders on neighbors.

What are the reasons for strong audibility in high-rise buildings? In Khrushchev and panel houses of other years of construction, the design of the panels provides for the presence of channels for wires and through holes for installing sockets and switches. They are needed to speed up the construction process and reduce operations when performing electrical work.

For your information, the thickness of the slabs is usually 12-16 cm, which means that you have a permissible depth for installation of electrical installation products and sound insulation of 6-8 cm.

It so happens that there is a small window from your apartment to your neighbors - that’s where the sound comes from, and in bad cases the wind also blows, an unpleasant odor is heard, bacteria enters, and so on.

In private homes, problems arise with street noise - barking dogs, passing cars, etc. And the need to soundproof sockets arises when soundproofing walls and ceilings, in particular when subsequently covering the walls with plasterboard.

Soundproofing methods

There are three ways to soundproof sockets and junction boxes:

Transfer.
Replace the built-in one with an overhead one.
Use specialized materials and means for sound insulation without transfer.

Let's look at the main methods and what materials can be used to soundproof sockets in an apartment from neighbors.

With socket transfer

Moving sockets is one of the simplest and, at the same time, complex solutions. The fact is that in order to move electrical installation products, there is a need to chisel the walls, and this, in turn, is prohibited according to the Decree of the Moscow Government of February 8, 2005 N 73-PP “On the procedure for reconstructing premises in residential buildings on the territory of the city of Moscow.” clause 4.2., and Government Decree No. 508 (Clause 11.3 and 11.11 of Appendix No. 1).

However, this can be done the next time you renovate the room. The easiest way is to move the electrical points to another place; if you are covering the wall with plasterboard, then you can tightly seal the socket boxes. In this case, it is possible to carry out comprehensive sound insulation of the room from neighbors and the street.

When covering walls with the transfer of sockets, the old places where they were installed are sealed with alabaster or plaster. In order not to affect the neighbor’s territory, a gasket made of the same gypsum board or other material is installed in the middle of the wall.

Soundproofing of walls is carried out using specialized materials, such as acoustic basalt wool. Sometimes called stone wool, it is sold either in rolls or in mats (rectangular pieces). The walls themselves can be sheathed with soundproofing plasterboard Gyprok Acu-line. Basalt cardboard can be used for the same purposes. But when soundproofing, you need to remember that the greater the mass and density of the wall, the better.

The most popular manufacturers of basalt wool for sound insulation are Rockwool, Technonikol and Knauf.

However, when you make a hole for the socket box in the drywall, you will have to remove the soundproofing material in this place to install the socket box. As a result, noise can still be heard from here.

To avoid this, you can either mount the sheathing at a greater distance so that there is space left for soundproofing the socket boxes in the plasterboard, or use various acoustic boxes for electrical installation products, such as Soundguard IzoBox boxes.

Its analogue is the Tichoblock box. They provide sound insulation at a level of 36 - 38 dB.

In this case, the box itself and the cable entry points are sealed with acoustic sealant such as “Vibrosila”, TichoFix s30 and others. You can make such boxes yourself, see an example in the video below:

Such boxes can reduce noise not only if the walls are covered with plasterboard, but also if you make a niche for them and install them in walls made of hard materials, such as concrete slabs, brick, cinder block, etc. But remember the ban on gating in panel houses.

No transfer

Let's look at how to organize soundproofing of sockets without moving them yourself. This method is preferable if you need to get rid of noise quickly and at no extra cost. The simplest option is:

Disconnect the apartment.
Remove and disconnect the socket.
If there is, then remove the socket box.
In the middle of the wall, make a partition from plastic, cardboard, “round wood” cut from a sheet of plasterboard and other solid materials.
Cover it with alabaster, plaster or other available solution. Here, be careful not to short-circuit the wires of your neighbor’s outlet; the solution should not be too liquid and water should not flow from it.
Wait until it dries and reinstall the socket and socket.

To achieve better results after point 4 of this list, you can not lay the solution, but lay a layer of soundproofing material - basalt wool, acoustic mats, install several layers of acoustic plasterboard or use membrane materials. Basically cut out a tight round cork.

Popular manufacturers of sound-absorbing membrane materials include Tecsound, Mapesonic, Front Acoustic and also Soundguard.

If it is possible to groove the walls, you can use the boxes mentioned above to soundproof the sockets.

When laying absorbent material, remember that the depth of a standard socket box is 45mm. That is, you need to make sure that you can then install it in place!

If your neighbors are too loud or this method does not help you, then you can replace the built-in electrical installation product with a surface-mounted one. Then you can lay a plug of absorbent material of greater thickness and cover it with solution.

We looked at how and how to soundproof sockets, mounting boxes and switches. The cheapest option is without transfer, with covering the through hole or laying insulating material. But you shouldn’t soundproof sockets with foam, it’s a fire hazard. There are tips online that you can use fireproof foam; it differs from regular polyurethane foam in red or pink. This is a completely acceptable, although much controversial, solution.

Price

For a potential buyer, this characteristic is the most important when choosing the type of home. And the “socket” stands out from the best side here

And even if the cost of a house made of a monolith does not differ much from the cost of a panel house, then at the stage of repairing and finishing the apartment, the future owner of the “monolithic” living space will have to spend a considerable amount.

Speed. Panel houses are built almost 3 times faster than monolithic ones.

A panel house is essentially created at a factory and transported piece by piece to the construction site. Monolithic ones are built directly on the construction site. Here, the speed of construction is influenced by many external factors. Weather conditions play a significant role here. For example, at subzero temperatures, concrete does not set at all, and therefore construction becomes impossible. It is necessary to either heat up the concrete mixture, which reduces its quality, or introduce special anti-frost additives, which significantly affects the cost, or freeze construction during the cold period, which increases the construction time of the building.

Appearance. It is on this point that monolithic housing construction occupies a leading position. “Monolith” does not limit the imagination of architects both in choosing a façade solution and in planning apartments.

Panel houses are characterized by monotony of shapes, template facades and standard planning solutions. The apartments in the panel building are mostly one- and two-room apartments, of small size and with a boring layout.

Shrinkage. The question of whether a monolithic house is shrinking is relevant for many potential apartment owners. After all, experts often advise not to do major repairs in a new building right away, but to wait a year or two, because due to the shrinkage of the house, the newly laid tiles can crack and fall off, the drywall will also crack, and the plaster will even begin to crumble in pieces.

A monolithic house is less susceptible to shrinkage than other types of houses, since due to the solid structure, shrinkage occurs evenly.

In order for you to form an objective opinion, we will determine which house is better, a monolith or a brick.

In which houses can you hear your neighbors the least?

Oh, the soundproofing problem! Every year it becomes more acute, because most developers do not pay attention to such “little things” and save on the most important things. After all, when you come home after the stress and noise of a big city (and not only a big one), you want to fully relax. And if, upon returning home, you hear the swearing of the neighbors upstairs, heavy music from the student neighbor on the side and a TV working at full blast from the pensioner neighbor, then there is no time for relaxation, and the person becomes nervous, cannot sleep normally, and in the morning, exhausted, he goes to work. I think this is familiar to many, isn’t it? You begin to want to escape from everyone to a desert island surrounded by an ocean infested with piranhas and crocodiles, and you simply begin to dislike all people. So which houses have the best sound insulation? The leader in audibility is panel high-rise buildings

In such houses, even talking after 23:00 is dangerous - everything will be heard by the neighbors. I'm not even talking about watching TV at normal volume. And everyone’s concept of “normal volume” is different - both for TV and for music. A student neighbor, who was listening to music so that the floor in our apartment two floors away was shaking, asked quite sincerely - is it really bothering you, I’m listening quietly. And someone may be disturbed by the neighbor's cat, which begins its games around midnight.

Everyone has their own level of perception of sounds. True, in some new buildings (in which, apparently, prices for apartments are higher), additional sound insulation is installed in inter-apartment and interior floors. In second place are monolithic and monolithic-frame buildings. Such houses have good protection from external sounds, as well as from neighbors to the side. However, the floors between floors are not resistant to noise, and the neighbors below will hear you perfectly, just as you can hear your neighbors above. In third place are brick houses.

Modern technologies for the construction of brick houses are distinguished by good soundproofing properties of both external noise and sounds from neighboring apartments.

In houses of this type, you can safely watch TV even at night at normal volume - it is unlikely that anyone will hear it. Old houses are worth considering separately. Most residents claim that you are unlikely to hear your neighbors in these houses, unless from the yard through an open window.

I won’t say anything, but I haven’t been able to live in old houses yet. I can say that many people still make contact and if music or TV bothers you, they will turn it down and turn it off at night. And for those who do not do this, you can always write a statement to the local police officer. Now such applications are being considered, especially in big cities. I would really like to know your experience!

What kind of houses do you live in and do you have problems with noise from neighbors?

Dependence of sound insulation on types of houses

Each house, depending on its design, requires a certain type of insulation materials. Knowing this allows you to organize an optimal insulation system at minimal cost.

If in brick houses you can only stop at partial sound insulation, then in monolithic construction large-scale work is required. Otherwise, there is a high risk of wasting time and materials - the design features of monolithic objects require large-scale work to be carried out after construction is completed.

How to ensure sound insulation in a brick house

For brick houses, partial sound insulation is used, which consists in localizing the most disturbing sound sources. In such apartments there are few sound sources - entrance doors, windows, ventilation systems.

You should fill the voids in the door and window openings, if possible, replace the wooden windows with modern double-glazed windows, and install a special grille for ventilation. Considering the material and thickness of the inter-apartment walls, in brick houses they practically do not transmit sounds.

How to improve sound insulation

In order to improve the level of noise absorption, you need to lay one or more additional layers. In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that the layer must be sealed. If there are voids, cracks or joints in the wall, they must first be sealed with sealant.

When carrying out work, it is not recommended to use polyurethane foam, as it has poor soundproofing properties and can easily catch fire. If it is planned that there will be a regular source of noise in a certain room, then it is better to create a double brick wall in it.

Sound insulation in a brick house will not be absolute, but it can increase its effectiveness. A single layer of brick reduces the sound level by 46 dB, and a double layer reduces the sound level by 52 dB.

The use of brick is more effective than aerated concrete at isolating acoustic noise (such as loud conversation or music). However, it conveys impact noise well (for example, the sound of a working drill or the sound of a hammer).

Aerated blocks are able to more effectively absorb low-frequency infrastructure sounds (such as the operation of an elevator or the noise of a garbage chute). It is beneficial to use slotted bricks. The voids it contains have good insulating properties. The use of sand-lime brick is effective. It protects well from noise, has high strength and durability. The following methods are also used to combat noise.

Brick houses have the best sound insulation Source whoyougle.ru

Types of sound insulation

To ensure sound insulation at the junction of the walls and the ceiling, the seams must be sealed with a special material. It is made on the basis of polyethylene. A floating floor is required. Ceilings retain sound better if they are hollow inside. They are not only thicker than monolithic structures, but also contain a filler in the form of expanded polystyrene or mineral wool.

The optimal partition is a pie. In the middle is the main material - reinforced concrete, and on both sides it is lined with sound insulation. This work is carried out with external walls, the thickness of which must be at least 180 mm, and internal ones. Their thickness should be from 80 mm.

By type, soundproofing materials are divided into:

sound-absorbing. Mineral wool;
sound reflective. Drywall.

To completely eliminate noise in an apartment, it is necessary to use these types in combination. Mineral wool is placed inside, which absorbs sound. Drywall is laid on top, which reflects it.

Complete sound insulation includes the following work:

floor insulation:
ceiling;
inter-apartment walls;
partitions between rooms;
replacement of door and window openings (read the article on choosing interior and entrance doors with good sound insulation);
noise insulation of ventilation.

With partial sound insulation, only the defects are eliminated:

If the installation of entrance doors and window frames was performed poorly, then voids remain through which noise enters the room. They need to be filled with mounting foam or non-hardening sealant. Detailed article on soundproofing doors.
Sockets and distribution boxes are insulated. They cause noise coming from neighbors.
The sewerage system is insulated with foamed polystyrene.

At what stage of repair is sound insulation done?

If you are the happy owner of an apartment in a new building, then after installing the electrical networks and utilities, you can begin to insulate the floor, ceiling and walls. Each element of the apartment has proven sound-absorbing materials (depending on the result you want to achieve) and its own installation techniques. You should also understand that as a result of soundproofing work, the usable area of the room in all planes will decrease. This is your payment for future peace of mind. However, you can choose materials that use minimal space. And they are somewhat more expensive than those used by the masses.

If you have been living in an apartment for a certain number of years, and only now have you realized that many problems can be solved by removing extraneous noise, then you must say that you have difficulties. Insulating walls means that you lay insulation over the existing ones, cover it, and re-decorate the new walls (wallpapering or painting). Insulating the floor using the classical method involves “wet work”, and the existing ceiling will have to be reinstalled along with the lighting. All this work is “dirty”. It is very doubtful that high-quality sound insulation can be done without damaging the current interior, so if you are going to get rid of noise, get rid of outdated repairs at the same time.

Is soundproofing in a monolithic house necessary or not?

In practice, a happy new resident who hastened to make repairs is faced with the fact that his neighbors are aware of the events of his life, and he himself is an involuntary participant in the life of the entire entrance. The fact is that sound insulation standards are not met. Of course, not by all developers. And if we take into account the current trend in the construction of self-finishing houses, when the developer, at best, makes a minimal screed on the floor, then what kind of sound insulation can we talk about? What about open-plan apartments, where everyone is their own boss?

Comfort is disturbed by numerous noises, they are divided into shock and airborne. Is your neighbor's kid in the apartment above you dragging a car across the laminate floor on a string? This is impact noise. It spreads across the floor slab. Is there a musician living in the house somewhere? His rehearsals will delight all residents of the house, since acoustic vibrations (airborne noise) are re-radiated in all directions from the instrument, and cause the monolithic ceiling to vibrate, and then thin partitions made of brick, foam concrete and plasterboard.

What to do? Arrange your apartment at the renovation stage, thinking through the details. Isolating one bedroom won't do anything, so who's going to install a safe door there? Sound insulation in monolithic houses should only be comprehensive, apartment within apartment. This is a costly endeavor, loss of usable space is inevitable, but it’s worth it.

You should be careful about possible mistakes when choosing materials for sound insulation and installing structures. When purchasing, it is necessary to clearly distinguish the purpose of the material. For example, cork flooring. Cork does not have soundproofing properties; it reduces acoustic noise, i.e. the noise created by the residents of a particular apartment where this plug is glued. Sound insulation and sound absorption are not the same thing. Or polystyrene foam and all derivatives of this material. Polystyrene foam is a good thermal insulation material, but it does not increase the level of sound insulation; installing foam plastic behind a plasterboard structure can reduce the sound insulation coefficient due to the acoustic rigidity of this material. Wasted money. It is impossible to solve this issue by attaching only thin and effective soundproofing materials.

The principle of sound insulation in monolithic houses is based on the following scheme: soundproofing material – sound-absorbing material – material that increases the massiveness of the structure (gypsum plasterboard, gypsum board). In this case, a mandatory condition is: good acoustic isolation in the places where the fastenings adjoin the walls, ceiling and floor (gasket). The rigidity of the structure will decrease and sound waves will be dampened. Gaskets should be in all places where different materials come into contact

When choosing a sound-absorbing material, you need to pay attention to its sound insulation index; acoustic engineers are rare these days; you’ll have to figure it out yourself. Installation of suspended ceilings, if intended, is carried out under a structure made of sound-insulating and sound-absorbing materials

A plasterboard structure without soundproofing materials will only increase the impact noise coming from above.

The variety of flooring materials on the market is impressive. To prevent neighbors from below from visiting with endless complaints, laying ceramic tiles or other similar materials on a rigid base is impossible. An additional increase in the height of the screed will steal several centimeters (approximately it should be at least 80 - 90 mm), and is not always the optimal solution. You can use the following option: construction screed - gasket - profile grating - soundproofing material - gasket, the floor itself (plywood, board) and the desired flooring material on top of it.

Club of Defenders of Silence

Ever since I encountered the problem of poor sound insulation in a panel house (137 series), I have become very interested in the topic of audibility in apartment buildings, especially in standard buildings. I was surprised, is this really how all people live, is it really possible that you can hear stomping and voices everywhere? I spent almost a year moving. And for the search, all available information on the Internet was searched, thousands of conflicting reviews about different types of houses were read. You know, it is very difficult to get rid of the illusion that there are “high-quality brick houses with good sound insulation” and there are “terrible panel houses with high audibility.” These cliches were so ingrained in my brain that it seemed to me that if I moved into a brick house on the middle floor, it would be better than the last floor in a panel house. And I admit that if I could quickly sell my old apartment, I would move to a brick house on the middle floor. This was the biggest mistake, because the stomping of neighbors from above does not depend on the type of house, but on the flooring, which neighbors can install in any way (laminate, linoleum), and also in many houses that I looked at in apartments, one of the walls of the rooms was not made of brick, and from double slabs of plaster. But then I had illusions and didn’t know about it, I wanted to leave the panel hell for any house, as long as it wasn’t a panel.

First of all, I want to note that when we talk about soundproofing an apartment, we are not talking about the fact that the apartment can be as quiet as a crypt. In any case, it will be quieter in a private house without neighbors. The apartment will be a compromise in any case. Previously, I read with skepticism recommendations that if you want silence, go to a private house. And when I began to study the soundproofing capabilities of standard building materials, it became clear to me that the apartment would be quiet as long as the neighbors were normal. No house can protect you from violent neighbors. Moreover, violence can manifest itself in many aspects. Neighbors don’t have to be antisocial, drink, rowdy, throw parties, sing karaoke to make life miserable. Some set up almost mini-productions at home for the manufacture of chairs and other nonsense, annoying for years (although these cases are rare). Some neighbors may practically not leave the house (being, for example, a housewife) and run around all evening, driving their heels into the floor like hooves. Nothing illegal, but you won’t be able to live in comfort. The neighbors may have a small dog that will bark all day long, and there will be no way to save it. Or maybe a hyperactive child, always running around and dropping everything. It is impossible to get rid of all noise for adequate money, so any apartment is a big risk. The risk is so great that I personally am even scared of the prospect that in the future I will have to move somewhere again or that the neighbors will change, and I want to light a candle in the local church for the adequacy of my neighbors and my health. But at the same time, I do not agree with the statement that sound insulation depends only on the neighbors, that all apartments are the same, etc. In my old apartment, the neighbors were adequate, but there was no life in it. So how do you find an apartment with good soundproofing? What to look for?

1. The main rule is to choose the correct location of the apartment: Only the top floor. For our forum, the advantages of the last floor are obvious. But if you read the Internet, you can find so many terrible stories about the top floor that it becomes embarrassing: - The elevator will break down, it’s like walking (or the lights will be turned off) - The roof will leak - The sun will heat the apartment like hell, much more than on the middle floor — Elevators and other engineering equipment will interfere with you. — Pigeons, etc.

In my opinion, the following fears can be fully justified: - If there is no technical floor, then there may be pipes on the ceiling in the corridor, which somewhat spoils the aesthetics. But I haven’t seen such a problem in houses with a technical floor. — Elevator noises. This problem is possible, I came across it a couple of times on the Internet, that supposedly the operation of the elevator motor can be heard throughout the apartment. But, in my opinion, this is a big exception to the rule. Most likely, the installation (or location) rules for the motor have been violated. If everything is done correctly, you won't hear the elevator at all. — It’s hotter on the top floor on the sunny side. If there is a technical floor, then of course the roof has no effect and the hot roof is unlikely to heat the apartment on the top floor. Rather, the factor here is that in many apartments on the top floor the sun is not blocked by anything, so it can burn from morning to evening. Not only the residents of the top floor, but also many apartments, even starting from the fifth floor, suffer from such sun. It’s easy to judge this, you can just look at the facade of a house facing West and see how many blinds, reflective films and blackout curtains are located on the balconies and loggias. Most of the heating comes from the sun shining through the window, rather than from heating the walls or ceiling.

You and I, of course, know the main advantage of the last floor: no one stomps on your head. Unfortunately, this does not eliminate the presence of neighbors on the side or below. The stomping of neighbors below or to the side can also be heard, although quieter than above (2-3 times). However, like loud music or TV, they penetrate the walls like a knife. Therefore, it is very important to minimize the number of neighbors; it is better to border on the elevator hall or staircase than on neighbors. It is advisable to look for an apartment with 1 border with neighbors.

2. Type of house. The most common types of houses: - brick - monolithic - frame-monolithic - panel - block.

BRICK HOUSES. This type of house is valued more in terms of sound insulation than other types of houses. It is believed that brick is an ideal sound insulator. When I first started looking for an apartment to move to, I only considered brick houses. The legend of 100% soundproofing of brick houses has lived in us since childhood. If you briefly read the information from the Internet, you can find a hundred articles, identical in content, where they clearly put brick houses in first place, without mentioning any of the nuances that can negatively affect the sound insulation of an apartment in a brick house. Let's try to understand the pitfalls in brick houses. First of all, you need to understand that brick houses are completely DIFFERENT. Let's make a conditional division of houses by year of construction: - Old building before 1917 - Stalinka - Brick Khrushchev - Brick Brezhnev - Brick houses of the 90s-early 00s - Brick houses since 2000.

What is each type of house? — Old foundation before 1917 These houses are the most unpredictable in terms of quality and sound insulation. You need to study the house plan and technical documentation of the house in detail. Many houses have wooden floors (good vertical audibility). Often the walls with neighbors are made of thin partitions (shingles). Therefore, in addition to expensive repairs, you can get excellent audibility. - Stalinists. Many types of Stalin buildings are more expensive than modern economy or comfort class houses. This is due to their advantageous, for the most part, location, high ceilings and prestige. Disadvantages: lack of an elevator, or the presence of one small passenger elevator. Communications may not be designed for the power of modern electrical appliances. The ceilings in many Stalinka buildings are wooden. The variety of layouts has led to the fact that in Stalin buildings there are also many apartments where the wall between the apartments is made of shingles or half a brick, which is why you can hear the neighbors on the side very loudly. — Brick Khrushchev buildings Even in this standard series there are many modifications: for some, all the walls are made of brick, as I had in the 1-528KP series (including the bathroom and interior partitions), and for others, even the wall with the neighbors is made of a double wall made of plaster panels through which everything can be heard. You need to study the apartment plan and tap all the walls to make sure that the walls between neighbors are solid. — Brick Brezhnevka. Initially, the apartment layouts were very monotonous. The apartments were divided into rectangular sections; as a rule, the walls were all thick. But at the same time, the apartments were one-sided, i.e. All the windows in the three-room apartment faced either the courtyard or the street. It wasn't very convenient. And it was decided that all apartments should have at least one window facing the street or avenue, i.e. to the front of the house. As a result, as now, one-room apartments usually have all 2 windows facing the street, two-room apartments and three-room apartments have two-sided apartments (i.e., facing the courtyard and onto the street). Two-room and three-room Brezhnevka apartments are rarely one-sided anymore; apartments with a “open-wing” layout are appearing. The layout is becoming very popular when one of the rooms faces the opposite side of the house. And this room is bordered on both sides by neighbors. A logical solution in terms of sound insulation would have been to make two thick walls on both borders with neighbors, but even then, in order to save money, they began to use double hispolite panels (panel thickness 8 cm + air gap between the panels). The audibility between these panels is very high: I heard the drone of the TV, which is not audible through the 14cm reinforced concrete panel, for hours on sad nights in an old apartment in a panel house, unable to sleep. And then it seemed to me that this was only possible in budget terrible panel houses. But, as it turned out, exactly the same walls were used in brick houses. Saving on bricks led to a practice that survived the Soviet Union and continues to this day in all types of houses, including brick ones. A further desire to save money leads to the fact that many series of houses appear in Moscow, where only the external cladding is made of brick, and both a monolith and reinforced concrete panels were used inside. For example, this is the Vylukha tower and II-29 series. You can easily find many more series using the same technology. This is reminiscent of today's monolithic brick houses: the house looks like brick from the outside, but in terms of internal filling and sound insulation it is similar to panel houses of the same period. — Brick houses from the 90s and early 00s. In fact, these houses are not remarkable for anything special. Very often, the walls between apartments are made almost entirely of brick, as in Brezhnevka buildings. However, very often in open-plan apartments, one of the rooms borders its neighbors through a partition made of lightweight materials, which has low soundproofing properties. This does not depend on the elite quality of the house; even in houses with expensive apartments this can occur. — Brick houses since 2000. In the mid-2000s, energy efficiency standards were adopted that made the construction of brick houses unprofitable. The walls had to be thickened; even the masonry of 2.5 bricks (65 cm) no longer met the standards for thermal insulation. This led to the fact that practically no houses were built purely from brick. Like the “Vylukha towers,” it is very common to see externally brick houses with reinforced concrete slabs or pylons used inside. The problems with sound insulation are the same: the houses are essentially no different from panel houses or brick-monolithic houses and they can only be called brick only conditionally.

Which type of home would I choose based on these characteristics? If I were choosing a 2-3 room apartment in a brick house now in St. Petersburg, then it seems that the following would be completely adequate in terms of sound insulation: 1. Most brick Khrushchev buildings (where the inter-apartment walls are made of brick) 2. Brezhnev brick houses 528KP-40 (Nadezhina point ), 528KP-80, 528KP-81, 528KP-82 (“Icebreaker”) and some modifications (for example, the “Architect” series). 3. Brick houses built from 1991 to 2002 (you need to study the layout of the apartments so that all the walls with neighbors are brick, at least 25 cm thick).

The main problem with brick houses is vertical audibility. First of all, it should be noted that the same floor slabs are used in panel and brick houses: 16cm solid or 22cm hollow-core. Unlike panel houses, even if all the walls in the apartment with neighbors are 1.5-2 bricks thick (38-51cm), then lightweight materials are still used as interior partitions. This can be a thin wall made of brick laid on edge (6.5 cm thick + plaster), it can be a half-brick hollow brick (12 cm thick + plaster), or it can be plaster ringing partitions (exactly the same ones that were used in panel houses of that same period). In modern brick houses there may be partitions made of ringing PGP (8 cm thick), aerated concrete (10 cm). All these partitions perfectly transmit sounds from vertical neighbors: both air and percussion. Acousticists advise soundproofing such walls, or demolishing them and building modern multi-layer walls with sound insulation. Otherwise, impact sounds and airborne sounds from neighbors below will be heard at the level of a frame-monolithic house.

MONOLITHIC HOUSES. Monolithic houses became widespread 20 years ago. If you look at the information superficially, you will immediately find many articles that highly value the sound insulation of monolithic buildings. But in essence, a house made of a pure monolith is not very different from a panel house: the same reinforced concrete walls with a similar density of materials, in most cases the same wall thickness (on the upper walls the standard wall thickness is 16 cm). Theoretically, a cast, single monolithic structure without joints should provide better protection from airborne noise than panel houses. But at the same time, structural sounds (repairs) will spread even further than in a panel house. Complaints that renovations from the 20th floor can also be heard on the first floor, as if renovations are taking place in a neighboring apartment, are common for a monolith. The whole house “enjoys” the renovation. Also, it should be noted that almost no one is building completely monolithic houses now. Ideally, a monolithic house should have completely monolithic facade walls and all inter-apartment walls. But even in this case, the house contains non-load-bearing partitions, which are currently being erected from lightweight, ringing materials such as aerated concrete and PGP. As a result, the problem of re-emission of sounds from neighboring apartments (both percussion and airborne) arises. These partitions need to be soundproofed or demolished.

FRAME-MONOLITHIC HOUSES: The most common type of house in large cities. On the Internet you can find dozens of articles almost identical in content, which claim a lot of advantages of this type of house over panel ones: - more durable (125-150 years versus 100 years for modern panel ones) - better sound insulation - more varied layouts - the possibility of building an underground parking

Currently, in large cities, frame-monolithic houses are built more often than panel houses. The main question is why? Of course, this is done for economic reasons. This is partly due to fashion, since panel houses gained a very bad reputation during the years of budget construction in the Soviet years. For some people, panel houses have automatically become the worst type of housing. Public information often indicates that panel houses are built 2-3 times faster than monolithic ones and cost 20-25% less than monolithic ones. Thanks to seamless technology, the facades of panel houses are sheathed with insulation and covered with plaster. As a result, modern panel houses can be practically indistinguishable from monolithic houses. In my opinion, the only tangible advantage of monolithic houses over panel houses is the possibility of building underground parking. But this does not explain why in remote areas they build budget brick-monolithic houses without underground parking, and sell apartments no higher than those of panel houses. Due to the rise in prices for building materials and the inability to increase prices for apartments, developers must find ways to reduce the cost of monolithic houses to the level of panel houses. Otherwise, it is unclear how the developer will make a profit. History goes in circles, and the desire to save money has been haunting minds since the times of the Soviet Union. First there were Stalin buildings with beautiful facades, then there were Stalin buildings made of cinder blocks, then they began to build Stalin buildings without finishing the facades (under Khrushchev), then they lowered the height of the ceilings and shrunk the layouts and made Khrushchev buildings out of brick. Then they switched to panel houses and made Khrushchev panel buildings. Then, at the end of the 60s, they began to build large-panel houses of the 1-602LG series, the essence of which was that they began to use longer panels. This not only made it possible to make the rooms wider, but also to save on building materials due to fewer load-bearing walls. Sections of load-bearing panels for 2 windows appear, and if in this section there were 2 rooms of different apartments, then they were divided by a light partition of 2 sheets of plaster. And it was profitable, so the 137 series, considered almost the best panel houses in the Soviet Union, were built according to this principle until the 90s. In the case of monolithic frame houses, the possibility of saving has reached its apotheosis: now there is no need for load-bearing walls at all, you can get by with load-bearing columns (pylons). The monolithic frame resembles a cage (reducing the mass of the structure saves on the foundation and building materials for the construction of walls). And here there is complete freedom of “creativity” to save money: you can make inter-apartment walls from a monolith or solid brick. But in reality, inter-apartment walls are starting to be made of aerated concrete and PGP partitions that do not meet sound insulation. And it is not surprising, understanding all of the above, to read thousands of complaints about audibility in modern brick-monolithic houses worse than in 50-year-old Khrushchev-era panel buildings.

Sound insulation, on the one hand, is a very complex science that needs to be studied for a long time in order to understand the principles of sound propagation. But sound insulation has simple laws, the principle of which is easy to explain. The main rule for good soundproofing of a room is the law of mass. The heavier the material from which the walls and ceilings are made, the better it insulates from extraneous noise. The use of lightweight partitions in monolithic frame houses cannot provide sound insulation even at the level of panel Khrushchev buildings (12 cm reinforced concrete walls of a Khrushchev building have higher sound insulation than a 20 cm aerated concrete wall of a monolith). I'm not saying that all frame-monolithic houses are built according to this principle. Nothing except the thirst for savings prevents the developer from building all the inter-apartment walls from a monolith, but a lot of budget houses are just like that.

PANEL HOUSES Back in Soviet times, panel houses earned a truly terrifying reputation as the most budget-friendly housing with a complete lack of sound insulation. It will probably take a long time before people will be able to talk about panel houses without negativity (if such a time comes). But contrary to general opinion, I believe that modern panel houses can actually be very good in terms of sound insulation, and now I will explain why. Can you find an apartment in a monolithic building in which all the walls with neighbors and all internal partitions in the apartment, except for the bathroom and ventilation duct, will be load-bearing reinforced concrete slabs 16 cm thick? I'm sure not. This is hardly an option, if only because the opportunity to remodel an apartment to your liking is very much appreciated. As a result, the minimum number of load-bearing walls is considered a big plus. But in terms of sound insulation, the load-bearing ones are 16cm. reinforced concrete walls have a gigantic mass (384 kg per 1 m2), a mass 4 times higher than that of aerated concrete, which is often used for interior partitions. Therefore, such load-bearing walls do not transmit ordinary household noise from neighbors above or below, as light partitions do.

But why are panel houses considered the worst in terms of sound insulation? In my opinion, this opinion was formed from several factors: 1. In Soviet times, panel houses were invented based on maximum savings and for quick construction. We saved money on literally everything. The first panel houses had thin walls 10-12cm thick. It was in panel houses that they began to experimentally make thin hipped ceilings (where the thickness of the floor slab was 6 cm), for example, in the series 606 and 507 panel houses in St. Petersburg. It was in panel houses that they began to lay linoleum on joists instead of floors, which is why vertical audibility became high. It was in panel houses that they used through sockets on the inter-apartment walls, through which, of course, neighbors could be heard. And imagine people who lived in brick houses (the same Khrushchev buildings), and then find themselves in a house where there is such audibility (lateral due to through sockets, vertical due to thin ceilings, and in later houses with linoleum instead of parquet with covered with sand). But if we remove these 2 negative factors: thin walls with through sockets and thin ceilings, let's try to objectively evaluate the sound insulation of a modern panel house. Horizontal audibility: a standard inter-apartment reinforced concrete wall 16cm thick has a sound insulation index of 52dB. For comparison, a brick wall made of solid brick with plaster on both sides has a sound insulation index of 53 dB. A difference of 1 dB can be estimated as follows: sounds through a brick wall will be 5% quieter. Those. the difference is practically unnoticeable. Vertical audibility: both panel and brick houses use the same floor panels: 16cm solid or 22cm hollow-core. Both floor slabs have a sound insulation index of approximately 52 dB. The only thing that makes sense is to have a good floating screed (or other type of sound insulation). Therefore, if in a panel house you can hear the neighbors from below (for example, how loud they are talking, or how the TV is grumbling), then first of all you need to check the heating radiators and the pipe connection sleeve. If the sound is not coming from there, then you need to make a floating screed and no longer hear such noise from below (a floating screed has a sound insulation index of 10 dB, which is higher than a Soviet floor on joists filled with sand). If you can hear your neighbors to the side, then you need to worry about moving the socket (you can do it in another place, you can make an external socket).

Compared to all-brick houses, panel houses have the following disadvantages: 1. The impact sounds of repairs travel further. Repairs can be heard 3-4 floors away from the sound source. In a brick building, sounds do not spread as much and will be heard on 2 floors. 2. In brick houses, some inter-apartment walls may be thicker than 1 brick. For example, 1.5-2 bricks. In this case, the sound insulation index of such walls is 56-59 dB (which is already 20-35% quieter than that of a reinforced concrete wall 16 cm thick).

Compared to monolithic houses, panel houses are in no way inferior. The only downside is the formation of cracks through which sounds can penetrate. But there may also be cracks in the monolith. This can be corrected if it occurs. On the other hand, in a panel, sounds travel over shorter distances (of the same repair), and there are more heavy load-bearing walls. However, when buying an apartment in a panel house, you also need to check all inter-apartment walls, as well as partitions. They can also be made of PGP or aerated concrete and re-emit sounds. In old Soviet large-panel houses in swing-open apartments, one of the rooms also has a light partition with neighbors in the form of a double plaster wall, which has very low sound insulation.

BLOCK HOUSES There is also a BLOCK TYPE of houses. But due to the low amount of information on these types of houses, it is very difficult to judge how good the sound insulation is there. In the first versions of cinder blocks, part of the inter-apartment load-bearing walls is made of blocks 40 cm thick (if we take into account the density of cinder blocks at 1600 kg/m3), we can say that in such houses the sound insulation should be high (at a level of 56 dB, as in a wall of 1.5 bricks). But for more modern series of block houses, the thickness and materials of the walls may be completely different. Reviews are also very contradictory. It is not entirely clear whether block houses are being built at all now. We are looking for monolithic frame houses with infill blocks. Most likely, block houses are practically no longer built.

Summing up the types of houses, I would like to highlight the main points: 1. Sound insulation does not depend entirely on the type of house. This is not to say that all brick houses will necessarily have better sound insulation than other types of houses. — First of all, this is due to the fact that in brick houses, not all inter-apartment walls may be made of brick (or there may be an inter-apartment partition half a brick thin), which is why you will hear your neighbors to the side. — Also, in brick houses the same floor slabs are used as in other types of houses. Therefore, if the neighbors do not have parquet on the floor, but there is linoleum on a thin screed or laminate with a thin backing, then the stomping will be heard as loudly as in a panel or monolithic house. — Many externally brick houses have a filling similar to that of panel or frame-monolithic houses. Moreover, such houses have been built since the 60s in Moscow. The vast majority of houses since 2003 are also only externally made of brick, and inside they use the same monolithic or panel structures for inter-apartment walls. 2. When choosing an apartment, you need to take into account that ALL INTERNATIONAL WALLS are made of one of the following materials: - solid brick with a thickness of at least 25 cm (thickness is 1 brick). — reinforced concrete walls with a thickness of at least 16 cm. - heavy concrete or slag concrete with a thickness of at least 25 cm (in block houses). — reinforced concrete floors no thinner than 16cm solid or 22cm hollow. — interior partitions should not produce a ringing sound when tapped. If the sound is loud, then such walls will most likely have to be soundproofed or replaced with others so as not to hear the neighbors below. — in modern houses, additional noise insulation of apartments from loud sound sources is often used. For example, an elevator hall is soundproofed on the elevator side, covering the soundproofing with plasterboard on top, and the slab separating the hall and the apartment can be thicker (20cm versus 16cm for other walls). This will prevent you from hearing the elevator. If neighbors have a kitchen and a living room adjacent, then the wall is additionally soundproofed (for example, a second wall with a sound layer is made next to a load-bearing reinforced concrete wall). The toilet side is also soundproofed. As a result, the sounds of water, toilet, and elevator are not heard. Therefore, modern homes may soundproof better in some aspects. But you also need to check the documentation, because not all developers do this.

Ideal apartment in terms of soundproofing? For me, in the current realities, an ideal apartment would be: 1. Top floor. 2. Border with only 1 neighbors (along the corridor and one wall of the room or kitchen). 3. Walls 2 bricks thick (solid). 4. All interior partitions are 1 solid brick or 16 cm thick reinforced concrete panel. 5. Floating screed 8cm thick.

I would also like to note that, according to acousticians, comfortable sound insulation of a living space should be about 60-62 dB. Even walls of 2 bricks (51 cm), which have a sound insulation of 59 dB, cannot provide such sound insulation. Therefore, comfort will still largely depend on the neighbors. Even additional “room within a room” soundproofing in such an apartment will still not protect against barking dogs (either from below, at least from the side, even diagonally), screams from neighbors, loud music, etc. Not to mention the fact that the closest apartment with such thick brick walls can most likely only be in Stalin buildings, and even then only a few will have such thick walls of 2 bricks (nomenklatura Stalin buildings). And you will have to do the screed on the joists yourself. Partitions made of shingles, which were used in Stalin buildings, are also unlikely to please in terms of repairs, when the plaster on them will not stick and it will be difficult to pierce something (although they are good in terms of sound insulation, they do not re-emit noise).

And it is very important to remember the location of the apartment. It's very easy to try your luck by buying a mid-floor apartment and then suffer the stomping ground. This even applies to luxury houses costing 40 million on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg (my realtor told me that the muffled stomp can still be heard, which is why the client, who heard the stomp while viewing, abandoned the idea of buying an apartment). I think this is the main reason that in the same house some people are quiet, while others have a lot of complaints about all the neighbors around. One stomp is enough to cancel out all the sound insulation of even the quietest Stalin building with thick walls.

I wish everyone a successful apartment search. I really hope that this article will be useful to someone. Thanks to everyone who made it to the end.

Step-by-step insulation of an apartment

Depending on the need, the new building uses full or partial sound insulation. In this case, thin but dense insulators, sandwich panels, polystyrene or mineral wool boards can be used.

Soundproofing the floor

The optimal option for sound insulation is the formation of a floating floor. The procedure for making it is as follows:

Mineral wool is laid on the prepared base.
The top is covered with film.
A solution consisting of cement, sand and water is mixed. The concrete screed is prepared and poured.
The finishing coating is laid on top.

As a simplified option, soundproofing material is laid between the floor joists. From above it is covered with boards and a finishing coating.

Work on soundproofing walls

If the area of the room is small, then thin materials are used. These include:

Cork covering;
soundproofing wallpaper;
plaster;
foamed polyethylene.

If the area of the apartment allows, you can use less expensive material. This includes mineral wool, fiberglass or foam boards.

The operating procedure is as follows:

After cleaning work, the surface is treated with waterproofing material. This is a special liquid, after drying it forms a film. It prevents moisture from penetrating.
Stuffing the profile.
A layer of vapor barrier film is laid.
A layer of mineral wool is laid between the profiles.
The top is covered with sheets of plasterboard.

Ceiling insulation

This work can be carried out in 2 ways:

Carrying out soundproofing work on your own ceiling;
creating an insulating floor on top of the neighbors.

The procedure with the ceiling is not much different from working with the walls. The profiles are filled and sheets of mineral wool are laid between them. Drywall sheets are placed on top.

Soundproofing of doors and windows

After installing doors in a new building, you need to eliminate all gaps between the jamb, wall and door. This is achieved in 3 ways:

Leatherette is stuffed onto the outer surface of the door with an overlap. As a result, it covers all the cracks.
Sealing rubber bands are glued to the jamb, and the inside of the door is filled with sound insulation.
The second door is being installed. The resulting layer is a good insulator.

Window glass does not allow sound to pass through. All that remains is to fill the gaps between the bag and the window opening with putty and adjust the sashes. To check: when they are closed, the sheet of paper should not be pulled out.

Soundproofing work in the bathroom

For this purpose, the following materials are used in the bathroom:

Membranes 4 mm thick are glued to the surface of the walls. They are made of polymer.
Soundproofing panels are glued.
Plaster is used, which contains a porous filler. The maximum layer is 25 mm.
All sewer pipes are wrapped with foamed polyethylene.
Slabs made of basalt fiber are laid on the floor and ceiling.

An apartment in a new building always needs soundproofing. This is due to the fact that this type of construction is carried out in an economical mode. It is better to immediately completely soundproof the room and cover the reinforced concrete walls with mineral wool. Do the same procedure with the ceiling, and fill all remaining voids in the doorway and windows with filler.

What noises disturb our lives?

Man is a creature who likes to systematize everything and put it on shelves. It is not surprising that people also classified and divided the noises that we hear in the apartment into groups. Depending on which group the noise belongs to, a method for eliminating it is selected.

A group of airborne noises are the same ones that, like the Chinese virus, spread through the air. By the way, they say that noise pollution is no less harmful to health than outbreaks of exotic diseases. This group includes laughter, loud sounds, screams, music, and the hum of electrical appliances. These sounds penetrate from their sources through any cracks, cracks and holes, even the most insignificant ones. We may not see them, but they are most often present in the ceiling, at the junctions of walls and floors.

Group of vibration noises. These are the same unforgettable sensations that arise when neighbors are renovating, for example. Although they can be broadcast from a music box with a subwoofer, arise from the heavy gait of the neighbor upstairs in his favorite steel slippers, and be a consequence of the migration of furniture across the floor.

Insulating materials can also be divided into noise-absorbing and noise-canceling. The latter will keep the details of your personal life secret from your neighbors. Absorbers will carefully protect your peace of mind from external sound influences.

Sound insulation standards in panel houses

In Russia, noise insulation standards are strictly regulated and enshrined in the code of rules for noise protection SP 51.13330.2011. The standards concern airborne and impact noise levels:

airborne noise (voices, music, etc.) - sound insulation at 50 dB;
impact noise (repair work, moving furniture) - the permissible sound pressure level is 60 dB.

According to building codes, the optimal thickness of a reinforced concrete floor is considered to be 160 mm. For inter-apartment partitions, 100-150 mm is sufficient. But practice shows that a comfortable stay in an apartment in terms of noise level will be possible with a partition thickness of more than 200 mm.

How to reduce noise from a window in an apartment from the road

02/20/2021 Soundproofing the apartment from construction noise. Prichalny passage.
8 Construction of a new house under the windows at night deprived the owner of the apartment on the 9th floor of sleep. at home Prichalny Prospect, no. 8. We solved this problem in a week. 02/20/2021 Solution to the problem of sound insulation of windows in the KROST “Novaya Zvezda” complex: Aluminum windows from the facade profile did not provide the necessary sound insulation in the bedroom from the noise of cars at night, the solution to the problem was a second thread of glazing.

02/20/2021 Noise insulation of aluminum windows in the Symbol residential complex Solution to the problem of traffic noise from the Third Ring of aluminum windows in the Symbol residential complex

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It is not always possible to reduce road noise in an apartment, which comes mainly from the window, and to a lesser extent through the facade wall, by replacing windows with those advertised by many.

In most cases, managers of window companies offer windows with double-glazed windows made of three four-millimeter glasses, and if the customer asks for windows with good sound insulation, then they offer to replace the external glass 4mm with 6mm or inexpensive construction triplex 4.4.1. In words they promise to achieve sound insulation of 40 dBA, but in fact the installations fall far short of the promised sound insulation of the windows.

A typical example of the wrong choice of solution for soundproofing a bedroom from road noise in Vidnoye on Leninsky Komsomol Avenue. Having bought an apartment in a panel building on the 11th floor with a close location to the main street, the owner of the apartment decided to replace the previously installed Rehau Bliz PVC windows with a 32mm double-glazed unit (4-10-4-10-4), with the widely advertised Kalev Design Plus plastic windows with a three-chamber 58mm double glazing (6-8-6-14-4-16-4) and did not get the desired silence from the window in the bedroom. While the noise outside the window was 65-67 dBA, in the bedroom by the window it was 31-32 dBA. It seems that this is not a significant excess, but given the small room and the location of the bed close to the window, even the slight constant hum of the road passing through the double-glazed windows made it difficult to sleep. We installed a second strand of aluminum profile glazing filled with triplex 4.4.1, cutting off part of the plasterboard slope and filling the voids underneath with Soudal Flexifoam acoustic foam. The problem of soundproofing the bedroom from road noise was solved, but the same effect could have been achieved with the old Rehau windows without replacing them. And by installing an additional window.

Another recent example of installing a second strand of glazing in Moscow, st. Begovaya 7.

During the construction of the third ring under the city program for protection from traffic noise, in this house, the windows were replaced free of charge with PVC windows made from Danish A-class profile “Plastmo” with filling 3.3.1-8-4-10-4 with simple ventilation valves with conventional installation, installing a PVC window sill on top of an old stone one and finishing the slopes with plasterboard and PVC clapboard.

The customer of our services for installing a second line of glazing in her apartment replaced such a window with Kaleva Design Plus with a 58mm three-chamber double-glazed window (6-8-6-14-4-16-4) and did not feel any difference in noise reduction compared to the old 15-year-old free “Luzhkovsky” windows. Having studied the information on how best to reduce noise from a window in an apartment from the road, she contacted our company with a request to install three windows in her daughter’s apartment as a second circuit, in the same house, without touching the old plastic windows.

The apartment was equipped with 2 free Plastmo windows with 3.3.1-8-4-10-4 filling and one previously installed in the kitchen with 4-10-4-10-4 glass. For the sake of experiment, we measured the reduction of traffic noise with these windows.

When the traffic noise outside the window was 76-77 dBA and 81-83 dBS, the noise with a closed window with a 4-10-4-10-4 double-glazed window in the room was 43-44 dBA and 66 dBS, and at a window with a 3.3.1 double-glazed window -8-4-10-4 noise in the room 45 dBA, and 56 dBS. Moreover, a difference of 10 dB in low-frequency noise felt like it created a twofold difference in noise. When ordering the second thread, the customer even thought about replacing this old window in the kitchen with a new one, but since this is a kitchen, she agreed with our arguments that replacement was not necessary.

As the second glazing thread, we used PVC windows “VEKA Softline” with filling 6.6.2 (0.76 Akustik)-24-6, installed at a distance of 15 cm from the existing ones. Minimum gaps for foaming, filling voids under the sandwich of inter-frame slopes with basalt “Acoustic Butts” cotton wool and “Soudal FlexiFoam” foam, solved the problem of the constant monotonous hum of cars passing through double-glazed windows. Moreover, both with an external window with filling 4-10-4-10-4 and 3.3.1-8-4-10-4 it was equally quiet.

When deciding how to reduce noise passing through windows in an apartment away from the road, look at the information on sound insulation of various types of double-glazed windows on the window page with increased sound insulation.

Soundproofing pipes in an apartment

As you know, sewer and water pipes make a lot of noise. Using polyethylene foam, you can wrap up noise sources and make your apartment more comfortable and quiet.

Pipe insulation methods

There are also special casings that can be placed on top to insulate pipes. Such boxes are made of polyurethane foam and provide high performance. The only thing that is not particularly attractive is the cost of the product.

And you can read about the intricacies of soundproofing pipes in THIS ARTICLE

Soundproofing the ceiling in an apartment

Soundproofing of ceilings is carried out in the same form as walls. If the apartment is undergoing major renovations, then everything can be done quickly and efficiently. If there is a renovation and you just need to do soundproofing, then it’s easier to negotiate with your upstairs neighbors and install a floating floor in their apartment at your expense.

More details about ceiling soundproofing HERE

A popular method of sound insulation is mineral wool slabs.

Today, mineral slabs are quite popular due to their characteristics and relatively low cost. If we consider this material as sound insulation, then for installation you will need a frame and sheets for sewing up the surface. The procedure is not complicated, but it requires a lot of time and effort to achieve the expected result.

Other ways to insulate the ceiling from extraneous noise

In addition to the main types of insulation, additional options can be used. One of the most suitable is the use of a stretch fabric ceiling. Such canvases have sound-absorbing properties, which in turn are ideal for working in an apartment.

How to check sound insulation

To understand how protected your home is from external sounds, look at the exterior walls. If it is a multilayer structure made of monolithic reinforced concrete, expanded clay concrete stone, insulation, covered with plaster, then there is nothing to worry about, especially if the apartment has high-quality double-glazed windows with sealing of installation seams, Skladnev explained.

But there is a significant nuance. “If the building has sealed windows that insulate noise well, you need to worry about ventilation. If the room does not have a separate supply and exhaust system, noise-proof ventilation valves must be present in the windows or on the facade wall. Otherwise, the windows are closed, there is no noise, but there is nothing to breathe. We opened the door for ventilation - and all the noise from the street ended up in the room, regardless of the multi-chamber double-glazed windows and triple sealing system,” Boganik noted.

Soundproofing of air ducts

The air duct can also produce excess noise, and the problem can be eliminated by covering the pipe body with soundproofing material. By wrapping all sides and gluing the material tightly, you can be sure of the quality of the work done.

@Panel'nii dom

You can create ideal conditions in your apartment if you use comprehensive sound insulation. Every element of the apartment needs processing and preparation. Only quality work will ensure complete comfort and coziness in the house.

Read more about soundproofing a hood in a kitchen or production area in this article.

Sound insulation of PGP partitions

How to soundproof a laminate floor?

What to do if there is good audibility in the apartment?

If you clearly hear extraneous sounds in your apartment, then the problem of good audibility has not escaped you. This, by the way, is one of the most common unpleasant moments that many residents of modern new buildings face.

The good news is that in most cases this problem is solvable, but in order to eliminate it, you need to find out the reasons for its occurrence, because they can be different. You always want to do this as quickly as possible, because all of us, residents of noisy cities, strive for acoustic comfort.

Even on a subconscious level, a home in which you do not hear extraneous sounds is perceived as safer and more comfortable. And vice versa, persistent associations with cheap apartments are the screams of residents, the slamming of doors at the entrance and the sound of water in the neighbors’ bathrooms.

Modern lifestyle increases the desire to retire, away from noise, and at the same time aggravates all the sounds around. Judge for yourself, our apartments used to be filled with things: there were closets along the walls, all the shelves were lined with sound-absorbing books from the extensive home libraries, rugs lay on the floor, and carpets hung on the walls. All this somehow absorbed the sounds rushing from all sides and made our life quieter.

Today we strive for minimalism, getting rid of unnecessary things and dust collectors, laying laminate flooring directly on top of the screed without an acoustic layer and having no carpets on it - not fashionable! Popular stretch ceilings generally act as a speaker and only increase audibility even more. Therefore, it is necessary to think about reliable protection from external noise at the repair stage.

First, let's look at what types of noise exist:

1. Airborne noise is the type of noise that travels through the air, such as a creaking bed, the neighbor's TV, barking dogs, or screaming children.

Such noise can be eliminated by properly installed sound-absorbing and sound-insulating structures

2. Impact noise - occurs when the structure of the room receives a blow and the resulting vibrations are transmitted to the walls or ceilings. This could be hitting the wall or drilling with a hammer drill.

3. Structural noise - occurs when vibrations are transmitted by pipes or ventilation shafts.

There is practically nothing that can be done about impact and structural noise. No matter what you do to eliminate them, you will still hear them. But you can reduce the audibility of sounds from your apartment to your neighbors.

Which houses have better audibility?

The more massive and stable the building, the better the protection against impact noise. This is why audibility in a brick house is worse than, for example, in a panel house. In general, almost all modern houses that are built using new technologies that ensure affordability for the buyer and high speed of construction require additional sound insulation.

Although, of course, there are nuances and differences. For example, in monolithic frame houses with monolithic support columns and partitions made of cellular concrete, as a rule, sound insulation is acceptable. But in monolithic economy-class houses, where the internal partitions are also monolithic, there is only one protection against impact noise: call the local police officer to those who make noise after hours.

In any case, measures to soundproof the apartment are necessary. They must be comprehensive, taking into account “weak” areas.

What places in the apartment have the most sound transmission?

1. First of all, these are interfloor ceilings.

New buildings especially suffer from this. Sometimes interfloor sound insulation in Soviet-built buildings with hipped ceilings is much better than in new panel buildings and modern budget monoliths. The thing is that between the reinforced concrete slab and the parquet in such houses they made a subfloor from logs and boards and sprinkled them with sand and construction waste. In budget new buildings, they often forget to soundproof the floor with modern materials.

What can you do if the interfloor ceilings in your house are a weak point? Well, first of all, it would be better for all residents to observe the basic rules of silence. Do not make noise outside of school hours, do not walk in heels and do not play football at home; you can lay a carpet on the floor.

2. The audibility in the apartment will decrease if, during the next renovation, the neighbors take measures for additional sound insulation.

If you are primarily interested in silence, you can even pay them for the materials. By the way, if you soundproof the floor in your apartment, your life will also become much more comfortable. The echo and hum from the steps of your family members will not be heard throughout the apartment.

You can also try to soundproof the ceiling in your apartment. True, this will eat up 5-7 cm of space and does not guarantee a complete solution to the problem, but some of the noise will go away, yes.

3. Apartment partitions can also create sound problems. If you hear the neighbor's TV and even quiet voices, then check the partitions.

The first thing you should pay attention to is the through holes of electrical outlets for hidden wiring. Sockets can be moved and holes can be plastered.

It happens that the problem lies in the partition itself, which has increased sound permeability. In this case, additional frame or frameless sound insulation will be necessary in two layers - sound-absorbing (mineral wool) and sound-insulating (weighted plasterboard or acoustic panels).

Sound insulation in one layer will not help you much.

4. Pay special attention to water supply and sewerage risers.

It is through them that impact and structural noise is transmitted.

If the noise of water in the drain pipes bothers you, try changing the horizontal wiring and piping of plumbing fixtures to silent ones and install vibration-damping fasteners with rubber gaskets on the risers.

5. If a problem arose with a noisy PVC riser, then you will have to negotiate with the neighbors about its replacement, because this is the common property of all residents.

A plasterboard box with a layer of mineral wool sound absorber on the inside is also an excellent tool for solving this kind of sound problems. True, in this case it is necessary to leave access to plumbers to repair it if necessary. Take care to install special hatches.

6. If you are bothered by loud slamming of doors or noise from the elevator, you can contact the management company, which is obliged to take a number of measures to eliminate these problems.

Thus, vestibule doors must be equipped not with springs, but with closers.

Elevator shafts and rooms with transformers or pumps must be soundproofed primarily from the inside. Demand that the management company take appropriate measures. Soundproofing your apartment from the inside will only eat up square measures, and will be of little use.

Pay special attention to soundproofing in the apartment if you live on the first floor next to the elevator. In this case, it is better to install a double door, and strengthen the thin wall separating the apartment from the landing with two-layer frame sound insulation.

In any case, you need to select soundproofing materials for an apartment separately for each specific case, depending on the source of the problem and the design limitations of the soundproofing structures.

7. If the main source of noise is voices from the street, then it makes sense to increase the chamber size of the glass unit, use glass of increased thickness or windows with improved acoustic properties.

However, keep in mind that this soundproofing only works when the windows are closed. If you want to get both fresh air and silence at the same time, install a built-in supply valve plus two glazing lines with an increased air gap.

8. If your peace is disturbed by noisy neighbors, then during the daytime, within acceptable limits, they have the right to do this.

But if a noisy party continues at night, call the local police officer and write a complaint. Especially if you have already warned your neighbors more than once that you will do this.

If the noise that bothers you is not talking or shouting, but man-made structural noise that exceeds permissible levels - for example, a loud air conditioner, washing machine or other noisy equipment - call representatives of Rospotrebnadzor with certified instruments for measuring noise levels and draw up a report. But before you take the matter to court, try to come to an agreement with your noisy neighbors.

By the way, keep in mind that the level of permissible noise in residential premises is regulated by Appendix No. 3 to SanPiN 2.1.2.2645–10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for living conditions in residential buildings and premises.” So, for example, the permissible level from 7 to 23 o'clock is 40 dB, from 23 to 7 o'clock - 30 dB (35 dB is a muffled conversation, almost a whisper). And also Federal Law-52 “On the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population,” which states that residential premises in terms of noise levels must comply with the mentioned sanitary standards.

In some regions, on the basis of these two documents, authorities establish their local silence laws, violators of which face fines. Find out what laws apply in your area.

And lastly, before striving for absolute silence in your home, think about whether you will be comfortable in such an acoustic vacuum?

After all, sometimes, you see, it’s nice to hear the sounds of the winter wind, emphasizing the comfort and warmth of your home, and the sounds of summer rain drops sometimes create a special, unique atmosphere that would be difficult to recreate in complete silence.

Soundproofing doors

Doors to an apartment, like any other part of the structure, are capable of transmitting sounds. To solve this problem, you can change the door leaf and seal all existing holes in the wall. It is important to remember that doors with glass elements do not retain sound well, so it is better to use homogeneous panels.

Door soundproofing options

Soundproofing doors can be done in several ways. The most common way is to tape around the entire perimeter of the door frame. A universal threshold can also be installed as an option. And, of course, it is possible to fill the canvas structure with soundproofing material.

Soundproofing walls in an apartment

The primary method of preparation is to identify cracks and cracks in the wall surface. If there are defects, they need to be covered with putty. It is worth understanding that even through a small crack, sound and noise can enter your apartment.

The optimal solution for walls is the use of plasterboard structures in which soundproofing boards or rolled sheets are installed. A layer of waterproofing film is installed on top of the sound insulation. This insulation option is suitable for large apartments, since as a result of the manufacture of the profile structure, some space is removed.

If the apartment is small, then it is better to use frameless installation technology and less thick slabs as an option. Thanks to this method of sound insulation, you can not only create optimal conditions, but also save the available space.

Preparing the walls

Before starting work, you need to carefully check the wall surface for cracks and crevices. If they are present, they should be covered with putty or soundproofing sealant.

After carrying out such activities, clean the surface from dust and debris, and then coat it with a layer of primer. Priming walls is one of the important procedures, since the coating composition has components that protect the surface from the formation of mold and mildew. The completely dried surface is completely ready for further sound insulation.

What should be the soundproofing layer?

If the level of noise protection is insufficient, it can be increased by installing one or more additional layers. They can be made from brick, but it will not create complete protection. The most effective is an integrated approach to solving the problem. To do this you need to additionally do the following:

It should be taken into account that the design of entrance doors or double-glazed windows plays a significant role in noise absorption. If they do not have sufficient protection, then sounds will easily penetrate into the apartment. Sound absorption work also includes improving the protective properties of the floor and ceiling.

It is not necessary to completely soundproof the apartment. Sometimes it is enough to limit the spread of sound only in a certain part of the apartment. This will be useful, for example, if music rehearsals are often held in one of the rooms.

In some cases, it is necessary to identify the most vulnerable areas and carry out the necessary work on them. For example, it may be enough to change the front door or better insulate the windows. Noise from neighbors may come through outlets or distribution boxes. In this case, it is worth improving their sound insulation. In some cases, noise travels through pipes. In this situation, it is enough to cover them with a layer of expanded polystyrene foam.

The procedure for soundproofing apartment walls made of different materials

The technology for installing thin materials is quite simple and does not require special skills; it’s a different matter when it comes to thick sound insulation, and this issue should be dealt with in more detail.

Before you begin, you need to silence all the holes for sockets and switches with mineral wool. It is recommended to use gypsum as a putty composition, as it dries quickly. After the sockets, the same must be done with the communication pipes.

When the preparation is done, you can install the frame. In the vertical direction, profiles are installed at a distance of 60 cm from each other. It is important to maintain this distance, since it is comparable to the dimensions of the insulating boards. To fix the frame to the wall, it is important to use a vibration pad to prevent vibration noise from penetrating into the room.

Soundproofing boards are installed into the resulting frame, and they must fit tightly without leaving voids or gaps. The seams between the plates must be sewn with special tape, which will prevent sound penetration. Next, waterproofing is installed using a construction stapler.

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The canvas is spread over the entire area and fixed. The last stage of installation is installing plasterboard sheets. Depending on the room, the type of sheets may be different. When the sheets are installed, you can proceed to finishing the walls.

Decorative panels

If sound insulation is carried out using panels, then finishing is not required, but it is important to carry out all work carefully and cleanly. The most effective sound insulation is the one that combines several types of materials. The cost of such sound insulation will be rather large, but the result will be noticeable. Using the correct installation of modern soundproofing materials guarantees coziness and comfort in the house.

About how to create a Beautiful interior using decorative panels in this Article

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Gluing roll sound insulation to the wall

The technology for installing roll insulation is similar to that used for slabs. For gluing without lathing, a layer of glue is applied to the wall and additionally secured with dowels using fungi. In terms of time, this method is more profitable, since even a beginner can do everything quickly and efficiently.

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Have you had nervous breakdowns, insomnia, constant anxiety? Will you be able to fall asleep today or not?

– I grew up in a country house and had difficulty getting used to the city anthill after entering a university in Minsk. The first noise - the neighbors on the block in the student dormitory liked to have a party until late at night, but a couple of calls from the duty team more or less calmed them down. Surprisingly, in general, MSLU students normally observed the silence regime, and I felt the most brutality with my neighbors already in the apartment building.

After university, I lived for 15 years in rented apartments in the Zavodskoy district of Minsk. These were all panels with very poor sound insulation. The most common feeling is that you are sitting in a cell in the center of a human settlement and hear other people’s lives from everywhere.

At some point, I realized that I focus my attention very much on some of the everyday sounds, when I can be distracted and generally live with them. But, apparently, this is influenced by the structure of the nervous system, the sensitivity of hearing - plus I grew up in the silence of my home. Therefore, many sounds such as knocking, moving furniture and stomping were annoying at first. Then I muted this particular irritation. But something else remained - swearing, someone else's cacophonous sex, crying. That is, in essence, other people's emotions that are introduced into your life.

We had a neighbor who brought a guy over and he played the guitar through the wall. Then sex. Then she sobbed loudly for half the night, banging her head against the wall a couple of times. And the sound insulation was such that we heard, excuse me, every fart and snoring. They knocked on the wall - to no avail. We tried to talk, called the apartment - to no avail, it never opened.

In the same house, on the third floor, there lived a man who would turn on music at night, put something from a chanson like Mikhail Krug on repeat, and leave. The songs roared throughout the whole house - we couldn’t sleep on the eighth floor. The most amazing thing is that out of the whole house we were the only ones who called the police. But no one answered the door in the apartment, and the police shrugged their shoulders and left. My husband had to open the electrical panel and turn off the lights in this apartment. The most disgusting thing is a complete feeling of powerlessness. The police didn't care. Solve the problem yourself.

I bought earplugs - professional 3M ones helped. I began to fall asleep better with them. Ideally, you need to move - but they still know what hemorrhoids in Minsk are like to change one rented apartment to another. And so as not to get into trouble again.

Thank God, I moved to a country house that my husband and I spent six years building. As soon as it became possible to spend the night in it - on the floor on a mattress, without even wallpaper on the walls - we began to go there on weekends from Friday to Sunday, just to sleep.

I’ll speak for myself: a person who is sensitive to the sounds of someone else’s life may have a nervous breakdown, insomnia, constant anxiety - will you be able to fall asleep today or not?

And the saddest thing in this situation is that in Belarus there are still no sensible standards for soundproofing apartments. And also there is no law that would define exactly how and who to deal with silence breakers.

Providing sound insulation in a monolithic house

,block house audibility

Types of sound insulation

Floor insulation

Options for getting rid of noise in the apartment

Materials used

Polyurethane foam

Cork slabs

Mineral wool

Expanded polystyrene

Insulating an apartment step by step instructions

Wall insulation

Soundproofing in a monolithic house. Who did it and how, tell me

How to reduce audibility without major financial investments

Soundproofing in an apartment with terrible audibility

What is the audibility in the monolith?

What does an ideal partition consist of?

Myths about soundproofing

Monolithic house pros and cons

Advantages of a monolithic house

Cons of a monolithic house

Other interesting questions and answers

You can hear your neighbors upstairs. How to reduce audibility?

How can you reduce or completely remove the audibility of a trumpet?

What can loneliness and staying at home lead to?

How to choose a soundproofed apartment

Tips for choosing an apartment

Which house is better, monolith or panel?

How to soundproof an outlet from neighbors - 3 effective ways

Causes

Soundproofing methods

With socket transfer

No transfer

Price

In which houses can you hear your neighbors the least?

Dependence of sound insulation on types of houses

How to ensure sound insulation in a brick house

How to improve sound insulation

Types of sound insulation

At what stage of repair is sound insulation done?

Is soundproofing in a monolithic house necessary or not?

Club of Defenders of Silence

Step-by-step insulation of an apartment

Soundproofing the floor

Work on soundproofing walls

Ceiling insulation

Soundproofing of doors and windows

Soundproofing work in the bathroom

What noises disturb our lives?

Sound insulation standards in panel houses

How to reduce noise from a window in an apartment from the road

Soundproofing pipes in an apartment

Pipe insulation methods

Soundproofing the ceiling in an apartment

A popular method of sound insulation is mineral wool slabs.

Other ways to insulate the ceiling from extraneous noise

How to check sound insulation

Soundproofing of air ducts

What to do if there is good audibility in the apartment?

Soundproofing doors

Door soundproofing options

Soundproofing walls in an apartment

Preparing the walls

What should be the soundproofing layer?

The procedure for soundproofing apartment walls made of different materials

Decorative panels

Gluing roll sound insulation to the wall

Have you had nervous breakdowns, insomnia, constant anxiety? Will you be able to fall asleep today or not?