How to protect your acoustic home –

The noise that is listened to in your home can be extremely harmful not only for your peace, but also for your general good. Therefore, if you really want to rest in the house where you live, it would be nice to do your best mitigate the disturbing sounds. To reduce noise, it would be good to understand some things about it.

The sound is a mechanical vibration of particles through an elastic environment, which can be perceived by the ear. The intensity of the sound is measured in decibel (DB). The human voice generates 60 dB, while the vacuum cleaner produces 70 dB. In addition, some household appliances emit 40-50 dB. In a room, the usual noise level positions around 50 dB.

When it comes to sound, it is important both its intensity and its frequency (measured in Hertzi – Hz). A frequency between 20 and 100 Hertz indicates some low frequency sounds. In this category there are impact noises, low tools, piano, powerful speakers and subwoofer types, traffic noise, serious motorcycles and male items. Low frequency sounds are the most difficult to block.

The noises in the domestic environment (the human voice, the sound of TV, the sound of children playing or crying) are part of the category of sounds with an average frequency – between 100 and 5,000 Hertz. These are the frequencies that we are interested in blocking in the utmost measure, because they are the ones that most commonly influence our comfort.

In the area of ​​high frequency sounds are between 5,000 and 20,000 Hertz. These are the easiest to block.

How to propagate the sound through the walls

The sound is propagated in any three -way house: directly (from the room to the other, through the structure of the uniform wall), through an adjacent structure (from a room through the ceiling, the floor and the side walls) and for «losses» (through cracks on walls, doors and windows that seal in an inappropriate way, not isolated pipes).

There are two ways to propagate the sound through the walls. First, the sound is propagated by the structure of the divided wall. The more rigid the structure of the wall is, the better the sound.

Secondly, the sound is propagated through the aerial cavities. In this case, the wall divided into the chalk cardboard acts as a huge membrane that vibrates due to the aerial cavity.

6 steps to block sound propagation

If you want a silent house you will have to use construction materials with acoustic properties. The best choice for acoustic insulation in homes are the walls of Chalk they have in the middle mineral wool.

In order for these walls to play their role of solid insulator, it is necessary to respect one or more of the passages listed below, depending on the intensity of the sound you want to block:

Step 1: Eliminate «losses»

If your walls have cracks or cracks, fill them. The doors and windows also seal. Take care of the cracks around the pipes, which can be another way to propagate the sound.

Step 2: Ruts The structure

In order to block or reduce the transmission of the sound by means of the structure of a divided wall, it is recommended to be disconnected. You can do it using Sound Bridges or build a structure with intercal profiles.

Step 3: install an absorbent material

The cavities of the air vibrate. Have you noticed how the «sea» is listened to in a shell or what sound does it feel if you blow in an empty glass? If you fill the cavities, they no longer vibrate. In the case of cardboard chalk walls, to reduce the propagation of air sound, the air cavity between the cardboard plaster plates is filled with a material that absorbs sounds: mineral wool. Being a porous and elastic material, mineral wool takes over and relieves them.

Compared to the walls of the masonry, the walls of the plaster cotton in the middle are thinner and are much better.

To believe it, we offer you some figures: to a masonry wall, the only thing you can do for sound insulation is to increase its thickness. The thickness doubles (for example, from 15 to 30 cm) you will not get a significantly better sound insulation (sound insulation has improved only 5 dB), but you will significantly decrease the space in the room. For more subtle and better acoustic performance walls, it is advisable to use cardboard plaster tiles. The introduction of the mineral vate into the cardboard chalk walls significantly improves the insulation of sound. For example, by introducing a basalt wool with acoustic properties between the walls with a single cardboard chalk card, sound insulation is improved with 13 dB. If you want better isolation, the recommendation is to mount two cardboard cardboard on each side and you will get a further acoustic improvement of 5-8 dB.

If you ask yourself which wool needs, the answer is «depending on». If the sound you want to block is not very aggressive, glass wool is an excellent choice. It also has the advantage of not loading the structure of the walls. It is advisable to choose in this case a glass wool with acoustic properties.

If you have higher noise levels, you have to choose a basalt wool with a density of at least 40 kg/cubic meters. The recommended density is between 40 and 90 kg/mc. But to have good acoustic properties, keep in mind that not only the density, but also the structure and arrangement of the fibers. Therefore, even if a wool has a good density, it does not mean that it is isolates well from an acoustic point of view. Choose basalt wool with acoustic properties, if you want to make sure to obtain quality sound insulation.

It is good to know that the density of over 90 kg/mc act as a barrier and will reflect the sound, creating an echo.

If you want to choose a mineral wool that isolates the divider walls better, look at the resistance of the «air flow resistance» (AF) to the air flow. It shows the property of a material to dissipate the acoustic energy by friction. The indicator varies according to the density of the material, the thickness of the fiber and the structure of the mineral screw. The greater this indicator, the better the best wool.

Step 4: Maximum mass increases

The ideal solution for acoustic insulation is to build the walls of the photographic cardboard plates partition. The more massive chalk card, the better the acoustic insulation. It is also advisable to build the wall with two plates on each side. The plates massif will lead not only to the improvement of the sound properties of the wall, but also to the duration and stability of the wall. Find more details on the choice of plates in the article «How to choose cardboard chalk plates for acoustic insulation».

Step 5: shocks the sounds

Cardboard plaster plates are large surfaces that vibrate. If their vibrations were reduced, then the increase in the mass, the installation of the mineral vate as an absorbent material and the misfortune of the structure would be much more efficient.

The reduction of the vibration of cardboard plaster cards can be obtained by installing some elastic membranes on cardboard chalk plates. Ideally, the application of elastic membranes has space on the side of the wall from which the annoying sound comes. Elastic membranes significantly improve sound insulation, blocking most of the low frequency (low) sounds.

Step 6: blocks the propagation of sound through adjacent structures

If the noise that disturbs you is strong and has an impact component, it is not enough to play the structure between your source of noise. You will have to isolate the sound and walls or walls of the wall from which the noise comes.

The healthy isolation of the house can be a complex project. If you have doubts, call With confidence in macostore consultants, who will help you find the best solution for your peace and comfort.

Photo source: pixabay.com

Author: Raluca Ghetu

Over 7 years of experience in the blog and building materials and over 20 years of experience in the management of projects, budgets, re -enlargement of businesses, training and management consultancy. Passionate about innovation and pay attention to details that bring value. See all articles by Raluca Ghetu