I'd like to sound proof a rec room in the basement directly below the bedrooms of our bungalow. We have hardwood in the bedrooms over conventional mid-50's sub-floor decking on joists and stringers. At the moment, I have removed the ceiling tiles from the rec room to begin renovations.

I have read that in order to do a good soundproofing job, you have to seal off all spaces what sound can travel through. I really don't want to get into drywalling the rec room ceiling if I don't have to as there are electrical connections and HVAC baffles that I'd still like to have access to.

Are there materials and/or is there a way to put batts of something between the joists and then hang a suspended ceiling, killing enough noise to play a piano, stereo or TV downstairs and not carry too much noise to the bedrooms?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Howie

 

You can probably achieve some sound attenuation, but you are fighting a losing battle to try achieving a "soundproof" situation. Your hardwood floors, sitting on a subfloor, sitting on the joists -- that is a solid wooden connection between the rec. room and the bedrooms. Carpeting the bedroom floors would be about the only way to help deaden the sound transmitted through that. I understand the HVAC baffles you would still need to access, but the electrical connections you talk about raise red flags. Any electrical connection should be in a junction box, accessible from the rec. room., REGARDLESS of what you do to the ceiling!

 

You are correct about your red flags, lefty!

Bad choice of wording in my post - the electrical connections ARE in junction boxes, I want to make sure that they remain accessible - when we bought the house, it was already wired that way, so anything short of running new wiring from the panel means keeping those junction boxes where they are...

Thanks for the advise about the carpeting, also - as you can see, I may be living with some noise transmission regardless of what I do unless I want to spend some major cash on the reno..

Howie

 

I just got through with a sound proofing job and here is what we did. Maybe some hints here. The room set up was almost identical to yours, hardwood floors up, etc. I put R-19 insulation
in the ceiling unfaced, then I hung a suspended ceiling with 2x4 tiles about 4 inches below the floor joists. I used the sound proof tile. They are about $3.50 a tile. It cut down the noise about 90%. The owners are terrible happy. It did work well. good Luck

 

manufactured by Armstrong for Owens Corning:

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/s...dsoak_wall.asp

http://www.armstrong.com/commceiling...ical_walls.jsp

 

Jack and Paul

Thank you for the advice and the links

It's good to know that even though it won't be 100%, whoever is upstairs will not have to be included in the sing-along if they don't want to...

Although not as important, does it work the other way around too (noise in the bedrooms transmitting downstairs?) - lefty's suggestion about the carpeting will probably have an effect on this question...

Howie

 

I believe it was the Armstrong soundsoak panels I used. good stuff.