Recently, I read about someone asking about basement soundproofing in the forums, and I am also at that stage very soon in my basement build.
I wanted to know someones thoughts on the following.
I was watching a do it yourself TV program a little while ago, and I seem to remember that they installed some sort of isolation strips to the floor joints to break that firm seal from the drywall to the floor.
Now this all makes good sense to me, because if you cut down on the revirberation between the members, you should stop the sound travel. Does this sound right ??
The strips that they used however, did not seem very strong, almost like a formed this steel channel.
I dont want to use this, but I thought, hey what about using a 1/4"thick strip of adhesive foam (more dense than weatherstripping) attached to the bottom of the joist.
I would like to hear your thoughts please.
Secondly, I am not worried about the heat transfer upstairs, so I have decided that I would like to have some insulation between the joists. Can I use just R 12 in there ?
Will it be effective, or do I have to fill the whole cavity ??
Your thoughts would be helpful.
By the way, I think this forum is fantastic, and admire all the people that contribute to it, I know it must be very time consuming.

Scott

 

I just saw a tv program that used the R-12, allowing room for all the wires that were there in the rest of the space. They were reducing the sound from a bathroom above the space they were remodeling.

 

The sound proofing "channel" you speak of is called "Resilient Channel"(RC-1, Hat channel). I too am at the same point in my basement project. I spoke with some builders that are familiar with sound control, and the channel is considered the best way to isolate the drywall from the joist/studs. A very good site for info is http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/channel.htm
This page can explain things better than I can. Even has links to where you can purchase.

 

I have a finished basement. Most of the noise comes up the stairs and thu the ductwork. Very little noise comes up thru the floor. I have a suspended ceiling.

 

This brings us to the age old question: Drop or sheetrock ceiling in a basement. The drop is somewhat easier to install (no heavy lifting), provides easy access to above, and sound proofs very well. However, a sheetrock ceiling "looks" so much better with a truly finished appearance and will increase the value(equity)of the overall project. After a lot of thought I am going with sheetrock. Since access seems to be the big issue, I am leaving access through the floor joist from the unfinished part of the basement. Not quit as easy as a drop but can be done. The sound proofing will be done with the Resilient Channel. In a couple of areas where pipes and ducts run, I'm constructing ceiling joist below them to hang the sheetrock.(That's how much better I think sheetrock looks).If you just want a standard finished basement look, go drop. If you want the appearance of a completely finished ceiling as the rest of the house, go sheetrock.