New gas-fired Columbia boiler a bit noisier than the 50-year old Burnham it replaced (Now getting that monster out of the basement in one piece was a real story). More of that jet engine effect, I guess. Boiler sits under DR, LR, Kitchen.
I'm interested in something which would cut down on the noise, without making a major project out of it. 7.5' height coupled with myriads of hanging plumbing, electrical and TV distribution leads make putting up a "ceiling" almost impossible.
Would I gain anything by fitting insulation up between the 2 X 10s. Is there some special kind. Spray foam???
Any thoughts? (Get used to it might be the best advice)
TIA
starrin

 

my experience with spray foam is that it is very messy and will just about ruin anything it touches. But it is supposed to insulate well. If you have a lot of stuff in the way, it might not be a great idea. In a confined space, the chemicals may not be all that pleasant as well.

Any kind of fiberglass insulation should cut down noise. There is also acoustic foam panels that the warehouse stores sell. If you don't care about looks and the space isn't well traveled, you could probably get craft-paper backed insulation and staple it up. If it has some trouble holding, use a few furring strips or wire to pin it up into place.

 

Spray foam insulates well but it is not good for sound attenuation because it is more or less solid when cured. Plus you do not want to leave it exposed bucause it will burn and give off toxic fumes in the process. Your best option is unfaced fiberglass bats. The unfaced bats should friction fit in the joist spaces or you can use some nails or screws to make a support system or add furring strips.

Tip: Wear a mask.

 

Fiberglass batts do not dampen sound. Roxul's Safe N' Sound product will be better suited. It is made of mineral wool and specifically designed for sound damping.

http://www.roxul.com/residential/pro...9;sound™

 

If you've ever watched "Holmes on Homes" on TV, he makes extensive use of Roxul product... and if I ever do another reno job, I'm going to also! Great product.

 

That's how I know about it! :P I think the guy on Income Property uses it a lot as well. I wish they put it in the walls of my bathroom when the previous only renovated it. The toiler happens to be against the wall of my bedroom. Let's just say I can hear all the gory details.

 

Unless you have a reaction to the glass fiber.
I don't know why, but I can tell if there is a bag of that stuff open on a job site when I walk in the door

 

Is that why they use thousands and thousands of fiberglass bats in partition walls and sometimes above a suspended ceiling in commercial construction?

 

I have a double 2x6 wall between the garage and my son's bedroom.. from the bedroom out.. its, 1/2" drywall / 2x6 space /osb board / 2x6 space filled with roxul / 3/4" firestop drywall.

In the garage, I can crank the stereo pretty loud (or be banging on some project in there).. and the most you can hear in the bedroom is the slightest muffled sound. Of course.. apples to apples, I didnt 'try it' with reg pink insulation to compare.. I did read a bunch of posts where guys were using this stuff (and more techniques ) to quiet down a music studio to an attached house.

Plus, correct me if Im wrong, but I thought that rockwool stuff is also a better firestop.

@ Tolyn: wonder if its a code thing ? Up here, they almost always use the spray-in acoustic stuff

 

Maybe we can just say "Fiberglas batts do not dampen sound [as well as a product that is specifically designed to do so]" and leave it at that so as not to start a pi55ing contest, and not hijack the OP's thread.

Which was; how can he reduce the noise in his living space from his boiler firing up...

 

I dont have a gas boiler, but when you describe 'jet engine' sound, is that from the burner assembly and the air intake (I'd guess) ? Or is most of the sound from a powered vent motor ?

If its from the intake, would a snorkle-type system for combustion air help ?

I'm gonna snorkle my oil boiler burner area someday.. the boiler is on the same floor as the bedrooms (ya, its noisy, but we're all used to it.., still, someday...)

 

How about going to the source? This has a gas power burner right? It may well need some more fine tuning to address the noise issues, if the noise is indeed excessive. What did your installer have to say about the burner noise?

 

I just want to say what I know about this issue because I think it is important to this thread should this person go the route of using some type of insulation to quiet his house.

I'm certainly not a sound expert. I did do some research on the subject because of some sound issues I was having. What I learned is that there are two ways to "make sound more comfortable". You can reduce the reflection of sound and/or absorb sound. To absorb sound, you need mass. Fiberglass batts do not have a lot of mass. They will reduce reflection of sound, but not absorb too much of it.

I just went to Owens Cornings web site and to Roxul's web site to look for specific information on their products. OC does make a product specifically for sound damping called QuietZone Acoustic batts. This product is 3 1/2" thick and has an STC rating of between 4-10 decibels. Roxul's SafeN'Sound batt product at 3" thick has an STC rating of 52 decibels.

Thermal insulation does not come with an STC rating and is not an effective acoustic barrier. When comparing the fiberglass acoustic product vs the mineral acoustic product, the mineral wool wins hands down.

I have no idea why contractors shove it into walls and ceilings for soundproofing. I see it done all the time in multimillion dollar homes. I do know that most contractors don't do things because of the science behind it. All it takes is one guy to say "Yeah, we just use fiberglass batts to soundproof" and people will blindly follow that information without doing their own research as to it's effectiveness.

 

I agree that fiberglass may not be as good as other products at sound deadening but it does do something. I was just trying to help the OP by giving options. Roxul is not available around my area, it may not be around theirs either while fiberglass is everywhere. Cost may be an issue to the OP as well.

 

I know Home Depot sells Roxul products so they will be able to special order it. It is more expensive than fiberglass, but I think it's worth the cost if you go this route. You don't want to spend the money on the fiberglass and find out it isn't doing enough.

 

Another thought on this thread..

Right now, if you have no insulation/ceiling etc above the util room.. and above it is the LR/DR/Kitchen.. some of that heat from the boiler room is contributing to warm floors in those rooms. Once/If you block it somehow, those floor will get a little colder.

 

I was thinking the same thing Dave... and one possible solution that I came up with was to leave an open air space above the soundproofing material such that air can circulate... in other words, don't push the 3" batts all the way up to the floor, and leave the ends of the bays open so air can flow. The material may not need to be continuous to be effective...

 

The Roxul SafeN'Sound requires an air apace above it.