This house was built in 2014. I have had tremendous loud muffler noise. I have researched sound proofing and found that the low frequencies cause wood and sheetrock to vibrate increasing the noise. So I have slapped the exterior walls on the inside, not hard, and eight foot or more the sheetrock can be felt vibrating, I went to a house that is being built and slapped the walls and there is just a slight feeling. One person thought the wall itself is moving, Does anyone have any other ideas? Or should I pull the sheetrock off and look at the studs?
Thank you.

 

Before removing any drywall I'd make sure the drywall is well secured to the studs. It might be as simple as adding some screws. Hard to say from here if it's that simple or if the framing isn't well secured.

 

Depending on where you are located a thermal camera could allow you to see into the wall. When it is very cold outside and the heat is on inside a thermal camera can easily show the framing in the wall and even the screws/nails used to mount the sheetrock. If you don't have access to a decent thermal camera then it's probably just cheaper to throw in some extra screws, spackle and re-paint the wall.

As for determining if the wall is fastened or secured that is pretty easy to spot by looking for cracking of the sheetrock. If the wall is moving you'll likely have cracking of the sheetrock right in the joint where the ceiling and wall meet.

 

So, I dont really understand. Is there a noise issue in the house and why/how does it relate to a drywall issue?

 

The low frequinces, bass, muffler hit with force. This force makes wood vibrate. The sheetrock is attached to the wood (studs) and this combines to create very, very loud noise.




































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What is causing the loud noise? Are you blasting a stereo or have a motorcycle in the room? Are you next to a highway? Construction yard or building renovation? Extreme low frequency (and high frequency) noise can and will cause damage. Lets see if the noise can be eliminated first or at least identified. Sometimes if the noise can be identified but not eliminated, there may be ways of cancelling it's effects.

 

Things that are secured do not resonate in any way. Either you need to screw your subfloor down to the joists, or screw your drywall down to the joists to stop any resonance. To demonstrate, have you ever put a finger on a bell after it has been rung? Immediately stope the resonance.

 

Bingo, so we have a noise issue to resolve.

Have you tried turning all the electricity off in the house to see if the noise stops.

I found that our refrigerator was touching the wall in the kitchen and it could be heard in the other side of the house. Sounded like an idling car!

Could be an internal motor/appliance creating the noise!

 

No, it was loud muffler noise. The house is thirty eight feet from the street and the kids were floor boarding the pickup and leaving it low gear, going by seven, eight times or more. Small town no help from the sheriff. I have spent hours and hours about how to sound proof. That is where I found out about low frequencies and vibration. The weakest part in a house for sound is the windows, doors. But since this house is so close to the street I will have to do everything.
This afternoon I put a bunch of drywall screws in, to the studs, and I can still feel the vibration. I guess what's coming is put up another wall all the way around and double sheetrock with green glue or pull the sheet rock and see what is going on with the framing and go from there. I thank everyone for the recommendations.