How to Soundproof a Condo
A condo makes for a wonderful house in an urban environment. Unlike detached homes, though, condos may place you in a position of being a little too up close and personal with your neighbors. When the closeness leads to the noisy enjoyment of your neighbours intruding in your enjoyment, then it may be time to take action. Soundproofing a condo can turn a shared wall, ceiling or ceiling into an impenetrable fence, keeping noise out while affording you increased privacy. It can be a big undertaking, but as Robert Frost says,”Good fences make good neighbors,” especially when they’re close at hand.
Wall Soundproofing
Find the source of the Sound. Depending on the construction of the condo, not all of linking surfaces may require soundproofing. Switch off all noise-making devices in your house and walk around, checking every linking space for noise from neighbors. Notice any areas where noise cancelling through, since these are the surfaces which you should soundproof.
Eliminate baseboard and trim from the walls using a small prybar to pry them up at pinpointed places. Put the baseboards and cut aside for later reinstallation. Eliminate any wall fittings and electrical coverings as well using a screwdriver. Soundproof walls by applying another layer of drywall with noise-deadening Green Glue between the wall layers.
Gauge the wall surface and cut drywall panels to match. Cut the drywall by scoring the front of the drywall using a utility knife and then ripping the shingles in the sensed mark. Put the drywall, front side down, onto a flat surface. Cut holes for outlets before mounting the planks.
Put a tube of Green Glue compound into a caulking gun and unseal the tip of the tube. Screw a nozzle on the open tip and then cut a small opening into the nozzle tip.
Put a bead on the rear of the drywall using the Green Glue using a zig-zag pattern. Cover the whole surface of the drywall using the adhesive using lines of adhesive separated by a 3-inch or less distance and ending about 2 inches from the edges of the drywall.
Put the glued surface of the drywall against the present condo wall. Find the wall studs using a stud finder then screw the drywall into place with screws. Put a twist every 7 inches along the stud in the edge of the drywall sheet along with every 12 inches along the inner studs onto a sheet. Apply a bead of green paste to the seams between the shingles to seal them.
Replace the baseboards and trim using a hammer, then paint the drywall your preferred wall color. Replace the fittings and outlet covers using a screwdriver after the paint dries.
Floor Soundproofing
Eliminate your floor covering in order to lay soundproofing material on the subsurface of your floor. Lift carpet and underlayment from the floor, or pull up hardwood planks using a prybar to loosen floating hardwood floors or to pull hardwood up at nailed places. Remove baseboards surrounding the floor area too. Set aside.
Seal any floor cracks with acoustical caulk and tape some other floor tiles with metal tape. Roll a coating of mass loaded vinyl barrier on the floor as an underlayment. Roll the vinyl across the surface of the floor in rows, covering the whole subfloor. Use a utility knife to cut the vinyl where required. Place acoustical caulk around the edges of the vinyl floors against the walls and then seal the seams between bits with silicon adhesive.
Reinstall the flooring you’ve eliminated within the new vinyl barrier using the floor setup methods suggested by the flooring manufacturer. Replace the baseboards on the walls surrounding the floor to complete the floor soundproofing.
Ceiling Soundproofing
Eliminate any popcorn or other ceiling texture substance using a putty knife or sandpaper.
Find the center of the ceiling by measuring the centers of every wall and also running a chalk line between opposing wall centers along the ceiling. Snap a line against the ceiling by yanking the chalk rope slightly from the ceiling surface and then releasing it to reach the ceiling, leaving a mark. Where the crossed lines between the four partitions meet is the ceiling center.
Employ ceiling tile adhesive using a putty knife onto the rear of an acoustic ceiling tile. Use an angle created by the snapped chalk outlines on the ceiling to guide your positioning of the tile, placing the tile edge along the angled lines. Press firmly on the tile to fasten it in place.
Install tiles across the full ceiling using the lines as a guide as you work from the center outward. Set the tiles butted tightly against one another until you get to the walls where only partial tiles match. Leave openings at which you have to cut the tiles to fit around ceiling fixtures.
Cut the tiles to match the tight openings using a utility knife and then glue them into place to complete the soundproofed ceiling. Measure and cut the tiles where necessary to fit around the ceiling fittings. Glue them into place. Employ acoustic caulking around the edges of the ceiling and around the edges of any fittings to avoid noise from traveling .