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Soundproofing Your Basement

In today's world, basements are no longerwill stop most of the airborne sound
simply places to store things like atransmission and some of the impact noise
glorified garage. With the price of housingfrom above, but the best way to alleviate the
ever on the rise, many people are convertingmajority of the footfall or impact noise is
their basements into rental spaces where theyto float your ceiling using sound clips and
can make a little extra income each month.metal furring channels. I will talk more bout
There are also a lot of folks who want tothem  in  subsequent  articles.
create a refuge space for reading or
meditation or even a home theater in theirThere is one other method for soundproofing a
basements. In this article I am going to talkbasement ceiling that I will briefly discuss.
about soundproofing your basement from theInstead of using the mass loaded vinyl,
tenants below or from the noise transmittedconsider installing 2 layers of sheetrock
by  a  home  theater.with a layer of Green Glue applied between
the 2 layers. Here's how it works. First you
The first order of business is to talk aboutmake sure you have your batt insulation in
the ceiling. Many times pipes and conduits asplace between the joist cavities, this is
well as electrical and cable lines runonly necessary if your need the thermal
between the joist cavities in a basementprotection of the insulation. Next you would
ceiling. A lot of people feel that need toscrew in a layer of 5/8" drywall. Always
have access to these components, but in orderscrew in your drywall; never nail it in
to achieve great soundproofing, there devicesespecially in a ceiling application. Then you
need to be sealed up by constructing a sealedwill lay out your second layer of 5/8"
drywall ceiling below. If you are concerneddrywall on saw horses, but on this layer you
about the plumbing and wiring, have awill apply 3 tubes of a product called Green
professional come in before your drywall inGlue top the backside of the drywall. Green
your new ceiling. Remember that 90% of yourGlue is a visco elastic damping compound that
plumbing and wiring is behind drywall and ifis used to deaden or dampen the existing
there are problems with them then naturallydrywall and the newer layer that is being
the drywall will need to be removed. My pointinstalled. You could apply only 2 tubes of
here is that if the plumbing and wiring hasGreen Glue per 4' X 8' sheet of drywall,
been inspected and given a clean bill ofhowever using 3 tubes per sheet of drywall is
health, then go ahead and seal up the ceilingmuch better for soundproofing. Once you have
below.applied the Green Glue to the backside of the
second layer of drywall, you will simply
Generally most basement areas have lowscrew in the second layer directly over top
ceilings which prevents us from installing aof the first layer. A little hint here is to
fully floated ceiling, however there isscrew the second layer of drywall down as
always room for materials like mass loadedtightly as possible without pulling the screw
vinyl that can be stapled or nailed directlythrough the drywall, this will insure the
to the bottom of the joists like a membrane.best dampening possible of both pieces of
You will caulk all of the seams as well asdrywall.
around the entire perimeter of the MLV using
a good quality acoustical caulk, stay awayAfter that second layer of drywall and Green
from cheap silicone caulks, they do not workGlue are installed, you will simply tape mud
as  well.and texture the ceiling as you would a normal
ceiling. Well, that's all there is to
Once the MLV membrane is caulked and sealedsoundproofing a basement ceiling. For more
properly, it is advised that you also tapeinformation about soundproofing a ceiling,
the seams with a lead tape or a mass loadedwalls or floors, read my subsequent articles
vinyl sealer tape. You will tape directlyor simply call a reputable soundproofing
over the dried caulk. Now it is time for acompany, they will be glad to help you. Until
layer of drywall. I would recommend a layernext time, this is Dr. Bob...Out!
of 5/8" fire code drywall. This application



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