Soundproofing A Shared Wall

[Kinruuyoung]

Greetings All,

I hope someone can help me. I have just purchased a new condominium and I have 1 shared wall (my living room with their living room). I am not sure if the neighbor will be noisy or not (based on all my other neighbors in Thailand, they will), but I will be placing a built in entertainment center on that wall and I think it is better to soundproof the wall first just in case they are noisy rather than having to do it in the future and have the added expense of removing/damaging the built in entertainment center.

The existing wall is either concrete or cement. There is no drywall. Just painted concrete or cement. I am mostly concerned about bass noise from a radio or a loud home theater system.

I went to Home Pro, but they only had some very lightweight soundproofing foam they sold in sheets. From my research online, this will not be helpful for reducing loud TV's and especially bass noise.

Does anyone know of any other soundproofing products available in Bangkok? Does anyone know of any companies that specialize (or have experience) in soundproofing? The theaters and hospital hearing testing rooms must be getting their supplies and installation from somewhere.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[klikster]

Recommend that you read these threads from start to finish.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/386755-sound-deadening-hedgerow/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/372452-insulation-of-condo-walls-and-ceiling-to-make-it-quiet/

[trogers]

Low frequency, those 1000 hz and below are much harder to insulate. Much will depend on the level of loudness you use and the background sound level. Best you keep your sound system below 80 decibels during the day and below 70 during the night.

Elements in your condo that may leak excessive sound are, aluminum sliding doors and windows, block wall between units, and your front entrance door.

[katabeachbum]

the single most effective and inexpensive way to reduce noise through a shared wall, is to remove all electric plugs and switches. concrete in the holes and install again outside the wall. If you open a plug/outlet, you can probably see your neighbor;)

anything more, ceiling needs to be removed to make sound insulation effective from concrete floor to concrete "roof".

if wooden floor, must be removed where insulation/new wall goes in.

[BWPattaya]

This is why I have never wanted to live in a condo. People with loud sound systems, especially with lots of bass, forget that everyone around them, on both sides and above/below, can feel the bass.

[sevenhills]

I am glad I will not be living next to you, even with soundproofing if you plan on having the bloody base down low as it will shudder through anything.

No soundproofing will stop that whether from you or you neighbors sound systems.

[BWPattaya]

The OP wrote "I am not sure if the neighbor will be noisy or not (based on all my other neighbors in Thailand, they will)," perhaps they were turning their sound up to hear it over yours, or to drown you out.

[PattayaParent]

The OP wrote "I am not sure if the neighbor will be noisy or not (based on all my other neighbors in Thailand, they will)," perhaps they were turning their sound up to hear it over yours, or to drown you out.

Definitley sounds like HE will be the noisy one.

I will be placing a built in entertainment center on that wall and I think it is better to soundproof the wall first just in case they are noisy.

[trogers]

A good sound system need not be loud, but should be clear. You sound be able to hear the tinkle of a bell from a corner even when the main orchestra is playing. If you need to up loudness, either your sound system is inferior, or your hearing is.

Also, get yourself a pair of wireless headphones for entertainments late in the night.

Bass units produce lows that may well be outside the hearing range (below 100 hz) and the sound is omi-directional. Most people enjoy bass by feeling it rather than hearing it. Place the unit below your chair and you do not need to tune up its loudness.

Edited October 1, 2010 by trogers

[trogers]

A good sound system need not be loud, but should be clear. You sound be able to hear the tinkle of a bell from a corner even when the main orchestra is playing. If you need to up loudness, either your sound system is inferior, or your hearing is.

Also, get yourself a pair of wireless headphones for entertainments late in the night.

Sub-woofer produces lows that may well be outside the hearing range (below 100 hz) and the sound is omi-directional. Most people enjoy bass by feeling it rather than hearing it. Place the unit below your chair and you do not need to tune up its loudness.

[Kinruuyoung]

Greetings All,

Thank you for your responses. Especially thank you to Klikster for recommending those other useful threads.

My original post may not have been clear, I am concerned about my neighbor being noisy especially their surround sound and their stereo. Once I install a large wooden entertainment cabinet, it will be expensive to remove to soundproof the wall behind it.

The last (and only) time a neighbor complained about me being noisy was 15 years ago and he said I walked too loud. No one has ever complained about my TV being too loud (I never listen to music) and I rarely use my surround sound as I don't like the loud bass noise even when I turn it to midnight setting.

Any recommendations on places in Bangkok to purchase soundproofing materials or any companies with experience soundproofing would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[trogers]

Any recommendations on places in Bangkok to purchase soundproofing materials or any companies with experience soundproofing would be greatly appreciated.

Any interior contractor who erects internal gypsum partitions and suspended ceiling can do the job. Seal up all small cracks of the block wall with silicone. Partition should be raised from floor to soffit of concrete slab above and incorporates a 50mm thick microfibre (50kg/m3 density).

Since you are going to have an entertainment center built to this partition, best to use 1x2-inch timber studs as frame support for the partition and kept 60cm apart.

[PattayaParent]

^Or if you are worried about termites use the presed galvanised steel studs.

[trogers]

^Or if you are worried about termites use the presed galvanised steel studs.

The thin steel studs will probably not be able to provide lateral bracing support for the entertainment center.

[travelmann]

This is why I have never wanted to live in a condo. People with loud sound systems, especially with lots of bass, forget that everyone around them, on both sides and above/below, can feel the bass.

They don't forget they just dont give a sh1t, too many people in the world like this IMO

[klikster]

Bass units produce lows that may well be outside the hearing range (below 100 hz) and the sound is omi-directional. Most people enjoy bass by feeling it rather than hearing it. Place the unit below your chair and you do not need to tune up its loudness.

100 hz is well within normal hearing range. The irritating "buzz" you hear in many sound systems will normally be 50 or 60 hz (line frequency). The bottom of the hearing range is commonly indicated as 20 hz.

Likewise, 1000 hz is not so difficult to attenuate by comparison. Below is a sample specification for an industrial sound control application.

2. ACOUSTICAL PERFORMANCE:

Manufacturer shall furnish certified transmission loss and sound absorption coefficient test data for the office panels taken in an acoustical laboratory satisfying applicable portions of ASTM specification E90 and C423 which equals or exceeds the following performance:

Octave Bands, Hz 63 125 250 500 1K 2K 4K 8K

Transmission Loss, dB 20 21 27 38 48 58 67 66 STC 40

Sound Absorption Coefficients – 0.89 1.20 1.16 1.09 1.01 1.03 0.93 NRC 0.95

Digging through some 1/3 octave band explanations seems to show that 16 hz is a starting point.

[klikster]

Any recommendations on places in Bangkok to purchase soundproofing materials or any companies with experience soundproofing would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Tread very carefully in this area. Contrary to some opinions that "Any interior contractor who erects internal gypsum partitions and suspended ceiling can do the job.", I strongly disagree. Perhaps any of the above could if they knew how .. but very few do know how.

What happens too often is someone touting a cure that costs the condo owner some big bucks and delivers poor to no reduction.

* Pay attention to what 'katabeachbum' said in post #4.