Sound insulation in a brick house: types and effectiveness

Most apartment residents know first-hand about the soundproofing of apartments. And the point here often lies in its low quality, or even in its complete absence. This applies to both new buildings and apartments on the secondary market.

Legally, the soundproofing of an apartment in a panel house is not one of its disadvantages, which eliminates the need for the seller to notify the buyer about this. It turns out that various noises that quietly pass through the walls, floor and ceiling are a personal problem for the residents.

Which house has better sound insulation?

The level of noise and sound absorption largely depends on the design features of the house - and if you have to choose a future home, it is recommended to carefully read the material.

Brick

Leader in comfort for residents. The level of sound insulation in brick houses is maximum - residents are usually not bothered by extraneous sounds and noises coming from both the street and neighbors. If among them there are no avid music lovers and lovers of noisy feasts.

Brick house

Brick-monolithic construction

It has a lower level of sound insulation, which is due to the through vertical structures, which are excellent conductors of sound. Wall partitions in them, as a rule, have good soundproofing, since they are erected from soft materials (foam block, brick, etc.), the main structure of the houses greatly spoils the overall impression.

Brick-monolithic house

Monolithic houses

These are homes for those who like to wake up with the first sounds of a neighbor's hammer drill or the screams of schoolchildren gathering two floors above.

Sound insulation in a monolithic house is completely absent, and the reason for this is not only durable concrete, which perfectly transmits sounds.

Numerous “Stalin”, “Khrushchev”, “Brezhnev” apartments built back in Soviet times and other apartments assembled according to a single design are characterized by a low level of sealing of seams both in the interfloor ceilings and in the panels forming the walls.

Monolithic house

Soundproofing of installation boxes and sockets

Through holes for installing electrical equipment - boxes and sockets - can become conductors of noise from neighbors.

Sealing an electrical outlet is carried out as follows:

1. Disconnect the socket.
2. Dismantle the socket and remove the mounting box.
3. Lay a layer of sound insulation - mineral wool, basalt cardboard, etc.
4. Seal the insulator with gypsum putty or cement mortar.
5. Place the box and socket in their original position.

Tips for choosing an apartment

An expensive apartment, offered immediately with interior decoration, looks like a tasty morsel in the eyes of buyers. However, as practice shows, even in modern houses with elite class apartments, the level of sound insulation leaves much to be desired. The point usually lies in maximum time savings on the part of the developer - the use of technologies that allow you to quickly erect a partition often comes at the expense of quality.

For modern apartments, tongue-and-groove walls (hollow gypsum blocks 8 cm thick) have almost become standard. But its purpose is to install a barrier that does not allow neighbors behind it to see each other, and it is difficult to relate the wall thus obtained to a serious partition.

In modern construction, the construction time of buildings is put in first place, often to the detriment of the operational characteristics of objects. Today, when the amount of profit received by the developer depends on the speed of construction, they prefer not to even pay attention to the state of sound insulation, and future residents have to deal with this problem.

Soundproofing the apartment

The quality of sound insulation in inter-apartment partitions directly depends on their thickness. Therefore, it is preferable to opt for houses that have undergone a major renovation - the downward partitions are usually reinforced with asbestos-cement slabs with an air gap, and the sound insulation of apartments in a panel house after a major renovation is close to ideal.

In new buildings, boards and plaster coating are often used to install interior partitions, rather than bricks. This is the reason for the extremely low sound insulation between rooms, which clearly does not add comfort.

The best sound insulation in ancient houses built before the revolution.

Unless, of course, it was worsened by construction companies during major repairs. The walls in them are supported by metal beams, and earth is filled between the wooden panels, which perfectly absorbs any sounds and noises. In such houses, you can hardly hear your neighbors, regardless of the strength of the noise they produce.

Design and installation features of frame sound insulation

This design has one drawback - it must be installed by qualified specialists with sufficient experience. The thickness of the frame soundproofing system is selected based on the parameters of the wall on which it is placed, for example: For an inter-apartment partition made of brick, 250 mm thick, with well-sealed joints, a 6-centimeter structure will be sufficient, and a minimum of 8 cm will have to be installed on foam or aerated concrete.

In the basic version, a reliable soundproofing panel is assembled from the following elements:

• galvanized metal profile or wooden beam for the frame;
• fibrous filler with a density of at least 40 kg/m3;
• damper tape for gluing metal profiles, as well as panel joints with adjacent building structures;
• gypsum fiber or plasterboard sheets from which sound-reflective cladding is made;
• “crabs”, vibration suspensions and other fasteners.

Main stages of installation

At the first stage, the surface is marked, the frame is assembled and installed. When soundproofing walls, it is best to install the structure in a spacer - the frame rests on adjacent building structures. This method eliminates contact with the insulated surface, which ensures maximum sound insulation efficiency.

This installation option is not suitable for the ceiling, since the total weight of the soundproofing structure can reach 30 kg per 1 m2. In this case, the frame is attached to the interfloor ceiling using vibration suspensions, which provide acoustic decoupling of the two structures and reliable fixation of the soundproofing panel.

The next step is filling the frame cells with fibrous sound-absorbing material. When using a galvanized metal profile, it is also necessary to put filler in it, and also glue the outer surface with damper tape.

At the third stage, sound-reflecting sheathing is installed and the seams are sealed. After this, the structure is ready for finishing: puttying, priming, applying a decorative coating.

How to choose a soundproofed apartment

Apartments with the proper level of sound insulation can be identified by several features. For example, at the joints, seams and places where walls meet the ceiling, a special polyethylene-based material should be used (looks like white elastic tubes). It is also recommended to ask the developer or former owner if a floating floor system was used during construction.

Hollow floors made of reinforced concrete have several times better soundproofing characteristics than monolithic ones. The reason for this is both the considerable thickness of the floors and the use of different fillers in their manufacture. Expanded clay, expanded polystyrene or mineral wool are added to modern materials, and shavings or construction waste are added to old structures.

Monolithic floors are perhaps one of the “noisiest” materials - they perfectly transmit all sounds and noises, so sound insulation in a new building made of monolith is simply necessary.

Soundproofing of central heating risers

According to regulations, central heating pipes passing through the floors must be installed in special sleeves. These are large diameter pipes that perform the function of sound insulation. If the standards have not been met and the sleeve is missing, the owners will have to insulate the risers themselves.

Work progress:

1. Remove the cement slurry from around the pipe.
2. Wrap the freed pipe with mineral wool or glass wool.
3. Cement the space between the pipe, ceilings and insulation.
4. Cut off any remaining soundproofing material.
5. Carefully putty the surface and smooth out any unevenness.

What does an ideal partition consist of?

The best sound insulation in cross-section resembles a multi-layer pie, and ideally all the walls in the house should consist of such a “pie” - both interior and exterior. The main filling of the walls is reinforced concrete, on both sides of which there should be insulation, and then wall stone.

Scheme for soundproofing a wall

For internal partitions, the thickness of the reinforced concrete base should be 60 mm, just as in external walls it should be at least 180 mm.

Also, the quality of double-glazed windows and entrance doors plays a significant role in sound insulation, and in addition to sound insulation characteristics, the thermal insulation of the apartment also depends on this.

If, after purchasing a living space, the happy owner of square meters begins to note with dissatisfaction the presence of extraneous sounds and noises, then it is time to do additional sound insulation.

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There are more than enough options for doing this - starting from large-scale work that reliably isolates the owner from any noise, and ending with the localization of a particularly annoying sound source.

Soundproofing doors

Doors to an apartment, like any other part of the structure, are capable of transmitting sounds. To solve this problem, you can change the door leaf and seal all existing holes in the wall. It is important to remember that doors with glass elements do not retain sound well, so it is better to use homogeneous panels.

Door soundproofing options

Soundproofing doors can be done in several ways. The most common way is to tape around the entire perimeter of the door frame. A universal threshold can also be installed as an option. And, of course, it is possible to fill the canvas structure with soundproofing material.

Read more HERE

Types of sound insulation in a monolithic house

For monolithic houses, both full and partial sound insulation is used - the choice of methods depends on the budget of the work and the level of silence required by the apartment owner. You can avoid unnecessary costs only if you carefully select the building material - the modern market offers a wide range in different price categories. When choosing, you should focus on the optimal balance between price and quality of products.

Apartment soundproofing scheme

For complete sound insulation, the following work is required:

• floor soundproofing;
• ceiling soundproofing;
• sound insulation of inter-apartment walls;
• soundproofing of interior partitions;
• replacement of low-quality windows and doors.

You can carry out the work either independently or with the assistance of specialists. Today there are many organizations specializing in soundproofing houses and apartments, and, if you have the slightest experience in construction, it is recommended to trust the professionals.

However, for an experienced homeowner, soundproofing an apartment with your own hands does not fall into the category of complex work, and is comparable to carrying out a major overhaul.

Partial sound insulation is used to localize a separate area of ​​the apartment, which is the strongest source of noise.

As a rule, such work consists of eliminating minor defects made during construction and can be easily carried out on one’s own.

The most popular methods of partial sound insulation include the following:

• insulation of entrance doors. Often, when installing them, installers do not completely fill the voids with insulating materials, which negatively affects the ability to absorb sounds. You can use both polyurethane foam and a more modern material that is superior in quality - non-hardening sealant;
• window insulation. The work also includes filling voids and adjusting double-glazed windows;
• insulation of sockets, junction boxes and other equipment that is a source of sound from neighbors;
• It is recommended to insulate sewer risers using foamed polystyrene. Modern plastic pipes transmit sound perfectly, and the entire entrance can often hear when you go to the restroom.

The cost of such work, in comparison with large-scale sound insulation, is small and is completed within 24 hours. However, localizing the strongest noise sources increases the soundproofness of the apartment as a whole several times, and it is possible that complete insulation work may not be required.

Soundproofing of air ducts

The air duct can also produce excess noise, and the problem can be eliminated by covering the pipe body with soundproofing material. By wrapping all sides and gluing the material tightly, you can be sure of the quality of the work done.

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You can create ideal conditions in your apartment if you use comprehensive sound insulation. Every element of the apartment needs processing and preparation. Only quality work will ensure complete comfort and coziness in the house.

Read more about soundproofing a hood in a kitchen or production area in this article.

Sound insulation of PGP partitions

How to soundproof a laminate floor?

Insulating an apartment: step-by-step instructions

To improve sound insulation, mineral wool and plasterboard are often used - these are some of the relatively inexpensive, but very effective ways to deal with sounds penetrating from everywhere. Along with these materials, basalt (stone) wool, polyurethane foam blocks, cork, coconut fiber and many other insulating materials are used.

Ceiling soundproofing

To insulate the ceiling, a number of works must be performed: first of all, a system is installed that holds the entire structure, and only then the insulating material is laid.

Ceiling soundproofing systems come in three varieties:

• False ceilings mounted on a metal frame. The covering of such a ceiling consists of plasterboard, and all insulating materials are hidden behind the covering.
• Stretch ceilings are materials made of plastic or fabric stretched just below the main ceiling. They also allow you to hide insulating materials and communication systems.
• Suspended ceilings, commonly used in office spaces. They are easy to install and highly functional.

Sound insulation, electrical wiring, ventilation systems and other options for decorative finishing of ceiling systems are easily hidden behind finishing materials, and the choice largely depends on the imagination of the apartment owner.

Increasing the thickness of walls and ceilings is an excellent way to increase the sound insulation of an apartment.

It is necessary to take into account the area of ​​the room and the height of the ceilings: the average thickness of the sound-absorbing layer should be in the range of 120–170 mm, and with a ceiling height of less than 3 meters, the efficiency will be noticeably lower.

Acoustic insulation is a design that combines sound-absorbing materials and sound-proofing materials. Mineral wool is used as a sound absorber, which is used to line the walls and ceiling of the room. The sound passing through it is muffled, and the external insulation, which is also a decorative finish (wall panels, drywall, etc.), completely prevents the penetration of sounds into the apartment.

Thus, despite the fact that sounds penetrate through the walls, additional layers of insulation completely load them, allowing the owner of the apartment to fully enjoy comfort.

The procedure for soundproofing apartment walls made of different materials

The technology for installing thin materials is quite simple and does not require special skills; it’s a different matter when it comes to thick sound insulation, and this issue should be dealt with in more detail.

Before you begin, you need to silence all the holes for sockets and switches with mineral wool. It is recommended to use gypsum as a putty composition, as it dries quickly. After the sockets, the same must be done with the communication pipes.

When the preparation is done, you can install the frame. In the vertical direction, profiles are installed at a distance of 60 cm from each other. It is important to maintain this distance, since it is comparable to the dimensions of the insulating boards. To fix the frame to the wall, it is important to use a vibration pad to prevent vibration noise from penetrating into the room.

Soundproofing boards are installed into the resulting frame, and they must fit tightly without leaving voids or gaps. The seams between the plates must be sewn with special tape, which will prevent sound penetration. Next, waterproofing is installed using a construction stapler.

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The canvas is spread over the entire area and fixed. The last stage of installation is installing plasterboard sheets. Depending on the room, the type of sheets may be different. When the sheets are installed, you can proceed to finishing the walls.

Decorative panels

If sound insulation is carried out using panels, then finishing is not required, but it is important to carry out all work carefully and cleanly. The most effective sound insulation is the one that combines several types of materials. The cost of such sound insulation will be rather large, but the result will be noticeable. Using the correct installation of modern soundproofing materials guarantees coziness and comfort in the house.

About how to create a Beautiful interior using decorative panels in this Article

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Gluing roll sound insulation to the wall

The technology for installing roll insulation is similar to that used for slabs. For gluing without lathing, a layer of glue is applied to the wall and additionally secured with dowels using fungi. In terms of time, this method is more profitable, since even a beginner can do everything quickly and efficiently.

@Panel'nii dom

Dependence of sound insulation on types of houses

Each house, depending on its design, requires a certain type of insulation materials. Knowing this allows you to organize an optimal insulation system at minimal cost.

If in brick houses you can only stop at partial sound insulation, then in monolithic construction large-scale work is required. Otherwise, there is a high risk of wasting time and materials - the design features of monolithic objects require large-scale work to be carried out after construction is completed.

How to ensure sound insulation in a brick house

For brick houses, partial sound insulation is used, which consists in localizing the most disturbing sound sources. In such apartments there are few sound sources - entrance doors, windows, ventilation systems.

You should fill the voids in the door and window openings, if possible, replace the wooden windows with modern double-glazed windows, and install a special grille for ventilation. Considering the material and thickness of the inter-apartment walls, in brick houses they practically do not transmit sounds.

Reducing noise in the apartment

Providing sound insulation in a monolithic house

For such an apartment, the only effective way out of the situation is to insulate the entire apartment: walls, ceiling, floor, door and window openings. The fact is that in such houses the thickness of the floors is minimal, and the concrete used in construction is an extremely poor soundproofing material.

Partial insulation will not bring a significant effect - sounds spread from the walls, ceiling and floor. For this reason, complete installation of sound insulation is required, which reduces the usable area of ​​the apartment as a whole.

Club of Defenders of Silence

Ever since I encountered the problem of poor sound insulation in a panel house (137 series), I have become very interested in the topic of audibility in apartment buildings, especially in standard buildings. I was surprised, is this really how all people live, is it really possible that you can hear stomping and voices everywhere? I spent almost a year moving. And for the search, all available information on the Internet was searched, thousands of conflicting reviews about different types of houses were read. You know, it is very difficult to get rid of the illusion that there are “high-quality brick houses with good sound insulation” and there are “terrible panel houses with high audibility.” These cliches were so ingrained in my brain that it seemed to me that if I moved into a brick house on the middle floor, it would be better than the last floor in a panel house. And I admit that if I could quickly sell my old apartment, I would move to a brick house on the middle floor. This was the biggest mistake, because the stomping of neighbors from above does not depend on the type of house, but on the flooring, which neighbors can install in any way (laminate, linoleum), and also in many houses that I looked at in apartments, one of the walls of the rooms was not made of brick, and from double slabs of plaster. But then I had illusions and didn’t know about it, I wanted to leave the panel hell for any house, as long as it wasn’t a panel.

First of all, I want to note that when we talk about soundproofing an apartment, we are not talking about the fact that the apartment can be as quiet as a crypt. In any case, it will be quieter in a private house without neighbors. The apartment will be a compromise in any case. Previously, I read with skepticism recommendations that if you want silence, go to a private house. And when I began to study the soundproofing capabilities of standard building materials, it became clear to me that the apartment would be quiet as long as the neighbors were normal. No house can protect you from violent neighbors. Moreover, violence can manifest itself in many aspects. Neighbors don’t have to be antisocial, drink, rowdy, throw parties, sing karaoke to make life miserable. Some set up almost mini-productions at home for the manufacture of chairs and other nonsense, annoying for years (although these cases are rare). Some neighbors may practically not leave the house (being, for example, a housewife) and run around all evening, driving their heels into the floor like hooves. Nothing illegal, but you won’t be able to live in comfort. The neighbors may have a small dog that will bark all day long, and there will be no way to save it. Or maybe a hyperactive child, always running around and dropping everything. It is impossible to get rid of all noise for adequate money, so any apartment is a big risk. The risk is so great that I personally am even scared of the prospect that in the future I will have to move somewhere again or that the neighbors will change, and I want to light a candle in the local church for the adequacy of my neighbors and my health. But at the same time, I do not agree with the statement that sound insulation depends only on the neighbors, that all apartments are the same, etc. In my old apartment, the neighbors were adequate, but there was no life in it. So how do you find an apartment with good soundproofing? What to look for?

1. The main rule is to choose the correct location of the apartment: Only the top floor. For our forum, the advantages of the last floor are obvious. But if you read the Internet, you can find so many terrible stories about the top floor that it becomes embarrassing: - The elevator will break down, it’s like walking (or the lights will be turned off) - The roof will leak - The sun will heat the apartment like hell, much more than on the middle floor — Elevators and other engineering equipment will interfere with you. — Pigeons, etc.

In my opinion, the following fears can be fully justified: - If there is no technical floor, then there may be pipes on the ceiling in the corridor, which somewhat spoils the aesthetics. But I haven’t seen such a problem in houses with a technical floor. — Elevator noises. This problem is possible, I came across it a couple of times on the Internet, that supposedly the operation of the elevator motor can be heard throughout the apartment. But, in my opinion, this is a big exception to the rule. Most likely, the installation (or location) rules for the motor have been violated. If everything is done correctly, you won't hear the elevator at all. — It’s hotter on the top floor on the sunny side. If there is a technical floor, then of course the roof has no effect and the hot roof is unlikely to heat the apartment on the top floor. Rather, the factor here is that in many apartments on the top floor the sun is not blocked by anything, so it can burn from morning to evening. Not only the residents of the top floor, but also many apartments, even starting from the fifth floor, suffer from such sun. It’s easy to judge this, you can just look at the facade of a house facing West and see how many blinds, reflective films and blackout curtains are located on the balconies and loggias. Most of the heating comes from the sun shining through the window, rather than from heating the walls or ceiling.

You and I, of course, know the main advantage of the last floor: no one stomps on your head. Unfortunately, this does not eliminate the presence of neighbors on the side or below. The stomping of neighbors below or to the side can also be heard, although quieter than above (2-3 times). However, like loud music or TV, they penetrate the walls like a knife. Therefore, it is very important to minimize the number of neighbors; it is better to border on the elevator hall or staircase than on neighbors. It is advisable to look for an apartment with 1 border with neighbors.

2. Type of house. The most common types of houses: - brick - monolithic - frame-monolithic - panel - block.

BRICK HOUSES. This type of house is valued more in terms of sound insulation than other types of houses. It is believed that brick is an ideal sound insulator. When I first started looking for an apartment to move to, I only considered brick houses. The legend of 100% soundproofing of brick houses has lived in us since childhood. If you briefly read the information from the Internet, you can find a hundred articles, identical in content, where they clearly put brick houses in first place, without mentioning any of the nuances that can negatively affect the sound insulation of an apartment in a brick house. Let's try to understand the pitfalls in brick houses. First of all, you need to understand that brick houses are completely DIFFERENT. Let's make a conditional division of houses by year of construction: - Old building before 1917 - Stalinka - Brick Khrushchev - Brick Brezhnev - Brick houses of the 90s-early 00s - Brick houses since 2000.

What is each type of house? — Old foundation before 1917 These houses are the most unpredictable in terms of quality and sound insulation. You need to study the house plan and technical documentation of the house in detail. Many houses have wooden floors (good vertical audibility). Often the walls with neighbors are made of thin partitions (shingles). Therefore, in addition to expensive repairs, you can get excellent audibility. - Stalinists. Many types of Stalin buildings are more expensive than modern economy or comfort class houses. This is due to their advantageous, for the most part, location, high ceilings and prestige. Disadvantages: lack of an elevator, or the presence of one small passenger elevator. Communications may not be designed for the power of modern electrical appliances. The ceilings in many Stalinka buildings are wooden. The variety of layouts has led to the fact that in Stalin buildings there are also many apartments where the wall between the apartments is made of shingles or half a brick, which is why you can hear the neighbors on the side very loudly. — Brick Khrushchev buildings Even in this standard series there are many modifications: for some, all the walls are made of brick, as I had in the 1-528KP series (including the bathroom and interior partitions), and for others, even the wall with the neighbors is made of a double wall made of plaster panels through which everything can be heard. You need to study the apartment plan and tap all the walls to make sure that the walls between neighbors are solid. — Brick Brezhnevka. Initially, the apartment layouts were very monotonous. The apartments were divided into rectangular sections; as a rule, the walls were all thick. But at the same time, the apartments were one-sided, i.e. All the windows in the three-room apartment faced either the courtyard or the street. It wasn't very convenient. And it was decided that all apartments should have at least one window facing the street or avenue, i.e. to the front of the house. As a result, as now, one-room apartments usually have all 2 windows facing the street, two-room apartments and three-room apartments have two-sided apartments (i.e., facing the courtyard and onto the street). Two-room and three-room Brezhnevka apartments are rarely one-sided anymore; apartments with a “open-wing” layout are appearing. The layout is becoming very popular when one of the rooms faces the opposite side of the house. And this room is bordered on both sides by neighbors. A logical solution in terms of sound insulation would have been to make two thick walls on both borders with neighbors, but even then, in order to save money, they began to use double hispolite panels (panel thickness 8 cm + air gap between the panels). The audibility between these panels is very high: I heard the drone of the TV, which is not audible through the 14cm reinforced concrete panel, for hours on sad nights in an old apartment in a panel house, unable to sleep. And then it seemed to me that this was only possible in budget terrible panel houses. But, as it turned out, exactly the same walls were used in brick houses. Saving on bricks led to a practice that survived the Soviet Union and continues to this day in all types of houses, including brick ones. A further desire to save money leads to the fact that many series of houses appear in Moscow, where only the external cladding is made of brick, and both a monolith and reinforced concrete panels were used inside. For example, this is the Vylukha tower and II-29 series. You can easily find many more series using the same technology. This is reminiscent of today's monolithic brick houses: the house looks like brick from the outside, but in terms of internal filling and sound insulation it is similar to panel houses of the same period. — Brick houses from the 90s and early 00s. In fact, these houses are not remarkable for anything special. Very often, the walls between apartments are made almost entirely of brick, as in Brezhnevka buildings. However, very often in open-plan apartments, one of the rooms borders its neighbors through a partition made of lightweight materials, which has low soundproofing properties. This does not depend on the elite quality of the house; even in houses with expensive apartments this can occur. — Brick houses since 2000. In the mid-2000s, energy efficiency standards were adopted that made the construction of brick houses unprofitable. The walls had to be thickened; even the masonry of 2.5 bricks (65 cm) no longer met the standards for thermal insulation. This led to the fact that practically no houses were built purely from brick. Like the “Vylukha towers,” it is very common to see externally brick houses with reinforced concrete slabs or pylons used inside. The problems with sound insulation are the same: the houses are essentially no different from panel houses or brick-monolithic houses and they can only be called brick only conditionally.

Which type of home would I choose based on these characteristics? If I were choosing a 2-3 room apartment in a brick house now in St. Petersburg, then it seems that the following would be completely adequate in terms of sound insulation: 1. Most brick Khrushchev buildings (where the inter-apartment walls are made of brick) 2. Brezhnev brick houses 528KP-40 (Nadezhina point ), 528KP-80, 528KP-81, 528KP-82 (“Icebreaker”) and some modifications (for example, the “Architect” series). 3. Brick houses built from 1991 to 2002 (you need to study the layout of the apartments so that all the walls with neighbors are brick, at least 25 cm thick).

The main problem with brick houses is vertical audibility. First of all, it should be noted that the same floor slabs are used in panel and brick houses: 16cm solid or 22cm hollow-core. Unlike panel houses, even if all the walls in the apartment with neighbors are 1.5-2 bricks thick (38-51cm), then lightweight materials are still used as interior partitions. This can be a thin wall made of brick laid on edge (6.5 cm thick + plaster), it can be a half-brick hollow brick (12 cm thick + plaster), or it can be plaster ringing partitions (exactly the same ones that were used in panel houses of that same period). In modern brick houses there may be partitions made of ringing PGP (8 cm thick), aerated concrete (10 cm). All these partitions perfectly transmit sounds from vertical neighbors: both air and percussion. Acousticists advise soundproofing such walls, or demolishing them and building modern multi-layer walls with sound insulation. Otherwise, impact sounds and airborne sounds from neighbors below will be heard at the level of a frame-monolithic house.

MONOLITHIC HOUSES. Monolithic houses became widespread 20 years ago. If you look at the information superficially, you will immediately find many articles that highly value the sound insulation of monolithic buildings. But in essence, a house made of a pure monolith is not very different from a panel house: the same reinforced concrete walls with a similar density of materials, in most cases the same wall thickness (on the upper walls the standard wall thickness is 16 cm). Theoretically, a cast, single monolithic structure without joints should provide better protection from airborne noise than panel houses. But at the same time, structural sounds (repairs) will spread even further than in a panel house. Complaints that renovations from the 20th floor can also be heard on the first floor, as if renovations are taking place in a neighboring apartment, are common for a monolith. The whole house “enjoys” the renovation. Also, it should be noted that almost no one is building completely monolithic houses now. Ideally, a monolithic house should have completely monolithic facade walls and all inter-apartment walls. But even in this case, the house contains non-load-bearing partitions, which are currently being erected from lightweight, ringing materials such as aerated concrete and PGP. As a result, the problem of re-emission of sounds from neighboring apartments (both percussion and airborne) arises. These partitions need to be soundproofed or demolished.

FRAME-MONOLITHIC HOUSES: The most common type of house in large cities. On the Internet you can find dozens of articles almost identical in content, which claim a lot of advantages of this type of house over panel ones: - more durable (125-150 years versus 100 years for modern panel ones) - better sound insulation - more varied layouts - the possibility of building an underground parking

Currently, in large cities, frame-monolithic houses are built more often than panel houses. The main question is why? Of course, this is done for economic reasons. This is partly due to fashion, since panel houses gained a very bad reputation during the years of budget construction in the Soviet years. For some people, panel houses have automatically become the worst type of housing. Public information often indicates that panel houses are built 2-3 times faster than monolithic ones and cost 20-25% less than monolithic ones. Thanks to seamless technology, the facades of panel houses are sheathed with insulation and covered with plaster. As a result, modern panel houses can be practically indistinguishable from monolithic houses. In my opinion, the only tangible advantage of monolithic houses over panel houses is the possibility of building underground parking. But this does not explain why in remote areas they build budget brick-monolithic houses without underground parking, and sell apartments no higher than those of panel houses. Due to the rise in prices for building materials and the inability to increase prices for apartments, developers must find ways to reduce the cost of monolithic houses to the level of panel houses. Otherwise, it is unclear how the developer will make a profit. History goes in circles, and the desire to save money has been haunting minds since the times of the Soviet Union. First there were Stalin buildings with beautiful facades, then there were Stalin buildings made of cinder blocks, then they began to build Stalin buildings without finishing the facades (under Khrushchev), then they lowered the height of the ceilings and shrunk the layouts and made Khrushchev buildings out of brick. Then they switched to panel houses and made Khrushchev panel buildings. Then, at the end of the 60s, they began to build large-panel houses of the 1-602LG series, the essence of which was that they began to use longer panels. This not only made it possible to make the rooms wider, but also to save on building materials due to fewer load-bearing walls. Sections of load-bearing panels for 2 windows appear, and if in this section there were 2 rooms of different apartments, then they were divided by a light partition of 2 sheets of plaster. And it was profitable, so the 137 series, considered almost the best panel houses in the Soviet Union, were built according to this principle until the 90s. In the case of monolithic frame houses, the possibility of saving has reached its apotheosis: now there is no need for load-bearing walls at all, you can get by with load-bearing columns (pylons). The monolithic frame resembles a cage (reducing the mass of the structure saves on the foundation and building materials for the construction of walls). And here there is complete freedom of “creativity” to save money: you can make inter-apartment walls from a monolith or solid brick. But in reality, inter-apartment walls are starting to be made of aerated concrete and PGP partitions that do not meet sound insulation. And it is not surprising, understanding all of the above, to read thousands of complaints about audibility in modern brick-monolithic houses worse than in 50-year-old Khrushchev-era panel buildings.

Sound insulation, on the one hand, is a very complex science that needs to be studied for a long time in order to understand the principles of sound propagation. But sound insulation has simple laws, the principle of which is easy to explain. The main rule for good soundproofing of a room is the law of mass. The heavier the material from which the walls and ceilings are made, the better it insulates from extraneous noise. The use of lightweight partitions in monolithic frame houses cannot provide sound insulation even at the level of panel Khrushchev buildings (12 cm reinforced concrete walls of a Khrushchev building have higher sound insulation than a 20 cm aerated concrete wall of a monolith). I'm not saying that all frame-monolithic houses are built according to this principle. Nothing except the thirst for savings prevents the developer from building all the inter-apartment walls from a monolith, but a lot of budget houses are just like that.

PANEL HOUSES Back in Soviet times, panel houses earned a truly terrifying reputation as the most budget-friendly housing with a complete lack of sound insulation. It will probably take a long time before people will be able to talk about panel houses without negativity (if such a time comes). But contrary to general opinion, I believe that modern panel houses can actually be very good in terms of sound insulation, and now I will explain why. Can you find an apartment in a monolithic building in which all the walls with neighbors and all internal partitions in the apartment, except for the bathroom and ventilation duct, will be load-bearing reinforced concrete slabs 16 cm thick? I'm sure not. This is hardly an option, if only because the opportunity to remodel an apartment to your liking is very much appreciated. As a result, the minimum number of load-bearing walls is considered a big plus. But in terms of sound insulation, the load-bearing ones are 16cm. reinforced concrete walls have a gigantic mass (384 kg per 1 m2), a mass 4 times higher than that of aerated concrete, which is often used for interior partitions. Therefore, such load-bearing walls do not transmit ordinary household noise from neighbors above or below, as light partitions do.

But why are panel houses considered the worst in terms of sound insulation? In my opinion, this opinion was formed from several factors: 1. In Soviet times, panel houses were invented based on maximum savings and for quick construction. We saved money on literally everything. The first panel houses had thin walls 10-12cm thick. It was in panel houses that they began to experimentally make thin hipped ceilings (where the thickness of the floor slab was 6 cm), for example, in the series 606 and 507 panel houses in St. Petersburg. It was in panel houses that they began to lay linoleum on joists instead of floors, which is why vertical audibility became high. It was in panel houses that they used through sockets on the inter-apartment walls, through which, of course, neighbors could be heard. And imagine people who lived in brick houses (the same Khrushchev buildings), and then find themselves in a house where there is such audibility (lateral due to through sockets, vertical due to thin ceilings, and in later houses with linoleum instead of parquet with covered with sand). But if we remove these 2 negative factors: thin walls with through sockets and thin ceilings, let's try to objectively evaluate the sound insulation of a modern panel house. Horizontal audibility: a standard inter-apartment reinforced concrete wall 16cm thick has a sound insulation index of 52dB. For comparison, a brick wall made of solid brick with plaster on both sides has a sound insulation index of 53 dB. A difference of 1 dB can be estimated as follows: sounds through a brick wall will be 5% quieter. Those. the difference is practically unnoticeable. Vertical audibility: both panel and brick houses use the same floor panels: 16cm solid or 22cm hollow-core. Both floor slabs have a sound insulation index of approximately 52 dB. The only thing that makes sense is to have a good floating screed (or other type of sound insulation). Therefore, if in a panel house you can hear the neighbors from below (for example, how loud they are talking, or how the TV is grumbling), then first of all you need to check the heating radiators and the pipe connection sleeve. If the sound is not coming from there, then you need to make a floating screed and no longer hear such noise from below (a floating screed has a sound insulation index of 10 dB, which is higher than a Soviet floor on joists filled with sand). If you can hear your neighbors to the side, then you need to worry about moving the socket (you can do it in another place, you can make an external socket).

Compared to all-brick houses, panel houses have the following disadvantages: 1. The impact sounds of repairs travel further. Repairs can be heard 3-4 floors away from the sound source. In a brick building, sounds do not spread as much and will be heard on 2 floors. 2. In brick houses, some inter-apartment walls may be thicker than 1 brick. For example, 1.5-2 bricks. In this case, the sound insulation index of such walls is 56-59 dB (which is already 20-35% quieter than that of a reinforced concrete wall 16 cm thick).

Compared to monolithic houses, panel houses are in no way inferior. The only downside is the formation of cracks through which sounds can penetrate. But there may also be cracks in the monolith. This can be corrected if it occurs. On the other hand, in a panel, sounds travel over shorter distances (of the same repair), and there are more heavy load-bearing walls. However, when buying an apartment in a panel house, you also need to check all inter-apartment walls, as well as partitions. They can also be made of PGP or aerated concrete and re-emit sounds. In old Soviet large-panel houses in swing-open apartments, one of the rooms also has a light partition with neighbors in the form of a double plaster wall, which has very low sound insulation.

BLOCK HOUSES There is also a BLOCK TYPE of houses. But due to the low amount of information on these types of houses, it is very difficult to judge how good the sound insulation is there. In the first versions of cinder blocks, part of the inter-apartment load-bearing walls is made of blocks 40 cm thick (if we take into account the density of cinder blocks at 1600 kg/m3), we can say that in such houses the sound insulation should be high (at a level of 56 dB, as in a wall of 1.5 bricks). But for more modern series of block houses, the thickness and materials of the walls may be completely different. Reviews are also very contradictory. It is not entirely clear whether block houses are being built at all now. We are looking for monolithic frame houses with infill blocks. Most likely, block houses are practically no longer built.

Summing up the types of houses, I would like to highlight the main points: 1. Sound insulation does not depend entirely on the type of house. This is not to say that all brick houses will necessarily have better sound insulation than other types of houses. — First of all, this is due to the fact that in brick houses, not all inter-apartment walls may be made of brick (or there may be an inter-apartment partition half a brick thin), which is why you will hear your neighbors to the side. — Also, in brick houses the same floor slabs are used as in other types of houses. Therefore, if the neighbors do not have parquet on the floor, but there is linoleum on a thin screed or laminate with a thin backing, then the stomping will be heard as loudly as in a panel or monolithic house. — Many externally brick houses have a filling similar to that of panel or frame-monolithic houses. Moreover, such houses have been built since the 60s in Moscow. The vast majority of houses since 2003 are also only externally made of brick, and inside they use the same monolithic or panel structures for inter-apartment walls. 2. When choosing an apartment, you need to take into account that ALL INTERNATIONAL WALLS are made of one of the following materials: - solid brick with a thickness of at least 25 cm (thickness is 1 brick). — reinforced concrete walls with a thickness of at least 16 cm. - heavy concrete or slag concrete with a thickness of at least 25 cm (in block houses). — reinforced concrete floors no thinner than 16cm solid or 22cm hollow. — interior partitions should not produce a ringing sound when tapped. If the sound is loud, then such walls will most likely have to be soundproofed or replaced with others so as not to hear the neighbors below. — in modern houses, additional noise insulation of apartments from loud sound sources is often used. For example, an elevator hall is soundproofed on the elevator side, covering the soundproofing with plasterboard on top, and the slab separating the hall and the apartment can be thicker (20cm versus 16cm for other walls). This will prevent you from hearing the elevator. If neighbors have a kitchen and a living room adjacent, then the wall is additionally soundproofed (for example, a second wall with a sound layer is made next to a load-bearing reinforced concrete wall). The toilet side is also soundproofed. As a result, the sounds of water, toilet, and elevator are not heard. Therefore, modern homes may soundproof better in some aspects. But you also need to check the documentation, because not all developers do this.

Ideal apartment in terms of soundproofing? For me, in the current realities, an ideal apartment would be: 1. Top floor. 2. Border with only 1 neighbors (along the corridor and one wall of the room or kitchen). 3. Walls 2 bricks thick (solid). 4. All interior partitions are 1 solid brick or 16 cm thick reinforced concrete panel. 5. Floating screed 8cm thick.

I would also like to note that, according to acousticians, comfortable sound insulation of a living space should be about 60-62 dB. Even walls of 2 bricks (51 cm), which have a sound insulation of 59 dB, cannot provide such sound insulation. Therefore, comfort will still largely depend on the neighbors. Even additional “room within a room” soundproofing in such an apartment will still not protect against barking dogs (either from below, at least from the side, even diagonally), screams from neighbors, loud music, etc. Not to mention the fact that the closest apartment with such thick brick walls can most likely only be in Stalin buildings, and even then only a few will have such thick walls of 2 bricks (nomenklatura Stalin buildings). And you will have to do the screed on the joists yourself. Partitions made of shingles, which were used in Stalin buildings, are also unlikely to please in terms of repairs, when the plaster on them will not stick and it will be difficult to pierce something (although they are good in terms of sound insulation, they do not re-emit noise).

And it is very important to remember the location of the apartment. It's very easy to try your luck by buying a mid-floor apartment and then suffer the stomping ground. This even applies to luxury houses costing 40 million on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg (my realtor told me that the muffled stomp can still be heard, which is why the client, who heard the stomp while viewing, abandoned the idea of ​​buying an apartment). I think this is the main reason that in the same house some people are quiet, while others have a lot of complaints about all the neighbors around. One stomp is enough to cancel out all the sound insulation of even the quietest Stalin building with thick walls.

I wish everyone a successful apartment search. I really hope that this article will be useful to someone. Thanks to everyone who made it to the end.

Options for getting rid of noise in the apartment

Offers of new materials on the modern market arrive almost daily. Today it is not difficult to find a soundproofing material that optimally suits the apartment owner both in terms of sound-absorbing characteristics and appearance.

Many materials make it possible to do sound insulation quite well yourself, without resorting to the services of companies. Such building materials are usually easy to install and do not require further maintenance. They combine excellent insulating qualities and a spectacular appearance, which allows owners to save on further finishing of the apartment.

Not all property owners are able to correctly select the required material and perform installation work. Numerous construction organizations specializing in soundproofing work offer their services to them. They have at their disposal all modern types of building materials and extensive work experience - they often use several coatings at once, which together provide one hundred percent protection against sound penetration.

To the extent that soundproofing almost any apartment in a monolithic building is a whole complex of works, the complexity is not much different from a major overhaul; their implementation should only be trusted to professionals. This will allow you to avoid many mistakes that property owners often make when trying to get rid of the problem on their own.

Materials used

When carrying out work, you need to choose what the thermal insulation layer will be made of. There are several options, each of which has its own pros and cons.

Polyurethane foam

This material adheres well to the wall surface and is durable. Its weak point is that it is destroyed by direct sunlight. Therefore, it must be protected from their entry. Polyurethane foam is invulnerable to fungus or insects. When installing it, there is no need to install a fastener.

Cork slabs

They do not require decorative finishing. Known for durability and lightness. They have good noise-absorbing properties. Cork boards have high mechanical strength. Small dents on them level out on their own.

Mineral wool

Installation of such a coating is not difficult even for beginners in matters of repair. This material is lightweight, fire-resistant, and combines well with other materials. Mineral wool is sold in the form of rolls. It is made from metallurgical waste and crumbs obtained from minerals.

Expanded polystyrene

It has significant sound-proofing and heat-insulating properties. It is very light, has a high density, does not allow water to pass through, and has a service life of over 50 years. Expanded polystyrene does not grow fungi or mold.

Ceiling soundproofing work Source mr-build.ru

Other interesting questions and answers

You can hear your neighbors upstairs. How to reduce audibility?

You can't hear the neighbors at all from the side. The noise and voices are only from above, near the battery. The material of the house is aerated concrete.

Said1

First of all, it is necessary to eliminate all sound-amplifying cavities. They work on the principle of a resonator box. It is necessary to fill all cavities with a solution or at least polyurethane foam. Then it’s better to make acoustic ceilings. These are suspended ceilings with additional elements. When constructing the ceiling frame, vibration isolation must be done. The cheapest option is Dichtungband tape, which is laid between the wall and the frame elements. Vibration damping needs to be done in the suspension profile. To do this, the internal cavity of the profile is filled with polyurethane foam. After this, sheets of sound-absorbing material are attached to the ceiling. These are mineral wool mats with a density of 30 to 60 km/m3. They are the ones who will dampen the sound, and therefore the larger the area you cover with them, the better. After this, attach drywall to the frame, which will act as a sound reflector. For me, such ceilings have significantly reduced the audibility from the neighbors above.

Slavomir2

How can you reduce or completely remove the audibility of a trumpet?

Our apartments are located in such a way that all our neighbors above us have a toilet above our hallway. We have a sewer pipe hidden in a niche. We recently replaced the metal one with metapol. And now we can hear all the plums and more. During the day it doesn’t interfere, we’re used to it, but at night sometimes it really bothers us. How can this audibility be reduced or even removed? Or what else can be done? Guest2

Soundproofing of pipes

Guest1

What can loneliness and staying at home lead to?

Timofey Gavrilov55

I did this for about half a year. I've been struggling with this for the last 3 months. First with the help of some people, and now it started to work out on my own. Causes: depression. Cruel, fierce and with pills. It’s good, calm, quiet at home, the beloved twilight always reigns. 4 walls inspire confidence and a little peace in the soul. Well, since I didn’t communicate with almost anyone, I still don’t communicate, but at least I started going out on the street without good reason. Among the consequences: diction has fallen, speech as such doesn’t fit in well, it became hard to talk to people, really hard; I lost 10-15 kilograms, I now look somewhat skeletal, the dark circles under my eyes in winter were worthy of emulation by heroin addicts, and the already aristocratic pallor became too aristocratic with slight hints of light green; Most of the warm attitudes towards myself from many acquaintances abruptly evaporated. On the plus side: I didn’t find any. I just sorted through a ton of literature, alcohol and my musical sketches, but I don’t think I wouldn’t have done it outside the 4 walls.

Zhenya Maltsev102

Factors influencing noise levels

The volume of sound heard by a person who is relaxing in a private home can be slightly reduced by carrying out certain work:

• replacing existing windows with wooden frames with metal-plastic double-glazed windows;
• installation of modern entrance doors equipped with an elastic seal along the entire contour;
• installation of external specialized structures, characterized by fairly good sound-absorbing parameters, for example, external insulation of walls using polystyrene foam;
• independently decorating the front door using MDF panels, they will increase not only thermal but also sound insulation;
• replace interior doors with more advanced models that have fairly good insulating parameters.

Note! In addition to reducing noise levels, carrying out such measures will also reduce heat losses.

But, unfortunately, in most cases, these works do not provide the opportunity to achieve good effectiveness in the fight against annoying loud sounds. Only high-quality soundproofing of a room in a private house or in a panel high-rise building can help in this situation.

To do this, you need to correctly select insulating materials and correctly carry out the process of combating sound exposure.

We propose to consider some of the subtleties of choosing appropriate building materials and implementing soundproofing measures, taking into account the type of residential building.

Which sound insulation is better

The following information will help you choose soundproofing materials wisely.

Experts conventionally divide noise into two types:

• Air sounds. Transported through airspace. These include loud music, screams, and the noise of passing automobile and railway transport. They can enter a house or apartment through small cracks and crevices in walls and floors.
• Impact sounds. They spread throughout the solid components of the building structure. For example, this could be sounds from the use of a hammer drill or drill during construction work, or slamming doors.

In addition, when choosing materials for soundproofing in an apartment or low-rise architectural building, you need to pay attention to certain factors:

• sound parameters: frequency, level, type;
• sources of sounds;
• parameters of walls and interfloor ceilings: thickness, material, acoustic characteristics;
• level of desired noise comfort.

Note! For example, if you need high-quality sound insulation of the attic, you should not cover it with metal tiles or corrugated sheets, since such roofing is a potential source of noise throughout the house during heavy rain or hail.

Several of the most popular soundproofing materials can provide effective protection from external noise sources. They are able to absorb extraneous sounds like a sponge absorbs water.

Mineral wool

Building types

Frame-monolithic buildings (monolithic houses) have gained recognition due to the simplicity and high speed of their construction. Apartments there are inexpensive due to the cost-effective construction technology. The price is also reduced by the fact that most of them are usually sold “for repairs”. This means that a new resident of a monolithic house receives the frame of his home, consisting of walls, columns, ceiling and floor (in the best case with a poured screed), and has the right to manage the layout and decoration of the future apartment at his own discretion.

Indeed, it is very convenient, but the sound insulation of an apartment in a monolithic building (new building), or rather, its quality, depends solely on the owner’s costs for its implementation. It is at this stage that you need to think about it and make significant investments in soundproofing your home, because later it will be more difficult and more expensive.

Building structures made of bricks or blocks quickly absorb a significant portion of sound vibrations, preventing their propagation. Owners of wooden houses using particle-cement boards do not need to worry about this at all. The construction materials of such structures are themselves good sound insulators.

The situation is worse, if not catastrophically bad, with panel and monolithic buildings. Panels for construction are made by pouring concrete onto a metal frame. Therefore, such structures turn out to be homogeneous, and, therefore, are a good conductor of sound vibrations. Soundproofing an apartment in a monolithic building is the most popular.

Monolithic technology involves making a metal frame for the entire building and then pouring it with concrete. In this case, we get a situation where all the load-bearing structures are rigidly connected to each other, or more precisely, they form a monolithic structure. Thanks to this, there are simply no obstacles to the propagation of shock vibrations and the sound from the operation of a hammer drill on the ground floor of a building can be clearly heard at the last level due to the ease of its propagation along a monolithic column. This leads to special requirements for soundproofing an apartment in a monolithic building.

Plates or surfaces made using monolithic technology (walls, floors and ceilings) form devices similar to membranes. Through such structures, airborne and structural noise propagates almost unimpeded.

It is for these reasons that soundproofing an apartment in a panel house, and especially in a monolithic frame house, requires special measures to be taken at the renovation stage.

How frame sound insulation allows you to speed up repairs

Often, when it comes to soundproofing apartments in terms of whether to do it or not, the argument “against” is the opinion that this work will lead to a significant increase in the time and cost of repairs. Actually this is not true. Experienced specialists perform high-quality installation of a soundproofing panel for a wall with an area of ​​15-20 m2 within one day. In this case, significant savings in the total time for repairs can be achieved due to:

• laying electrical and telecommunication cables with installation of sockets without gating walls. These works are carried out in parallel with installation - the wires are hidden in the thickness of the non-flammable fibrous filler;
• reducing the need for preliminary leveling of walls, plus the surface of the soundproofing structure requires minimal preparation before applying the decorative coating;
• no need to clean up large volumes of construction waste and dust after installation.

The cost of civil works is also reduced and materials are saved. In monolithic brick houses, reducing costs on these items can completely pay for sound insulation. Therefore, you should not deprive yourself of comfort due to erroneous ideas about the complexity and high cost of soundproofing structures.