Soundproofing interior waste pipe box cavity

thenobody

hi,

in my apartment right beside my bed the waste pipe for the bathrooms in the block is located. In is enclosed in a box section in the corner of the room.

When the neighbours above flush their toilet (every night about 4or 5 times between 2am and 3am without fail) the water gushing down through the pipe is so loud it wakes me up every time. I have to wear earplugs every night.

I need to get it sound proofed. I put a few holes in the plasterboard of the box and have determined (using a fibre optic scope) that there is no insulation inside and also there is no fireproofing between the floors. They just used a section of wood to cover the hole in the concrete.

I am not what the best time to do is.
am thinking about just putting holes in the plasterboard and filling the cavity around the pipe inside with explandable foam
Or would it be better to just cut a section out and jam in as much rockwool stuff as i can into the cavity and repair the hole.
Or I am now reading about filling the whole thing with bean bag polystyrene beads.

Can anyone please adivse what the best way to go about this is and what will give the best results?

Oh, and asking for their consideration to use their other bathroom after midnight has not worked.

10-10-20

That's very inconsiderate of the designers to locate such a pipe there.
The couple above you may have medical reasons for using the toilet late at night, so do consider this also! Or maybe they just drink too much!

Anyhow, I would look at getting some loose fill rockwool or sound-barrier foam into the space around the pipe (enclose the pipe in it's entirety) and then also put some acoustic plasterboard over the existing plasterboard.

http://www.british-gypsum.bpb.co.uk/products/plasterboard___accessories.aspx

I wouldn't fill the cavity with either expandable foam or poly beads as you cannot control the flow and you may end up with a very large bill from the management company for cleanup. Also, poly beads react with electrical insulation and break it down over time.

Oh - and don't compress rockwool into the space as it then becomes ineffective.

thenobody

Thanks very much for the advice.

Ill go with the rockwool option. any idea where to buy it?
Where can i get sound barrier foam?

I may be able to add the acoustic plasterboard over the one in the bedroom. Other bathroom pipe in the hall closet and wouldnt possible so will just fill that with rockwool too.

No medical reasons. Just they go to bed so late every night after 2am. If they went to be like other people before 12 then it wouldnt be a problem.
I just dont get how they can spend about an hour walking around the room going to bed each night and flush the toilet so much. I can hear them peeing and can tell if they are flushing for the sake or it or not. I get woken up by one flush and then when im just about asleep again the next flush wakes me up further. earplugs help but it cant be good to wear them every night.

A side question, since that pipe section is internal to my apartment can i therefore technically block it off and remove it thus as a result removing the use of the peoples upstairs bathroom?
Just wondering.

10-10-20

You can pickup small rolls of rockwool in Woodies, they are approx 2m squared for €9.99.
As I mentioned, pack the wool in, but don't compress. Use rubber gloves as the stuff can be itchy on the skin, and maybe year a face mask. You should avoid tearing it up into small pieces as this creates dust.

JBCFord

thenobody
The first thing to address is are you the owner of the apartment or just renting short or long term if you are the owner press on with the work if renting you could approach the landlord to have the work carried out for you and state all grievances affecting your lack of sleep affecting your work and so on

If you’re the owner of the apartment first off address the lack of fire stopping between floors by installing fire stopping intubatt to stop the travel of flame and smoke between floors. Pipe work also running between floors should have fire collars fitted and intumescent pipe sleeves fitted which will help with your sewer pipe acoustic problem
The remaining cavity around pipe work could be filled with acoustic rockwool from floor to ceiling which is deferent from normal thermal rockwool
All this work requires you to remove original plasterboard from around pipe work

NOTE important If you remove plasterboard from around pipe work do not leave an open void between floors where flame and smoke can travel get this job done first

When reinstating plasterboard have a minimum of a one hour rating witch is usually two 12mm fire lined pink boards adding more boards increases acoustic and fire rating properties
Hope this helps
Ps sorry for the long post but don’t mess around with health and safety do it right first time

maniac101

I was wondering if the OP could leave the existing plasterboard in place? The rockwool could be hung onto the existing board, and new plasterboard could be hung on studs inside his own apartment. Would this be a viable option?

thenobody

Thanks a lot.

I am the owner of the apartment.
If i was to go through all that effort could i demand that the builders do it. (its 1.5 years old now) - based on there being no fire proofing and not being up to code regulation.
Maybe threaten to get homebond inspectors in?

But probably just best sorting it myself.

the pipe is behind a approx 8inch two sided box section at the corner of the room so i think i will end up cutting sections out of it and putting acoustic rockwool into the cavity and then repairing the hole in the plasterboard and trying to address the fire stoppoing through the cutouts.
There is also the same situation for the other bathroom toilet sewer pipe which is in the hall closet outside the bedroom. (and same for the a pipe going through the kitchen).
For the one in the hall closet there will bo no way to add plasterboard to the outside of the existing box so the option of installing the rockwool in the box is the best option there.

Thanks for the advice.

JBCFord

Hi thenobody
Home bond warranty for structural defects lasts for ten years

Homebond have a complaints scheme which you could check out on builders registered with homebond for complaints on non-structural defects including improper installations including plumbing, flooring and the important one if the building is not up to fire code homebond can sanction, end membership and refuse to register homes built by the builder but I think it only lasts for one year after you buy the property contact homebond to find out more maybe they can lean on the builder for repairs and costs

As far as I am aware if you damage property above or below you through fire and smoke damage due to a fire breaking out in your apartment your liable to repair damage and any other costs incurred by other tenants the same goes for flooding an apartment below you. So I would get any defects repaired to up to code to cover yourself

I would also get a independent structural engineer to look at your lack of fire protection and unwanted noise coming from the pipe work area it may be covered by homebond he would give advice on the next step to take

Hope this helps
Jbcford

Mellor

10-10-20 wrote: »

Oh - and don't compress rockwool into the space as it then becomes ineffective.

Thats for thermal insulation, not sound, in terms of sound more mass is better.

thenobody wrote: »

A side question, since that pipe section is internal to my apartment can i therefore technically block it off and remove it thus as a result removing the use of the peoples upstairs bathroom?
Just wondering.

Afraid not. The pipe is technically outside your property, you own the space betweem the walls, not the walls themselves. The pipe is still behind a stud wall.
Also, this wouldn't stop the toilet working, it would only prevent the waste from exiting the building, most likely it would leak into your bedroom if you did this anyway.

JBCFord wrote: »

As far as I am aware if you damage property above or below you through fire and smoke damage due to a fire breaking out in your apartment your liable to repair damage and any other costs incurred by other tenants the same goes for flooding an apartment below you. So I would get any defects repaired to up to code to cover yourself

I don't think this is right. If a fire breaks out he would be liable for his own property (furniture etc). But if the building wasn't built in accordance with part B then the blame is on the contractor or designer (depending on who is at fault).

Homebond is cover for homes, so alot of appartments won't be registered.

Yellow_Fern

thenobody wrote: »

hi,

in my apartment right beside my bed the waste pipe for the bathrooms in the block is located. In is enclosed in a box section in the corner of the room.

When the neighbours above flush their toilet (every night about 4or 5 times between 2am and 3am without fail) the water gushing down through the pipe is so loud it wakes me up every time. I have to wear earplugs every night.

I need to get it sound proofed. I put a few holes in the plasterboard of the box and have determined (using a fibre optic scope) that there is no insulation inside and also there is no fireproofing between the floors. They just used a section of wood to cover the hole in the concrete.

I am not what the best time to do is.
am thinking about just putting holes in the plasterboard and filling the cavity around the pipe inside with explandable foam
Or would it be better to just cut a section out and jam in as much rockwool stuff as i can into the cavity and repair the hole.
Or I am now reading about filling the whole thing with bean bag polystyrene beads.

Can anyone please adivse what the best way to go about this is and what will give the best results?

Oh, and asking for their consideration to use their other bathroom after midnight has not worked.

I realise the OP's post is 11 years old but I am wondering what solution did they achieve and did they consider replacing the soil pipe with a cast iron pipe?

listermint

Remove what's there entirely and clad the corner in a sound proofed board with depth.

Other option is spray foam in holes along the height of the existing clad.

GreeBo

listermint wrote: »

Remove what's there entirely and clad the corner in a sound proofed board with depth.

Other option is spray foam in holes along the height of the existing clad.

I'd favour replacing existing with soundproof boards rather than foam as if you ever needed to get access to the pipe again foam will make that messy and annoying.

LenWoods

https://www.soundinsulation.ie
may have some material you require