Soundproofing

windbound

Putting playroom in attic and I'm looking for the best cheapest method of soundproofing. Was reading about sand. Does anyone have an opinion on the use of sand on batten held plywood between joists? Thank you.

Calahonda52

Can you tell us a bit more about the house:
Is it timber frame or block construction, how many floors, including attic, how deep are existing joists that you want to use to support sand.
Is the attic a conversion or was it part of original
Thanks

windbound

Block constructed bungalow partly converted to two story with 9 x 2 joists 14 inches apart. Area to be soundproofed will be 40m sq. approx

windbound

Block constructed bungalow partly converted to two story with 9 x 2 joists 14 inches apart. Area to be soundproofed will be 40m sq. approx. Playroom going in to the two story conversion. No attic above this

Calahonda52

It is a bit like this?
If it is then it will be tough to do.
I know because I live in the attached!

Have you an existing floor with doors and an existing stairs?

windbound

Pretty much like that yes. No floorboards down yet. Access no problem. Does sand actually work do you know?

dathi

windbound wrote: »

Putting playroom in attic and I'm looking for the best cheapest method of soundproofing. Was reading about sand. Does anyone have an opinion on the use of sand on batten held plywood between joists? Thank you.

what depth of sand are you talking about ? just to let you know a cubic metre of dry sand weighs 1.28 tonnes

Calahonda52

As dathi has said, the plaster board may not take the weight of the sand...

before doing anything, you need to understand the science of sound transmission.
The sand increases the density of the floor and thus absorbs some of the sound: the floor as is is like a big bass drum.
You also need to cut down on air holes between the upstairs and down stairs so pipes, cable, downlighter, etc are all pain points

If there is no floor in yet and you have some head room, then I would look at some of the solutions that put rubber strips on the joists.
You can also look at something like cement board, which is strong and very dense as a flooring.
However be careful around the stairs as ideally you should not change the height of the last step, it is dangerous.

Can you post some pics of it as is, as you have less than 50 posts you need to break the link up like
http : // etc . com

Also if you used advanced search on google with this as the domain you can find other posts on sound..
Would I use sand upstairs: no.

windbound

Thanks lads for the advice. Sand did sound a bit mad when I was reading about it alright. With plywood between the joists, then polyethylene covered with around two inches of sand I thought it was interesting. Thanks again for advice.