I have staggered stud walls in my build too. I'm actually running OSB for the first wall layer though, for a few reasons. First, it's cheaper. Second, it means all walls are strong enough to have cupboards, shelves, TVs, etc mounted to them. Third, the more different densities of materials you can have in your wall layers, the better the sound will be eaten up.
I like this idea, I'm going to build a small theater room in my basement using staggered steel studs. It seems like OSB sounds (softer) than plywood as well and will still hold screws without anchors or dense blocking.
@@wolfe2118 Robert has it right here, different densities is king. UK name of a product is soft board, like sheet rock, but better at preventing sound transmission. Staggered struts, OSB, soft board, then (absolutely essential) curtains. Many layers of light fabric does better than 1 of heavy. And to be totally old school, a panel of fabric covered cardboard egg boxes
@@robertszynal4745 My understanding is the drywall is a better sound insulation because if it’s density. Air/cracks are the worst. After sealing gaps and increasing wall mass, you need to reduce reverb, which is one of the things the insulation pokes at. High mass vinyl between wall layers is supposed to help, but it’s a $pecialty product.
You should test the sound difference between the glass vs rockwool sound. The rockwool sound is so much better at sound diffusion. Its worth the extra few $ for those walls where sound is critical.
Yeah. In my opinion and experience, glass is a waste of money for this. Its all the other details that are doing the work. Rockwhool or denim even, are more expensive but the value is higher because they actually work.
They make sound reducing drywall in 1/2 or 5/8 thickness. Has acoustic jell in the middle of the sheet. You can also get mass density vinyl rolls. If street noise is a problem, laminated glass windows will work the best.
We did some acoustic improvements on the wall between a bathroom and the home office and the difference was amazing. 1 - Acoustic caulk on all exposed gaps at edges of the existing wall, and around the door frame. 2 - Added screws to existing drywall. It had too few and was a sounding board. 3 - Add another layer of drywall in the office with acoustic dampening gel between the the layers. 4 - Replaced door between office and bath with better fitting solid core door. 5 - Installed weather stripping on door.
@@termiterasin It looked like they did a few to hold the edges but left the middle with no screws, so the whole sheet could resonate with the toilet as it flushed! After the upgrades it no longer sounded like the toilet was in the middle of the office. We also squirted expanding foam around any pipe we could reach without cutting holes in the wall. A proper sound mitigation job will go along with a bathroom upgrade ... much later.
When I did my home theater 15 years ago, I did staggered stud with insulation, 5/8” for first layer of drywall, green glue acoustic, and 1/2” of drywall for second layer [theory that that different depths of drywall resonate a difference frequencies]. and then wall treatment on top of that. Carpet on the floor and a special interior door with acoustic seals and not much leaks out.
I LOVE this. I would like to see MORE soundproofing videos, including 1) how to handle more difficult situations, like a bathroom where you have plumbing in the wall, and 2) doors / pocket doors (the Eclisse ones with the damper threshold look great). 3) If closets separate the rooms is that enough?
Noticed the boxes where already recessed with first layer of Sheetrock. Looks like that electrical box is going to be about 3/4 inch from flush with two layers of Sheetrock
@@mrcryptozoic817Did applying the acoustical caulk after the first layer of drywall, in effect, glue the boxes in place making them no longer adjustable?
meh, I have had zero problems driving screws into filled outlet box holes over the years. I don't think anyone who is capable of installing an outlet will be thwarted by a flexible caulk covering a screw hole.
Correct. Especially if DIY. Asking the crew to stop, tape and float one wall, then continue hanging rock probably makes them grumble. Not uncommon tape & float is a different crew. Maybe those joints got caulked off camera?
As an electrician I would prefer you tell me that that wall has changed to double layer. That way I can space my boxes properly and you won't be filling them and their screw holes with caulk, but rather just calking the first layer to the side of the box. Really it's better for both of us. If that wall didn't change and your electrician installed his boxes like this anyways, find a better electrician.
You guys are both correct…. Unless? The electrician installed those new fancy dancy adjustable depth boxes. Which on the Risinger build? I’m suspecting is the case.
@@Casmige If the electrician did install "those new fancy dancy adjustable depth boxes", Risinger and company just screwed him. Between the putty pad on the back and the caulk on the front of the box, they ain't goin' nowhere. Oh well, I guess there's always mud rings.
.Air seal, Air seal, air seal. Consider a true double wall with an isolation membrane under plates. A shared plate is still going to allow for a ton of transmission.
THE DOOR. Use an exterior style door seal on your interior doors where you want to control sound transmission, including the bottom of the door. To keep the HVAC system working properly you will need a jump duct to the hallway or into the return plenum. A solid core door is a real effective upgrade also.
I installed an acoustic door gasket on the entrance to my music room. It's basically heavy rubber weatherstripping in an aluminum frame. On the bottom, it has a little mechanism that seals against the floor just as the door closes. Expensive and unattractive, but effective.
Also having walls parallel is a design problem for sound attenuation. Especially with hard surfaces. Designing a space to address this might be a good idea. Also we use Rockwool RockBoard 40 or 6O in the walls to dissipate sound energy.
Yeah, the electrician either wasn't informed of the two layers of drywall or he just installed the boxes the way he usually does instead of accounting for the extra wall thickness.
Tricks I've learned: 1. Leave screws in screw holes of the outlet box before caulking and mudding 2. If you use a good box extender and good 6-32 screws, they will be pretty solid to begin with, but then caulking around them will hold it in place even better 3. Durabond with fiberglass reinforcement ("tape in mud") solves the rest of the box extender problems 😆
plot twist: They are recessed intentionally so they can be isolated from the rock, the directions for the materials used are online. One can find mud rings in various thicknesses, any 1st year apprentice will have zero issues with this.
@@wolfe2118 Plot twist: electrical box extensions (which are distinct from mud rings) are attached to the existing box, which will be hampered by the sloppy, copious application of that acoustic sealant. It's a code issue, which any "first year apprentice" would be taught.
I'd expect offsetting seams in the second layer to be as good or better than rotating 90 degrees. Green glue between layers would have been better. Decoupling the drywall with clips and channel (not resilient channel!) would be best. However, the door is the weak point. It needs a solid door with weatherstripping (which is hard to get to seal properly) and an automatic threshold.
Doing a reno on a 1968 house. All the bedroom walls that are shared with common areas has "sound lowering" sheet rock. It is 2 layers of 1/2 sheetrock stuck together. My drywall guys absolutely hated it because you have to score both sides to cut it. It is also expensive AF. Your method of 2 layers of 5/8th is probably a lot cheaper. I also had the spray foam company put a thin layer of foam on one side of the sheet rock when they were spraying the rest of the house. I then filled the cavities with a layer of Rockwool Safe and Sound. The downstairs ceilings have foam and 2 layers of safe and sound. I will never have any of that Owens Corning pink Sh1t anywhere in my house. That stuff should be illegal. I am also re-using the original solid wood doors from the house in all the bedrooms. You should come see my mechanical rooms, yes rooms. Upstairs and downstairs have their own water manifolds. There are 0 shared water lines, hot or cold in the house. 80 Gallon Heat Pump water heater and separate double water filtration for upstairs and downstairs. All outside water lines are home runs and have their own shut off valves. Can shut off water to the entire house, upstairs, downstairs or any water line individually. Have leak detector water meter and a bypass in case power goes out and it locks closed.
It makes me happy to hear someone so excited about doing a good job in an area that is hidden to the eye. It's a shame that we can build like this, but don't because people will buy a Ryan's Homes cardboard box for $500k.
In 1988 I used fiberglass insulation as sound deadening in the wall between my bathroom and kitchen, including around the fiberglass shower stall, and it worked great for deadening the sound of whatever was happening in the bathroom, keeping the sounds from being heard in the kitchen. *BUT* this past summer I had to rip it all out, because mice decided to make a home in the insulation, and the stink was unbearable! The insulation was soaked with their urine and there were multiple decaying corpses in there as well. Had I not had the fiberglass I doubt the mice would have nested there. Just something to keep in mind when deciding on insulation. Personally, I’m going to use spray foam as I rebuild the shower, the mice have shown no interest in nesting in that.
Wish I had known about the staggered studs when I did my expansion. I have noise absorbing insulation in my wall but, over, our bedroom is not much quieter than the others.
I have a traditional stud wall between two bedrooms, with rockwool carefully packed between the studs. The slightest touch on one side of the wall can be heard from the other side because the plaster and studs are an acoustic bridge.
Fiberglass is just as effective for less money when it comes to acting as dampening inside a wall cavity. Mineral wool is easier to install in my opinion, and also adds more fire resistance.
Are fiberglass batts better than mineral wool for sound proofing? I would think that the mineral wool would have more density and thus better sound abatement. Thoughts?
For acoustic, you're looking at the density. More is better. In the UK it's measure in kg/m3. Rockwool RWA45 is 45 kg/m3. I have a ton of it waiting to go into my walls and ceilings.
I hope you do more on the USG Structo Crete. I am particularly interested in the roof and foundation panels. I think the foundation panels would tie in nicely with the permanent wood foundation theme (except they wouldn’t be wood). The roof panels might be a good residential option versus poured concrete over ICF’s. There is not a lot of information out there on these systems. Not even from the manufacturer. Thanks.
Because that costs around $2 per square foot, drywall is $.20 per square foot. Unless your looking for recording studio levels of sound attenuation it's cost prohibitive.
@@dcl97 I mean, you could use that sealant on the whole surface of the sheetrock. Obviously not with full coverage as that'd be wasteful, but yeah. They also make sheetrock that's already contructed like that called "quiet rock" if you want to look that up. It's kinda like the sound-deadening equivalent to Zip-R3 or R6.
They make steel firring strips for this purpose. Apply them vertically between the two layers of drywall. The air-gap between the layers adds significant STC protection by providing a sound break between the drywall sheets to reduce the amount of sound conducted between the drywall sheet layers. I'm surprised he didn't do this considering how elaborate his overall solution here was. I'm also surprised he didn't mention what he did for the floors of those two rooms.
The two layers of drywall are a sound dampening mass and is very effective at reducing airborne sound transmission. Several people suggested sound dampening resilient channels. They are helpful in abating direct sound transmission (DST). Backing up to the entry hall, DST is not an issue. DST-Think of the headboard in the adjacent room banging on the wall.
Matt - Why not caulk the vertical seams of the first layer of dry wall with the same acoustic sealant that was used around the perimeter? Minor cost (labor & material) to close that air gap.
On a staggered stud wall assembly, can I use a combo of fiberglass batts and then a layer of mineral wool sound batts? On an exterior wall does is matter which batt material goes first and then second? Thanks
Great, but what about noise through the HVAC ducts? You can seal walls all you want but when you have tin can telephones connecting every room in the house, there needs to be a solution for that (obviously mini-splits are one approach). I've envisioned some kind of box with baffles lined with rockwool that would go over my registers and returns (basically a car muffler for your register), but obviously that's pretty ugly. I'd love to hear about better solutions there.
I did a home theater a few years back and we put rubber on the wall and ceiling before before drywall. We were told to think of the room like a boat. When we finished it I was shocked how expensive all the noise cancelling materials were and questioned if the same results couldn't be achieved with standard materials. 6"×25' roll of rubberized flashing tape is $15 vs $75 for 10 pads? Silicon for 1/2 the price of green glue. Roofing felt vs the rubber. Just some ideas as its seemed the doors were the weak links.
Would it be possible to put up a layer of USED CARPET between the drywall layers? It seems adding that could reduce a lot of vibrations going through the wall. And if you could get that for free from some office building renovation or wherever that would not add much cost to the wall (other than a bit of time).
Instead of 2-layers of 5/8’s sheetrock if you had instead staggered it with an initial 5/8 or 1/2” or even 1/4” sheetrock & THEN added a dissimilar Layer of sheetrock?, the STC aspect of that dissimilar sheetrock is much the same as the STC aspects of dissimilar glass or offset glass thickness is on windows in regards to acoustic sound transmission characteristics.
You missed an opportunity with the second layer of drywall - I've seen construction where that is installed with adhesive to the first layer, avoiding the need for drywall screws and the additional taping and spackling that entails.
The door will be the weak link. The noise will travel primarily under the door. As long as the room has both supply and return you can safely use a cheap foam/fabric draft stopper. Game changer!
Having supply and return in every room should be compulsory. An air system that depends on either all the bedroom and bathroom doors being open all the time, or on having a huge draught under every door, should never be considered good enough in this century. I'd love to see an acoustic comparison between a traditional solid core door, and a "hollow core" style with the cavity filled with cork or other acoustic insulation. I wonder whether it would make any difference?
Reading older construction books (from the 60s) made it sound like supply and returns for bathrooms and bedrooms were absolutely standard, but I’ve noticed it’s actually pretty uncommon in homes these days. The typical house now seems to be built to mobile home standards (except without the clever use of space).
Hi Matt, I'm curious about your double drywall install. Doubling up on drywall is pretty common advice for soundproofing with home theaters and recording studios and things like that, but typically it's recommended to put a layer of caulking between the two layers of drywall, to decouple them and prevent vibration from passing through from one layer to the other. There's a product specifically for that purpose called "green glue" that specialists swear by. The added mass is a big help either way, but did you have any particular reason for not decoupling the layers as described, or was it just not considered? Thanks.
What Matt is doing in this video is probably about the best bang for you buck you can do. It isn't about sound proofing but about sound management. There's definitely more that could be done to make it more quiet (green glue, different insulation, resilient channels, sound isolation clips, a true double wall, doors sealing, HVAC duct baffles and vibration management) but the cost is considerable for both the materials as well as the labor. The sound management he's doing here goes a long way while not making it stupid expensive and the % more quiet you will get for quite a bit more $$$ doesn't always make sense but that's up to each consumer and their budget. Spend the time researching these things and their associated cost and then decided if it's worth your money.
Looks like cost-cutting double pane windows were used. I live on a main street. I installed quadruple pane Pella windows. Made all the difference. Pella doesn't sell them but if you know how to order them, by magic they exist. Stupids won't even pay 15% more for triple panes but love paying for energy costs. DDD ! YES glass does make a huge difference.
Matt, do you have any first hand knowledge about long term durability of the puddy pad? I would be afraid over time they will dry out and lose their grip and open up or even fall off.
Deadening prevents the sound inside a room from reverberating inside that room. It is a factor in sound transmission through matter (including air), so there is some crossover in materials between deadening and sound proofing, but they are completely separate objectives.
Uses sponsored products. Complain. Doesn't use sponsored products. Complain. Sounds like he might as well get the money if you are gonna complain either way.
So are the staggered studs spaced with 16 inches for contact on each side of the wall? That would mean there is a stud every 8 inches, doubling the stud count.
All great approaches to a true demising wall, but what about the door and specifically acoustic seals. Beefed up walls will make a slight difference, but the sound transmission thru and around the door will still control, and all your good approaches turn out less than cost effective. Have to consider all potential paths of sound.
Another great trick is to include a layer of carpet glue between those two sheets of sheetrock. Increases the mass for little cost. But bedrooms have windows... whacha going to do there?
A lot of these techniques are standard in commercial building. Nevertheless, guys will always bellyache about sounds caulking, and it goes undone a good chunk of the time. I honestly don't understand why, but it makes a noticeable difference.
If you build apartments like this, the apartments will always be in demand and full. Almost all apartments have no soundproofing at all. Whoever builds a good unit and markets it will be very rich.
The IBC (Intern’l Building Code) requires an STC 50 (tested NIC 45) between dwelling units. While this is not super high level of acoustic separation, it does take specific details and materials to meet; such as staggered studs, insulation and multi-layer drywall.
Nice but the sound will just travel through the floor. I had that with a house I built with a soundproof wall. Next house I build I would not want the floor joist to run through in area that I want sound to stop.
Standard fiberglass does almost nothing. Its all the other details that make the difference. Here is a budget pro tip. Use Ice & Water shield under the sheetrock. Leave it a little loose between the studs. You can also do that on your floor joists before the subfloor on a second level. Similar to mass loaded vinyl, but way cheaper.
I have a bedroom here, I have a bedroom there, Framin' with staggered studs, Using some acoustic putty pads, bead of sealant round the holes, double it all to kill the noise, This is Bedroom Number Five!
Honestly I’m not trying to knock the work in anyway but if you’re going above and beyond to this level why not just run emt through the house so that it will be less invasive when it comes to the service with everything being so insulated and proofed it almost seems like a lot of jobs would comprise all that extra work you did if the service tech doesn’t put it all back after they do their work.
@@keithf5236EMT is electrical metallic tubing (also known as conduit) used by electricians typically in a commercial or industrial setting. What he’s saying is if the homeowner wants to add anything in the future, or fix anything electrical - they’ll likely have to be invasive and compromise the integrity of the insulation and walls to add or fix what they need to.
@ piping you can run through the house and then pull wires through for electrical. You’ll see it mostly in commercial settings but up north I know they have to use it in homes too.
I'm an English DIY'er and I'd call that conduit. All my electrics are run in conduit for this reason. I can pull and re-run cable in any existing run without tearing the wall open. Doesn't help if you're adding a new outlet somewhere though. I've also seen (on the Skill Builder channel) that in parts of Europe they run all the under-screed plumbing in secondary pipes so you can re-run them in the future but also, any leak will fill that pipe and come out above the screed instead.
I'm not saying the sound putty on an outlet doesn't work - I'm just saying I'd want to see some acoustical engineers tell me the overall effect before I spend money and labor to bother with it.
Aye. Setting a kid up like that would get you investigated in Australia. We pride ourselves on everyone going home at the end of the work day .. and not in a hearse. We also have health care, and the government would much rather legislate the employer to provide a safe work place than pay for care for a youngster with a broken back or brain damage from a fall and unable to work for the rest of his life. OHS is great economics when the government has to pay for the failures!
There are sooo many dumb things I see on floor plans nowadays. One is going through the master bathroom to get to the master closet. Next, is putting a family/game room on a landing upstairs landing such that it gets an irregular shape and a dangerous drop off on one side. Why do builders insist on doing these dumb things?
Your hacks all sound great, but I was really struck by what a terrible bedroom design this was. Locating bedrooms as far away as possible from noise generating rooms is a better solution.
I assume you're a German. Do you own your home? If you do, congratulations! Less than half of all Germans live in a house they actually own. Wood framing is more affordable. 2 out 3 Americans own their own home. BTW, are there any German home building channels to watch?😂
I know you are going for quiet, but you are going to have such major wifi issues on this house. 5/8 already cuts the signal significantly more and doubling it up? Sure it will be quiet but goodbye being able to have wifi. Hope you planned for usability of the house and not just the one thing you are focused on right now.
So you throw your kids in the other room so you dont have to see them , then you sound proof the house so you dont have to hear them. Whats the point in creating a family?
@@jezza6575 Just like when you watch a sports game, if you enjoy it, you listen to it and most of the time at a high volume. If the game sucks you turn the volume down. I hope your kids dont suck.
Why are you installing a double layer of sheet rock on an interior wall? Seems to be a waste of money and labor- overkill. I could understand an exterior wall for additional insulation properties. Unless it’s a code requirement for fire proofing?
This was for a quick video on how to use it as a sound insulator. It is far more common that you might first think in high end builds. What isn't so common is showing how to do it wrong, then not explaining how to do the second layer installation properly.... But here we are..... Just slapping another layer on does not guarantee it will be better at absorbing sound. Doing it the way it was done here probably only increases the STC rating a few points.... STC rating works like this: 25 is no sound proofing, 65 is total sound proofing. Doing it that way gets it to about 45-50. One more step and doing things correctly gets you far closer to 60, with little more expense or labor. I worked at USG, and that obviously isn't the best way to do it... Fast yes, good, not so much.... But it makes for more views, which is obviously all he is after.... If you want good sound absorption leaving out steps or doing it flat out wrong like this can easily be the same as not doing anything all. This is just far more expensive wall, that increased the STC rating a little bit. for views..... It obviously wasn't about doing it right so someone could sleep in the next room..........
What happened to the Rockwool that was so lovingly endorsed in previous episodes that addressed this issue. Those cavities looked rather pink. I would assume if you are going through the effort to putty every outlet cover and seal every corner that you would use Rockwool as well. Unless the recommendations are just dependent upon episode sponsorship.
I have staggered stud walls in my build too. I'm actually running OSB for the first wall layer though, for a few reasons. First, it's cheaper. Second, it means all walls are strong enough to have cupboards, shelves, TVs, etc mounted to them. Third, the more different densities of materials you can have in your wall layers, the better the sound will be eaten up.
I like this idea, I'm going to build a small theater room in my basement using staggered steel studs. It seems like OSB sounds (softer) than plywood as well and will still hold screws without anchors or dense blocking.
@@wolfe2118 Robert has it right here, different densities is king.
UK name of a product is soft board, like sheet rock, but better at preventing sound transmission.
Staggered struts, OSB, soft board, then (absolutely essential) curtains. Many layers of light fabric does better than 1 of heavy.
And to be totally old school, a panel of fabric covered cardboard egg boxes
Doesn't OSB offgas like a mofo though?
Interesting idea, but OSB will add more potential fuel to a fire between the studs vs just fire resistant gypsum drywall.
@@robertszynal4745 My understanding is the drywall is a better sound insulation because if it’s density. Air/cracks are the worst. After sealing gaps and increasing wall mass, you need to reduce reverb, which is one of the things the insulation pokes at. High mass vinyl between wall layers is supposed to help, but it’s a $pecialty product.
You should test the sound difference between the glass vs rockwool sound. The rockwool sound is so much better at sound diffusion. Its worth the extra few $ for those walls where sound is critical.
Yeah. In my opinion and experience, glass is a waste of money for this. Its all the other details that are doing the work. Rockwhool or denim even, are more expensive but the value is higher because they actually work.
They make sound reducing drywall in 1/2 or 5/8 thickness. Has acoustic jell in the middle of the sheet. You can also get mass density vinyl rolls. If street noise is a problem, laminated glass windows will work the best.
We did some acoustic improvements on the wall between a bathroom and the home office and the difference was amazing.
1 - Acoustic caulk on all exposed gaps at edges of the existing wall, and around the door frame.
2 - Added screws to existing drywall. It had too few and was a sounding board.
3 - Add another layer of drywall in the office with acoustic dampening gel between the the layers.
4 - Replaced door between office and bath with better fitting solid core door.
5 - Installed weather stripping on door.
adding extra screws to drywall sounds like a smart idea.
@@termiterasin It looked like they did a few to hold the edges but left the middle with no screws, so the whole sheet could resonate with the toilet as it flushed! After the upgrades it no longer sounded like the toilet was in the middle of the office.
We also squirted expanding foam around any pipe we could reach without cutting holes in the wall. A proper sound mitigation job will go along with a bathroom upgrade ... much later.
Once you have a sealed door you need to maintain air circulation for the HVAC system by adding a jump duct. Did you do that?
@@Stan_in_Shelton_WA There is plenty of air flow via other routes, other door, floor gaps, etc.
1880s adobe Victorian.
Staggered stud with insulation is quite great and space saving compared to true double wall. And that second layer of dry wall is icing on the cake.
When I did my home theater 15 years ago, I did staggered stud with insulation, 5/8” for first layer of drywall, green glue acoustic, and 1/2” of drywall for second layer [theory that that different depths of drywall resonate a difference frequencies]. and then wall treatment on top of that. Carpet on the floor and a special interior door with acoustic seals and not much leaks out.
I LOVE this. I would like to see MORE soundproofing videos, including 1) how to handle more difficult situations, like a bathroom where you have plumbing in the wall, and 2) doors / pocket doors (the Eclisse ones with the damper threshold look great). 3) If closets separate the rooms is that enough?
Noticed the boxes where already recessed with first layer of Sheetrock. Looks like that electrical box is going to be about 3/4 inch from flush with two layers of Sheetrock
Use the adjustable depth boxes
@@mrcryptozoic817Did applying the acoustical caulk after the first layer of drywall, in effect, glue the boxes in place making them no longer adjustable?
@@JT_70 Sure did. Do that last.
let's fill the outlet screw box holes with chaulk! Great cheap trick!
meh, I have had zero problems driving screws into filled outlet box holes over the years. I don't think anyone who is capable of installing an outlet will be thwarted by a flexible caulk covering a screw hole.
and who won't love a 1 gang box thats 3/4 of an inch deep in the wall?
Should have taped the seams in the first layer. Same with the screws. That would have been cheap and effective too
Correct. Especially if DIY. Asking the crew to stop, tape and float one wall, then continue hanging rock probably makes them grumble. Not uncommon tape & float is a different crew. Maybe those joints got caulked off camera?
@@ispacedesign I would've told the crew to stop, collaborate, and listen. iSpace is back with a brand new invention. That's just me, though.
Thanks for sharing this vedio, definitely cheapest way, not sure what per % noise can be blocked but it seems very smart way.
I agree with the door being the weak link. I've sound proofed my house but the doors & hvac vents were the downfall.
As an electrician I would prefer you tell me that that wall has changed to double layer. That way I can space my boxes properly and you won't be filling them and their screw holes with caulk, but rather just calking the first layer to the side of the box. Really it's better for both of us. If that wall didn't change and your electrician installed his boxes like this anyways, find a better electrician.
and the faces of the boxes won't be 1" deep in the drywall.
You guys are both correct….
Unless? The electrician installed those new fancy dancy adjustable depth boxes.
Which on the Risinger build? I’m suspecting is the case.
I have used true staggered stud walls for 30+ yrs. I don't like this style here.
@Casmige
Would have been nice but it does not look like that is the case the way the acoustic caulk was applied on the first layer of 5/8.
@@Casmige If the electrician did install "those new fancy dancy adjustable depth boxes", Risinger and company just screwed him. Between the putty pad on the back and the caulk on the front of the box, they ain't goin' nowhere. Oh well, I guess there's always mud rings.
.Air seal, Air seal, air seal. Consider a true double wall with an isolation membrane under plates. A shared plate is still going to allow for a ton of transmission.
THE DOOR. Use an exterior style door seal on your interior doors where you want to control sound transmission, including the bottom of the door. To keep the HVAC system working properly you will need a jump duct to the hallway or into the return plenum. A solid core door is a real effective upgrade also.
I installed an acoustic door gasket on the entrance to my music room. It's basically heavy rubber weatherstripping in an aluminum frame. On the bottom, it has a little mechanism that seals against the floor just as the door closes. Expensive and unattractive, but effective.
Also having walls parallel is a design problem for sound attenuation. Especially with hard surfaces. Designing a space to address this might be a good idea. Also we use Rockwool RockBoard 40 or 6O in the walls to dissipate sound energy.
Outlet box extensions are gonna be a nightmare... (4:28) 😧
Yeah, the electrician either wasn't informed of the two layers of drywall or he just installed the boxes the way he usually does instead of accounting for the extra wall thickness.
Tricks I've learned:
1. Leave screws in screw holes of the outlet box before caulking and mudding
2. If you use a good box extender and good 6-32 screws, they will be pretty solid to begin with, but then caulking around them will hold it in place even better
3. Durabond with fiberglass reinforcement ("tape in mud") solves the rest of the box extender problems 😆
plot twist: They are recessed intentionally so they can be isolated from the rock, the directions for the materials used are online. One can find mud rings in various thicknesses, any 1st year apprentice will have zero issues with this.
@@wolfe2118 Plot twist: electrical box extensions (which are distinct from mud rings) are attached to the existing box, which will be hampered by the sloppy, copious application of that acoustic sealant. It's a code issue, which any "first year apprentice" would be taught.
@@JohnComeOnMan it's like an M Night movie over here with all these plot twists
I'd expect offsetting seams in the second layer to be as good or better than rotating 90 degrees. Green glue between layers would have been better. Decoupling the drywall with clips and channel (not resilient channel!) would be best. However, the door is the weak point. It needs a solid door with weatherstripping (which is hard to get to seal properly) and an automatic threshold.
Doing a reno on a 1968 house. All the bedroom walls that are shared with common areas has "sound lowering" sheet rock. It is 2 layers of 1/2 sheetrock stuck together. My drywall guys absolutely hated it because you have to score both sides to cut it. It is also expensive AF. Your method of 2 layers of 5/8th is probably a lot cheaper. I also had the spray foam company put a thin layer of foam on one side of the sheet rock when they were spraying the rest of the house. I then filled the cavities with a layer of Rockwool Safe and Sound. The downstairs ceilings have foam and 2 layers of safe and sound. I will never have any of that Owens Corning pink Sh1t anywhere in my house. That stuff should be illegal. I am also re-using the original solid wood doors from the house in all the bedrooms. You should come see my mechanical rooms, yes rooms. Upstairs and downstairs have their own water manifolds. There are 0 shared water lines, hot or cold in the house. 80 Gallon Heat Pump water heater and separate double water filtration for upstairs and downstairs. All outside water lines are home runs and have their own shut off valves. Can shut off water to the entire house, upstairs, downstairs or any water line individually. Have leak detector water meter and a bypass in case power goes out and it locks closed.
It makes me happy to hear someone so excited about doing a good job in an area that is hidden to the eye. It's a shame that we can build like this, but don't because people will buy a Ryan's Homes cardboard box for $500k.
Matt it would be awesome for you to do a post build sound proofing for those of us who have noisy neighbors
In 1988 I used fiberglass insulation as sound deadening in the wall between my bathroom and kitchen, including around the fiberglass shower stall, and it worked great for deadening the sound of whatever was happening in the bathroom, keeping the sounds from being heard in the kitchen. *BUT* this past summer I had to rip it all out, because mice decided to make a home in the insulation, and the stink was unbearable! The insulation was soaked with their urine and there were multiple decaying corpses in there as well. Had I not had the fiberglass I doubt the mice would have nested there. Just something to keep in mind when deciding on insulation. Personally, I’m going to use spray foam as I rebuild the shower, the mice have shown no interest in nesting in that.
Thank you! How do you compensate for the distance between the now recessed outlets due to the added drywall thickness?
mud ring
Install the right outlets in the first place. They have ones for double boarded walls.
Wish I had known about the staggered studs when I did my expansion. I have noise absorbing insulation in my wall but, over, our bedroom is not much quieter than the others.
I have a traditional stud wall between two bedrooms, with rockwool carefully packed between the studs. The slightest touch on one side of the wall can be heard from the other side because the plaster and studs are an acoustic bridge.
Mineral wool works amazing. Not sure about fiberglass
Fiberglass is just as effective for less money when it comes to acting as dampening inside a wall cavity. Mineral wool is easier to install in my opinion, and also adds more fire resistance.
Are fiberglass batts better than mineral wool for sound proofing? I would think that the mineral wool would have more density and thus better sound abatement. Thoughts?
Yes Rock Wool. That's what he has previously recommended.
Yes but at a price
For acoustic, you're looking at the density. More is better. In the UK it's measure in kg/m3. Rockwool RWA45 is 45 kg/m3.
I have a ton of it waiting to go into my walls and ceilings.
Fiberglass is essentially as effective for a lot less money. Mineral wool is easier to install and cut around outlet boxes and what not.
unless the door is air tight, wouldn't sound still go around the door? just curious, i'm still learning this stuff! 🙂
so what can be done for exterior walls to keep the bass'y cars when the drive by rattling stuff inside your home?
I hope you do more on the USG Structo Crete. I am particularly interested in the roof and foundation panels. I think the foundation panels would tie in nicely with the permanent wood foundation theme (except they wouldn’t be wood). The roof panels might be a good residential option versus poured concrete over ICF’s. There is not a lot of information out there on these systems. Not even from the manufacturer. Thanks.
Why not add a damping layer between the sheetrock to make it a constraint damping layers. It’s 10x better in sound proofing noise and vibration.
Because that costs around $2 per square foot, drywall is $.20 per square foot. Unless your looking for recording studio levels of sound attenuation it's cost prohibitive.
@@dcl97 I mean, you could use that sealant on the whole surface of the sheetrock. Obviously not with full coverage as that'd be wasteful, but yeah. They also make sheetrock that's already contructed like that called "quiet rock" if you want to look that up. It's kinda like the sound-deadening equivalent to Zip-R3 or R6.
They make steel firring strips for this purpose. Apply them vertically between the two layers of drywall. The air-gap between the layers adds significant STC protection by providing a sound break between the drywall sheets to reduce the amount of sound conducted between the drywall sheet layers. I'm surprised he didn't do this considering how elaborate his overall solution here was. I'm also surprised he didn't mention what he did for the floors of those two rooms.
@@dcl97 I want to know where you're buying 4X8 sheets for $6.40
The two layers of drywall are a sound dampening mass and is very effective at reducing airborne sound transmission. Several people suggested sound dampening resilient channels. They are helpful in abating direct sound transmission (DST). Backing up to the entry hall, DST is not an issue. DST-Think of the headboard in the adjacent room banging on the wall.
Love it. How do you improve soundproofing from the landing area wanting to come in through the door?
Matt - Why not caulk the vertical seams of the first layer of dry wall with the same acoustic sealant that was used around the perimeter? Minor cost (labor & material) to close that air gap.
On a staggered stud wall assembly, can I use a combo of fiberglass batts and then a layer of mineral wool sound batts? On an exterior wall does is matter which batt material goes first and then second? Thanks
Great, but what about noise through the HVAC ducts? You can seal walls all you want but when you have tin can telephones connecting every room in the house, there needs to be a solution for that (obviously mini-splits are one approach). I've envisioned some kind of box with baffles lined with rockwool that would go over my registers and returns (basically a car muffler for your register), but obviously that's pretty ugly. I'd love to hear about better solutions there.
I did a home theater a few years back and we put rubber on the wall and ceiling before before drywall. We were told to think of the room like a boat. When we finished it I was shocked how expensive all the noise cancelling materials were and questioned if the same results couldn't be achieved with standard materials. 6"×25' roll of rubberized flashing tape is $15 vs $75 for 10 pads? Silicon for 1/2 the price of green glue. Roofing felt vs the rubber. Just some ideas as its seemed the doors were the weak links.
Would it be possible to put up a layer of USED CARPET between the drywall layers?
It seems adding that could reduce a lot of vibrations going through the wall.
And if you could get that for free from some office building renovation or wherever that would not add much cost to the wall (other than a bit of time).
With the extra thickness of Sheetrock does the placement of electrical boxes still meet code.
Instead of 2-layers of 5/8’s sheetrock if you had instead staggered it with an initial 5/8 or 1/2” or even 1/4” sheetrock & THEN added a dissimilar Layer of sheetrock?, the STC aspect of that dissimilar sheetrock is much the same as the STC aspects of dissimilar glass or offset glass thickness is on windows in regards to acoustic sound transmission characteristics.
I like the cheap trick video, but is there any homasote installed?
You missed an opportunity with the second layer of drywall - I've seen construction where that is installed with adhesive to the first layer, avoiding the need for drywall screws and the additional taping and spackling that entails.
The door will be the weak link. The noise will travel primarily under the door. As long as the room has both supply and return you can safely use a cheap foam/fabric draft stopper. Game changer!
Having supply and return in every room should be compulsory. An air system that depends on either all the bedroom and bathroom doors being open all the time, or on having a huge draught under every door, should never be considered good enough in this century.
I'd love to see an acoustic comparison between a traditional solid core door, and a "hollow core" style with the cavity filled with cork or other acoustic insulation. I wonder whether it would make any difference?
Reading older construction books (from the 60s) made it sound like supply and returns for bathrooms and bedrooms were absolutely standard, but I’ve noticed it’s actually pretty uncommon in homes these days. The typical house now seems to be built to mobile home standards (except without the clever use of space).
Agree. Especially with tract homes.
We have solid core doors and that definitely helps but without the draft stop the sounds streams in through the path of least resistance.
@@tealkerberus748 In my old house, I installed air duct silencers in the ducts close to my furnace closet. Very helpful in reducing the noise.
What is the end result for STC rating?
Not exactly “cheap”, but I’ve used green glue in the past it’s been super helpful in dampening sound.
Hi Matt, I'm curious about your double drywall install. Doubling up on drywall is pretty common advice for soundproofing with home theaters and recording studios and things like that, but typically it's recommended to put a layer of caulking between the two layers of drywall, to decouple them and prevent vibration from passing through from one layer to the other. There's a product specifically for that purpose called "green glue" that specialists swear by. The added mass is a big help either way, but did you have any particular reason for not decoupling the layers as described, or was it just not considered? Thanks.
What Matt is doing in this video is probably about the best bang for you buck you can do. It isn't about sound proofing but about sound management. There's definitely more that could be done to make it more quiet (green glue, different insulation, resilient channels, sound isolation clips, a true double wall, doors sealing, HVAC duct baffles and vibration management) but the cost is considerable for both the materials as well as the labor. The sound management he's doing here goes a long way while not making it stupid expensive and the % more quiet you will get for quite a bit more $$$ doesn't always make sense but that's up to each consumer and their budget. Spend the time researching these things and their associated cost and then decided if it's worth your money.
Isn't the double layer of drywall going to screw up the depth of the outlets in the electrical box?
The room should be quiet. I noticed a very narrow area between the door and the corner. Will trim fit there?
Looks like cost-cutting double pane windows were used. I live on a main street. I installed quadruple pane Pella windows. Made all the difference. Pella doesn't sell them but if you know how to order them, by magic they exist. Stupids won't even pay 15% more for triple panes but love paying for energy costs. DDD ! YES glass does make a huge difference.
Matt, do you have any first hand knowledge about long term durability of the puddy pad? I would be afraid over time they will dry out and lose their grip and open up or even fall off.
I'm going to guess that neither Pabco (Quietrock) or Sonopan (another sound deadening drywall) were willing to sponsor an episode.
That’s how I feel about this channel.. pretty good info but full of products pushed due to sponsoring
Deadening prevents the sound inside a room from reverberating inside that room. It is a factor in sound transmission through matter (including air), so there is some crossover in materials between deadening and sound proofing, but they are completely separate objectives.
Uses sponsored products. Complain. Doesn't use sponsored products. Complain. Sounds like he might as well get the money if you are gonna complain either way.
Could be, however I think these cheap alternatives are a great way to show how it could be done on a tighter budget.
This video shows how much aerogel would help to simplify this process if it could be made cheaply.
So are the staggered studs spaced with 16 inches for contact on each side of the wall? That would mean there is a stud every 8 inches, doubling the stud count.
oh man, I love me some cheap tricks... on The Build Show that is. 😂
I preferred them at Budokan
That is what we call an oxymoron
All great approaches to a true demising wall, but what about the door and specifically acoustic seals. Beefed up walls will make a slight difference, but the sound transmission thru and around the door will still control, and all your good approaches turn out less than cost effective. Have to consider all potential paths of sound.
for the outlets, i feel like it would be easier to use that seal spray foam
Another great trick is to include a layer of carpet glue between those two sheets of sheetrock. Increases the mass for little cost. But bedrooms have windows... whacha going to do there?
Green glue
@@lrc87290 Correct, but simple carpet glue gives almost the same efficacy for a much better value.
@@mistertwo6113 green glue is expensive
A lot of these techniques are standard in commercial building. Nevertheless, guys will always bellyache about sounds caulking, and it goes undone a good chunk of the time. I honestly don't understand why, but it makes a noticeable difference.
Have you ever considered wifi sheilding for blocking other neighbors access to your property?
This kind of reminds me of the old Risinger Goes Rogue series.
I'd like to see a video on fireproofing and containment. Steel studs, non flammable materials, and how to make your house safer from fire.
If you build apartments like this, the apartments will always be in demand and full. Almost all apartments have no soundproofing at all. Whoever builds a good unit and markets it will be very rich.
Yep, a pet peeve of mine.
The IBC (Intern’l Building Code) requires an STC 50 (tested NIC 45) between dwelling units. While this is not super high level of acoustic separation, it does take specific details and materials to meet; such as staggered studs, insulation and multi-layer drywall.
Nice but the sound will just travel through the floor. I had that with a house I built with a soundproof wall. Next house I build I would not want the floor joist to run through in area that I want sound to stop.
Congrats, thank you, 6 minutes of solid info!
I thought it was rather muted myself…🤦♂️🥹😂😭🤡
Standard fiberglass does almost nothing. Its all the other details that make the difference. Here is a budget pro tip. Use Ice & Water shield under the sheetrock. Leave it a little loose between the studs. You can also do that on your floor joists before the subfloor on a second level. Similar to mass loaded vinyl, but way cheaper.
It doesn’t matter how good we seal the wall. Sounds still coming through the windows and doors.
Mommy's all right! Daddy's all right! they just think Matt's a little bit weird! Surrender!!!!!!
I caught mommy and daddy listening to my KISS records… 😂
Careful, you're showing your age. And since I recognized it, I guess I am too. 😁
I have a bedroom here,
I have a bedroom there,
Framin' with staggered studs,
Using some acoustic putty pads,
bead of sealant round the holes,
double it all to kill the noise,
This is Bedroom Number Five!
I'm surprised you didn't do green glue, if you are doing two layers of drywall anyway, it's not that expensive.
Honestly I’m not trying to knock the work in anyway but if you’re going above and beyond to this level why not just run emt through the house so that it will be less invasive when it comes to the service with everything being so insulated and proofed it almost seems like a lot of jobs would comprise all that extra work you did if the service tech doesn’t put it all back after they do their work.
new here, what's emt?
@@keithf5236EMT is electrical metallic tubing (also known as conduit) used by electricians typically in a commercial or industrial setting. What he’s saying is if the homeowner wants to add anything in the future, or fix anything electrical - they’ll likely have to be invasive and compromise the integrity of the insulation and walls to add or fix what they need to.
@ piping you can run through the house and then pull wires through for electrical. You’ll see it mostly in commercial settings but up north I know they have to use it in homes too.
I'm an English DIY'er and I'd call that conduit. All my electrics are run in conduit for this reason. I can pull and re-run cable in any existing run without tearing the wall open. Doesn't help if you're adding a new outlet somewhere though.
I've also seen (on the Skill Builder channel) that in parts of Europe they run all the under-screed plumbing in secondary pipes so you can re-run them in the future but also, any leak will fill that pipe and come out above the screed instead.
@ yeah call it whatever you want. Emt is a type of conduit.
Also never share the stud bay for devices on the opposite sides of the wall.
What happened to the lower outlet when he added the second layer of drywall? It looked to me like it just got covered up..
rool wool is a much better solution ( vs fiberglass) for sound proofing
I'm not saying the sound putty on an outlet doesn't work - I'm just saying I'd want to see some acoustical engineers tell me the overall effect before I spend money and labor to bother with it.
Lyle should have fall protection on a ladder near a stairwell on the ladder the wrong direction. You can get kids to do anything.
Alright calm down, OSHA
Aye. Setting a kid up like that would get you investigated in Australia. We pride ourselves on everyone going home at the end of the work day .. and not in a hearse.
We also have health care, and the government would much rather legislate the employer to provide a safe work place than pay for care for a youngster with a broken back or brain damage from a fall and unable to work for the rest of his life. OHS is great economics when the government has to pay for the failures!
Might be easier to just poke out your eardrums!!!! Maybe by a sponsored hammer drill?
This channel should be renamed "Rich People Stuff"
There are sooo many dumb things I see on floor plans nowadays. One is going through the master bathroom to get to the master closet. Next, is putting a family/game room on a landing upstairs landing such that it gets an irregular shape and a dangerous drop off on one side. Why do builders insist on doing these dumb things?
Your hacks all sound great, but I was really struck by what a terrible bedroom design this was. Locating bedrooms as far away as possible from noise generating rooms is a better solution.
Dont blow it by using hollow-core doors! Unless you fill them with acoustic foam…
How about not building houses out of straw?
Actually strawbale houses are great!
I assume you're a German. Do you own your home? If you do, congratulations! Less than half of all Germans live in a house they actually own. Wood framing is more affordable. 2 out 3 Americans own their own home. BTW, are there any German home building channels to watch?😂
@@markstipulkoski1389 gottem
@@markstipulkoski13892 out of 3? Really? Where did you find that stat?
@@joycelynnelobert8779 LOL, iam living in apartment complex for 2000 people, nobody can afford a house
I miss full stone/cinder block homes. Stick homes suck
All wrong, sound came from gap between door and wooden floors. Patty pads protects from kitchen food smells only (plastic doesnot resonate)
OK. Biggest home problem around here is TOO MUCH MONEY. Stay safe.
I would rather use commercial
foam sheets.
I know you are going for quiet, but you are going to have such major wifi issues on this house. 5/8 already cuts the signal significantly more and doubling it up? Sure it will be quiet but goodbye being able to have wifi. Hope you planned for usability of the house and not just the one thing you are focused on right now.
These drywall guys kinda suck
I cant believe all the missing screws, and that he would show how bad some of the work is.
It’s 2024; you try finding trades that dgaf. Tape & float is the “A” crew anyway.
This looks like a nightmare, a ton of work, an insane amount of money…for a moderate impact.
Has this guy had a stroke
I can’t hear you. Too much sound proofing!
Cheap?
Cheap out on sound and it will just laugh at you.
Pointless.
So you throw your kids in the other room so you dont have to see them , then you sound proof the house so you dont have to hear them. Whats the point in creating a family?
Come on Bro? You obviously don’t value your sanity or you don’t have a family of your own!
Haha, dude clearly doesn't have kids. 😆
Besides, I think he said the point was to keep sound from going IN to the baby’s room from the stairwell.
@@jezza6575 Just like when you watch a sports game, if you enjoy it, you listen to it and most of the time at a high volume. If the game sucks you turn the volume down. I hope your kids dont suck.
Why are you installing a double layer of sheet rock on an interior wall? Seems to be a waste of money and labor- overkill. I could understand an exterior wall for additional insulation properties. Unless it’s a code requirement for fire proofing?
Watch again with the sound on
This was for a quick video on how to use it as a sound insulator. It is far more common that you might first think in high end builds.
What isn't so common is showing how to do it wrong, then not explaining how to do the second layer installation properly.... But here we are.....
Just slapping another layer on does not guarantee it will be better at absorbing sound.
Doing it the way it was done here probably only increases the STC rating a few points....
STC rating works like this: 25 is no sound proofing, 65 is total sound proofing. Doing it that way gets it to about 45-50.
One more step and doing things correctly gets you far closer to 60, with little more expense or labor.
I worked at USG, and that obviously isn't the best way to do it... Fast yes, good, not so much....
But it makes for more views, which is obviously all he is after....
If you want good sound absorption leaving out steps or doing it flat out wrong like this can easily be the same as not doing anything all.
This is just far more expensive wall, that increased the STC rating a little bit. for views.....
It obviously wasn't about doing it right so someone could sleep in the next room..........
What happened to the Rockwool that was so lovingly endorsed in previous episodes that addressed this issue. Those cavities looked rather pink. I would assume if you are going through the effort to putty every outlet cover and seal every corner that you would use Rockwool as well. Unless the recommendations are just dependent upon episode sponsorship.
Obviously didn't watch the video or read the title
@danwahl5231 Price. Obviously everyone doesn't have the budget