Soundproofing a older home

[electrician]

House built 1890s separated into two flats on the same floor the party wall between flats is solid brick original plaster long gone just bare brick and I can hear the neighbor fart I’m thinking of putting a 50 mm metal stud frame 20 mm away from original wall infilling the stud frame with soundproofing rockwool 50mm RV 45 then two sheets sound block board edges sealed with Intumescent Acoustic Sealant my thinking is the space between stud and wall will allow the wall to breathe although it will be sealed behind the stud so to speak I’m hoping this will eliminate any problems with damp etc on existing brick wall and not make any on the new wall anyone done anything like this and have they had any problems sealing a wall behind a stud so to speak are there any traditional methods of soundproofing or reduction I can t find any Ive seen woo; sound proofing but little wary it would become damp. Is there anything you can add to lime plasters to make them sound proof ?

 

[DJH]

Can't help I'm afraid but I'm bumping you up as they say...

Doug

 

[Zebra]

Might it be worth researching the sound insulating properties of breathable insulations, such as woodfibre board, sheepswool, woodwool board or lime hemp plaster? To a certain extent, anything that insulates thermally will also make a difference acoustically I believe. I don't know anything about the supplier in this link, but looking for something else I came across this list of possible ways of thermally insulating an old wall with breathable materials, you could research the sound insulating properties of these types of solutions:
http://www.ionicbuildingsupplies.co.uk/page.php?Plv=1&P1=4&P2=&P3=
Also, you might find more answers to queries of a technical nature of this type on the Green Building Forum, I find them very helpful if you want to get into the technicalities.
http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/
Is the flat on the ground floor, or an upper storey? I assume ground floor if you are experiencing damp in the walls? In the solution you propose, of studwork supporting acoustic rated plasterboard, I believe the gap between the original wall and the new stud wall is only of any use if it is ventilated to outside, I don't believe that a gap by itself will be of any benefit if there is not a through-flow of air from outside. In which case, is there somewhere you could ventilate the gap to?
Somebody recently posted a link to a blog by a chap who had created a similar solution in a Victorian-or-thereabouts property. Does anybody know what the link was? He did it for thermal rather than acoustic reasons, but it turned into quite a big job if I remember correctly.

 

[Penners]

I suggest that your first task should be to confiscate your neighbour's supply of baked beans and prunes.

Sound attenuation is a difficult task, particularly where you also have to maintain the breathability of the wall that you are acoustically insulating. All of the material that I have read about acoustic insulation suggests that you need to pursue the following goals:-

1. Make your structure as massive as possible, avoiding the potential for vibration and resonance. So - first thought - I would tend to use wood studding rather than metal.

2. Try to make your layer of sound insulation material as unbroken as possible, so a continuous run of it would be better than "cells".

3. Seek out and seal any and all potential sources of air movement through, over, under or around the wall. Remember that this means looking above the ceiling and below floor, as well as the visible wall.

3. Try to ensure that any wall-mounted structures (eg: joists) do not penetrate through to your neighbour's side of the wall.

I'm not an expert, but the above is an interpretation of what I have read.

 

[bradleyc1982]

A long time ago I know but how did you get on with the soundproofing?