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Sound Proofing my neighbours bass.. Please help!

post #1 of 52
3/3/13 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone,

I bought a new house recently and my neighbour bass is killing me. Yes i've talked to him and he's a jackass..

My house is a two story level and fortunately, the only place I hear his bass is in my garage, which I don't really care, and on the second story, the room above my garage with is a small loft where we go to relaxe.

My room is a small square 15 X 11 ft and the 15FT wall is facing my neighors. We have about 10 ft between my house and his house.

Currently, the Dry Wall used is only 1/2 drywall with normal R20 insulation.

I was thinking at getting rid of the drywall for only the 15ft wall (the wall facing his house) and replacing that with QuietRock 545.

I'm about to invest a good sum of money..

Do you guys think that after replacing my drywall with quietrock 545 it should solve my issue ?

Any help is appreciated..

Ok, my drawing skills are not high but on the left it's my 15X11ft room above my garage and on the right it's my neighbours 10 ft away with his subwoofer facing my house.

The wall in RED is the one i'm about to remove the gypse and replace it with quietrock 545



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post #2 of 52
3/3/13 at 2:01pm
Mass loaded vinyl behind a new sheetrock install. You might just build a whole new wall framed out in front of the current wall facing the neighbor.

It might go like this

Original wall
Mass loaded vinyl
Framing loaded with carpet scraps/dense foam
Quiet rock

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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post #3 of 52
3/3/13 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davesax36 View Post

Mass loaded vinyl behind a new sheetrock install. You might just build a whole new wall framed out in front of the current wall facing the neighbor.

It might go like this

Original wall
Mass loaded vinyl
Framing loaded with carpet scraps/dense foam
Quiet rock

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Don't do this.


The problem is that if you only treat one wall the sound will flank around and make its way through the other walls of the room. Think of the sound like water and your room as a tank. If the tank only has one wall then it won't hold in or keep out any water.

The way to do this correctly is to treat the entire room.

Spend some time reading the wealth of information here: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/

You should give them a call as well. Ted and John will treat you right and help you make the best plan for your money.
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post #4 of 52
3/3/13 at 2:33pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Guys,

As my neighbour is about 10FT away from my house, I don't think the sound would plank to the other walls.

It's really the bass I hear and because of my poor 1/2 drywall they used. I'm confident that I could only fix this wall and problem would be solve.

I'll post a pic of my house and his house tomorow and It will give you a better idea to help me.

Thanks!!
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post #5 of 52
3/3/13 at 2:53pm
The sound *will* flank. That's just the way it works just like you cannot build a one sided aquarium.
Mass loaded vinyl is expensive and, in this application, equally effective as 5/8" drywall.
You may be confident you can fix just that one wall and solve the problem; but, your confidence will be overwhelmed by the laws of physics.

Maybe you can get the power shut off to your neighbor's house.
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post #6 of 52
3/3/13 at 4:01pm
Does this room have any windows?
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post #7 of 52
3/3/13 at 4:31pm
Seriously? You want a serious answer? How much of a jackass is he? Call the cops man. Quite serious. Back in the late 80's, I had the cops called on me several times because I was vibrating (couldn't even hear it in there) the crap off the dresser in the BR on the 2nd floor. rolleyes.gif

My system was in the basement (stone, not poured, old house) blasting and cops would just pound the door upstairs. cool.gifwink.gif
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post #8 of 52
3/3/13 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Guys,

Thanks for all your help.. Here is some more information..

From these three pictures, you will see where my neighbour sub woofer and tv are located. FYI, my house is on the left and his house is on the right.

As you can see, his TV and Subwoofer are located in the middle of his house but are facing towards my house. His house is a single story, so his subwoofer is located on his main floor.

On the second picture, the room where I can often hear his bass, is the one at the top where I wrote Room.

Finally, the third picture is the inside of the room. The right window is facing towards the front of the house and the wall you see on the left is the wall facing my neighbour.



So when i'm sitting on my couch, I can clearly hear the noise coming from this wall, mainly bass, almost never high frequency. When i'm outside between both house, I do hear the sound, but it's nothing that major. I'm actually surprised that my house is not blocking his bass, but again, i've got normal 1/2 gypse...

The way my room is designed, I though that by replacing the wall faching my neighbour with QuietRock 545 would solve my problem ? I heard alot of good thing about QuietRock 545, especially to block low frequency. I was also thinking at replacing the next two walls on the right before the window. But I don't think that his noise would plank all the way in front of my house to the front window ?

Also, as for the wall on the back of my house, it's a bit far from where the noise is coming from his house. Do you really think I should do all 3 walls ? Back, Side (the one facing his house) and front ?



Now, let's say I do change my drywall upstairs.. His bass will still enter my garage and perhaps make it's way up from inside my garage to my floor upstairs ? I guess that should not be a problem as it would have to enter my garage 1/2 gypse and then my ceiling which is 5/8 firecoated.. ?

Anyway, here are the pictures, i'll be waiting your recommendations..







Thanks everyone!!
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post #9 of 52
3/3/13 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
Splicer010...

You want a funny answer.. His wife is a cop!!! That's the worst part..

I've told him about 4-5 times so far... Everytime he seems concerned and says he's going to check his settings and always come back saying he can't adjust his bass and it's not that loud and that he bough a house so he can do whatever he wants etc.. Today they were painting all day and they maxed out there sound system.

I'm at a point where I just want to resolve my issue so I can move on.. I've heard QuietRock is quite something so hopefully I can fix my issue. I was hoping to only add a new layer of drywall (quietrock 545) on top of my wall facing his house but now you guys are worried me with all the planking stuff..

Please see my post on top with the pictures, it will give you an idea of the proximity of my house with his house and so on!

Thanks everyone for helping me!!!

Peter
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post #10 of 52
3/3/13 at 5:19pm
+10, Treat the whole room, call the soundproofingcompany.

Treating 1 wall won't do much, if anything.
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post #11 of 52
3/3/13 at 6:59pm
+1 to all the other responses. If you're going to do it, do it right, or you'll be disappointed.
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post #12 of 52
3/4/13 at 5:44am
The window will still be a weak link.

And likely the garage door is one too....
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post #13 of 52
3/4/13 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpykeYs View Post

Splicer010...
You want a funny answer.. His wife is a cop!!! That's the worst part.
So file a complaint anyway. And when they don't do anything then take it to the state police. At least you'll have a paper trail of documentation.

Being a neighbor doesn't mean doing whatever you want in your house when the noise gets out and disrupts others. You sound like a decent neighbor, actually looking to spend money on your end to mitigate the problem he's causing.

One possibility (perhaps before filing complaints) would be to have the neighbor do something inside his house to reduce how much bass gets resonated into his building frame and outward toward you. Is his setup a fixed one already installed, or something made of separate portable components? There might be ways to reduce the subwoofer's contribution, or perhaps just replace that one unit with something that has better adjust-ability.
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post #14 of 52
3/4/13 at 7:59am
Might consider planting some pine trees between the house as well
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post #15 of 52
3/4/13 at 8:10am
As others have said, that LF bass is in the whole structure. Treating that wall won't do much. The problem is the bass wave is entering your whole house frame, and you're only looking to add drywall... the vibration is already in... Drywall won't help.
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post #16 of 52
3/4/13 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpykeYs View Post

I've told him about 4-5 times so far... Everytime he seems concerned and says he's going to check his settings and always come back saying he can't adjust his bass and it's not that loud and that he bough a house so he can do whatever he wants etc..

Depending on how his room and equipment are set up, it very well may be that the bass is louder for you in the next house than it is for him in his own room, due to null spots, bass cancelation and so forth. If he doesn't understand this, it may not seem so loud to him, and he may think you're being oversensitive. If he can be at all reasoned with, perhaps bringing him over to your house while his stereo is playing to hear for himself might help.

Or perhaps he's just a jerk and will never be helpful. I've lived through that. It stinks.

As others have said, treating one wall will do nothing for you. You need to treat the whole room or you're just wasting time and money. Sound is like water; if you have any "leaks," it will find a way in. Listen to Ted. He's the expert.
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post #17 of 52
3/4/13 at 9:27am
Thread Starter 
Ted what do you suggest ?

If I remove all the drywall and add 2 x 5/8 with green glue, shall this help a lot ?

Thanks!
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post #18 of 52
3/4/13 at 9:30am
You would likely have to treat all surfaces of a bedroom so you can escape the bass. Same sort of issue when someone lives near a highway (large trucks) or a train. Both will dump a great deal of LF into the house structure itself. The only relief is to have all surfaces of the room be decoupled from the offending vibrating framing.
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post #19 of 52
3/4/13 at 9:35am
1) I wonder if your neighbor is a member here...
2) If you can't beat him - join him. Take the $ you were going to spend on fixing the room and just buy AV gear. Win-Win in my book! biggrin.gif
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post #20 of 52
3/4/13 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Guys!

Well, I think I will start wih the wall that is facing my neighbour. I will remove the current drywall and install either QuietRock or 2 x 5/8 with green glue.

I will not do joint finishing yet.. Hopefully it will reduce the noise to an acceptable level.

I assume the bass will plank somewhere else.. But the problem is when i'm sitting on my couch, my ear is about 2 inches away from the drywall facing my neighbour. If I can at least remove the noise from there I think i'm going to be able to live with it.

I'll give a call to the SoundProofing company I guess..
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post #21 of 52
3/4/13 at 10:46am
One tip- you will want as much mass as possible. Double 5/8" drywall is a luxury.
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post #22 of 52
3/4/13 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpykeYs View Post

Well, I think I will start wih the wall that is facing my neighbour. I will remove the current drywall and install either QuietRock or 2 x 5/8 with green glue.

Remember that you need to decouple that drywall from the studs. Just putting up new drywall without decoupling it won't be as effective.

I've been through all this recently with the home theater I'm building in my basement. It's damn difficult to stop the LF from transmitting all through the house.
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post #23 of 52
3/4/13 at 11:56am
Invite him over and sit in the room while his system is cranked up so he can hear what it sounds like.

I'd lose it. There's no way I'd rebuild my room if it's my neighbour causing the problem. I'd fix him before I fix the room.
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post #24 of 52
3/4/13 at 12:07pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Guys,

I'd like to go back a bit..

My neighbour is about 10 ft away from my house. So the bass has to go through his 1/2'' drywall, isolation, plywood and then travail 10 ft in the air and then hit my house plywood -> isolation -> 1/2'' drywall.

My main coach is located along the wall that is facing my neighbour so when i'm sitting, my ear is actually 2 inches away from my drywall and this is why I keep hearing the bass. However, it's not like my house is shaking or anything. I understand that I should soundproof my whole room but i'm not sure if it's required at this time.

The fact that his house is a single story and mine is a two story, i'm under the impression that if I put QuietRock for exemple on my wall, it should resolve the issue when i'm sitting on my couch. Maybe the sound will flank away, but as it will move away from this wall, i'm sure the noise will be reduced..

What I plan to do at this point is to get rid of the current drywall on the wall facing his house including the small box (where all the toys are) in the third picture. I will decouple the drywall from the studs and install QuietRock 525 (I can get it at 60$ a sheet as it's discontinued and the shop i deal with has like 20 sheets left. I will not be finishing the joints yet. At this point, if I still hear some bass, I will therefor do the same process on the other problematic walls.

Although i'm really not an expert, I find it hard to believe that by doing that the issue will not improve. You guys seem to think that the noiss will plank somewhere else and will be as loud. You are probably right. However, with me starting with only 1 wall, it will give me the opportunity to test and maybe I will be happy with this.

Where is the bass most likely to plank ? ILet's say my new wall block the noise, the noise will move where ? ceiling or floor ? or maybe other walls ?
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post #25 of 52
3/4/13 at 12:13pm
Thread Starter 
secondhander..

I totally agree! I did everything.. He's just an ******* that thinks he can do whatever he wants..

I tried everything!!!

Now, it's been a year i've been living there and I plan to live there for the next 40... I don't go into this room as often as I use to because of that issue. So although I should NOT have to do this, if I want to continue enjoying my house, I have to do something about it.

What I found was the quietrock and I thought I would have been able to just redo the wall facing my neighbour but now i'm really discouraged. Looks like I have to redo the whole room..

As the bass is not that loud, in my mind, replacing that one wall should at least minimize the problem but again i'm not expert. On an episode of Holmes on Homes (a canadian handyman show) in a condo, on one side they had music blasting and condo next side they had a reading of about 40-5db. After installating quietrock on only 1 side, they did the same test and they were not able to record any DB... It was dead quiet. They only replaced one wall.. Yes it's hard to believe..

I called the soundproofingcompany and left a message. Hopefully someone will call me back so we can discuss my project and I can place an order.
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post #26 of 52
3/4/13 at 12:23pm
Quote:
On an episode of Holmes on Homes (a canadian handyman show) in a condo, on one side they had music blasting and condo next side they had a reading of about 40-5db. After installating quietrock on only 1 side, they did the same test and they were not able to record any DB... It was dead quiet. They only replaced one wall.. Yes it's hard to believe..

But as I recall from that episode, there was no insulation in the wall and outlet boxes were practically back to back so that once the drywall was removed you could almost see into the other house. OF COURSE there would be an improvemnt in that case.

[edit]
And I THINK they did tyhe upstairs bedroom wall, too, in that episode.
Edited by tlogan6797 - 3/4/13 at 12:55pm
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post #27 of 52
3/4/13 at 12:50pm
Skip the Quietrock and go with two layers of 5/8" drywall plus Green Glue. It's cheaper and more effective.
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post #28 of 52
3/4/13 at 1:08pm
After you finish up with the soundproofing buy a good powerful subwoofer and put it right where you can return back the fire and have fun biggrin.gif
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post #29 of 52
3/4/13 at 2:58pm
This is a neighbor problem. Some people think they are above the law. Go to the police station. Ask to see a manager. Explain that your neighbor is using their job as a policeman to get away with breaking the law. Phone calls get ignored. You can't ignore a person who is sitting at your desk. if that fails:


First. Move the sofa. Bass collects in corners. Don't sit in corners.

Your garage could be acting like a giant resonating chamber. Next time he's being an ass open the garage and see if the noise changes.

Don't take down the dry wall that's already on the wall. All you are doing with multiple layers of drywall or fancy drywall is adding mass. You have 1/2" of free mass on the wall already. Keep it.

The window could be letting in a noticeable amount of the sound. I bet some very heavy drapes would help.
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post #30 of 52
3/4/13 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 
Once i'm done with my current project and no more bass is entering my room, I think I will soundproof my garage except the wall facing his house.

I'll then buy like 2-3 subwoofers and blow them his way from 8:00 until 22:00 lol

Well,

The soundproofing company is going to give me a call tomorrow I think so i'll discuss a bit more with them.. But so far, I think that I will go with a cheaper option that will allow me to do the whole room. Instead of buying QuietRock drywall, I will use 2 x 5/8 with green glue + resilient clips & furring channels.

From what I can see, QuietRock 525 installed directly on my wood stud would provide me with STC 51

As for now, I assume my STC level is 33

So by going with 2 x 5/8 with green glue + resilient clips & furring channels, it looks I could achieve close to 60 ?

From 33 to 60 it looks like a huge difference.

I'm wondering though if the QuietRock is better at handling low frequency compared to the green glue solution..

Anyway, thanks everyone for helping out!

Soon i'll post a thread about the best SUBWOOFER I should get to piss of my neighbour..
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