The question
What’s your favourite method of soundproofing? We have a basement apartment and it’s high time we buffered ourselves from our tenant’s Glee habit.
The answer
I absolutely love Mamma Mia!, especially the scene in the movie version where Pierce Brosnan is trying to sing – but muffled through drywall is no way to listen to show tunes of any kind. And you don’t want to hear them filtering through the floor joists or registers either.
To erect a proper yet expensive sound barrier, you need to open up all of your ceilings and insulate between the joists with fibreglass sound-attenuation batts, then have the ceiling strapped so that the drywall isn’t sitting against the joists. Make sure that all of the mechanicals are removed from the space between the floor and the ceiling so that they don’t penetrate the sound barrier you’ve created.
An inexpensive approach is to use sound-absorbing materials such as carpets, drapery or upholstered walls to deaden unwanted noise. You can also tuck insulation into your registers – or even close them for a while. It won’t eliminate the noise, but it’ll turn down the volume. In addition, play white background noise to lessen the sound from below or, in a friendly gesture, send down a few song requests. If you can’t beat them, join them.
Follow architect and interior designer Dee Dee Taylor Eustace on Twitter: @ddtaylorddd. Have a design dilemma? E-mail style@globeandmail.com.
