"Interior walls are not insulated when building new today"???

[Argyle]

I had to pay 300 kr per meter for insulation in a newly built brf apartment about 5 years ago.

 

[Seandema]

Simply insulating an interior wall makes a marginal difference. For good soundproofing, it's all about multiple layers of drywall, sound sealing, and a sound-rated door.

Have been constructing apartments and villas since 2003.

 

[Marcus Lindberg]

I'm just moving into a rental apartment in a brand-new building. When I gently knock on the interior walls that are framed/drywalled, it echoes hollowly. I test playing something on my phone, leave it in the room, go out, close the door, and realize that the soundproofing is non-existent.

I email a representative for the landlord (whom I imagine is the client for the brand-new building) and point this out, and the person responds that "interior walls are not insulated when building new today."

Is this true?

Regards

It's sad that stinginess strikes even though it's not much extra in the grand scheme.

Frame-insulation-OSB-drywall
Feel free to add a rubber strip between the floor and the OSB and drywall to reduce sound spreading between the floor and wall, a bit excessive but if building for yourself, it works.

 

[murmil]

No insulation in our walls either, 60s house.

Have a house from 1965, with straw as wall insulation.

 

[MrCarnal]

I am just moving into a rental apartment in a completely new building. When I gently knock on the interior walls that are framed/drywalled, it echoes hollowly. I test by playing something on my phone, leave it, walk out of the room, close the door, and realize that the soundproofing is non-existent.

I email a representative of the landlord (whom I imagine is the client of the brand new building) and point this out, and the person replies that "interior walls are not insulated when building new today."

Is this true?

Best regards

It is almost impossible to get well soundproofed. Built an extension to the house. Made an interior wall between our bedroom and the daughter's. 70mm "piano insulation". Shared the base plate. A wall of wardrobes in between as well. "Shared" ceiling. You can still hear...

 

[Fairlane]

Don't have the energy to read all the posts, but foam insulate the wall. Hire a company to handle this hourly.

Is it really appropriate for a tenant to do this?

 

[mats_lindqvist]

Is it really appropriate for a tenant to do this?

I think that if I, as a tenant, talk to the landlord beforehand and get their approval to do this, it should be fine. After all, you're funding an improvement of their property.

 

[mats_lindqvist]

I must say that I am impressed by the number of responses, truly a vibrant forum this is.

 

[Relaxia]

Currently renovating a townhouse from '68. Swearing over all the insulation in the walls. 😡 Although I'm reusing some of it in the new walls I'm putting up. 😀 It's just unfortunate that it gets quite dusty. 😷

 

[Kasken]

I had a house built on a total contract with one of the country's major house suppliers in 2015.

The house we chose was from their "budget series" and did not have insulated interior walls as standard.

However, the local salesperson checked that as an option without asking us first, and when we went through this later, he explained that he considered it madness and devastating for the brand to sell houses without them. He offset the cost of a few thousand by offering something else instead, I don't quite remember the details, but we were very satisfied with the agreement.

 

[Installation]

I'm just moving into a rental apartment in a brand-new building. When I gently knock on the interior walls that are framed/plastered, it echoes hollowly. I test playing something on my phone, put it down, leave the room, close the door, and find that the soundproofing is nonexistent.

I email a representative of the landlord (whom I imagine is the client of the brand-new building) and point this out, and the person replies that "interior walls are not insulated when building new today."

Is this true?

Best regards

They make sure to meet the minimum requirements. I believe there is a slight difference between sound class A, B, and C, where B is the most common. The requirements are between tenants, between kitchen and bedroom, between WC and room (depending on what type of room the area outside is).

 

[Pligg85]

If there is some order in the ordering, the execution will be correct as well.

At the first contact with construction, it was clarified that all walls should have insulation and a board behind the plaster. Increased the thickness of the wall where the heat pump is located as well.

Everything else is just jerry-building, and it's a damn mystery how people can accept such a half-hearted mess.

 

[mats_lindqvist]

I had a house built on a turnkey contract with one of the country's major house suppliers in 2015.

The house we chose was from their "budget series" and as standard, it lacked insulated interior walls.

However, the local seller checked it as an option without asking us first. When we went through this later, he explained that he considered it madness and destructive to the brand to sell houses without it. He offset the cost of a few thousand by offering something else, I don't quite remember the details, but we were very satisfied with the arrangement.

That was a knowledgeable, serious seller.

 

[skyisthelimit]

Standard steel stud 70 mm and single drywall provides a sound reduction of about 30dB. Double drywall or 45 mm mineral wool gives about an additional 5dB in reduction. It is probably very rare to insert mineral wool in a regular bedroom wall. So you can measure the thickness of the wall. If it is 95 mm, it is likely only single drywall, and if it is 120 mm, it is double. Building with only single drywall is a bit risky in my opinion.

The studs are normally placed at cc 600, so filling afterward with something would create a hell of a lot of holes and is probably not a reasonable option (easier and cheaper to add another layer of drywall).

Here are examples of many different walls that are normally used in various projects [link]

And for the different sound classes (none within the residential area as mentioned) [link]

I have seen these types of tables from many manufacturers of steel studs, and of course, they provide good guidance. But I have not been able to find a similar table for a "regular" wood stud wall. Has anyone seen this or have this info? I am also a bit curious about how OSB+drywall compares to double drywall in a wall. I suspect that drywall reduces sound better, but how much is the question if so?

 

[Installation]

I have seen these types of tables from many manufacturers of steel studs, and they provide good guidance, of course. But I haven't managed to find a corresponding table for a "regular" wooden stud wall. Has anyone seen this or has this info?
I am also a bit curious about how OSB + drywall compares to double drywall in a wall. I suspect that drywall reduces sound better, but the question is how much if so?

Subtract 3-5 dB and you've got a wooden stud.