We are considering soundproofing a wall between our room and the child's.
70s house with modular walls filled with straw (45 stud) and then plasterboard on top.
The modular walls are pushed up into a groove in the ceiling and then wedged at the bottom.

There are two options.
1. Remove the modular walls and frame, insulate and double plasterboard on top

2. Fill the gap at the bottom then add another layer of plasterboard on the modular walls.

Option 1 is preferable but a lot of work and expensive compared to option 2, which can probably be completed in a weekend.

What would you do?
 
Start by checking for air leaks; you can seal them with latex adhesive or similar products, check behind moldings, towards the ceiling. Also, check in ceiling boxes; often there's a gap between the ceiling and the box, allowing sound to pass through.

The quick fix is probably to glue up drywall with thick bands of adhesive.

Frame a new wall 1-2cm outside the existing wall, preferably with 70mm studs and 45mm insulation. Use at least double drywall that is staggered and seal any gaps in both layers.

Or do both parts, one variant on each side or glue drywall on both first; if it's still inadequate, build a new wall.
 
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1977bjorn
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There are plenty of air leaks at the bottom where the module walls are wedged. Between the wedges, it's wide open.
Maybe it's best to go with option 2 and then redo it in the future when the child is older if more is needed.
Quite small rooms, so I would prefer not to build a new wall on top of the existing one.
 
I have sealed my gaps with flex foam. I don't know if it's a good method according to the experts, but it's very quick and convenient. I use this together with the corresponding handle, so you get good control over the flow. Also sealing doors windows with this FLEXSKUM ILLBRUCK FM330 880 ML (bauhaus.se)
 
Myrstacken
cover the entire wall with egg cartons... classic
 
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Gxp and 1 other
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PeterFalun
spray loose wool?
 
Working on something similar.

I'm removing the plaster on one side. Filling the void with sealant.

Sealing around any electrical boxes.

Insulating carefully with stone wool.

Installing carefully cut OSB and sealing all new gaps. Installing carefully cut plasterboard and sealing. Actually, it's probably better with two layers of plasterboard.

Replacing with thicker doors and frames with soundproofing, carefully insulating. I'm unsure if it has made a difference.

I think it's getting better. If needed, I'll do the same on the other side when that room is renovated.

If you have a thin ceiling panel and no insulation there, a lot of sound will likely travel over the wall through the ceiling. Not much to be done other than installing a new ceiling.
 
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LaoLars
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Y
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Öckeröhus
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Myrstacken Myrstacken said:
cover the whole wall with egg cartons... classic
Hehe! It sure is a classic. However, it doesn't soundproof anything…
 
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Alti and 3 others
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B BäverBerra said:
We are considering soundproofing a wall between our room and the child's.
70s house with modular walls filled with straw (45 frame) and then gypsum on that.
The modular walls are pressed into a track in the ceiling and then wedged at the bottom.

There are two options.
1. Remove the modular walls and frame, insulate and double gypsum on that

2. Fill the void at the bottom and then add another layer of gypsum on the modular walls.

Option 1 is preferable but a lot of work and expensive compared to option 2 which can surely be finished in a weekend.

What would you do?
If you want to soundproof properly, there are two things that are both feasible and effective! 1. Seal all gaps and 2. somehow build two walls, one in each room, meaning they should not share a common frame. Then you can experiment with different thicknesses, it is enough with 5mm from the other room's frame to the panel and different insulation (heavier for example) several gypsums plywood etc., but this is the main rule. What you should then do, which is more difficult/impossible, is that the two rooms do not share the same floor or ceiling as sound is also transported there. But with point one and two, you usually get far enough!
 
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Ken and 1 other
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P
Soundproofed a wall between the kitchen and bathroom with very good results.

It was built like this before:
10mm chipboard, 45mm studs, and 10mm chipboard. Between the boards were glued approximately 5cm wide strips of what resembles cardboard.
In other words, any popping sound in the bathroom could be heard very well in the kitchen.

Removed the chipboard on the kitchen side and doubled and offset the studs about 5mm from the chipboard on the other side. This way, sounds hitting the bathroom side don't propagate to the kitchen side as the studs don't contact both boards.

The space between the studs was filled with carefully cut compact insulating board like a rigid board.
Then double plasterboards were screwed on, glued between. This was to create a compact thick board that doesn't vibrate.
The plaster was screwed with about a 6-8mm gap all around, later filled with sealant, to prevent any vibrations from the wall from transferring to the floor in that way. Ideally, the floor and ceiling studs should also be isolated from their bases. But since this was an existing wall that I didn't want to tear the bathroom side of, it was a compromise.

Overall, it became completely silent between the bathroom and the kitchen. Very successful indeed.

Now, I understood that you're not keen on such a large job, but see it as guidance.
Also, keep in mind that where air can transfer, sound can also transfer. So under thresholds and through ventilation ducts, etc., must also be dampened.

When I later built a wall the same way, I settled for double plasterboarding since a wardrobe wall would stand in front. But it wasn't nearly as good, and I regret not going all-in on that wall as well.
 
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TCG
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K
As Lellemars says, and to minimize sound waves passing through the wall, the best solution is just drywall in many layers. And the two studs should not be aligned with each other. Use different layers of drywall on each side of the wall. I have 6 layers on one side and 4 on the other, with 3cm between the walls (sound studio). There should be no drywall on the inside, just air, and the insulation should fit tightly against the drywall to dampen vibrations. A bit advanced for a regular house, but that's the principle.
 
Very good tips everyone except for the egg cartons then.
Will make sure the caulking gun works hard.

Insulation or spray foam between the floor and the partition wall (about 15-20 mm)?

Will probably just go with extra drywall and then decide if it's worth adding another wall. The child's room is 8 sqm so it's small as it is.
 
P
B BäverBerra said:
Great tips everyone, except for the egg cartons. I'll make sure the caulking gun gets a good workout.

Insulation or spray foam between the floor and the partition wall (about 15-20 mm)?

I'll probably just go with the extra drywall first and then decide if another wall is worth it. The child's room is 8 square meters, so it's small as it is.
The wall I built ended up about 22mm thicker than before as the added studs were on the same bottom plate but 5mm out towards the kitchen.
 
P pemu said:
The wall I built became about 22mm thicker than before as the added wall studs stood on the same bottom plate but 5mm out towards the kitchen.
Ah, now I understand what you mean.
I'll think about it a bit since I have to tear down the old walls and frame everything new then.
 
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