Sound Deadening

Do you own the apartment? Is the existing wall made of studs and gyp board?

If yes to both, are you willing to remove the existing gyp board?

I own it. The existing wall is plaster.

You should also ask your upstairs and downstairs neighbors if they hear your music, and if it bothers them. Don't wait for them to complain.

I just bought the place but haven't moved in yet. So I have no clue about what the upstairs or downstairs neighbors can hear. I do know that the seller told me at the closing of all places that his adjacent neighbor sometimes complained about his music. Sounds more like a hypersensitive nag since this guy didn't have much in the way of a sound system. But, I'm painting and installing new molding so this seems like a perfect opportunity to nip the situation in the bud. I just don't know how to go about it. Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_transmission_class

"Sounds more like a hypersensitive nag since this guy didn't have much in the way of a sound system"

Is this for a condo in Jersey in 1977?

Egg cartons.

just don't make excessive noise btwn 11pm-8am and you're fine.
also, books are great at sound deadening. get a big, sturdy bookcase, put it against the common wall, and fill it with your books.
enjoy your new home.

I don't know the details, but a friend of mine once told me that she had insulation materials "injected" into her bedroom wall to reduce noise. Sounds like a viable solution to me...

Yeah, expanding foam. That works. Not cheap, but it works. Challenge is, that might not be how the sound is getting through... could be the floors (especially for transmission of bass).

There's no way of sound proofing your neighbors who have a strong bass system.
Welcome to apartment living...

i had the similar issue as you, the only difference is that instead of music it's my kids. i purchased http://www.foambymail.com/Eggcrate.html the 2 1/2 inch and put sheet rock over it. can't hear anything at all. my neighbor apologized once for having a screaming fight that i knew nothing about. my wall (20 ft long) cost approx $200 in material.

Between apts, make sure you have adequate insulation. I would suggest taking down the current wall and putting up quiet rock wall. Then perhaps green glue or quietglue and another quiet rock wall on top of it.

Re floors, doublecheck this but would put down mass loaded vinyl, then foam, then hardwood floors. I think there is even a special foam for putting under hardwood floors that provides more soundproofing.

Re ceiling, the only thing you can really do is get a drop ceiling. There may also be some kind accoustical tiles that will muffle which you could also put on walls if you do not want to do quietrock.

The bookcase idea is okay, but will only muffle and not do much more.

Most contractors can do a lot of this work. Though I have to admit that those who hold themselves out as soundproof contractors all seem to be a little nuts.

The 11-8 rule would vary with the building. I would say most buildings have a rule to NEVER make EXCESSIVE noise AT ANY TIME. From 11-8, though, something closer to NO NOISE is or at least should be the norm.

Is it true that pre-war condos are quieter than the new cookie cutter ones? I would think yes b/c the materials used to build the pre-wars are so much better...any thoughts?

generally speaking, sound wise prewars are better horizontally (less noise from next door neighbors) and not as good vertically (more noise from upstairs). but some prewars are as good vertically as well depending on the construction of teh floors (NB: not finished flooring material: the structural make-up of the floors, like concrete vs wooden joists)

I am actually dealing with this now, bought a pre-war apt and you would think that pre-war apts would be much quiter, in some instances they are but new construction puts (or is supposed to) soundproofing on floors and walls. I am hearing foot fall noises from upstairs and some voices between walls. For wall you can use sheetrock (or even better quietrock) and something called green glue, its not cheap but if you are doing work now, best to do it now than after you move in. Google, soundproofing + new york several things will come up. It will not completley eliminate but depending on what you do should reduce it by 50%-75% Hope that helps

Thanks guys

I thought the rule was 11 PM to 8 AM until I became prez of the local civic assn. In working with the precinct and community board because of our neighbors' weekly 3-day-long noise-intensive parties, I learned that noise can be considered excessive at any time of the day or night.

I forgot to add that we used QuietRock for new construction and it works really well. However, for existing plaster walls, I don't know. I did a lot of reading on the internet before we built our house. I'm sure you can find something that way. There is paint for existing walls that is supposed to be sound-deadening because it has silicon granules in it. I haven't used it and can't remember the name of the company (they're in Florida) but that might be a lead for you.

i heard that prewars with concrete joists are better, but that woodent are more commom, which creates the sqeakiness above/below.
i am having some walls put up and am getting estmates today. is quiet rock a lot more expensive than sheetrock?

Yes, but I can't remember how much more. It might have been about 75% more than the cost for regular gypsum (not Chinese gypsum, which we now see can be very nasty to have in the house). There's more than one brand and some are cheaper than others. Take a look on the internet and you'll be an expert in an hour. Our contractor picked the QuietRock. In the end, the extra cost wasn't a dealbreaker for us because we hope to be using that sound insulation for a few more decades.

besides chinese gypsum, are there other types of sheetrock that should be avoided for health reasons?

*besides chinese gypsum, are there other types of sheetrock that should be avoided for health reasons?**

Not that I remember. The same company that makes QuietRock also makes EcoRock, an ecofriendly sheet rock. There are companies that sell ecofriendly "mud" (joint compound), too.

The world of sound insulation is full of innovations. We put sheets of some kind of sound-deadening stuff behind the drywall in one of the bathrooms -- but not the water wall. I specified all that stuff in 2006 and don't remember some things I thought I'd never forget.

"It will not completley eliminate but depending on what you do should reduce it by 50%-75% Hope that helps"

one of the problems with noise is that "reductions" don't make a really big difference unless they are 100%, because if you still hear the noise, it still bothers you. that said "100%" doesn't necessarily mean 100% of the sound (impossible) but 100% of the difference between the noise that is annoying and the ambient sound level in the room you are in.