Soundproofing Ceiling and Walls

Sorry. The discussion should have been under the Renovations category. Too early in the morning.

Don't think it would be a particularly important positive factor unless the prospective purchaser was looking at other apartments in your building, at which point your unusual added feature would have alerted them to the possible noise issues of the building.

Then again, who knows? The other question is would someone pay enough more for the apartment for you to recoup the cost of the soundproofing? Or do you just do it for your own enhanced enjoyment of your living space.

I personally think is positive to sound proof the apartment because I hate hearing loud noise from next door in the middle of the night.

1-possitive
2-living,dining and bedroom ceilings and party walls.(If you have kids may be all interior walls)

renovationcostny.com

It can only be positive, but you have to weigh costs.

Acoustilog is tops in the field but won't be cheap.It is a considerable sum. But will tell exactly what noise is or isnt coming through and what to do to remedy.
If possible try an enlist the neighbor in participating in the assessment (cost).
Id spend a week making lots of noise in your apartment first before asking. :)

its a positive. clearly.

i had a corner 3 br that i soundproofed the living wall and was worth every penny. during construction, it cost $1K to do ($250 in materials). if i ever buy an apartment again, i would be looking to soundproof side to side and up.

I couldn't really think of many negatives about soundproofing other than as mentioned above, the cost and the temporary mess since I'm living in the apartment now. Thanks for all the feedback.

I think this is a double-edged sword. It's mostly positive but the possible negative is this: will a prospective buyer wonder why the sound proofing is there and get scared off? Are you doing it to keep sound in or out?

BTW I used Acoustilog. He seems competent but I have to say his recommendations had no feel for asthetics and he does not like to actually talk to contractors. I got the impression he feels his recommendation is "bible". At the price is top dollar.

I think that some people are more sensitive to noises then others. Also most people who have lived in NYC are accustomed to the fact that the streets are noisy and sometimes your neighbors can be a little noisier than you would like, even unintentionally. We also live close together and you often have neigbors on both sides and above. So to me, soundproofing isn't really a signal that the building is noisier than most, but that the person who lives there likes the apartment quieter than others might.
Bernie and Truth, thanks for the feedback on Acoustilog.

1000% positive. You will never regret it and it will add value, not create some paranoia as the post above seemed to suggest. Acoustilog is very expensive and I found him a little self centered but that is just my opinion. We met with Devin from Brooklyn Soundproofing, or Brooklyn Insulation or something and he really knew his stuff. Can't remember the website but Soundproofing is all they do. On a related note, none of us should need to soundproof. I think other people should just be quiet. But people are so self centered they dont even think about their actions. In our building, our neighbors ALL make noise and act like petulant stepchildren when asked to reduce stereos, random pounding etc, whereas we make NO disturbing noise and we have a baby and pets. Why? Because we actually think of others.

I am considering soundproofing the wall of one of my bedrooms that adjoins the bedroom of the apartment next door as well as soundproof the ceiling of that bedroom. Can anyone recommend a company that specializes in soundproofing?

A few of the above posters mentioned Acoustilog, which appears to be a soundproofing consultant and does not actually do the soundproofing and, based on some of those posts, appears to be quite expensive. For those of you that used Acoustilog, did you feel that the extra expense was worthwhile?

I know this is an old thread, but has anyone had any wall soundproofing done recently? The noise we are experiencing is from a water pump in an apartment building from one wall that is beside the water pipes and there is a constant humming sound when the pump is on.

Krippler, I have the EXACT same problem, can someone recommend a few sound proofing companies that I can try besides Acoustilog?

Word of advice: don't live on the top floor of the building, you are surrounded by all the mechanicals on the roof and there is really no escape.

Dear lobster: I had an apartment in San Francisco that had a long common wall (other side was neighbor's living room AND bed alcove). I was mortified to move in and find out that I could hear his every word. I hired an acoustical company that blew plexiglass foam into the wall. Once in the wall, it expanded and hardened, turning the wall into what was effectively a big cement or brick, sold wall. It completely took care of the problem, and was much cheaper than building a secondary wall. Check it out and see if there is still such a thing. I sure it must because it was very popular here and a great alternative.

I find a great way to add soundproofing is to laminate QuiteRock

Soundproofing is not that simple. It all depends upon what type of noise you want to block, decibel level of the noise, and it source. I used this guide when I had problems with noise several years ago. This was produced by the EPA and was right on the mark:
http://www.nonoise.org/epa/Roll10/roll10doc26.pdf

@Johnston. I used Acoustilog for a general assessment of nose levels and recommendations to mitigate. As I said above he seems quite competent but is very expensive and honesty didn't tell me anything I did not learn from my own basic research e.g., best windows are Cityproof and ensure you have a miniumum 3" gap between interior and exterior window. Also, he provided recommendations re walls & ceiling but he won't work with the contractor which I found to be a big turnoff.

As a Contractor who often deals with this problem - yes, that while subjective, anyone considering the level of sound need assess the value of minimizing sound. There are many treatments that will do just that and they vary in cost and intricacy. This is where money enters the equation and the importance of realistic expectations. Quiet Rock, Acoustilog or Load Vinyl applications all vary in cost and sound deadening rating. Please don't allow someone to suggest 'attenuation blankets' or a simple solution when in fact all ratings/application have limitations. There are many online charts/details that might prove useful in assessing just how "quiet" you want your environment to be. To Bernie 123 comment - Any supplier/installer that "won't work with a Contractor" most likely doesn't want to be held accountable if/when the installation doesn't meet the Owner's needs. In the end, the Contractor needs to produce the best project possible as performed by each trade involved in the process.

@superwoman, Were you able to find a sound proofing company for your problem? If so, who did you use?

@Jini130, Do you have any recommendations for someone to assess my particular problem? We've opened up our walls/ceiling and now we're just looking for the best alternative to our noise issue.