Why might you want or need ceiling soundproofing?
There are many reasons why you might want to have your ceiling soundproofed. Share your home with dramatic and moody teenagers who drive you mad stomping their feet, playing heavy music or watching TV into the early hours in a room above? Live below neighbours who are driving you insane with their nocturnal lifestyle? Then we would strongly recommend getting some soundproofing done! On a more serious note, there are loads of positive benefits to getting any wall, ceiling or floor soundproofed. Soundproofing creates privacy, you can live in a more peaceful and relaxing environment without worrying about nosy neighbours listening to your private conversations. This also helps focus, meaning if you are still working from home you can get more done by diminishing the distracting sounds of people above you. Soundproofing can also raise the value of your property, a lot of people view soundproofed rooms as desirable – especially after 2020!
Things to bear in mind when considering getting a ceiling soundproofed:
Getting a ceiling soundproofed can seem intimidating to a lot of people, so we have collated some of the biggest things we think you should consider before you get your ceiling soundproofed.
- Type of building you want to get soundproofed
The most important thing when debating whether a soundproof ceiling is for you – and we hope you already know this, but you never know – is understanding the type of building that you wish to soundproof. The type of building you live in, severely influences the type of soundproofing and how effective its installation will be.
- The type of noise you want to soundproof against
Another factor to think about before installing a soundproof ceiling is the type of noise you want to insulate against. There are two main categories of noise: Airborne and Impact. The names of these types of noises are incredibly self explanatory, but I hold out hope that maybe someone somewhere won’t know and I can be the provider of this fountain of knowledge.
Airborne
Airborne noise is sound that, you guessed it, travels through the air. Examples of airborne noise include speech, music or dog barking. This is often the easier type of noise to soundproof against as the noise is less concentrated, and has started dissipating before it enters your home or flat.
Impact
Impact noise is, you are not going to believe this one, caused by direct physical impact being made on walls, floors or any other hard surface in a building. Unlike Airborne noise, Impact noise is often a lot more disruptive and is more challenging to soundproof against as impact vibrations are stronger and travel further through even the densest of materials.
- The type of ceiling that needs to be soundproofed
The last major thing to consider is what type of ceiling it is that needs to be soundproofed. This is a slightly tricker concept to understand, and often many homeowners don’t know what type of ceiling has been installed in their home. If this is the case don’t worry too much about working this one out, this is something our team can help you with.
Concrete or Timber Joist?
Timber Joist – Most new build houses are built with plasterboard or lathe and plaster, these are then mixed onto timber ceiling joists with boards and chipboard being laid across the joists. This results in an air gap between the actual ceiling and the surface you see when you look up in your room.
Concrete Ceiling – Concrete ceilings are being increasingly used in multi-storey constructions of residential houses and flats. Unlike the timber joist ceiling there are no boards laid over the top, what you see when you look up at your ceiling is what you get with a concrete ceiling
Suspended Ceilings
Suspended ceilings are a separate category of ceiling but they share similarities with the timber joist ceilings. The best way of describing a suspended ceiling is looking back on your school days. Chances are the ceilings in your school were suspended ceilings. These ceilings are made up of framed tiles that have been installed over the top of exposed plumbing or ducting. The major similarity with timber joist ceilings is the presence of a void of space between the actual ceiling and the ceiling you see when you are standing in the room.
Things to bear in mind when considering getting a ceiling soundproofed:
The reason why it’s important to know what type of ceiling you have before we are able to install ceiling soundproofing is because the methods used differ across the ceiling types.
Timber Joist ceiling soundproofing installation
Typically if you have a timber joist, the soundproofing consists of separating the ceiling from the existing ceiling and fitting soundproofing material like rockwool and soundproofing boards.
Suspended ceiling soundproofing installation
Typically if you have a suspended ceiling, the soundproofing consists of filling the gap between the ceiling and the base layer ceiling with a soundproofing material like rockwool and soundproofing boards.
Concrete ceiling soundproof installation
With a concrete ceiling we take a slightly different approach. Here we layer plasterboard planks, acoustic plasterboards and rockwool on top of the existing ceiling. This will result in a reduction in the ceiling height between 79mm and 170mm, depending on the ceiling soundproofing solution you would like. Check out all of our available ceiling soundproof options here.
Contact Us
We hope that this blog post has helped make ceiling soundproof installation seem less daunting. If you have any more questions, or want to have your ceiling soundproofed please GET A FREE QUOTE or CONTACT US today to discuss a project or to learn more about how soundproofing can benefit you.