Joist noise Questions and answers on many aspects of soundproofing areas of your home

[fossell]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. Hope someone can advise me.
I have solid walls in a 1920 terraced town house. As you can imagine noise comes through these fairly easily.
The joist run straight through the walls from house to house. I know this because i can see them in the cellar.

Im convinced these are responsible for a good share of the noise and Im wondering if there is anything I can do to the actual joists themselves to stop the noise travelling along them??

In my cellar you can pretty much hear full conversations along the joists! So I know its not just travelling through the walls.

Im aware that I can do thing like sound insulating layers between the joists and floorboards etc etc but Im really wondering is can just put a cut or holes or insert special screws into the joists where they go into the wall??
This would stop the travel of vibration and not affect the joist strength/integrity??

Any advice and pointers on this much appreciated.

Regards

Russ

[Perry525]

Buy a noise meter from Maplin, use it to trace the source of the noise.
Most is probably coming through the gaps round the joists, where the wood has shrunk over the years.
There are often gaps between the bricks, between the joists, filling these spaces with spray foam will help.
Always find the source of the noise before doing anything.