Soundproofing a stud wall in rented accomodation Questions and answers on many aspects of soundproofing areas of your home

[stevemhh76]

Can anyone help? I am in rented accomodatoin with what a beleive to be a hollow stud wall separating the 2 bedrooms. It is very noisy and I wondered if there may be a solution to this. I have read that expanding filler foam is the easiest way if you cannot remove the plasterboard. Would this be best?

Many thanks!

[Nimrod]

Hi S,

As you have found out the acoustical performance of ordinary stud walls leaves much to be desired. There is no cheap way of improving the performance of such structures.

The noise transmission through the wall could be reduced by increasing the surface mass of the wall and introducing damping. One approach would be to line the wall with soft board. This board is then covered by another layer of plasterboard.

Given that you are in rented accommodation it is unlikely that you could or would be allowed to carry-out such remedial work. You could always raise it with the landlord and see if he was sympathetic.

The injection of expanding foam would not help. Indeed it could even make things worse as you would be potentially couping the outer and inner plasterboard leaves together so that they move together.

B:o)