Soundproofing a bathroom

[lumbajac]

Looking to soundproof the bathroom to bedroom walls in my new home. Walls are still open. Will use fiberglass batts. However, not sure if I should use kraft faced or not... much easier to install and keep in place, but am concerned the vapor barrier may be an issue. Should the vapor barrier face into the bathroom or out of the bathroom? I will not be able to face the vapor barrier in around the tub/shower units as everything is already installed and the tub/shower units can no longer be pulled out.

Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Redox]

You want to put the vapor barrier towards the moisture side. It's supposed to stop the moisture from going into the insulation. In Florida, you put it on the outside.

I don't think it really makes a big deal between two heated spaces, but if it's an outside wall, barrier on the warm side.

Chris

 

[d.n.f.]

I put fibreglass bats around a powder room that was kind of in the middle of the house.
Did squat.
You could still hear everything. And I mean everything. Maybe the sound was transmitted through the wooden floors or something? This was a brand new build and we thought we were being smart.

I would use proper sound deadening products. Two sheets of that special drywall and stagger the joints. They make some kind of sound absorbing insulation.

 

[mayor mcheese]

Apply fiberglass insulation batting to the walls. The batts can be packed in fairly tightly–—the denser the material, the more sound you stop. But remember that for actual insulation purposes, the insulation loses value if it's too tightly packed. Hang the drywall as usual

 

[DeePee]

If you really want to reduce sound transmission, have a look at acoustic insulation, adhesive, wallboard and gaskets. In addition the efficiency of such a system is very dependent on the basic design being used.

Best regards,
DP

 

[DeePee]

radio!

Cheap / noisy bathroom fan will work as well.

DP

 

[DeePee]

radio!

Cheap / noisy bathroom fan will work as well.

DP

wonder if wind chimes work under a bathfan?

Not unless you can reach them with the toilet brush.

DP

 

[tumbles]

They make a sound proof sheetrock. It's two layers of 3/8" XP with a special barreir in the middle that stops the sound. It runs about 1.50 a square foot. The only thing you can do is apply a steel hat channel with 5/8" drywall on top of the hat channel. The 1st way is the best. It's equal to like 6 layers of drywall. Hope it helps.

 

[DeePee]

They make a sound proof sheetrock. It's two layers of 3/8" XP with a special barreir in the middle that stops the sound. It runs about 1.50 a square foot. The only thing you can do is apply a steel hat channel with 5/8" drywall on top of the hat channel. The 1st way is the best. It's equal to like 6 layers of drywall. Hope it helps.

That product works well when used with the resilient channel as you've mentioned, neoprene gasket tape on top of the channels will help as well. Similar gaskets are available for the top and bottom of the walls. A product like EnerMax or Safe-and-Sound can be used to fill the wall-space ( for more ambitious projects there are superior materials available but the cost will be incredible ). Standard fiberglass insulation isn't really dense enough to absorb a lot of energy. Basically at the end of the day you want to isolate the walls from each other and from the structure to reduce energy transmission.

It comes down to the types of sound you want to reduce, by what factor and how much you can afford to spend to reach that goal. A bit of fiberglass will make a small improvement, a sound-deadening insulation will work better, however an isolated wall-structure like tumbles recommends is a better way to achieve the best results.

DP

 

[wenger7446]

The key is to decouple the room from surrounding rooms. As mentioned above the use of the hat channel is great. We use it in theaters all the time.

Quiet Solutions makes some great drywall (but pricey): http://www.quietsolution.com/

You can get the same concept of solution by installing 5/8 sheet rock - then installing 1/2 sheet rock over the 5/8 sheet rock, remembering to stagger the seams (as mentioned above).

You can also install mineral wool (instead of batt). - http://www.thermafiber.com/default.asp?PageIndex=526

If you do install batts - DO NOT pack it tight. Doing so just increases the transmission of sound.

 

[rowerwet]

when my parents replaced thier tub shower in the main bathroom they had me put up regular fiberglass insulation between the shower walls and thier room, it made a huge difference, before that it was completely uninsulated and acted like a drum. I think the spray foam idea would be even better, and mabey a layer of cork board type insulation on the bedroom side wall. my parents used the cork board type insullation on the ceiling of the den in thier basement, it does a very good job, and the sheetrock goes over it so you don't even see it.