Spray foam noise insulation

[ash_scotland88]

Yes, we have spoken to our neighbour but he admits he is older and hearing is going (and I recon he's not quite the full pint) but we are suffering from bad TV noise in our new house, it's a constant drone penetrating the ears.

The house is a 1950's brick built and cavity walls.

The TV noise is a frequency that seems to travel through our house, before we spoke to him it could be heard on the landing easily while our TV couldn't. The stair well is in the middle of the house. His TV is hung on a bracket against the joining wall and old chimney breasts- which makes me wonder if that is acting as a funnel (the two chimneys) and acting almost like an amplifier. I may need to draw a plan to show how it is.

If the chimney isn't acting as an amplifier it almost feels like there could be an air gap somewhere since it also penetrates upstairs. I just find it weird that we struggle to make noise in our own house to be heard elsewhere but next door carries easily. He currently has a house guest who's (what I presume) Skype calls we can hear her side easily, if I could speak her language I would know what she is saying at times.

Anyway, to the point. Anybody had any luck with a cavity will filler working as sound proof? Rooms are narrow and it would need to be three rooms total so don't fancy building fake walls and I know some out there advertise for sound proofing. Cheers for any advice.

 

[JBuk]

Don't fill your cavities or you may end up causing problems with damp

Have you been round to see how loud they have the tv etc?

 

[NVP]

Buy the fella a nice pair of wireless headphones

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Don't fill your cavities or you may end up causing problems with damp

Have you been round to see how loud they have the tv etc?

lots of conflicting advice regarding this.

basically if you get a problem with damp afterwards you already had a problem to begin with just you have given it easier access inside.

also newer materials and those of a higher quality and properly done jobs are better than cowboys using cheaper older materials and not doing the job right.

i would say why not just move home?

 

[ANDARIAL]

Dot and dab or glue and screw insulated plasterboard?
May be try 1 room first won`t be too difficult and would only take up about 300mm off room size

 

[JBuk]

lots of conflicting advice regarding this.

basically if you get a problem with damp afterwards you already had a problem to begin with just you have given it easier access inside.

also newer materials and those of a higher quality and properly done jobs are better than cowboys using cheaper older materials and not doing the job right.

i would say why not just move home?

Insulating cavities is possible but it has to be done correctly or you can cause interstitial condensation, or create a bridge for the moisture to transmit from the naturally damp outer wall to the internal wall.
It's not really a case of having a problem to begin with as all houses get damp but it's how the design and construction deals with that moisture so it doesn't move internally

There's a book called 'the damp house' which explains everything thoroughly, although I still can't find the root of the damp patch at my parents house :/

 

[ash_scotland88]

Looking in the attic (and I think there was a receipt for it) the exterior walls have been insulated.

Yeah, when we went around almost talking at shouting levels over the TV and the noise transfer has improved since the chat. Just as said feels like something could be done. 300mm is a lot to lose. It may be the width of chimney looking at it and will make our narrow lounge area even worse.

 

[the_r_sole]

I'm not convinced that filling the cavity in a party wall with anything is a good idea or will give you any kind of sound insulation, sound usually transfers through connected points in a structure rather than through the air.
If you have a chimney with back to back fires this would be a prime weak point for sound transfer as it will likely be a solid construction or at least not properly isolated structures and the fire recess and chimneys will have minimal materials between them...
The most effective method would be to build a new partition independent of the existing structure, but as you say this has serious downsides in a small room. But imo introducing cavity wall insulation would be dodgy (it would need to be non combustible etc too)

 

[NVP]

Insulating the walls only will not help as it will travel through the floors etc.

Insulating the cavities will be a nightmare of a task to do properly with the correct materials in order for it to have any real effect.

Best option... wireless headphones. The poor old chap will be able to hear so much more and a hell of a lot clearer. Give it a try and you might find he thanks you for it.

 

[PlacidCasual]

Should the noise insulation not be considered on his side? I'm thinking a noise insulating pad immediately behind his TV and noise isolation of the bracket might prevent the noise being transferred into the wall in the first place.

 

[DXP55]

I never realised joining walls had cavities - you live and learn. - Best thing I ever did was to move to detached.

I am hard of hearing and bought myself a pair of wifi headphones - one of my good purchases.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Should the noise insulation not be considered on his side? I'm thinking a noise insulating pad immediately behind his TV and noise isolation of the bracket might prevent the noise being transferred into the wall in the first place.

it's not just room or the tv that is the issue though. it's the whole flat. he can hear skype calls clearly, etc too. god knows about hoover, hairdryer, etc.

he really needs to just move to a better home rather than wasting money on this one IMO

if he sound proofs the walls it could come through the floors and ceilings.

 

[ash_scotland88]

it's not just room or the tv that is the issue though. it's the whole flat. he can hear skype calls clearly, etc too. god knows about hoover, hairdryer, etc.

he really needs to just move to a better home rather than wasting money on this one IMO

if he sound proofs the walls it could come through the floors and ceilings.

Want to gift me the amount for fees to list here, moving costs and the excess to make up to buy a detached?
Haven't heard any hoovers or hair dryers.

And can't exactly go round to his house and start adding sound proofing to his side or ask/tell him to do stuff. We mentioned about the TV noise and it has helped a little. When we were round here we had freinds in our house and they purposely made noise, we didn't hear a thing from them.

 

[v0n]

As someone who spent considerable money acoustically insulating myself from my neighbours I can tell you it's nigh impossible to insulate resonance in chimney breasts in British homes. If his TV set is hanged on chimney breast it's going to be one pig of a job and the best you can hope for is reduction, not isolation. I'd be cheaper and easier to refurbish his living room in such a way that his TV set faces different wall than do it the other way round than do anything on your end.

 

[Simon]

Get him some external speakers and mount them to stop direct sound into the wall

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Do any of your neighbors have a Civic with an unnecessarily loud exhaust?