The real soundproofing hack anyone can do!

There are so many ‘hacks’ in soundproofing and most of them are complete balloni. However, here at iKoustic, we do have a few tricks up our sleeves that make our soundproofing solutions so good. So while egg boxes, foam, and special wallpaper can’t soundproof your room any better than a sheet of paper, this hack can improve your soundproofing system in just a few minutes!

The three rules of soundproofing

The three rules of soundproofing should always be adhered to if you want to properly soundproof your room. They come together like a well-balanced recipe, in that, alone they won’t soundproof very well, but together they are the silver bullet. Soundproof materials can be a confusing thing, so we have an index if you’d like to know more about them individually!

High -Mass Materials

Adding mass is something that no soundproofing system should be without. High-mass materials are able to reflect airborne noises (talking, music), and insulate your room. This means sound struggles to enter or escape a room. It also follows that this is why soundproofing wallpaper is a lie; it simply hasn’t got nearly enough mass!

Decoupling materials

Decoupling materials from each other is the next big idea in soundproofing. It means that there are either fewer points of physical contact between two surfaces, or, that a vibration-resistant material joins them. The best way to think of decoupling is that we are adding a shock-absorbing layer to resist vibrations traveling through rigid materials. For walls, the best option is a MuteClip as this reduces the points of contact drastically and they are also made of a vibration resistant material!

Acoustic Absorption

Acoustic absorption is another key element of soundproofing. Once again, by itself absorption is not soundproofing (it doesn’t block noise, by absorbs it), however if you neglect this element you will notice it! Adding absorption into the cavities between joists and stud work will prevent the drum effect which can amplify noise.

The soundproofing hack you need to know

The soundproofing hack you need to know is to add isolation strips to your systems. This is like dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s; it’s going to finish the job properly and get that extra bit of performance from your system. With soundproofing, you need to add up lots of incremental gains to get the highest performance possible.

This is because decibels aren’t made equal. A single decibel unit actually ‘weighs’ more the louder a sound gets. Instead of using a linear scale, the decibel scale is logarithmic. If you don’t like maths, like me, then in short it means that every decibel is ten times ‘heavier’ than the last. To add to this mix of total confusion, the human ear will hear a doubling of the noise level as an increase of 10 decibels.

In short, reducing noise by one decibel is easier if the reduction is only 5dB but MUCH harder if you have a reduction of 19dB and want to achieve 20dB. So, this is when you need to add up these smaller gains, such as isolation strips.

How to use an isolation strip to soundproof a room

To soundproof a room, use isolation strips to decouple the new soundproofing layers from the original structure. On a floor, isolation strips are used on joists or battens to support the new sub-floor. Isolation strips can be used to rest a new stud frame on so that it is not in direct contact with the floor or walls.

Using isolation strips to soundproof a room will help reduce flanking transmission and improve the overall soundproofing system. The rubber crumb isolation strips are vibration-resistant to reduce the transfer of impact vibrations from floors into the ceiling, or, up into the walls.

While many people install soundproofing solutions, a DIY guide won’t usually know about this soundproofing hack. To get professional results, you should think about your new system like a bucket; any hole, no matter how small, can let sound through. Make sure your system is as robust as it can possibly be, especially where two materials meet.

Best isolation strips for soundproof floors

The best isolation strips for soundproof floors are pimpled isolation strips (P8). Not all soundproofing shops provide this option but it’s the best solution for timber joist flooring. The pimpled surface reduces direct contact with the new subfloor which is key to decoupling.

Pimpled isolation strips can be used on joists, but for batten flooring, we have a different isolation strip. The acoustic batten strip is 5mm thicker to resist more vibrations but flat to provide more support for this floor type.

Best isolation strips for stud walls

The best isolation strips for stud walls are flat, to give good stability, but should cover the whole of the joist exposed to the wall/floor/ceiling. Isolation strips should be of a vibration-resistant material, like rubber crumb, and ideally have a self-adhesive back, like ours. This allows for rapid and easy installation without the need to introduce tacks, which would compromise the decoupling effect.

For stud walls, we have the F5 tape which comes in 100mm and 50mm thicknesses. This can be placed under the stud work, on the sides and on the top, to resist vibrations from all surfaces. You shouldn’t use a pimpled isolation strip for stud work, as it will not give the required stability for this structure.

Other ways to decouple walls

There are other ways to decouple your soundproofing wall, and the very best option (even better than isolation strips!), is to use the MuteClip. Like the isolation strips, this is made from a vibration-resistant material, but, this physically parts two structures. When a MuteClip soundproofing frame is created, the points of physical contact between your existing wall and the new soundproofing partition are massively reduced. This makes the MuteClip the best soundproof solution for space used.