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Everyday life, especially in urban areas, brings with it a constant struggle against noise, and one of the most common problems faced by tenants is how to ensure that the soundproofing of the ceiling is high quality and well done. Today, with the help of easy-to-install modern materials such as insulation foam, it is possible to do it yourself, without any help from a handyman.
People usually have the feeling that noise comes up with the ceiling, especially if they live in buildings. Concrete boards, wooden beams, blocks and bricks simply are not good enough insulators, and if your building, or rather your neighbors from upstairs, do not have a floating floor, each louder footstep and any movement of furniture, not to mention jumping and pounding, will create the so-called impact noise in your living area. It’s similar in other places, like office buildings, where people spend a good part of their day. If these facilities are not well insulated, time at work usually passes accompanied by an irritating cacophony.
Noise significantly affects the quality of life, and people are often not aware of it.
Air noise is most often music and speech, i.e. everything that causes the air to vibrate in waves that breaks through our walls and ceilings from other rooms. Structural noise is the one that comes to us from the vibrations from the building structure in which we live, if the neighbor is drilling and renovating something or simply the water pipes hiss and howl all day long.
Doctors claim that some of the consequences of constant exposure to noise are a loss of concentration, insomnia, and irritability. And impact noise is the thing that disturbs our peace the most, because the speed of the sound wave is faster in solid things than when it passes through air, and up to 12 times at that.
We will now proceed to try to solve this problem for you by instructing you how to do everything yourself.
Effective and affordable ceiling soundproofing begins and ends with insulating foam
A ceiling adaptation can be a tedious job, because the space is often narrowed, but so is the household budget. Insulating foam, made of polyurethane or sponge, in this example proves to be an ideal material for soundproofing the ceiling. Insulating foam boards are easy and quick to install, as well as to remove. They can be simply bonded to the ceiling or mechanically attached.
On the other hand, they are not as expensive as some other building solutions for this problem, and how effective it is in stopping unwanted sounds is shown by the fact that it is used most often to soundproof industrial buildings that produce enormous noise. Not least, this material can withstand extremely high and low temperatures and, in addition to being a good thermal insulator, in the event of a fire, it can play a crucial role in preventing the spread of fire.
Ceiling soundproofing – easy installation in several ways
With the help of special dowels and screws, the insulating foam boards can be easily installed mechanically on the ceiling. Places on the slab and ceiling where the dowels will pass are marked and after the holes are drilled in the marked places, with the help of a hammer, the dowels are driven into the ceiling, and the slabs are lightly fastened with screws. The plates are not heavy and bulky, which makes this job as simple as possible.
Insulating boards and panels can be purchased with already impregnated adhesive on one side, which makes their installation even simpler. If this is not the case, you can easily find glue for this purpose in any store that offers consumer goods for interior and exterior decoration. You can also use glue in the form of a spray, which makes installation even easier. Don’t worry, the adhesives are strong enough, the insulation will not fall on your head. On the other hand, disassembly is easy, so it is not at all unusual for you to take your soundproofing with you when you move.
Polyurethane spray foam insulation is usually used to insulate larger surfaces, most often attics. Open-cell foam is less dense, but with a layer at least 10 cm thick, it blocks sound well. This foam is commonly used in wooden constructions where the wooden crates are literally filled with foam. When it dries and reaches its maximum size, the excess is cut with a saw and the surface is leveled.
Insulating foam boards can be combined with other materials. Before them, plasterboard panels can be placed on the ceiling. Their installation is also simple, they are bonded with the help of gypsum glue that is applied to the ceiling. When you stick the plaster on it again with the help of glue or screws, you place the insulating foam.
The ceiling can also be lowered with the help of hangers or, even better, acoustic hangers that are drilled into the ceiling and plaster and insulating foam are then hung on them in turn. This solution is good if there is enough comfort between your ceiling and the floor, because the hangers separate your insulating construction from the ceiling and additionally prevent the spread of sound.
Sponges and foams in the shape of egg boxes are something we are used to seeing in music studios and anechoic chambers, but with the help of a well-chosen color and shape, they can be acceptable for your ceiling as well. This form of foam or sponge is not chosen by chance, because it additionally prevents the spread of sounds, both from the neighbors above you and those you create. If you like to make noise, listen to loud music and play, it might be best if this soundproofing material adorns your ceiling.
A well-chosen material is crucial in the fight against noise
The cellular structure of the material in polyurethane foam and sponges, i.e. their porosity, absorbs sound the best. When noise reaches such a cellular structure, most of the sound wave will remain inside them and will not bounce off the surface, in this story, your ceiling.
To approximate the volumes we are talking about, it should be mentioned that a whisper is at a level of 30 decibels (dB), a conversation is at 60 dB, a vacuum cleaner produces a sound level of 75 dB, while a car horn or hammering produce an irritating level of 110 dB. Therefore, it is no surprise that a few years ago the news spread around the world about how the cat Smokey from the farm in British Spring Hill entered the Guinness Book of Records, because her purr reaches an incredible volume of 67.7 decibels! Even 14 times more than an ordinary cat.
On the other hand, walls and ceilings without insulation reduce noise by only 30 dB, while well-insulated ones reduce noise by more than 50 dB. You will easily see for yourself what the difference is when you hear it, that is, you don’t hear it, because our ear registers a difference of only 10 dB as twice as loud a sound.
Polyurethane foams and sponges are the best sound insulators
Polyurethane foam, praised for preventing the arrival of excess decibels, is excellent at preventing low frequencies in the 50–250 Hz range. It does not take up a lot of space and is easy to install, whether above it is a block, a wooden beam or concrete. It is produced in different thicknesses, usually ranging from 2 to 10 cm. Foams can be closed-cell, where most of the original bubbles remain intact, or open-cell, where the bubbles are broken.
Sponges are also excellent sound insulators. Either those made of rubber, PVC sponges, polyethylene and polyurethane sponges, EVA types of sponges and Melamine sponges. Rubber sponges include EPDM, CR, NBR and NR, types of artificial raw rubber.
NBR sponges are up to 5 cm thick, withstand temperatures from -40°C to 90°C. They are good sound but also thermal, and insulator against humidity.
PVC sponges improve soundproofing and reduce condensation. They are usually up to one centimeter thick. They withstand the same temperatures as NBR sponges.
Polyethylene sponges with a very fine cell structure, smooth surface and light, are ideal for sound and thermal insulation and vibration damping. The thickness of the panel can be from just one millimeter to 10 centimeters.
Polyurethane sponges are available in the form of sheets, rolls or tapes with an open-cell structure on a polyester base and on a polyether base. Both materials are excellent soundproofing. The latter, based on polyether, are available in plates with a pyramidal surface and in the shape of an egg, which additionally prevent the flow of sound.
Composite sponge foam PU sponge with an open-cell structure, produced from recycled PU sponge foam, in thickness from 2 millimeters to 2 centimeters in plates and tapes, can be self-adhesive if desired. Effectively absorbs sound and dampens vibrations.
Melamine sponge foam with an open-cell structure has a temperature resistance of up to +200°C and perfectly protects rooms from noise. They can be flat or pyramidal. Due to good thermal insulation and soundproofing, they are often coated with aluminum to further improve their properties.
For any additional information, our team is at your disposal, and you can reach it at 024 41 505 16 or by e-mail at miki.kopasz@ssapanafoamtec.com.
