Heaven and HELL!

[Snowman999]

We're finally getting settled in our townhouse, and there's positives and negatives.

Positives: The area. After spending most of my life living and hanging out in NYC, I'm in the sticks. Yes, we're in a townhouse development. But, once we leave, we can get to our favorite shops by backroads. Which are all farmland. I jog past cows and horses every day.

Our attic has a skylight, and the view is the mountains and sky. It's magnificent.

We love thrift shops and antique stores. There's over a dozen in a ten mile radius.

Our public library has 6 affiliates, and I can get most any blu ray I want for free. When they sell them it's 50 cents to a dollar. If they don't have it, I have 4 suggestions a month and they'll get me a copy.

THANKFULLY, the walls are soundproof. I don't even know we have neighbors through the walls. I hate writing this, because I believe in jinxs, and saying it might jinx it.

These are the positives.

The Negatives:

While I can't hear people through the walls. Our TH is 4 floors. The basement is above ground. The first floor is a kitchen/dining room/living room area. Second floor is 2 baths/3 bedrooms. Third floor is my movie room for the moment.

If you move in this TH it's like it's happening all over the TH. My wife can be on the phone on the first floor, and it sounds like she's sitting next to me on the second or third. Word for word can be heard. I'm surprised I can't hear the people on the other end of the phone. Shutting the shitty doors does nothing. It doesn't deaden the volume at all. They seem to be some sort of metal and hollow.

The sound coming through the skylight on the third is amazing. You'd think the people were in the room with you. It's not as loud or understandable on the second or first floor. But, the movie room has anyone outside right there.

I can have my home theatre at volume 13 out of 60 (that's low) and you can hear it in the basement. So, my wife puts her volume up on the TV on the first floor, and we have competing shows.

So, the area and amenities are great. The TH SUCKS! I'm probably going to die here, which makes it worse. If I get to stay here after I'm dead, I'll know I'm in hell.

THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS RANT IS ABOUT. It's about getting me some SANITY. Turning hell into heaven, or just a little better.

This is my attic. It's much different now (our furniture and knick knacks). The movie screen is that indention wall. It's nine feet wide. I'm happy with that for the moment.



This is my thoughts. But, I'm an IDIOT. So, I'm probably wrong.

I believe the sound is traveling down the open stairways. The white banisters you see. If walls were put up with a door, should that essentially lower the volume going and coming? If the walls had rockwool in them, would that further reduce the volume going and coming? I have no problems with the neighbors, the soundproofing between places is great. It's the volume from within that's horrific. I mean really bad.

 

[mjbphotos]

Yes, open stairways and sheetrock - the sound is bouncing bouncing bouncing.
Can't understand the skylight sound - this is when closed? Whats the sound of a hard rain up there?

 

[TAE]

Congrats for getting out of the city!
Sound deadening flooring substrates will help ( there are a ton of options)...Looks like carpet at least in the attic which makes it easy to retrofit
Solid core doors with weather stripping will help.
There are also sound deadening paints that have little hollow glass micro crystals that help knock down sound. Curious what the contractor did that made it so quiet between you and you neighbors....that's great that you can't hear them...may take a little $$$ but you can improve the sound quality.
On the sky light if it is stationary ( doesn't open up to let air in and out) then it probably is just a single tempered piece of glass...no bueno for sound proofing..

If you're handy you can order a dual pane retrofit window ( with the argon gas in the middle) to butt up against the existing window ( make sure you have them use tempered glass) and you'll be amazed at how much noise that will knock out...I just R&R's my homes single panes with these and I'm loving how quiet things are AND how much it helps with keeping the temperature more stable inside both during summer and winter...very helpful.

 

[rob aylestone]

Soundproofing paint appears to be the go to product and there are crazy, crazy claims for it's properties - digging deeper reveals a lack of proper acoustic specs, and 3 coats can give 6-10dB attenuation to normal sound - 'normal' sound then appears to be 300-3K ish.

The makers seem to make outlandish claims and omit scientific data - they also seem to love hyperbole.

Our high-performance architectural coating has been independently and scientifically proven to reduce sound transmission through interior walls by an average of 90% making it the closest thing to soundproof paint that has ever been created

The proprietary ingredients in our coating are able to accomplish this through isolation, absorption and deflection. Essentially we are creating an impenetrable sound barrier on the wall that is able to block the majority of decibels at any frequency.

This is supposedly the brand leader? I've not heard the term 'deflection' before from an acoustics product, I wonder if they meant dispersion? as for "block the majority of decibels" - it does rather suggest they don't have anyone on staff who is really an acoustics expert?

Acoustic paint seems to be designed to deaden speech transfer through hotel walls.

I cannot take it seriously - does anyone have any real data - as in reduction in dB at a range of frequencies.

 

[Snowman999]

Yes, open stairways and sheetrock - the sound is bouncing bouncing bouncing.
Can't understand the skylight sound - this is when closed? Whats the sound of a hard rain up there?

Yes. I've only opened it once to clean the outside. If people are talking outside (they're at least 30 feet down and a few yards away. I can hear them clearly, almost word for word. When it rains, it sounds like it's raining inside. I have to say, rain and wind doesn't bother me, regardless of the volume. I think because it's natural sounds. I also love thunder, especially when it's so loud it makes my ears ring.

Congrats for getting out of the city!
Sound deadening flooring substrates will help ( there are a ton of options)...Looks like carpet at least in the attic which makes it easy to retrofit
Solid core doors with weather stripping will help.
There are also sound deadening paints that have little hollow glass micro crystals that help knock down sound. Curious what the contractor did that made it so quiet between you and you neighbors....that's great that you can't hear them...may take a little $$$ but you can improve the sound quality.
On the sky light if it is stationary ( doesn't open up to let air in and out) then it probably is just a single tempered piece of glass...no bueno for sound proofing..

If you're handy you can order a dual pane retrofit window ( with the argon gas in the middle) to butt up against the existing window ( make sure you have them use tempered glass) and you'll be amazed at how much noise that will knock out...I just R&R's my homes single panes with these and I'm loving how quiet things are AND how much it helps with keeping the temperature more stable inside both during summer and winter...very helpful.

Thanks. I'm enjoying the country.

I have to look into this paint. I don't know what the contractors did. But, everyone I know that's lived in townhouses, complain about neighbors through the walls. I haven't heard anything. I know they have a large flat screen on the wall in their bedroom which is a wall away from us.

I just think people here have a little more respect for each other. Everyone is extremely nice and polite. Even the kids say hello.

While I can't take a good photo to save my life. I took this picture of our sky light. I love eating breakfast looking out at the mountains and sky. It's beautiful.

 

[TAE]

Yes. I've only opened it once to clean the outside. If people are talking outside (they're at least 30 feet down and a few yards away. I can hear them clearly, almost word for word. When it rains, it sounds like it's raining inside. I have to say, rain and wind doesn't bother me, regardless of the volume. I think because it's natural sounds. I also love thunder, especially when it's so loud it makes my ears ring.

Thanks. I'm enjoying the country.

I have to look into this paint. I don't know what the contractors did. But, everyone I know that's lived in townhouses, complain about neighbors through the walls. I haven't heard anything. I know they have a large flat screen on the wall in their bedroom which is a wall away from us.

I just think people here have a little more respect for each other. Everyone is extremely nice and polite. Even the kids say hello.

While I can't take a good photo to save my life. I took this picture of our sky light. I love eating breakfast looking out at the mountains and sky. It's beautiful.
View attachment 112372

Nice frigging sky light ...It looks single pane....You might have a glass company come out and give you an estimate of making it dual pane....It makes a huge difference. It has a latch which means it opens which is cool...looks like it is @ 2" recess to the window which means you could have a plastic dual pane retrofit that fits inside that space making almost flush with the outside perimeter. To have it in a wood frame would be custom $$$ but you could have it in painted black or brown and if you did it yourself maybe $400 or so...guess it just depends on how much the noise from outside bothers you...Our neighbor has 3 large dogs that like to bark...it is nice to have their barking almost silenced with the new windows...really nice at night...

 

[Snowman999]

Nice frigging sky light ...It looks single pane....You might have a glass company come out and give you an estimate of making it dual pane....It makes a huge difference. It has a latch which means it opens which is cool...looks like it is @ 2" recess to the window which means you could have a plastic dual pane retrofit that fits inside that space making almost flush with the outside perimeter. To have it in a wood frame would be custom $$$ but you could have it in painted black or brown and if you did it yourself maybe $400 or so...guess it just depends on how much the noise from outside bothers you...Our neighbor has 3 large dogs that like to bark...it is nice to have their barking almost silenced with the new windows...really nice at night...

Thanks. It is single pane. I had to clean it. Karen said it wasn't cleanable, or her mom would have done it. But, when I opened that sucker and the wind blew in, I knew why she never did. Now you can see out of it. I'm actually thinking of bringing in a contractor for two things. Removing the banisters and putting up walls and a door. Put that rock wool in the walls. No electrical or anything, just walls and a door. If possible, walls that could be removed if we decided to sell the place. I would hope and think, that if the room is walled off, the sound might go through the door. But, not so loud.

The skylight isn't as annoying. But, I would like to dampen it. My idea was to build a wooden box, that would fit snug in the frame. Have it fit with soundproofing material. It wouldn't completely deaden the sound. But, just enough. It would also work as a black out curtain. Right now I have a folding paper one that I have to pull down and up.

In the basement there's a small space behind the stairway that has the washer and dryer, breaker box. It also has our garage and the neighbor's garage on either side of the wall. The ceiling is in our entrance way. I don't need space to record. There's plenty of room to put the computer, keyboard and electric drum kit. I have to get off my ass, and set it up, and just put music on to hear how much I can hear upstairs and in the garage. Depending on the volume, to soundproof that area should be nothing. But, whoever built this piece of shit (it's awful to think of your home so poorly) has wires and pipes on both sides of the ceiling beams. A door could also be put in the walkway leading to the washer.

So much to think about. I'll probably drop dead before it gets done.

 

[TAE]

Good luck man....Been living in this house for 35 years and redid the tile and refinished the kitchen cabinets when we bought it ( I was a tile contractor back then) I finally pulled the trigger on remodeling the kitchen and just tore out the half where the sink is going to go...leaving the other half to use until all the plumbing and electrical is completed in the new placement. OY hard to find guys to work and unfortunately or fortunately ...nah unfortunately I know how to do all the trades to do this damn remodel...but I'm 68 shit what have I got myself into...oh well onward and upward!

 

[Snowman999]

Good luck man....Been living in this house for 35 years and redid the tile and refinished the kitchen cabinets when we bought it ( I was a tile contractor back then) I finally pulled the trigger on remodeling the kitchen and just tore out the half where the sink is going to go...leaving the other half to use until all the plumbing and electrical is completed in the new placement. OY hard to find guys to work and unfortunately or fortunately ...nah unfortunately I know how to do all the trades to do this damn remodel...but I'm 68 shit what have I got myself into...oh well onward and upward!

Good luck. At least you have the experience. I mean this sincerely, I can barely hammer a nail into a board. I watched a video on how to build a frame, and it looks easy. I know I'd do everything wrong.