Problem: Outdoor noise penetration into the home.
Cause: Noise transmitted through an exterior wall.
Solutions: Use a heavy exterior surface. Brick veneer or concrete block provide more noise reduction than vinyl, light metal or wood veneers/siding.
- Reduce stiff connections between the inner and outer surfaces of the wall by mounting interior drywall on resilient metal furring or using double-stud construction. The air space between brick veneer and the supporting wall serves this purpose.
- Use a double layer of drywall on the interior surface.
- In exterior wall cavities use acoustically absorbent fibrous insulation rather than closed-cell foams.
- Increasing the stud size form 2 X 4" (38 X 89 mm) to 2 X 6" (38 X 140 mm) improves noise reduction slightly.
Reduce the number of windows in the wall
Mount interior drywall on resilient metal furring; double the layer for severe cases.
Cause: Noise transmitted through the roof or ceiling
Solutions: Make ventilation openings as small as possible. these openings will adversely affect the noise reduction properties of the roof system.
- Locate ventilation openings on the quiet side of the building, if possible.
- Use exposed fibrous insulation in the space between the roof and ceiling to improve noise reduction. Closed-cell foam does not effectively absorb sound.
- Use a double layer of drywall on ceilings.
- Use resilient metal furring to support ceiling drywall.