Noise of piano coming thru common concrete wall

[Steve]

Any and all advice would be welcome, as I am slowly going out of my mind because of this...



My neighbor and I share a common poured concrete wall, 4" I think -- although it might possibly be cinder-block.  He has placed the sound-emitting side of his new upright piano nearly flush against our common wall and you guessed it -- the sound and resonance of the piano travels along the entire 3-story common wall whenever his kids bang on the piano, which is oftentimes while my kids are already asleep.





He has agreed to let me place a piece of drywall or similar material on HIS side of the wall, in the gap he will create between the rear edge of the piano and our common concrete wall.





ANY IDEAS what drywall to use, any additives to attach to one or both sides of the drywall, etc. etc  I would appreciate all suggestions from the bottom of my heart.







Thank you.

[Boborther]

Steve,

I think I'd nix the drywall idea and simply place a sheet of the 1" closed cell foam mat between the piano and the party wall. A sheet of the 1" foam mat will be much more effective than a piece of drywall.
Now, if the wall is indeed cinder block, that is a problem in itself because cinder block is very pourous and easily allows sound to pass.
I would also consider getting 4 of the 3" vibration pads, one for each leg of the piano, ya think? This will isolate the instrument from the floor, especially if it is a hardwood or ceramic tile floor assembly.
Steve, the bottom line is that  at least the neighbor is being co-operative, but the biggest favor he could do for you would be to get that piano away from the party wall. That would be a big help and with the foam across the sounding board (the back of the instrument) this should sove this issue entirely
Steve, hopefully this information will be helpful to you. Thanks for you post.

Bob Orther
Super Soundproofing Sales/Technical Associate.
Ph: (760) 752-3030    FAX: (760) 752-3040
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