A few Questions?

[JustinLevanger]

I typed out a huge post but the name was already taken and it deleted it!

so to cut it short I had a few questions.

I live in the south and have a basement and by basement i mean my house is on stilts so the bottom is unfinnished. I was planning on putting fiberglass insulation between the beams for insulation only then putting drywall or this "wonderboard" up and cover that with styrofoam then covering the styrofoam with wedgies or the sound mat. the styrofoam is 2 inche thick and was wondering if that would help dampen the sound so I can use it as a backing for the mat or the wedgies.

So i ask how many sq ft will a roll of the matt cover? and what would be the best thickness to go with while still trying to remain cost effective? What would be better to use with a styrofoam backing wedgies or the sound mat?

Also the house is about 20 inches bigger than the basment on all sides so it kinda hangs over the side and was wondering how to dampen the sound out of there. I cant really describe it but ill take pictures and post them later.

[BobbyO]

Styrofoam is a lousy sound blocker.

[JustinLevanger]

Well that sucks, I guess im gonna use about 5 layers of rolled roofing.

[supersoundproofing]

While rolled roofing has sound blocking qualities in the layers you mention, don't forget that it is  a petroleum based material and may outgas for a long time.  This odor may not bother many people, but in time it may.  That's why we don't recommend using it in a closed space like a home, but in a garage or shed for occasional use where it can be aired out, it's OK.

A better choice is MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl) which is like a very heavy linoleum- (1 Lb <or more> per sq ft) and has the sound blocking effect of a normal residential sheetrock wall.

http://soundproofing.org/infopages/flooring.htm

Other common materials are "WonderBoard" or "HardiBacker Board" (concrete based products) and
Sound deadening board.  (like Knight/Celotex, Homasote, etc),  None of these products are nearly as effective as MLV 1/8" thick, even in multiple layers.

[Justin levanger]

Heres is the new plan.

in the walls were gonna put in pink panther insulation 6 inches thick, 5 layers or rolled roofing, 1/2 inch wonder board then a 5/8 inch sheet of drywall. Would that reduce the sound dramaticly?

[William &nbsp;Nash]

Sure- but having said that we come to the question of what level of "dramatic" and what will be the resultant range of frequencies that will (or not) be reduced.

If we run a test of the noise reduction for each of the materials you mention, we'll be able to plot a curve on  a chart showing how much sound is passed at a particular frequency.

So if we start at 200 cycles and go up to 4000 (the speech range, the music range would be higher) we would have peaks and valleys.

Some materials would enhance the curve, their peaks falling over anothers valley, but others might not, by matching valley to valley.

We don't know, (in dealing with materials that are not tested this way), what the result will be, so it's a crap shoot all the way.

Another issue is that the studding passes sound quite readily from wall to wall- ignoring whats between it.  This would be alleviated somewhat by using resilient channel, soundclips http://soundproofing.org/infopages/channel.htm
or at least the "Poor mans soundproofing: padding tape.

"Super Soundproofing Tape", a 1/8"thick black vinyl-nitrile tape with self-adhesive backing. Same material as our absorbent mat. Wrap pipes, ducts or stick on metal panels (inside computers too!) to reduce noise transfer and vibration. Very effective as an additional isolation padding for Studs, Resilient or Hat channel.  

Use the 4" width cut into squares to sandwich between wall panels (Drywall and Soundboard/Homasote)  for improved sound control and frequency response.  

Use the green 1 7/16" width on "hat" channel or wall stud facing and resilient channel (RC)for additional padding. Use the 3" and/or 4" for joists and beams.  
http://soundproofing.org/images/RC-1-with_tape_proof.jpg
Find out more about other tape.  http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/Tape.htm

Super Soundproofing Co