Soundproofing in New York

It's a well known fact that New Yorkers know how to live large but in small and confined quarters, and even if that space is underneath a bar or nite club, it's okay cause the rent is cheap. But as time passes that basement apartment or flat begins to grind on your nerves, and you swear if you hear just one more Willy Nelson or even New York Lou Reed ditty from that damned Jukebox, someone's gonna pay. The problem is that usually you are the one who pays with your sleep, or lack there of. This is one of those times when sleep means more than the almighty dollar. It's obvious that a lack of sleep can affect every part of your daily life, especially in New York City. Last June I teamed up with one of the best New Yorkers in the City. He's the Senior Real Estate Columnist for The New York Times, Jay Romano. Jay did a piece on soundproofing in the city and the unique sound issues facing New Yorkers. New York has it all, subway noise, aircraft noise, apartment to apartment noise...Hey, Shaddap Vinny!!!! It is a 7-24 never ending story. I think the only time it stopped was on September 11th, and then it was only for a few minutes. The noise in New York is definitely unique but the methods for treating it are the same. If you are in New York and have soundproofing issues please call the experts at Soundproofing America, Inc. They will help you solve your noise problems and not empty your wallet in the process. If there are soundproofing materials at Home Depot or Lowe's that will work for you, we'll tell you about them. With the price of Real Estate these days, the rest of the country is beginning to feel the pinch just like New York has for over 50 years .

Dr.Bob O.
e-mail dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call toll free (877) 530-0139

Confusing Soundproofing websites???

If you're like me, you're tired of ridiculously confusing and hard to navigate soundproofing websites, especially when you are in dire need of quick and concise information and services. That's exactly why we made www.soundproofingamerica.com as simple and easy to navigate as possible. You won't find any silly little animated pointy fingers to direct you to links that have absolutely nothing to do with what you are looking for. No little spies in orange suits prodding you to buy a booklet (that you can download elsewhere for Free). We have been to those websites and frankly we too have walked away dazed and confused, and we're supposedly the experts. It's comical to me that they try to convince the public that they are this huge corporation with thousands of employees and a huge warehouse fully stocked with merchandise. The truth be known, I really don't want to be the one paying the rent on a 100,000 sq. ft. facility every time I make a major purchase. If you have any suggestions, concerns, or comments regarding this website or any of our policies, please e-mail Scott at: scott@soundproofingamerica.com or Dr.Bob at: dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com We will listen to your concerns and suggestions, and will do our best to accommodate you. That's my perspective, what is yours?
Dr. Bob O.
e-mail: dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call toll free (877) 530-0139

Soundproofing a washer and dryer or your dishwasher

Generally the biggest problem with a washer dryer combination is dealing with downstairs neighbors in a condo or apartment scenario. There is always a concern about vibration and structure borne noise (especially with an unbalanced load) being transmitted downwards to the neighbor below. The best method for treating this situation is to roll out a layer of American Mass loaded vinyl on the floor (usually the 1 Lb MLV will do) beneath the washer and dryer (provided they are side by side units) and then actually putting both the washer and dryer up on vibration isolation pads. These pads will go under the feet of each machine and will sit on top of the rolled out mass loaded vinyl. Now if the sound of the washer is bothersome to the occupants of the home (airborne sound) where the machines are used, it is always best to soundproof the alcove where the machines are located, using either America mat for the walls and possibly the ceiling, or simply lining the walls and ceiling with the American Mass loaded vinyl. If you use the MLV, it is essential that you caulk the seams as well as the perimeter and then tape the seams with a seam or lead tape. Lastly we always recommend layering over the MLV with a layer of 5/8" fire code drywall. Now if the drywall is not feasible, then you can actually texture the MLV with a latex texture, and paint the MLV with a vinyl or latex paint. Now lets talk a little bit about under the counter dishwashers. The manufacturers of today's dishwashers are very aware of sound control issues with their machines, however, when any mechanical device is enclosed in a wood based structure, there is always the possibility of sound transmission into the structure. The most effective method of soundproofing a dishwasher is to pull it out from the counter and adhere America mat (usually at least ½" thick) to the outside of the unit. It is also a good idea to cover the back of the machine as well, taking care not to block essential ventilation passages. We also advise lining the under counter cavity with the ½" foam mat. This will basically give you twice the soundproofing as well as much needed vibration absorption and dampening. The last thing is to reinstall the machine back under the counter and turn it on and see the remarkable soundproofing results you have achieved. Well, that's it for appliance soundproofing. If you have further questions, always feel free to call the soundproofing experts at Soundproofing America, Inc. Thanks for reading and learning, we all know what Knowledge is by now, right?

Soundproofing your washer and dryer
Dr. Bob
Soundproofing America, Inc
e-mail dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call toll free (877) 530-0139

Soundproofing your computer

Soundproofing a computer CPU is not a costly or difficult task. Many of the Macs out there are very loud and could use a good dose of soundproofing as well. Basically our recommendation is to remove the CPU cover and line the inside of the cover with a closed cell vinyl nitrile foam mat. We call this product "America Mat". You will need to glue the America mat to the inside of the CPU cover. The America mat will both block and absorb sound and will stop the cover from vibrating with the frequencies of the fans and the hard drives. If you are able to adhere the America mat to the fan side of the CPU that is also a good idea. I have actually had customers wrap the 1/2" America mat around thier hard drived to quell the noise. Now I do not recommend this as the hard drives need adequate ventilation in order to operate properly. I am just saying that I have had customers actually wrap hard drives in the closed cell foam mat.
Lastly it is always a good idea to construc a small baffle that would direct the exhaust fans airflow down towards the floor. A baffle would be something like louver or a deflector that directs both the air as well as the sound down towards the floor. This baffle should also be lined with the America mat. This will stop much of the fan noise from your computer fans.
The 1/2" America mat is $10 per lineal ft and the 1/4" is $5 per lineal ft. A lineal foot gives you 4 sq ft of material as the rolls of mat are 4' wide. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.
Soundproofing your computer
Dr. Bob
Soundproofing America, Inc
e-mail dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call toll free (877) 530-0139

We encourage other websites and blogs to link to this blog

We here at Soundproofing America would love to see more websites and blogs that deal with soundproofing and acoustical treatments to link to this blog or to our website www.soundproofingamerica.com please feel free to submit your request to link to our site or to this blog by e-mailing dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com I hope to be hearing from you soon, the more links we have the higher we climb up the search engines, so I will see you at the top.

Dr. Bob
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing America Inc
e-mail: scott@soundproofingamerica.com
http://thenoiserebellion.blogspot.com/

Soundproofing With Dave is now called "Noise Rebellion"

We are pleased to see that Dave from "Soundproofing with Dave" has seen fit to use Soundproofing America as a reference when discusing soundproofing issues. We are also glad to see that he provides a link directly to our website from his blog. We are hear whenever you need us Dave, we are not in business just for the money, we are here to solve soundproofing issues throughout the United States and Canada. Once againwe are proud to be associated with Dave and his new "Noise Rebellion" blog. Thanks Dave.

Dr. Bob
http://thenoiserebellion.blogspot.com/
e-mail: dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call toll free (877) 530-0139

Soundproofing your ceiling from noisy upstairs neighbors

With more and more people living in multi story condominiums and lofts, noise from above is becoming nearly unbearable. The majority of the irritating noise comes from footfall or walking on a hard wood floor above. This noise is what is known as Impact noise and it is transmitted through the sub floor and into the floor joists, which are generally spaced an even 16 inches apart. This noise is then ultimately transmitted into the ceiling and to the neighbor below. The evenly spaced joists can actually enhance the noise by acting as tuning forks that prolong the noise and can actually amplify to the person living below. Ceiling soundproofing is becoming a very popular upgrade in many condos and loft buildings.
There are many ways to deal with impact noise issues from above; one is to float an entirely new ceiling using sound clips (Americlips) and 7/8” metal furring channels. This system suspends a new drywall ceiling from the ceiling joists and the existing drywall. The floated ceiling is now isolated from the existing ceiling structure above and ultimately breaks the circuit or the path for the impact noise to reach the neighbor below.
This isolation works for both impact and airborne noise, thus preventing both from reaching the ears of the neighbor below.
Many soundproofing companies tell their customers to simply staple or nail up a layer of mass loaded vinyl (mass loaded vinyl is a vinyl designed to emulate lead sheeting) directly to their drywall ceiling and then to drywall over top of it. We have found through experience that this does not work very well especially for impact noise. If the MLV is sandwiched between t hard surfaces it is not able to more or to resonate with the sound and therefore a great amount of it soundproofing ability is compromised.
If you decide to use MLV on a ceiling, then it is best to either remove the old drywall and attach the MLV directly to the ceiling joists or if you want to leave the remaining drywall up, simply attach furring strips to the existing ceiling making sure the screws for the furring strips actually go into the joist. You would then attach the mass loaded vinyl to the furring strips then seals the seams and the perimeter with an acoustical caulk, and then finally tape the seams only with our MLV seam sealer tape. Once this is complete, simply screw up your final layer of drywall directly over top of the MLV membrane and you are done. Now remember, mass loaded vinyl does little or nothing for impact noise, but it is very effective for airborne noise.
Now, there is a final method we recommend for soundproofing a ceiling from both impact noise as well as airborne noise. This method employs a soundproofing product called Green Glue. Pretty simple name for a remarkable product that stops both impact and airborne noise from the floor above. Green glue is a visco elastic dampening compound that is used to dampen the drywall and the structure above. Dampening the ceiling or wall structure helps to soundproof those areas both impact and airborne sound. You simply apply 2 tubes of the Green Glue to each 4’ X 8’ sheet of drywall, then simply screw in the Green Glue treated drywall directly up to the existing drywall ceiling. This will sandwich the Green Glue between the existing ceiling drywall and the new drywall that you are adding to the ceiling. The Green glue both dampens and isolated the drywall sheets and gives the ceiling the same affect as if it were floated on sound clips and furring channels. Green Glue is revolutionizing the soundproofing industry because if it’s effectiveness and ease of installation.
For more information on soundproofing a ceiling from both impact and airborne noise, contact the professionals at www.soundproofignamerica.com they have all of the answers to your soundproofing questions and will always recommend the most effect and economical noise reduction products to meet your individual soundproofing needs.

Dr. Bob O.
Soundproofing a ceiling
Call toll free (877) 530-0139
e-mail scott@soundproofingamerica.com
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Free Acoustical Caulk and seam sealer tape with every roll of MLV purchased for the month of August!!

Here’s a deal you don’t come across everyday, for the month of August and hopefully beyond, with every full roll mass loaded vinyl purchase, you will receive a 29 oz tube of acoustical caulk and a roll of seams sealer tape absolutely free, there will be a nominal amount charged for shipping, but the Acoustical caulk and the tape are free with your full roll of mass loaded vinyl. We are working to make you soundproofing purchases complete and at one price instead of nickel dime’n you to death. If this promotion is successful we want to extend it beyond the month of August. Please call the pros at Soundproofing America, they will help you with your soundproofing problems and will recommend the best products for your soundproofing project. e-mail scott@soundproofingamerica.com Call us toll free (877) 530-0139