How to soundproof a ceiling 

How to soundproof an existing ceiling?

There are more reported instances of 'neighbours at war' due to noise problems than ever before. As reported in The Express a noisy neighbour dispute resulted in a £100,000 compensation claim over 'intolerable noise' coming from the family living above.

Firstly, if you live in a flat, apartment, or a property converted to accommodate multiple occupants - rather than soundproofing the ceiling, if possible, we always recommend soundproofing the floor above. This is because by absorbing the impact noise at source (before it enters the structure of the building) it achieves a better result than trying to absorb the vibration from the ceiling below. Minimising any vibrations entering the structure at source is always going to be the preferred option, however this isn't always feasible if you don't have access to the floor above.

If you are suffering from noise from the property above, and you are not able to add soundproofing to the above floor (our preferred option) then soundproofing the ceiling, or applying sound insulation to your ceiling is the next best option.

There are different ceiling soundproofing solutions depending on the type of ceiling. Below, we will discuss the different ceiling types, ( concrete or timber joist ) and the best solution for each one.

Before choosing the right soundproof ceiling solution, it is also important to learn more about the different types of noise you are experiencing.

There are two main types of noise.

• Impact noise (such as foot steps, furniture being moved and washing machines)
  
• Airborne noise (such as people talking, TV noise and music)

If you live in a flat and want to improve the soundproofing performance of your existing ceiling, one option (if you're called Ed Sheeran) and as reported in   Metro Newspaper  would be to simply buy the flat above! If you don't have £4 million to splash out on properties to limit noise problems with neighbours, then our advice would be to address these three key areas:

 1. Addition of mass (high density materials) Added to the ceiling to block airborne noise.
This can be achieved by the addition of materials such as   Acoustic plasterboard  with FlexiSound 5. Different types of mass block different sound frequencies better than others, so using a combination of differing high mass materials will give you a better result then adding more of the same.

 2. Vibration Dampening (high performing vibration isolation system) Used to dampen the vibration and helping to stop it from travelling through the structure from above.
This can be achieved with isolation clips systems such as our ReductoClip system

  3. Sound Absorption (reduction of sound echo / reverberation) To stop sound echoing and amplifying in any sealed chambers such as between timber joists. This is also known as the drum effect.
This effect can be counteracted by the addition of a high performing sound absorption material such as Acoustic Mineral Wool.

Timber ceilings can easily be upgraded with our ReductoClip Timber Ceiling System . The ReductoClip is a high performing sound reduction system, designed to completely isolate ceilings below the existing ceiling. This easy to install system can be applied directly to any flat surface and you only lose 60mm of space.

By attaching the ReductoClip to the timber joists, this system simply and easily secures the furring channel and decouples the new high mass ceiling layers from the structure. This system greatly reduces the transference of sound vibration energy. The addition of high mass wall layers will also help to block Airborne Noise.

On a standard construction this will exceed the building regulations requirements for Part E ( 54dB Airborne and 55dB Impact).
Ideal for High levels of impact & airborne noise on timber joist ceilings and for noises such as footsteps and people talking.

Video of how to soundproof a timber ceiling with the ReductoClip System

n.b. The total loss of space form the bottom of the timber joists is around 60mm.

In an ideal word you would build a new suspended frame just below the concrete ceiling and apply soundproofing as above. However, it's worth pointing out that this will mean a minimum loss of around 200mm of space.
As a general rule, most people do not have just under 8 inches of space to lose off the ceiling, which is why our standard specification is to use our higher performing ReductoClip system directly to the concrete ceiling, resulting in only 60mm loss of space (as done with the timber ceiling above).

This system will achieve an average of:
Airborne reduction of up to 61db on a concrete ceiling
Impact reduction of 55dB on a concrete ceiling
(Both of these figures exceed the new Part E  Building Regulations for soundproofing)

We are also regularly asked about ceiling only soundproofing and traditional resilient bars. If you are soundproofing both the floor and the ceiling, resilient bars can be a cost effective solution. However, for soundproofing a ceiling only, we no longer recommend traditional resilient bars. In our experience, up to 40% are fitted incorrectly, with screws penetrating through the bar and into the timber joists (see below image). Essentially making them totally ineffective, as they no longer decouple the noise.
The ReductoClip system offers up to a 10dB improvement over resilient bars (another halving of the noise) and can't be damaged during the fitting, as with the resilient bars.

You might perceive Soundproofing a ceiling to be expensive, when in actual fact it really isn't. If we take an average sized ceiling of 5m by 4m the materials cost for the ReductoClip system would come in at less than £1,500 (ex VAT and excluding installation costs).
In some instances the noise coming from noisy neigbours has meant people have actually had to move house. This needn't be the case, soundproofing a ceiling does work and the ReductoClip system is easy to install by a professional, or competent DIYer.

Hopefully this blog has helped to answered your questions on soundproofing a ceiling. Should you want to discuss ceiling soundproofing solutions in more detail, then please call one of our expert team on 01423 206 208 who will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, The Soundproofing Store website contains lots of product and installation downloads, which we hope you will find useful.

If you found this blog useful, you may also be interested in reading our blog regarding floor soundproofing.