How to Soundproof an Interior Wall
When building a new house, or after you have lived in one for a while you may find that you want to control the sound from the kids playroom or the home theater. Sound control in your home is easier than you my guess. You do not need to turn it into a recording studio with egg create walls to control the level of sound. The do it yourself handyman can accomplish the task without much difficulty. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Trim pry bar
- Hammer
- Trim pliers
- Pencil
- Stud finder
- 4-foot carpenters level
- Drywall screw gun
- 1 1/2-inch Drywall screws
- Drywall tape
- Drywall compound
- 4, 6, and 12-inch Drywall trowel
- Sandpaper
- Paint
- Finish nails
- Nail set
- Painters putty
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Instructions
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1
Remove the base board and trim from the room. Use a trim pry bar to remove all of the baseboards and trim from the room. Use a pair of trim pliers to remove the nails through the trim and keep it to reinstall later. The small holes left on the front of the trim can be nailed through when reinstalling the trim.
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2
Mark the locations of all of the wall studs. Use a stud finder to locate the position of the wall studs. Make a mark with a pencil on the wall at each location. Use a 4-foot carpenters level to mark the wall from ceiling to the floor at every studs location, also mark the ceiling about 1-inch into the room. The 4-foot level is ideal for this, just trace along the edge at the top of the wall.
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3
Apply a generous bead of silicon along all of the studs locations that you marked. The silicon will serve as a spacer that will not let vibrations move between the layers of drywall. Let the silicon dry before proceeding to the next step. A caulk gun works best for this step.
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4
Install a 4 by 8 sheet of drywall starting in one corner working your way around the room one piece at a time. Transfer the studs location onto the new layer of Sheetrock from the roof. Use the 4-foot carpenters level like before. Attach the drywall to the previous wall using 1 1/2-inch drywall screws 16-inches apart along the studs location marks. A drywall screw gun works best for this step.
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5
Repeat step 3 and 4 for the ceiling if you have an upstairs that you want to sound proof. Also, apply this to the opposite side of each wall in the opposite rooms that connect to the room you are adding sound proofing. This allows you to sound proof the room and then finish off the wall with paint to match the existing rooms finish. You will only loose about a inch of space in the room for each wall. When finished you will not be able to tell that you have added a additional layer of drywall.
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6
Mud and tape the room using drywall tape and drywall compound. Apply a coat of drywall compound with a 4-inch trowel to joints between the sheets of drywall. Place a strip of drywall tape over the joint and press it into position with a 4-inch trowel. Apply a second layer of drywall compound with a 6-inch trowel over the tape and feather it into the wall. Let this dry then scrape any ridges with a 12-inch trowel. Apply a third layer of drywall compound over the last using a 12-inch trowel and feather it into the wall. Let this coat dry, and sand the wall as needed. The wall is now ready to be painted.
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7
Reinstall the baseboard and trim that was removed earlier. Use painters putty to cover any nails after you have countersunk the finish nails used to reinstall the trim.
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Tips & Warnings
A 8-foot 1 by 2 marked at 16-inch spacing acts as a story stick to help install the drywall screws quickly and accurately.
References
- Photo Credit drywall worker image by Sherri Camp from Fotolia.com
