How to Soundproof Your Ceiling

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Ceiling Soundproofing Help

Even in new build houses and flats, that are built using the correct materials and methods, loud noise produced by music and shouting etc will always be heard and can be particularly worse in the evening when normal daytime background noises have stopped and the ambient background noise is therefor much less. The other problem with noise from upstairs is that it's often impact (footfall noise) as well as airborne noise (TV etc.).

If you are suffering from noise problems travelling through from your ceiling above it would be wise to firstly try and do something to the upstairs floor before undertaking the installation of a false ceiling as this will help remove the impact problems at source rather than once the noise has got into the structure.

To gain the maximum reduction in noise nuisance from above, a separate ceiling installed on new joists beneath and not directly connected to, the existing ceiling and supported by isolated wall mounted joist hangers will give the best results.
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The problem is that this method can normally only be installed in a new build situation or when a property has very high ceilings with no ornate cornices etc.

The only really effective option for ceiling soundproofing is to make use of soundproofing resilient bars. It is ESSENTIAL that the new ceiling is NOT physically attached to the existing structure. Simply screwing another sheet of plasterboard onto the existing ceiling simply won't do.

Ideally, remove the existing plasterboard (or add battens to the existing ceiling) and add Acoustic Mineral Wool or for much better performance use our High Performance Acoustic Quilt in the cavity space before fixing resilient bars to the joists (or battens). Two additional layers of 12.5mm plasterboard (or thicker) should be attached to the resilient bars. The second layer of sheets should overlap the seams in the first layer for improved performance. The edges of the plasterboard must NOT touch the existing walls. This small gap should be filled with non-hardening flexible mastic.

Additional performance can be obtained by fixing 1 or two layers of acoustic membrane inbetween the two sheets of plasterboard. This material damps the plasterboard. Small squares of our neoprene can also be used behind the resilient bars where they are attached to the joists for improved isolation.