6 ms·

Noise dampening isn't cheap though. How do you meet all the required regulations without massively cutting corners AND still have affordable apartments? If yo

Noise dampening isn't cheap though. How do you meet all the required regulations without massively cutting corners AND still have affordable apartments? If you're going to go through all the trouble of putting up a new building you might as well shoot for the golden goose.

lsc 10y ago
eh, a modern apartment built with modern noise-dampening standofs on the drywall (something like "resilient channel" - there are several technologies, but the idea is to make the attachment between the drywall and the stud absorb vibration) is better at preventing noise from one apartment to another than older mobile homes are. it's not expensive, either. https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1727307288755176845?lsf=seller:8740,store:2545785678247058220&prds=oid:3504893161321980062&q=resilent+channel&hl=en&ei=fu7dWNCGLYjS0gKBrZS4Bg&lsft=cm_mmc%3DShopping-_-LIAs-_-D22-_-202090218&lsft=gclid:Cj0KEQjw2fLGBRDopP-vg7PLgvsBEiQAUOnIXFEek0iMsfqZOrQwvUtTS77Y9rOWDtuwMRXg52r4bDcaAh6m8P8HAQ https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1727307288755176845?... of course, I've never installed the stuff (I've heard stories, though) so I don't know what it does to labor costs.
watt 10y ago
Don't discount the externality cost of NOT having noise dampening.
Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago
Not an expert in noise dampening as a whole, but often building better has negative cost in the long run. Good windows with good insulation always pay off in the heating/AC bills, for example.
bluthru 10y ago
Doubling drywall, making walls 2x6 instead of 2x4, and using insulation isn't prohibitively expensive. Of course the cheapest thing of all is making a building out of concrete or masonry that can last for over a century and has inherently great noise dampening.
- mjevans 10y ago
  I'll try to draw with text and then explain. _________ [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] ========= For S and I: use 'normal' wood, or if using metal mandate expanding spray-foam insulation (to dampen vibrations). I MUST be insulated (should be fire code, as well as noise and common sense code). The brackets are 'dry wall' but mandate the higher quality stuff that won't support mold growth. Yes, there's an inner gap between the outer walls, and the floor/ceiling have a bit of extra padding of some structured engineering product that dampens vibrations. The outer walls have studding to allow for cords and in-wall plumbing. Do NOT run plumbing or put any shelving/fixtures on walls adjacent to another unit. I haven't seen, or figured out my self, how to make the vertical noise isolation equally effective. I suspect a dedicated between floor crawlspace would be effective (but raise costs notably). The core-wall approach CAN lower costs since it allows for a structural core with studs as dense as desired and no cut-outs.
  - rsync 10y ago
    "I haven't seen, or figured out my self, how to make the vertical noise isolation equally effective." 1/2 layer of cork underneath the top layer of flooring is inexpensive and effective for noise isolation ...
    - Arizhel 10y ago
      You'll need some kind of artificial "cork". Real cork is in short supply and very expensive. Most wine bottles these days have dumped real corks and switched to fake ones, or have just gone to screw caps (which is really better anyway; corks are an anachronism and inferior in every way to a screw cap).
- cauterized 10y ago
  As someone who grew up in an apartment building with concrete floors, I assure you that concrete is useless for internal noise dampening.
  - 10y ago

lsc 10y ago

eh, a modern apartment built with modern noise-dampening standofs on the drywall (something like "resilient channel" - there are several technologies, but the idea is to make the attachment between the drywall and the stud absorb vibration) is better at preventing noise from one apartment to another than older mobile homes are. it's not expensive, either. https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1727307288755176845?lsf=seller:8740,store:2545785678247058220&prds=oid:3504893161321980062&q=resilent+channel&hl=en&ei=fu7dWNCGLYjS0gKBrZS4Bg&lsft=cm_mmc%3DShopping-_-LIAs-_-D22-_-202090218&lsft=gclid:Cj0KEQjw2fLGBRDopP-vg7PLgvsBEiQAUOnIXFEek0iMsfqZOrQwvUtTS77Y9rOWDtuwMRXg52r4bDcaAh6m8P8HAQ https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1727307288755176845?... of course, I've never installed the stuff (I've heard stories, though) so I don't know what it does to labor costs.

watt 10y ago

Don't discount the externality cost of NOT having noise dampening.

Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago

Not an expert in noise dampening as a whole, but often building better has negative cost in the long run. Good windows with good insulation always pay off in the heating/AC bills, for example.

bluthru 10y ago

Doubling drywall, making walls 2x6 instead of 2x4, and using insulation isn't prohibitively expensive. Of course the cheapest thing of all is making a building out of concrete or masonry that can last for over a century and has inherently great noise dampening.

mjevans 10y ago
I'll try to draw with text and then explain. _________ [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] [S [I] S] ========= For S and I: use 'normal' wood, or if using metal mandate expanding spray-foam insulation (to dampen vibrations). I MUST be insulated (should be fire code, as well as noise and common sense code). The brackets are 'dry wall' but mandate the higher quality stuff that won't support mold growth. Yes, there's an inner gap between the outer walls, and the floor/ceiling have a bit of extra padding of some structured engineering product that dampens vibrations. The outer walls have studding to allow for cords and in-wall plumbing. Do NOT run plumbing or put any shelving/fixtures on walls adjacent to another unit. I haven't seen, or figured out my self, how to make the vertical noise isolation equally effective. I suspect a dedicated between floor crawlspace would be effective (but raise costs notably). The core-wall approach CAN lower costs since it allows for a structural core with studs as dense as desired and no cut-outs.
- rsync 10y ago
  "I haven't seen, or figured out my self, how to make the vertical noise isolation equally effective." 1/2 layer of cork underneath the top layer of flooring is inexpensive and effective for noise isolation ...
  - Arizhel 10y ago
    You'll need some kind of artificial "cork". Real cork is in short supply and very expensive. Most wine bottles these days have dumped real corks and switched to fake ones, or have just gone to screw caps (which is really better anyway; corks are an anachronism and inferior in every way to a screw cap).
cauterized 10y ago
As someone who grew up in an apartment building with concrete floors, I assure you that concrete is useless for internal noise dampening.
- 10y ago