16 - Friday, September 13, 1991 - North Shore News

HOME & GARDEN

Several ways
available to
cut out noise

BABEL, CLAMOR, din, hubbub,
hullabaloo, pandemonium, racket,
fumpus, tumult, uproar — of
simply noise! Whatever the word,
it means unwanted sound and
there is a lot of it in our loud
world. So it is not surprising that
we are always looking for ways to
minimize the noise in our homes.

Short of sending the kids to
boarding school, there are other
ways noise can be reduced in our
living quarters to maintain a
degree of comfort. Grant
MecDiarmaid, marketing manager
for a leading insulation manufac-
turer, has some sound insulation
construction techniques to con-
sider when building or renovating
a home as well as a variety of
acoustical surface treatment sug-
gestions to supplement good
sound isolation construction.

1. Fill the cavity between the in-
terior walls of two separate
rooms, e.g. the nursery and the
master bedroom, with bianket
type insulation.

**The insulation helps absorb
sound energy before it sets the
opposite wall surface in motion,
uransmitting the sound into the
adjoining room,’’ explains
McDiarmaid. ‘*Another thing to
keep in mind is that thickness
rather than density increases the
sound absorption qualities of the
insulation. At least 75% of the
cavity should be filled, so we
recommend an R12 insulation
value for best results."’

2. Use solid wood or mineral
core exterior doors, sealed at the
top and sides with soft-type
weather stripping and windows
with double glazed, insulating
glass.

‘*‘Doors and windows can be the
weak links in reducing sound
transmission,’ says McDiarmaid.
“The higher the quality the better
the sound contro! results.’” For
exterior doors, McDiarmaid also
suggests using a door plate or sill
to close the gap under the door.

3. Place appliances away from
the wall to reduce sound waves
entering the structure.

“The sound path is broken
when there is a minimum of direct
connection,” says McDiarmaid.
“Another tip for apartments,
duplexes, townhouses, etc. is to
install telephones, doortells, in-
tercom or built-in radios on inte-

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ior walls only, never on party
(shared) or corridor walls °°

4. The easiest way to improve
noise control in a floor/ceiling
construction is to install a carpet
with heavy padding or a cush-
ioned floor.

According to McDiarmaid,
these coverings are effective sur-
face treatments for reducing im-
pact sound, someone walking, for
example.

5. Further soundproofing — is
possible by adding sqund absorb-
ing insulation in the floor/ceiling
cavity.

6. In addition to carpeting,
reflection and reverbevation of
sound within a room can be con-
trolled through the combination
of such materials as acoustical
ceiling, drapes, and upholstered
furniture,

7. Build a sound absorbing
frame box around noisy com-
pressors or central air condi-
ticners,

* Line bathtubs. particularly
meial ones, with insulation for
better sound control.

“As well, you may want to
wrap the basement drain pipes
with insulation to reduce water
noise,"* adds McDiarmaid.

9. If building or renovating a
home that is located next to a
noisy street or runway, install
sound absorbing insulation in all
exterior and interior walls as well
as in floors and ceilings.

“This will certainly help the
airborne noise problem. But some
of the sound is a result of structu-
ral vibration through the ground
which is almost impossible to
eliminate totally,’’ explains
McDiarmaid.

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