Soundproofing the floor in the apartment. Soundproofing apartments: price

Noise isolation of the floor in the apartment is usually arranged in the event that restless neighbors live below. Sometimes it is necessary in order to exclude the penetration of sounds to the residents of the lower floor. You can arrange it using a variety of materials. Today on sale you can find quite inexpensive and at the same time very effective sound absorbers.

Types of noise in the apartment

In modern apartments and houses, only two types of noise can penetrate - air and shock. In the first case, residents hear the neighbors talking from below, the operation of their TV, tape recorder, the sounds of cars passing by the house, etc. Percussion sounds are those that penetrate the structure of a building. It can be slamming doors, tramp, rattle of an elevator, etc. And from that and from another type of noise most often get rid of by sheathing surfaces with mineral wool or polystyrene foam.

Soundproofing methods for the floor of apartments

Soundproofing the floor in an apartment can be done in several different ways. The simplest is the acoustic flooring for the final coating. As the latter, you can use, for example, Isolon. Variants of this material are available, designed specifically for the floor. However, this option is not particularly effective. All that can be achieved using a soundproof gasket is to muffle the sounds of your own steps when moving around the apartment and, accordingly, get rid of this type of shock noise from the neighbors below. In order to soundproof the room thoroughly, it is worth using materials such as mineral wool or polystyrene foam. This uses the so-called floating floors. The technology features of the device of this type of soundproofing pillow will be considered a little lower. First, let's try to figure out what advantages and disadvantages differ between mineral wool and expanded polystyrene.

Advantages and disadvantages of mineral wool

Soundproofing an apartment is very often arranged using mineral wool. Its advantages include:

1. High degree of sound insulation. In terms of its sound-absorbing properties, mineral wool is significantly superior to many materials.
2. Ease of installation. Sheathing floors with basalt slabs will not be difficult at all.
3. Low cost. Mineral wool is much cheaper than most other sound insulators (including expanded polystyrene).
4. A light weight. Mineral wool slabs can be easily lifted to any floor. In addition, they absolutely do not overload the floor structure.

The disadvantages of mineral wool can be attributed primarily to the fact that it is afraid of high humidity. Therefore, it is highly not recommended to use it for floor insulation in damp rooms.

Pros and cons of using expanded polystyrene

Soundproofing the floor with your own hands can be done using polystyrene foam. It is used quite often, because, firstly, it perfectly absorbs noise (95%), and secondly, it is not afraid of moisture. In addition, expanded polystyrene is lightweight and easy to install. The disadvantages of this material include, first of all, its combustibility. In rooms with an increased risk of fire, it is best to use mineral wool. It is also not recommended to floor them in private homes. The fact is that mice love to gnaw this material, making moves in it and arranging holes.

Design Features "Floating Floor"

The main feature of the “floating floor” design is the absence of a rigid connection between the sound and heat insulation floor cake and the walls. This solution allows you to protect the room not only from air, but also from shock noises. Since the floor screed in this case does not touch the walls, sound vibrations simply do not enter it.

Such a pie consists of several layers - a waterproofing film, plywood sheets, actually soundproofing material, screed and fine finish.

Soundproofing floor: materials

Soundproofing of the floor is arranged using the following materials:

In addition to these materials, the following tools will need to be prepared:

1. Rule for screed device.
2. Construction knife.
3. Roulette.
4. Nails
5. Hammer.

Soundproofing floor: price

Soundproofing an apartment, the price of which depends, of course, on the area of ​​the room, if it is carried out independently, it is not so expensive. Knowing what materials are required, it will not be difficult to calculate the price of soundproofing the floor itself. Packing mineral wool slabs costs about 500 rubles. It is designed for approximately 6 m2 of area. Accordingly, to heat the floor of a room of 30 m2, five such packages are needed. Therefore, cotton wool will cost 2500 rubles. Calculating the amount of cement required for screeding is also easy. On a concrete layer with a thickness of 1 cm and an area of ​​1 m2 it takes 20 kg of a dry mixture of sand and cement (3 * 1). That is, for a device of a screed of 4 cm thick on an area of ​​30 m2, 2,400 kg will be left. To find out the amount of cement, divide this figure by 4, we get 600 kg. A standard bag weighs 50 kg and costs about 250 rubles. Thus, 12 bags will cost 3,000 rubles. This means that about 5,500 rubles will be spent on soundproofing the floor of a room of 30 m2 (excluding finishing).

Where to begin?

In order for the sound insulation of the apartment to turn out to be of high quality, the old floors will have to be dismantled. In the event that the boards are in good condition, it will be possible to reuse them. However, more often apartment owners at the same time change them. After the floors are disassembled, you can begin to prepare the foundation.

Foundation preparation

Before starting work on soundproofing the floor, the floor surface must be carefully prepared. First of all, all dirt and dust should be removed from it. In the event that there are cracks or chips in the concrete, they must be repaired with cement mortar.

Installation of waterproofing material

Soundproofing the floor in the apartment is usually done with its preliminary waterproofing. In this case, polyethylene is not recommended. It is better not to be stingy and get a special membrane that does not allow moisture to pass on from the outside and allows it to pass through from the inside. The waterproofing film will protect the heat insulator from moisture vapor from the lower floors or the basement. Also, its use can prevent deformation of parquet or laminate due to high humidity.

Installation of compensation tape

After laying the waterproofing layer, you can proceed with the installation of the compensation tape. They cut it out of the same material that will be used for soundproofing the floor. Its width should be such that it protrudes slightly above the surface of the future screed. Lay it around the perimeter of the walls close to the ceiling. It is also necessary to glue such a tape around the communication pipes in case they are available.

Tile laying

Before laying insulation boards on uneven floors, it is worth laying them with plywood. The sheets are stacked in a checkerboard pattern and are attached to the floor slab with screws. At the corners of the plywood, fasteners must be screwed in, as they have the property of bullying. After that, you can start laying mineral wool or expanded polystyrene plates. Elements of basalt insulation should fit together as tightly as possible. The joints between the plates of expanded polystyrene pass with mounting foam, and then glued them with masking tape.

Screed device

Soundproofing under the floor screed gives a very good effect, and therefore it is arranged quite often. In order to make the concrete surface smooth, preliminary beacons are set according to the level. A reinforcing mesh is laid between them . The solution is prepared from cement and sand in a proportion of 1 * 3. They throw it between the beacons on the net and level it out with the rule. The thickness of the screed should not be less than 3 cm. After it is ready, you can start laying the final finish of the floor. In modern apartments, floor insulation is often arranged under a laminate, linoleum, parquet or tile. The laminate on the concrete floor is laid in the usual manner. Of course, the screed under it should be as even and smooth as possible. Not necessarily, but it is advisable to use a substrate.

Laying linoleum on concrete

One of the most common options for finishing a concrete base is laying linoleum. It is best to purchase felt-based material. You can attach linoleum to concrete using rubber-bitumen mastic. The adhesive composition on the surface of the screed is applied with a notched trowel. The laying process starts from the corner, rolling the roll away from you. Mastic should also be applied to the underside of linoleum. After the strip is laid in place, it is rolled with a heavy roller, carefully leveling. If this step is skipped, then the surface of the linoleum will simply go in bubbles.

Sound insulation of the floor on the logs

Soundproofing of a wooden floor or even concrete is sometimes done on logs. This method is not so effective, but technically considered simpler. It is used most often in suburban single-story houses on a pile-grill foundation, that is, if there is no need to isolate the room from impact noise.

In this case, logs are simply nailed to the old floor according to the thickness of the soundproofing material. Next, a waterproofing film is laid between them. Insulation plates are mounted on it. Then, a vapor barrier film is beaten on top of the bars along the logs. Edged or floor board is mounted on the resulting counter-grill. At the final stage, the board is painted, varnished, or a finishing finishing material is mounted on it.

As you can see, high-quality sound insulation of the floor in the apartment or in the house with your own hands is not a particularly difficult procedure. The main thing is to observe all the required technologies in the process of work.