If there is even an ordinary road near your house, you do not need to explain what noise is and how it affects the human nervous system. Even in the best case, it will cause people constant irritation and increased nervousness. It should be remembered that the noise level is measured in decibels (db). According to sanitary standards, at night this figure should not exceed 30 dB, and in the daytime - 40 dB.
Achieving this result will help a variety of soundproofing materials, which are produced in many modern industry.
A little about soundproofing
The task of such materials is to protect the room from the penetration of unnecessary noise into it. Part of the sound is delayed and scattered, and part of it is reflected and goes back to the external environment. The soundproofing qualities of the building itself are characterized primarily by the thickness of the walls. The thicker they are, the less likely it is that air vibrations will be able to transfer their energy. The ability to "eliminate noise" is indicated in the form of a sound insulation index, which for ordinary residential buildings should be equal to from 52 to 60 dB. Concrete and brick, normal logs and glued laminated timber have a good ability. Drywall, for example, does not absorb sound well, but has decent reflectivity. By the way, about her. What soundproofing materials are really good at blocking out noise, rather than just reflecting it, creating resonance within the room itself?
Sound absorption
Sound absorption is characterized precisely by the ability to completely neutralize and dampen wave vibrations. Compounds that have these characteristics are granular, fibrous, or cellular. As in the previous case, the soundproofing characteristics of materials are evaluated using an indicator called, as you might guess, the sound absorption coefficient. The spectrum of this value is not too wide: from 0 to 1. If the sound is completely reflected, the value of the indicator is "0", if it is completely absorbed - "1". High-quality materials for interior decoration of the house are distinguished by the soundproofing ability of materials with an index of at least 0.4.
Simple sound-absorbing materials
The use of absorbent materials is not necessarily reserved for professional builders. So, the simplest fiberglass, which can be purchased at almost any building supply store, can successfully replace professional counterparts. Even by laying a thick carpet on the floor of the room, you can get rid of the annoying echo. Even in cases where these optionsnot viable, there are ways to significantly "calm down" the environment: furniture with thick upholstery absorbs a lot of noise, as well as heavy curtains, as well as other types of drapery.
Of course, if possible, it is better to provide more effective ways to protect against noise. Acoustic screens with absorbent materials can be purchased for use in rooms where loud noises are generally not allowed (baby nurseries). Most of these screens were developed by designers and engineers in such a way as not to “overlap” the general style of housing design. In a word, this is an excellent soundproofing material for the walls in the apartment. Unfortunately, you can not find it in every building supermarket, and the cost is not too humane.
Comfortable noise value. What threatens the increased sound level?
Scientists have found that the average person is most comfortable at 25 dB. If the value is lower, then there is a “ringing” silence familiar to many, which causes a feeling of psychological discomfort. As a rule, people in the city calmly tolerate a noise level of 60 dB, but with permanent residence in an area with a value of this indicator of 90 dB, insomnia sets in, which quickly develops into neuroses that can result in serious mental disorders. At 100 dB and above, there is a threat of complete hearing loss. To protect against such unfortunate consequences, soundproofing materials are just the same. They are soft, semi-hardand solid.
Hard Type Characteristics
As a rule, they are made on the basis of granular mineral wool, but there are exceptions. So, there are materials that include natural pumice, "foamed" perlite, vermiculite. Their sound absorption coefficient is 0.5. The mass of such materials should not exceed 300-400 kg/m3.
Soft varieties
Again, they are made on the basis of the same mineral wool, as well as fiberglass. However, technical varieties of ordinary cotton wool are used much more often, felt is also very popular. For these materials, the sound absorption coefficient can vary from 0.7 to 0.95. Of course, they are much lighter than the previous variety: their weight does not exceed 70 kg/m3.
Semi-rigid variety
In this case, soundproofing materials for an apartment are meant, made of glass wool or mineral fiber, as well as synthetic materials. For example, polyurethane foam is often used in this capacity. Semi-rigid varieties also have a fairly high sound absorption coefficient, which can range from 0.5 to 0.75. Weight can reach 130 kg/m3, but more often does not exceed 80 kg/m 3. Thus, in most cases, it is recommended to use soft varieties, which, with a minimum mass, have an excellent sound absorption coefficient.
How to choose the right material for a living space?
However,the choice of the “right” material also largely depends on what kind of sounds interfere with being in the room. So, the operation of electrical appliances creates the so-called airborne noise (vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, computers). If we are talking about walking, various kinds of construction work, and so on, it means shock-type noise. In our conditions, it is also not uncommon for a house built without the use of normal soundproofing materials and assembled on a rigid frame to turn into one big source of sound pollution. In this case, we are talking about structural noise.
Soundproofing materials with a cellular structure (pumice stone, polystyrene foam) do an excellent job with shock loads. Airborne noise, the most typical for most residential premises, is perfectly damped with the help of fiber boards or their analogues. Alas, structural violations can be de alt with only after parsing the main structural elements and using special gaskets with good soundproofing qualities.
Liquidating airborne noise
You should know that the main characteristic for materials with the ability to absorb airborne sound is the so-called sound absorption index (Rw), which is expressed in decibels. Remember: in order not to hear the speech of the household behind the wall of the room, it is important that the soundproofing properties of the materials (used in the construction of the partition) be equal to a coefficient of at least 50 dB. We have already talked about the sound absorption coefficient: the closer it is to unity, the better. For living rooms, this indicatormust be at least 0, 5.
The most reliable way to protect against unnecessary noise is to install dense and massive interior ceilings. Best of all in this case, foam concrete blocks and concrete with inclusions of a sufficient volume of expanded clay have proven themselves. It is important that the walls are truly a monolithic structure. No cracks or holes are allowed. It should be remembered that different soundproofing materials for walls can be used in one design, provided that there is a strong and monolithic connection between them. This is achieved with the help of a quality solution. The “canonical” example is a foam block wall separated by facing bricks or artificial and / or natural stone.
It is important, however, to take into account the fact that the construction of such structures in an already occupied building is an extremely difficult and non-trivial task. In addition, if the house itself is built from low-quality materials, such a measure will reduce the noise by only 10-15 dB, which is not enough for normal sound insulation.
It is much easier and cheaper to make a partition based on sufficiently strong and rigid structures using various types of sound insulation. If we compare soundproofing materials in this case, then you will not see much difference even with cork flooring …
In this case, not only a brick or foam block can be a rigid base, but even ordinary drywall based on a wooden beam, for the manufacture of which it was used inproperly dried wood. The higher the density, the better the soundproofing ability of the material. Of course, the layer of soft materials will play the main role in stopping noise. As we have already said, in residential premises it is most advisable to use their fibrous varieties, like mineral wool or fiberglass boards: they most effectively absorb airborne noise.
It should be remembered that in all cases the effective thickness of the partition should not be less than 50 mm. And further. At least 50% of the entire internal volume of the partition must be left for soundproofing materials for the walls, otherwise you will not be able to get high efficiency. Now let's discuss specific varieties.
Glass wool
Made from ordinary fiberglass. Its main characteristic is high strength, as well as elasticity and vibration resistance. Many soundproof flooring materials are made from pressed glass wool. Its characteristics are due to the fact that there are a large number of air spaces between the fibers. Glass wool has many positive qualities: it is absolutely unaffected even by an open flame, has a very low weight, does not absorb moisture with excellent vapor permeability. In addition, cotton wool is chemically passive and does not cause corrosion in those metals with which it comes into contact. This is very important in this case, since many soundproofing materials for walls are made on its basis. When repairing an apartment with its help, it is only important to remember that the ingress of the smallest particles of glass wool intorespiratory organs is highly undesirable, and therefore it is necessary to use a good respirator.
Mineral wool
Perhaps, it is known to every builder. It can be made from melts of (silicate) rocks, as well as from slag, which is a waste of metallurgical industries. As in the previous case, the material is not susceptible to open fire, and also does not cause corrosion of metal structures with which it comes into contact. Excellent sound absorption abilities are due to the presence in its composition of a huge number of fibers located in an absolutely chaotic, intertwined form.
Important note
Do not confuse mineral wool and fiberglass, as the characteristics of their fibers are different. For glass wool, its length is at least 5 cm, while for mineral fiber this figure does not exceed 1.5 cm. In addition, the first material (mineral wool) is noticeably lighter, and its cost is somewhat lower. In particularly noisy rooms, it is often necessary to arrange the so-called acoustic ceiling: elements reflecting it will reflect excess sound, while soft materials will effectively absorb it. The latter are placed in the space between the "native" ceiling and the outer layer of the acoustic coating.
Manufacture of sandwich panel
To simplify the work, they take ready-made elements of the ZIPS system. They can be used as effective soundproofing for single-layer walls made of solid materials (brick or concrete). Structurally, such panels are very simple, sinceconsist of sandwich panels and covering material in the form of drywall. The “sandwich” itself consists of the same drywall, which is interspersed with layers of mineral wool or fiberglass. It is important that for different rooms you can pick up special models with different thicknesses of the "acting material". In particular, some soundproofing materials for doors are made of this type.
The advantage of such panels is that, having no metal frame, they are extremely lightweight and can be attached to the wall using ordinary screws of suitable length. Note that it is advisable to place a special gasket for sound insulation between a load-bearing wall or even a partition. Unlike previous materials, ZIPS belongs to the category of poorly combustible, which limits the use of panels in baths and other rooms where there is a possibility of their contact with an open flame.
Depending on the model, the thickness of such material can reach 13 centimeters. With this indicator, the sound insulation index is 18 dB. Thus, when hanging ZIPS of such thickness on the wall of a typical living space, the degree of sound protection can reach 63-65 dB. Please note: you can use such soundproofing materials for walls when repairing an apartment only if the load-bearing structures are strong enough, since the mass of a square meter of ZIPS can reach 21 kg, or even more.
How to protect yourself from impact noise?
In this case, you need to use such constructions thatcould repel and scatter sound waves rather than absorb them. Porous, elastic materials are suitable for this purpose. The most commonly used option is with special linings, which are laid at the stage of installation of the finished floor.
Cork lining
A unique natural material that is resistant to mold, fire, fungus and rodents. Very inert in chemical terms, completely safe for any type of metal structures. The service life can exceed 40 years. The highest quality varieties can reduce the level of impact noise immediately by 12 dB. Alas, the cost sometimes crosses out all the advantages of the material, since they ask for five or six dollars per square meter. At the current rate, that's a little pricey… If it wasn't for this circumstance, cork floors could be described as "the best soundproofing materials."
Polyethylene foam
More "budget" option for impact noise protection. Foamed polyethylene has a density of 20 to 80 kg / m3, which makes it possible to use it in almost any type of residential premises. It has several varieties at once:
- Unstitched. Molecules of a substance are not connected to each other by chemical bonds. The cheapest variety, can reduce the noise level by three to four decibels.
- Physically stitched. Some of the molecules form a rather dense structure. Due to this, the soundproofing properties of this type of replacement are higher (allows you to reduce noise by five to six decibels). Based on this type, somesoundproofing ceiling materials.
- Chemically cross-linked. Molecules have a strong chemical bond with each other. Due to this, the material has indicators that are only slightly inferior to those for cork lining.
Regardless of the type of polyethylene, it is good to use it when installing a concrete screed, it is placed under the parquet board and laminate. In some cases, it can be used to strengthen joints. Physically strong, resistant to many chemicals. Flammable, and therefore should not be used in those rooms where there is an open flame. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation quickly loses its protective properties. It is undesirable to lay such a substrate in private premises, since it wears out quickly under strong mechanical loads. It does not allow moisture to pass through, which in some cases creates prerequisites for the development of mold. Despite this, many soundproof floor materials (linings) are made from it, since the cost of polyethylene is very low.
