Category Archives for Soundproofing

Party walls, also called demising walls, are essential to any multi-family building.  Party walls provide separation between dwellings.  They must provide fire and noise resistance specified in the Ontario Building Code (OBC). The noise resistance (level of party wall soundproofing) is specified in the OBC as minimum Sound Transmission Class (STC) 50 or, if tested in the completed building, as minimum Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) 47.  However, this requirement does not apply in Ontario to buildings built before 2012.

Creating a soundproof office is crucial for maintaining confidentiality and providing a quiet atmosphere for psychology professionals. Often the offices were incorrectly designed and soundproofed by inexperienced contractors.

Many people look for solutions to soundproofing problems online, hoping to be able to resolve their problems themselves without hiring an expert. This is often difficult because there are many cases of misleading information published online by soundproofing product manufacturers, for example, Green Glue.

I have asked the AI platform chatGPT, which is recently the rage of the news, this question: How to soundproof a door?  This is the response that I got, verbatim:

Many clients called me explaining that they have hired a contractor to soundproof their bedroom or basement apartment. The contractor added insulation. However, the result of the renovation was not satisfactory.  The noise was almost as bad as before the renovation.

I have previously written about seemingly authoritative sources providing incorrect information on the Internet. This article about soundproof wallpaper is another example.

It is difficult for an average person to distinguish between correct and incorrect information, especially if the source sounds authoritative. Please keep this in mind when you're interested in what you read anywhere, specifically on the Internet.

What is a secondary suite?

Ontario building code definition of a secondary suite (basement apartment): Secondary suite means a self-contained dwelling unit with a prescribed floor area located in a building or portion of a building of only residential occupancy that contains only one other dwelling unit and common spaces, and where both dwelling units constitute a single real estate entity. (See Appendix A and Article 9.1.2.1. of Division B.)

I often find myself explaining this question to my clients. Unfortunately, many people need clarification on these two terms or help understand their meaning.  Confusing information is also propagated on the Internet; an example is here.

There is new interest by the public in soundproofing.  As more people work from home, they cause more noise during the daytime, when other people working from home can hear it and be disturbed. Selecting a soundproofing contractor can be difficult.

New awareness of soundproofing

People often ask me how to improve the soundproofing of an existing wall.  Well, it depends on the assembly of the wall as is.  In this article, I will provide numerous examples.