Master - yes, let's say 14ft wall will be about $100. Every room - no...

We installed Roxul Safe n Sound ourselves as well. The product is designed for a joist space 16 inches wide (16 inches on center). When you install the product, it expands and friction keeps it in place between the joists, no additional securing necessary.

There are multiple videos on Roxuls website with instructions I would recommend watching. We bought serrated bread knives from the dollar store to cut the product and they worked great. Don't waste money on the knives in the store next to the Roxul ($12+). You'll also need masks and long sleeves, I'd much rather work with standard batts of fiberglass insulation after installation of Roxul. My insulation sub said he has to pay his guys more when working with Roxul.

Our biggest unforeseen difficulty came when we sound proofed around the plumbing drain lines (we actually only sound proofed around our drain lines as the entire ceiling would have been exhausting). We ended up cutting the Roxul in to smaller pieces to get it everywhere necessary. Standard runs between joists with no obstructions will install very easily but be ready for quite a bit of cutting and trial/error around PVC and your electrical/low voltage wire.

How far back from lighting housing? I'm not sure if the housing is rated for insulation contact.

In addition to what renovator8 said, you can use staggered framing in the walls if you can spare the space. You build a 6" wall with 2X4's, staggered so half of them are supporting the drywall on one side, half on the other. This de-couples the two sides of the wall, greatly reducing the transfer of vibration.

We have two areas that might be problematic--wall between bathroom/kitchen and wall between bedroom/tv wall. We opted to do nothing and if sound is a problem we'll add a second layer of drywall to those two walls. Husband did the research on that one.

extra sheet of drywall with green glue sandwiched between on all walls/ceilings that share a space. There is so much science out there to lessen sound transmission and how sound travels. please do this now before you build. We were naïve and asked the builder about sound issues and he said to put insulation between walls and ceilings so we did that. Has done absolutely nothing. Take care of it....noise bothers me a lot and I am kind of upset with myself for not doing my home work.

Quietrock in lieu of or as an extra layer!!

I should have mentioned, framing is complete along with HVAC and electrical. I cannot add or change to double drywall or green glue, etc. All I can do at this point are things which won't impact the standard drywall installation.

We put roxul insulation in the ceiling of our family room in the current house. When we moved in, I ripped out the 15 year old carpet upstairs and replaced it with laminate. DH would be watching TV on the main floor and I'd be up in the office and he'd complain that when I rolled my chair, it sounded like a school full of children running across the floor. I would drop sewing tools and he thought it was a hammer. So when we pulled down the ceiling to add lights and get rid of the popcorn, we added roxul. It made a world of difference.

We've now added it to the main floor ceiling in the new house. And DH asked to have it wrapped in the wall between the master bedroom and the ensuite shower, so he won't hear the shower when I get up early. The insulation contractor went nuts and insulated the entire ensuite. :P

what about rock wool insulation? That is supposed to work really good. We wanted that instead but builder was insistent that plain old insulation would work. Rock wool would be good for ceiling/wall. It is used for acoustic issues. (still kicking myself for not doing enough researching this prior to build). We are planning to actually add another piece of drywall with the green glue despite the fact that we have already moved in. We plan to do 2 walls in the master bedroom, 2 walls in the bedroom, and 1 in office.

Roxul is a brand name of rock wool.

oopps..sorry lol....I did not know that. You are so lucky to have used the Roxul. We have 2500 of tile - no carpet and everything you described is like our home
(loud). My daughter dropped something earlier and it sounded like she fell - not happy at all.

The power of suggestion is so strong that undoubtedly stuffing ceiling and wall cavities with Roxul (rockwool) works wonderfully for many diy bloggers.

Unfortunately, scientifically measurable results are a meagre apparent STC 2 (page 21) unless changes are also made to the enclosing portions of the wall or ceiling cavity, as noted by renovator8 above. And even then the numerous flanking sound transmission routes often nullify any improvements.

(Growing older and deafer helps best--except for any family members now subjected to your need for ever-louder entertainment.)

No, it's not worth it at this stage. It's ineffective without a whole acoustical plan.

These are good suggestions. What about shower walls? Is there a waterproof equivalent of cement board that cuts sound significantly. We will also put Roxul in between the shower walls. We also have room in the shower to go to thicker drywall, or even double layer. What works for sound deadening for a shower?

Carol

Ceramic or stone tile in thin-set mortar on the heavy type concrete backer board with two layers of 1/2" drywall on the other side perhaps QuietRock or adhered with Green Glue and any kind of insulation in the cavity. Avoid plumbing pipes and electrical outlets in the wall.

Thanks Renovator. We will work through those ideas and the ones you posted above. We will have to have a plug or two on the hall wall that backs to shower wall (no way around that).

Carol

I think I've decided to just give it a shot. I plan on spending no more than a few hundred on this project. If I don't add the insulation any noise in the home will forever bother me and I will regret not trying. I accept that it may not work or that the reduction in sound may be negligible.

I don't know if I will be able to do the ceiling, but I plan on doing the walls around the air ducts, bathroom walls, walls around the staircase and pipes.

For pipes, any suggestion on how to insulate those? Just regular pvc. Also, are there any concerns about having this insulation around outlet boxes?

limit the sound insulation to walls that will need it.

take a look at your house plans with that in mind.
if bedrooms
have closets between the bedroom & bath
you won't need sound insulation, but if the
bathroom shares a wall...

bedrooms that share walls with living or game rooms.
shared walls with bathrooms and water sources.

best of luck.

For a shower wall, will two layers of cement board do anything to dampen sound? For us, it will look better to have the double layer on the shower side, rather than the hall side.

Carol