Sound insulation for wooden floors

What is the problem?
Due to a lack of weight (mass), wooden storey floors allow lots of sound to travel through. You can almost literally follow conversations and footsteps sound like dull thumps. A good starting point for acoustic insulation is therefore by adding mass in the shape of Isomat KE J. Two types of Isomat KE J are available, aa variant of 8 Kg/m² and of 14 Kg/m². Use the heaviest type, the Isomat KE14J, for optimal results. The heavier the floor, the higher the insulation value. You can compare Isomat with a subfloor tile of 1 by 1 meter and about 6 mm thick.

What is the solution?
In short, make the wooden construction floor dust-free and seal all seams and cracks. Equip the Isomat KE14 with a layer of Stauf Extreme Tack on the side that contains jute and put the Isomat plates tightly against the walls and against each other. Gluing is not necessary if the floor is smooth and does not creak.

Now that you have the Isomat in place, you can choose to immediately add a floor covering or, even better yet, a plywood finishing board of at least 12 mm. This plate can be screwed upon the Isomat and gives the floor more rigidity. Due to the additional weight (more than 14 kg per m²) the insulation value increases considerably and the nuisance decreases.

Adding weight to the construction is generally not a problem. If you have any doubt about this, consult your contractor or the architect of the building/home. An alternative and faster way to insulate, is by using the sandwich construction board called Merfoplex. Place an Agglomer strip on the floor in lines with a mutual distance of 40 cm and install the Merfoplex to it. In this way you create a heavy and decoupled acoustic floor.

You will find the extensive step-by-step plan for insulating wooden floors on our tips page.

Below you will find the products for insulating wooden floors

Sound Insulation for Wooden Floors