Sound insulation for walls

What you need to know
In order to solve sound problems it is important to know the exact source of the problem and how the sound propagates. Below you find a brief explanation of the different aspects that constitute sound problems.

What is airborne noise?
These are the sounds produced by the source that causes the nuisance. Forms of airborne noise include speech, television/radio, appliances and traffic noise.

What is contact noise?
These are the sounds produced by the movement of the structure in a building, for example floors, walls or ceilings. Forms of contact noise are the sounds produced by walking, closing doors, children playing or machines/devices that resonate such as a washing machine. Subsequently, you perceive this as sounds or physical vibration. The sounds are often experienced as hums.

What is flanking sound?
A floor or ceiling that extends from one building via a (single-brick) wall to another emits flanking sound. Insulating the dividing wall alone may not be sufficient, in that case the floor and ceiling must also be insulated with, for example, Merfoflex attachment system or Isomat KE J.

What should I insulate and with which products?
The nuisance of airborne noise from the nearest neighbours is largely due to the direct separation with the neighbours, the dividing wall. By shielding this wall on your side with the Merfoflex attachment system, you can reduce the problem. After the installation of Merfoflex, the sound that was first radiated from the partition wall is absorbed by the acoustic filling Akotherm and insulated by the two plasterboards that are mounted in a decoupled manner on the resilient Merfoflex Intermediate rails. This approach is also called the "room-in-room" principle, creating a floating room in an existing room, which gives the best results. The more separation you can create vis-à-vis the neighbours by using Merfoflex, the better the result.

What can I expect in terms of results?
The behaviour of vibration and sound is complex. No one can exactly predict what the end result will be. That is why the above products have been tested and measured in laboratories to give you an indication. You can find this information in the downloadable product sheet together with the manual. Among others, the result is influenced by the building and construction of the property and the amount of flanking noise that enters your room in other ways. Theoretically, you can expect a drop between 6 and 15 Decibels by applying the Merfoflex attachment system.

Below you will find all products to insulate walls and partitions

Sound Insulation for Walls