Between Floors Insulation for Sound

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J

Joshman

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Greetings!

I have a basement. I have a main floor. Between those two floors is carpet, underlay, sub-floor (plywood), joists, and then a drop ceiling (best idea I have ever had).

I want to stop the airborn sound as much as possible. I bought some Safe'n'Sound insulation to put in the cavities between the joists.

The insulation is a denser 3" thick (denser than standard wall insulation). The joists are 2 x 12 in one room and 2 x 16 in the others.

Now for the ultimate question....

Should I stuff the insulation right up to the sub floor or should I have an air gap and push the insulation up until it is flush with the bottom of the joists?
​

It's expensive stuff so I would like to keep it as one layer, at least for now.

Thanks in advance!
 
I would finish it off with fibreglass, I think it does better than safe and sound, there is no need for an air gap when you don't have a cold side.
 
The fact that you are using a drop ceiling should make a big difference on sound as well. Sound is transmitted through the framing, and when you nail drywall directly to the joists noise will transmit through the drywall. The gap between the joists and the drop ceiling will diminish the sound transmission.

If you were going with drywall and wanted to dampen the noise you can install special metal channels across the joists that provide some separation between the drywall and the joist thereby reducing the sound transmission.
 
Well, I installed the safe'n'sound over the weekend (60sq feet per bag my ***) and it was some kind of hell getting it around the massive amounts of electrical, plumbing, central vac tubes, and HVAC (by far the worst) but I got 'er done. I have noticed a very large reduction in the airborne sounds... except the bass of the TV upstairs. Man, that bass can travel, mind you if I turn off the sub that is sitting on the floor, all is well :)

Thanks for your help! See you on the next Q. :)
 
I'll likely just kill it for now. It's good to know I can make it more airborn by lifting it off the carpet. Thanks!
 
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