10 best materials for soundproofing floors
Soundproofing the floor in the apartment is an essential component of the comfort of housing. It is no secret that in an apartment building (especially those built in the era of socialism), the sound insulation indicator leaves much to be desired.
This review presents the best materials for floor sound insulation available on the domestic market. The rating is compiled on the basis of sound-absorbing characteristics, ease of installation, cost and environmental friendliness. The opinions of sound insulation specialists and the successful experience of various owners who have used one of these materials for the improvement of their homes were also taken into account.
TOP 10 best materials for floor sound insulation
10 Maxforte Shumoizol
The optimal material for soundproofing a "floating" floor in an apartment - the thickness of "Shumoizol" is only 4 mm. The coating is mounted end-to-end using assembly tape and does not take much time even for non-professional builders. In this case, the canvas is put on the walls to the thickness of the future screed so that the concrete does not come into contact with them. At the same time, the index of noise reduction transmitted by vibration of interfloor floors of houses is at least 27 dB - not at all bad for 4 mm.
Also, this material can be used over a screed or wooden floor as a backing for laminated parquet or other covering. Processing in this way does not have any difficulties at all and can be easily carried out by the owner of the apartment during repairs. At the same time, the use of the Maxforte acoustic membrane will increase the comfort of housing to the level of elite houses. In parallel with its direct purpose, noise insulation provides a reduction in the level of vibration transmission of the building and has waterproofing properties.
9 Cork
Cork flooring has high sound insulation characteristics, which allows you not to resort to additional work in order to reduce external acoustic vibrations in the apartment. But there is also a technical cork that can be used as a substrate on top of a screed or a regular wooden floor on logs. Being an environmentally friendly natural product (sheet material is obtained by pressing using cork resins), this material is perfect for residential buildings, the owners of which suffer from allergic reactions.
The use of sheets with a thickness of 10 mm allows you to achieve a reduction in impact noise by 20-22 dB, and sound waves are damped in both directions - vibrations coming from the apartment will also be significantly damped. The advantage of using cork can also be resistance to moisture absorption, high fire resistance, as well as the fact that it is not at all a breeding ground for microorganisms and fungal mold. Despite all the advantages, this is far from the most demanded material for sound insulation, largely due to its high price.
8 NOISE
Despite the existing bituminous layer-film (at the same time it serves as an excellent protection against leaks), the Shumanet material for sound insulation due to the upper layer of fiberglass is resistant to high temperatures and humidity. It can be successfully used under a screed for organizing a "floating" floor and has high sound insulation values, which make it possible to achieve a comfort class of an apartment not lower than "A" (elite housing). It is also often used for soundproofing acoustic studios and other rooms in which external sound vibrations should be minimized.
The floor material has several varieties, but the most interesting is the Shumanet Combo sound insulation, which has an additional sound-absorbing layer (5 mm thick) and better efficiency.Its reduction index reaches 26 dB, which is confirmed by a number of tests. The presence of a certificate of conformity allows you to safely use this material to improve the comfort of residential apartments and private houses.
7 Extruded polystyrene foam
The properties of this material allow it to be used for completely different purposes. It is also suitable for arranging noise insulation, and the indicators of suppression of acoustic waves will be far from ordinary. So, when organizing a "floating" floor and with a foam polystyrene plate thickness of 20-30 mm, it will be possible to reduce the noise level to 23 dB (50 mm will increase the indicator to 41 dB, but in apartments such sheets are rarely laid by anyone - it is impractical). This indicator can be increased by almost half due to the additional use of a sheet substrate with a thickness of up to 5 mm in the construction. The thickness of the screed poured from above is also important.
It is possible for a sound insulation specialist who has not only knowledge but also practical experience to calculate the required size of layers to obtain the best results. In any case, the level of sound insulation in terms of efficiency is at least three times higher than stone wool, and the service life is about 90 years (without ultraviolet access).
6 Felt
Long established as an excellent soundproofing material, felt is still successfully used to provide acoustic comfort, which is especially important in apartment buildings. The particular popularity of this material is due to its low price, environmental friendliness and a number of other technical advantages. This product is made 100% from safe raw materials, and, in addition to the best soundproofing properties, has the ability to absorb heat and vibration. The expediency of its use lies in the ability of felt to ensure a decrease in several times not only external, but also internal noise.
For the best indicators of sound insulation of an apartment, a special felt with a built-in membrane or acoustic, which differs in thickness and shape of release, is suitable. It is equally successfully used for soundproofing both ceilings and floating floors. The low cost of the material allows you to increase the number of layers of felt for better noise reduction efficiency.
5 Texound
Membrane Texound is an innovative product in the market of sound insulation materials presented by the Spanish manufacturer Texa. A distinctive feature of this substrate is increased strength, and at the same time, the best indicators of elasticity, which remain up to -20 ° C. The developers managed to create a material similar in its characteristics to the best natural sound insulator - lead. At the same time, the Texound membrane is based only on environmentally friendly aragonite with a complex of necessary polymers. Also, this product has a minimum thickness of 3.7 mm and at the same time the highest specific gravity.
Soundproofing a house with Texound is guaranteed to reduce the level of a wide variety of noises by at least 2 times, which is quite enough to ensure comfortable living conditions in an ordinary apartment. A membrane can be used both for soundproofing walls and partitions, and for a floor under a parquet board, laminate or concrete screed. This material meets the requirements of fire safety and is absolutely not affected by microorganisms.
4 Vibrostack-V300
The multi-layer sound-absorbing underlay, which is based on type C fiberglass, is highly resistant to maximum loads. This sound-insulating material demonstrates the best stability of the declared characteristics, regardless of the degree of mechanical stress and the duration of the service life. At the same time, despite its small thickness (only 4 mm), this underlay provides absorption of impact noise up to 29 dB and is one of the most effective for floor sound insulation.
Vibrostack-V300 can be used as a soundproof layer directly under a floor covering or under a concrete screed. In the second case, you should additionally provide reliable waterproofing. Laying this underlay, taking into account all the installation recommendations, guarantees not only the best acoustic effect, but also the leveling of the surface. This material is produced in large rolls up to 450 m long, which is very convenient for arranging soundproofing of the floor in rooms with a large area (offices, luxury housing, etc.).
3 Isoplat
The material has an affordable price and good sound absorption coefficient, reducing the level of acoustic vibrations by 23 dB. And this is with a thickness of 12 mm (the maximum possible is 25 mm). Perfect for a house or apartment, as it can be laid over a screed or wooden flooring. The declared parameters of sound insulation are provided by the material from which the board is made - small waste of coniferous woodworking pressed without glue fillers.
Possessing good sound insulation, isoplat will be the best solution for owners suffering from allergic reactions. Due to the use of paraffins, the sheets are resistant to moisture absorption, while maintaining high vapor transmission properties. Laying on a concrete base allows you to perform two tasks at once - to isolate the apartment from unnecessary noise from below and to prepare the base for laying the floor covering (as a rule, parquet boards). The material perfectly evens out small differences and irregularities, saving the cost of removing these defects.
2 Penotherm NPP LE
This building material for soundproofing floors is supplied in rolls and has different thicknesses, from 6 to 10 mm. The degree of sound insulation, which varies from 20 to 22 dB, is also directly dependent on this indicator. Being a foamed polypropylene foam, Penotherm NPP LE is suitable for concrete floors of apartments and ceilings along logs (second, third floor of a private house). It can be used as a substrate for a floor covering (laminated parquet, board, etc.), which greatly simplifies the installation process and reduces the cost of soundproofing apartments.
A distinctive feature of the material is its high environmental friendliness - Penotherm NPP LE does not contain fluorine-chlorine-containing hydrocarbon groups at all. Its service life is at least 50 years, during which the sound insulation properties remain unchanged.
1 Technoelast Acoustic
A modern composite material for noise insulation is made in the form of a multilayer "pie" consisting of a metal film, fiberglass and a binder bitumen-polymer mass. Excellent for soundproofing both concrete floors and joists. Its difference can be considered ease of installation - "Technoelast Acoustic" is supplied in rolls and is perfect for organizing "floating" floors or floor heating systems.
In addition, it additionally performs the functions of waterproofing, which will be completely useful for housing in apartment buildings. Overlapping and good adhesive base provides a durable and airtight layer. As for the main properties, Technoelast Acoustic provides a reduction in the level of impact noise by 27 dB. A metallized film as a screen reflects a significant part of acoustic waves, providing high sound insulation performance with a relatively small material thickness.
