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How to Soundproof a Party Wall

By Updated
Party walls separate adjoining residences.
Party walls separate adjoining residences.Getty

Good walls make good neighbors. At least that's the case when you live in a duplex or apartment complex and your neighbor is on the other side of the wall. Party walls separate individual residences, and for privacy reasons, the more soundproof the wall, the better. In older residences, noise-reduction options are limited, but with preconstruction planning, you can achieve a high degree of privacy.

Double-Wall Construction

The best option for soundproofing party walls comes standard in most high-end townhomes and multiplexes and it involves a complete separation between the adjoining residences. Sound travels through wood, so a glass dropped in one apartment can be heard in the neighboring apartment if they share a common party wall. With double-wall construction, the separation begins at the floor joists and runs all the way to a roof parapet. Two totally separate walls are built, side by side, with a few inches of airspace between them. Exterior cladding and roofing cover the separation so a casual observer will never know it's there.

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Offset Stud Construction

Offset stud construction is less expensive than double-wall construction and it still offers some noise-reduction benefits. Builders achieve the offset by using larger dimension floor and ceiling plates than wall studs. For example, if you used two-by-six plates and two-by-four studs, you could frame the wall by aligning alternating studs on opposite sides of the plates. No stud touches both sides of the wall and an airspace snakes its way from one end of the wall to the other end, creating a sound-muffling effect. Insulation improves the sound dampening but it won't be completely soundproof since the floor and ceiling plates connect the two parties.

Sound-Dampening and Fire-Rated Materials

Building codes for party walls focus on reducing the spread of fire between tenants, so that has to be the emphasis. Noncombustible (fire-rated) insulation, drywall, tape and taping compound are necessary in party wall construction, in addition to installing more than one layer of drywall in a specific configuration. Any outlets in a party wall must be fire-rated and the edges sealed with fire-rated caulking. All of these measures dampen sound transfer. An additional layer of laminated, sound-reduction drywall will further reduce noise transfer.

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Tips for Existing Walls

In older residences where party walls don't meet today's building codes, noise transfer can be an annoying problem. Your options are limited to installing blown-in insulation in the stud cavities or adding a layer of sound-reduction drywall to the old wall's surface. Neither will completely stop sound transfer, but they might reduce it to tolerable levels. Furnishing the residence with sound-absorbent overstuffed furniture, wall-to-wall carpeting and hanging tapestries on the walls can also help.


References

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Glenda Taylor is a contractor and a full-time writer specializing in construction writing. She also enjoys writing business and finance, food and drink and pet-related articles. Her education includes marketing and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.