Our Condo Soundproofing Saga: Did It Work?

If you missed parts one, two and three, read those first to see the scope of the project and some methods used.

Now here's the big question you're asking yourself after following along on that saga:  did it work?  (And more importantly, was it worth the money?)

The short answer to the first question?  Not really.

Our biggest fear was realized pretty much the second the drywaller left after doing the worst problem neighbors wall.  He slammed the microwave door while we were on the living room level and it sounded no different than before.  We knew going in that the stringer would likely be the weak spot and that green glue and other soundproofing methods said impact noise is not really improved.  In that moment, I teared up and we both trudged upstairs to the only room available and stared at the ceiling not speaking for almost an hour.  The Mr, who usually has a pep talk, was pretty silent.  I rambled on about how we just wasted all of that money on that wall and he agreed.  Well, shit.  If he agrees, then it's bad.  He didn't say much and when he did finally talk, said he hadn't felt that defeated in a long time.  We knew that green glue needed 30-45 days to reach it's full sound dampening potential so we didn't blame that.  We were utterly flabbergasted at the fact that by putting an additional 5/8" more drywall onto our existing 1/2" drywall that it didn't remotely make the kind of difference every article claimed just using regular 5/8" drywall would make.  

Did it make some difference?  I guess but nothing near what 7000 articles we read exhaustively over the past few years made it seem like it would.  Keep in mind that is with acoustic sealant around all of the edges, in every hole screw hole on the original drywall, under the bottom of the drywall, etc.  We vowed we'd try not to judge too harshly as the outlets were still off the wall and sound could leak from there.  I will never forget that feeling as long as I live.  But it wasn't all a complete bust.  Like the neighbor's laundry room backs up to our entryway and while we couldn't hear him run it most of the time unless we were standing in the entryway, there were times he had shoes or something bouncing around in there and we could hear it.  Not so loud we'd be mad but we'd pause and say "is that his dryer?" and then could go on fine so that being lessened isn't much of a win for me.   We could also hear him slam the laundry lids which I either don't hear anymore or I mistake it for the deadened sound of a cabinet which has been reduced maybe 30-40%.  So while yes, it's an improvement down there, it's not a life changing one like the microwave one would've been but we knew was a long shot.  I could also hear the laundry lid slams in my bedroom closet (above his laundry room) and I don't hear those anymore but I don't attribute that to the drywall over the deadening stuff I did in the closet.  So between the some of the drywall/green glue and the sound deadening stuff in the closet, at least that problem was solved.  The mounted TV which is mounted into a stud and backs up to our main living space is at least tolerable.  We can still hear it to a degree but it doesn't sound leaps and bounds better than when the Mr plugged the empty cable cavity with the mineral insulation and puttied the outlets which is a bummer.  It at least doesn't almost drive me to tears or literally out of my own living room anymore so that is a win.

What I didn't foresee (and what seems to defy the laws of acoustics in my brain) is how putting up drywall/green glue/sealant completely surrounding the entire upstairs made it a worse echo chamber than we had before!  What did that mean for the microwave noise that would (still does) wake me at 1 and 4am?  It made it louder.  Not even echo-y now but a THUD like someone pounding the wall and that noise being isolated and amplified.  That is now how ALL impact noises from our neighbors sound whether the original microwave slam to slamming sliding closet doors and nightstand drawers to footsteps.  It has taken all of those noises and made them louder between all of the methods we used.  (Nice little slap in the face, isn't it?)  I had a good long sob after realizing I would be sleeping permanently in an ear plug as long as this douche lives beside us.  (I say an ear plug because if I use two, the slam reverbs through me and wakes me for sure.  If I use one, there is just enough sound exchange between the air purifier through my pillow and blocking the ear that's out with the plug then I have a better chance of sleeping through the night.)  As I sit here typing at 11:30pm, he's slammed a minimum of 12x in the past 20 minutes and I hear every single one to the core of my soul.  (The last ditch effort for trying to lock him out of the bedroom are solid wood doors.  We have the cheapest hollow core doors known to man and they are starting to look ragged which is a pisser given they're not even 10 years old yet.  They are a very popular door company that starts with a J and I would never recommend them EVER.  We just wanted 6 panel doors over the blonde oak of the 90's and did zero research before purchasing.  Now we don't have enough money to do that so I'll be raw dogging my inner ears for the next two years or so with ear plugs until we can go through that saga and see if it does anything.  We're also ordering a rug for the top of the stairs and have another project to throw at it but I have zero hope.)

So why did we go through with doing the second wall against the other neighbor?  Well, the place was already torn up and we had to ask ourselves do we give it the 45 days to see if it's worth it and then tear the house back apart again?  Have all of these people who trash your house in and out all over again or just gamble and do it now.  We gambled because we were dealing more with airborne noise with her barking untrained dog.  That is something everyone said would be greatly improved with all of the steps we were taking.   Greatly doesn't apply in our case.  Yes, it's a about 30% better depending on the level of insanity the dog is putting out.  We couldn't take it into the kitchen without ripping that out (not happening ever) we knew we'd be able to hear it barking at the front door.  But we still hear it more than we were hoping for with it being airborne.  The true test would be when she sits on the back patio and has full on scary conversations with it that we could hear when she started that up in the Fall.  That was enough for us to add the back wall where the TRIPLE paned patio door is to the drywallers list in hopes to drown her out.  (Look, we all talk to our dogs but this is like she actually expects answers and will repeat the question surprised it doesn't talk back.  I am not listenin' to that!  What I can say is it did improve that by about 50% which was worth it but that is on a very small portion of wall that we could've done ourselves.  We can still hear her muffled when speaking normally but nothing will dampen the full on cackle.)  

The answer to the second question of was it worth the money?  For our situation?  I am not raving over it so I would say no.  All it really did was take a slight edge off of the noise because literally have two of the loudest people on the face of the Earth living on either side of us.  Spending 10K to 'take the edge off' was not money well spent for us.  We didn't even have crazy expectations either.  We know there is no such thing as soundproofing when you have attached neighbors and aren't able to add the proper tools like resilient channels from the studs out.  We hoped for a 30-60% reduction in noise even though most things we read said we could probably expect 50% or better as our starting point.  For the record: I don't poo poo the products we used because there are clearly plenty of people who have had great success with them.  We were just hoping to be one of them who had better than expected results.  Every person's situation is different because every building is different, the shortcuts taken you can and can't see when they built it are different and every noise you're trying to fight is different as well as your tolerance for noise.  The Mr isn't as bothered by the noises as I am.  It irritates him, yes, but it doesn't wake him or sending his blood pressure through the roof.  Would he have gone to this extreme if it was just him here?  No.  I think we did enough research that he was convinced like I was and he wanted to make me happy.  God bless the poor man.  😔

Would I recommend this journey for others?  Honestly, maybe.  If you are an HSP like me who also has misophonia, you will do anything in attempts to create a more peaceful space and you shouldn't need white noise machines and earplugs for the only bit of peace you get.  Obviously, attached living is not really conducive to that but free standing homes also have horrible neighbors with barking dogs, loud music, parties, screaming kids, etc.  So I think trying to soundproof your home to make it less intrusive to outside noise is worth trying even if you roll snake eyes like we did.  You have to be willing to lose the money and if you are at your wits end like we were, you might be willing to potentially kiss it goodbye.  At that point, you have literally done everything you can possibly do and it does work, oh my Lord the relief you will feel!  If you are able to have some sounds be diminished completely, that may be enough of a win for you.  If you don't have the success you hoped for then you curse the bad star you were born under and start buying scratch offs when you can finally afford them and hope you need David Bromstad's lottery services in the future.

I will also say for attached living peeps, even small things may make a big difference for you.  Like the putty on the back of switch plates, acoustic caulk around the outlets and any cracks behind baseboards if your landlord will allow you to make those improvements for apartment dwellers.  If you own your condo, just get the trim puller and gently remove trim/baseboards.  I guarantee you will be shocked at the gaps/leaks where sound/smells can get into your place.  These may make a big enough difference for you for an investment of $200 or less.  I will tell you this.  If you run across a soundproofing article that mentions soundproofing paint, move on.  That stuff does not work from what I've read and it's also like sandpaper when dry.  That is not a surprise you want once you start slathering it on a wall!

If despite the so-so results of our project didn't deter you and you want to begin your own soundproofing journey, I will list and link to the products we used below. 

SilentFX Drywall  (you will need to get this through contractor or drywall supply stores)

Green Glue (which is not adhesive just for those who haven't researched)

Green Glue Acoustic Sealant

Acoustic Putty Pads (for outlets/plates)

Sound Deadening Mats (behind baseboards, trim, gaps at bottom of drywall if large)

Mineral Wool Insulation (to fill in voids where old cable ran or whenever walls were opened up)

If none of that works, looks like it'll have to be

White Noise Machine

Earplugs

Noise Cancelling Ear Buds

Voodoo Doll

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