Basement Soundproofing

My wife and I are having a home built this summer. We have two young children, ages 4 and 12. We have a family/rec room and two bedrooms planned for the basement, and want to see what we can have our builder do to: 1) reduce noise transfered from the upstairs to the downstairs (and vice versa), and 2) reduce the noise from the family room to the adjacent bedrooms.

The ceiling will be an I-Joist system. We plan on a drop ceiling, especially since plumbing will be present above. Any particular brand or product line that will work well, but be somewhat cost effective? Something that is attractive and modern, ideally. Also, the main floor flooring materials will be a combination of carpet and hardwoods.

Thank you,

Leo in Iowa

Our Answer

The downside of a drop ceiling is that it leaves you limited options for soundproofing the basement.
It may be possible to use a soundproof underlayment under the hardwood floor upstairs (above the basement), but doing so will make floor thicker. There are other inexpensive options for reducing noise, too, but they change the room's aesthetics, and might not be as permanent or effective as you'd like.
If I were in your shoes, I’d use sound resistant drywall on ceiling. No need to worry about plumbing and electrical in ceiling, as these exists behind ALL drywall. If you take this route, there's product called QuietRock that works well for soundproofing. It's drywall specifically designed to reduce sound transmission – so much so that it's often used in recording studios and practice spaces. Keep in mind, though, that in addition to drywall, special preparation of all functions in your ceiling will be necessary, including electrical boxes and spaces where ducts come through. All those gaps have to be properly sealed to prevent noise from transferring from one side to the other. If they're not, the QuietRock loses its effectiveness.
If this job's done well, your kids can start basement band and you’ll never hear them…well, except when you want to, of course! Good luck.