How to Soundproof a Basement Condo

LESLIE: Katherine in Wisconsin is on the line with a soundproofing issue. Tell us what’s going on.

KATHERINE: I live in a condo with a basement and there’s an I-beam that runs through the basement. And when I’m in the basement, I can hear my neighbors from two houses down talking in their living room, because their voices travel down the I-beam.

TOM: Wow.

LESLIE: Crazy.

KATHERINE: So I was interested in covering the I-beam somehow to reduce the noise but I wasn’t sure what the best way to do that would be.

TOM: Well, there’s a couple things you can do. First of all, can you frame in the I-beam so that it’s – like has something that we can attach a drywall to?

KATHERINE: Yeah, yeah. I could. I just wasn’t sure what to do that with or if that would help.

TOM: OK. So once you – yeah, once you frame it in, there’s a product called QuietRock.

KATHERINE: OK.

TOM: And it’s a soundproofing drywall. It’s sold at Lowe’s. It’s pretty expensive. Regular drywall is 5 bucks a sheet; QuietRock is about 40 bucks a sheet. So it’s pretty expensive but you don’t need a lot.

LESLIE: Yeah but if she can hear them, they can hear her.

TOM: Yeah but you don’t need a lot. You know, you don’t need a lot. So, if you can frame in that beam and you’re sure that’s where it’s coming from, you may want to think about using QuietRocks to actually cover the I-beam and that should do the trick.

KATHERINE: Oh, really? So I wouldn’t need to put additional insulation between the …

TOM: No. Insulation is – insulation doesn’t really work as a soundproofing material.

KATHERINE: OK, OK.

TOM: It’s kind of a misnomer to think that insulation works on a wall. It’s cheap but it really doesn’t do much. The QuietRock absorbs the vibration of the sound and I think that’s what you need to do.

KATHERINE: OK, great. And the QuietRock is just spelled like it sounds?

TOM: Yep. Q-u-i-e-t – Rock. If you go to Lowes.com, you can find it right there. And I was able to find it; I needed it for a project. I was able to find it right in my local Lowe’s.

KATHERINE: Thank you. Bye.