Basic Floor Soundproofing System

When it comes to soundproofing a floor to minimise the effect of impact noise and also reduce TV and general talking noise the system we have put together for you is very simple to install and relatively thin.  This system is designed to upgrade the insulation properties of your existing floor in all types of domestic properties.

The system we have developed below is easy to fit with little DIY experience required and is simply glued to your existing floor.  The system uses two layers of Advanced Acoustics 5kg Soundproofing Mat and 1 layer of Advanced Acoustics Silent Floor Ultra and has a total thickness of 16mm.

Firstly you need to remove the old carpet, underlay and carpet gripper and ensure the floor surface is clean and free of debris.  Next you need to ensure that your existing floorboards are fully secured to the timber joists.  If there are any loose or squeaky floorboards these need screwing down.  Ensure you are screwing to the timber joists and make sure you are not going to be screwing through any pipework.  If the floorboards have gaps in them you need to fill the gaps with Advanced Acoustics Acoustic Sealant.  The older the building the more chance you have gaps so you will need to make allowances for this with the quantity of Acoustic Sealant required.  Older building tends to have narrower floorboards and so will require more Acoustic Sealant.  Thoroughness at this stage will ultimately improve the sound isolation you achieve.

Once the floorboards are screwed down and secure and any gaps are filled with Acoustic Sealant you can now lay the Soundproofing Mat.  The first layer of Advanced Acoustics 5kg Soundproofing Mat needs to be installed perpendicular to the direction of the floorboards.  This reduces the risk of any joins falling in line.  Starting from one wall you need to lay the Advanced Acoustics 5kg Soundproofing Mat right up to the wall gluing the soundproofing mat to the floor as you unroll it going the full length of the room.  If the room is longer than the roll then slightly overlap the ends of the roll by around 10mm.  When you have run the full length of the room you need to run a knife down the join if you have one ensuring you cut through both layers.  When you have cut the Soundproofing Mat you can remove excess and you will get a nice join between the two rolls.  When laying the second roll next to the first you need to again slightly overlap the joints by 10mm when you have gone the full length you can cut along the joint to get a neat finish.  Once you have covered the whole of the floor you then need to seal the joints with Jointing Tape.

Once you have completed this you can now lay the second layer perpendicular to the first layer, to again, minimise the chance of overlapping any joints.  Lay the second as you did the first gluing the 5kg Soundproofing Mat down to the first layer and overlapping edges so you can trim them with a knife and then seal the joins with Advanced Acoustics Jointing Tape.

The next step is to fit the new carpet gripper around the perimeter of the room.  Once you have fitted the carpet gripper you can now loose lay the Advanced Acoustics Silent Floor Ultra within the confines of the carpet gripper, trimming to size where required.  There is no need to glue the Silent Floor Ultra down.  The floor is now ready for the carpet to be fitted.  In some cases the door may need to be trimmed down to allow for the new floor height depending on what was down previous to completing the installation.  Some prefer to have a professional carpet fitter in to fit the carpet, if this is the case most will be happy to fit the carpet gripper and Silent Floor Ultra for you prior to fitting the carpet.

If you would like to fit a more effective floor soundproofing system you can replace the one of the layers of 5kg Soundproofing Mat with a layer of Advanced Acoustics 10kg Soundproofing Mat or the 2 layers of 5kg Soundproofing Mat with 2 layers of 10kg Soundproofing Mat.

This system will help reduce normal noise levels that shouldn’t normally be heard such as talking, TV and radio sound.  Loud music and bass noise will always be audible although its intensity will be reduced.  For a more efficient form a noise control see our Floating Floor System or our Studio Floor Soundproofing System.