Step 1: Principles of Soundproofing

In planning what I was going to build, I needed to first

understand more about soundproofing. I am by no means
an expert, but just learning the basics went a long way.
There are 5 basic principles of soundproofing: mass,
absorption, conduction, mechanical decoupling and
resonance. Read on for a brief overview of each
principle and how I addressed it.

Mass: This one is pretty straightforward. More density =

more sound absorption. Thing is, you need it to be
REALLY dense to make a big difference, so simply
adding a layer of drywall to an existing wall will only
give you a slight decrease in sound transmission. To
address this principle, I used two layers of the thickest
drywall readily available (5/8") vs the more common 1/2"
thickness.

Absorption: Any kind of insulation within a wall's cavity

will help absorb some sound, although it will not trap
any low frequencies. This is most effective when the
walls are decoupled, as if there are studs connecting
the two walls the effect of the insulation will be
minimal. Still, putting something in the wall is better
than nothing, so I insulated my wall with standard R-13
fiberglass insulation.
Conduction: This is the transmission of sound through
vibration of solid objects connected to each other.
Conduction is a very efficient way to transmit sound,
and as such any wall that has drywall directly
connected to the studs on either side will never perform
well. Sound will also travel through indirect routes
largely via conduction, and this is called flanking noise.
In my case I could do little to address this principle, as
the nice solid doorway around my wall would always be
a good conductor of sound and the weakest link
between our two rooms.

Mechanical Decoupling/Isolation: This is one of the

most effective ways to combat conduction, and is why
the most effective soundproof walls are completely
decoupled, so there is no direct path for the sound to
travel. If not paired with other soundproofing principles,
decoupling a wall will help with transmission of mid-high
frequency sound but will increase resonance and sound
transmission at lower frequencies (more on that below),
so it must be done in combination with other principles
to be truly effective. To address this I kept my wall
detached from the double doors rather than attaching
my framing directly to them, however I'm not sure if this
made much of a difference considering the conduction
of sound through the surrounding doorway would
probably outweigh any effort made on this principle.
Resonance: Despite best efforts on all of the above
principles, sound will still resonate a well insulated,
decoupled wall if it hits the right frequency to vibrate
the components of the wall. This isn't common in high
frequencies, but is a challenge for low frequencies
(imagine how strong bass rumbles certain objects at
particular frequencies, therefore a decoupled wall will
rumble x2 when the right frequency is hit for the mass of
the wall). Not to fear, this is offset in two ways:

• Lowering the resonant frequency of the wall: one can

lower the frequency at which the wall wants to resonate
by making sure there is plenty of mass in each wall
(tougher to vibrate), and by adding insulation / plenty of
air in between (absorption). This can help push the
resonance point low enough that only the deepest
frequencies will vibrate through the wall. Sadly this is
why your subwoofer will almost always annoy the
neighbors, as these methods can only push the resonant
frequency so low.

• Damping: this refers to any means of reducing

resonance altogether by absorbing or redirecting sound,
and can go a long way to combat resonance and
conduction. By far the most effective damping agent out
there is green glue, and from all the specs I've seen it's
likely the single most effective soundproofing aspect of
my wall. I used the compound to cover the area of my
wall, and sealant to fill the seams.

Asleep yet? No? Great! If you're like me and found this

all very interesting, here is some more reading on
the principles, and how decoupling works. Moving
along, let's build a wall!
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Step 2: What You Need

I was filling a 5x7 space, so roughly the same square

footage as one sheet of material. Adjust what is listed
below according to the area of your wall.
 Framing supplies - enough to frame the outside of
your "wall" and 1" struts every 16" to hold the insulation
in place
 R-13 insulation
 Two tubes of green glue noiseproofing
compound per 4x8 area of coverage *
 One tube of green glue sealant *
 Full sized caulk gun for green glue
 Drywall - enough for two layers (you will be making
a green glue sandwich)
 3" Drywall screws
 Basic building supplies (drill, rock knife, masking
tape, ruler)
 Safety equipment (face mask, gloves, glasses)

* Green glue products are specialty building supplies,

and are not available at standard building stores like
home depot. I googled for a green glue distributor in my
area and found one, but there is also this list of
distributors on the green glue website, and this
one sells them online. You can also get green glue on
amazon, but only by the case.
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Step 3: Frame the Wall
Build a frame for your wall, with studs 16" apart if you
are using standard insulation. In order to add any
potential decrease in sound transmission, I left a two
inch gap between where my wall would be and the
double doors as a means of decoupling (see step 1). One
important thing I neglected when I framed it was that I
could have used a stud along both seams of drywall to
properly attach them down, which I figured I could get
away without given the small size of the wall. It ended
up looking OK, but the seams would have been much
cleaner if I'd done this. Don't make the same mistake!

Once your frame is built, I put down a few layers of tape

to protect the floor, and attached it to the doorway.
Take care to keep the frame plumb as you go. This was
achieved easily enough on the sides and top by
wrangling it to a straight line as I screwed around the
doorframe. However along the floor I had to get crafty
and used some spacers to push out the warp in the
wood to a straight line, as I didn't want to use any
screws in the floor.
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Step 4: Insulate the Wall
Next I added the insulation. I ended up taking it out of
the casing because it stuck to the frame better. Wear all
your protective gear! Fiberglass is nasty stuff that you
don't want in your eyes, lungs, or skin.
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Step 5: Cut Drywall to Size
As the main part of the wall is green glue sandwiched
between two layers of drywall, I first cut two layers of
drywall to size, being sure to stagger where the seam
would be for more sound isolation and ease of
construction.

To cut drywall, you can simply use a rock knife to score,

then lay the board over a raised surface to break the
seam. It can also be cut by any saw or power tool you
have in your shop. I went for a tight fit, but you will be
filling the seams with soundproof caulk, so anything up
to a 1/4" gap is not a big deal.

This step was by far the most irritating for me as I live in

an old house where none of the measurements are
uniform. Measure your doorway thoroughly first,
because it's much easier to make one cut in drywall
than make small adjustments!
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Step 6: First Layer of Drywall
Attach the first layer of drywall to the frame with
drywall screws every 16" or so. When finished fill all of
the seams with green glue sealant (might not be
necessary to caulk both layers of drywall, but I figured I
might as well).

Let the sealant dry for 24 hours.

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Step 7: Green Glue!
Here's the fun part! Position your second layer of drywall
for easy attachment to the wall, and squiggle two tubes
of green glue onto them. Using a random pattern like
this is the recommended method. Quickly lift and attach
the drywall while the green glue is still wet, with screws
around 16" apart.
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Step 8: Caulk the Seams, and Done!
Caulk the final set of seams, and your wall is complete!

Well, at least from a soundproofing perspective :) At this

point I was sick of construction and called myself done.
However to really finish the wall, you will want to tape
and mudthe seams, add texture, then paint it. Details,
details...
Visual appearance aside, this wall has performed
amazingly well, despite the obvious conduction that I'd
never fix from the doorway and the old walls that I did
nothing about. Whereas we used to hear each other's
every word, now quiet talking is barely audible, and
medium to loud talking is audible but muffled and
significantly quieter than it used to be. All in all, a big
improvement.

Happy soundproofing!