Floor Soundproofing
Do you need to soundproof your floors? Perhaps you live in a block of flats and have noisy items such as washing machines or you play a musical instrument and it's driving your neighbours up the wall. Or perhaps it's your neighbours who are driving you crazy.
Either way, at Sound Reduction Systems (SRS) Ltd, we have soundproofing products that can help. The first factor when soundproofing a floor is to establish what type of floor construction you have. Most likely, it will be a concrete floor or a timber-joisted floor. The next issue is to determine the kind of soundproofing issue you have with your floors.
Soundproofing against impact and airborne noise
Soundproofing your floors might be necessary because of an impact noise problem. This could mean footsteps from above or items being dropped on the floor. Or it could be required to combat airborne noise like the sound of a television, speech or music. Of course, it could be a combination of both. The other information we'll need to know is whether the noise problem is in domestic, commercial or other premises?
You should be aware that there are a few issues around soundproofing your floors. For starters, effective soundproofing materials will increase the floor height a little. The other issue is that some acoustic floor systems are soft floor coverings that are not instantly compatible with your vinyl or ceramic floor finishes.
Thankfully, at SRS, our soundproofing materials for floors are not only easy to install but also cause minimal disruption to your building. We'll provide industry-leading systems such as Acoustilay, Maxideck and Subprimo for your floor soundproofing issues to combat impact and airborne noise.
All-round soundproofing performance
For soundproofing timber-joisted floors in domestic properties, we often recommend Acoustilay 15. This will give you excellent all-round performance for impact and airborne noise – and it's only 15mms thick. You simply loose-lay Acoustilay onto your existing floorboards, where it acts as your carpet or timber floor underlay.
Maxideck is also perfect for soundproofing floors from airborne noise, while Subprimo works best with cutting down impact noise from timber and laminate flooring. If your floors are concrete, you should consider Acoustilay 3 for soundproofing.
When you use SRS's products to soundproof your floor, you get very high acoustic performance on impact and airborne noise, easy installation and minimal loss of room height. Our floor soundproofing products are also perfect for under carpet and timber floor finishes.
Expert Advice
At SRS, advice on soundproofing solutions for floors, walls or anywhere else is absolutely free. For any questions, or to discuss your problem in more detail, call 01204 380074 or email info@soundreduction.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions: Floor Soundproofing
1. How do I start soundproofing a floor?
The first step is to identify what type of floor you have. This could be a timber‑joisted floor, or a floor made of concrete. The different materials transmit sound differently, so the right solution for your property depends on this.
2. What are the types of noise that travel through floors?
Impact noise such as footsteps, dropped items, and the sound of appliances like washing machines can be transmitted through the floor to the room below, while airborne noise such as that from your TV or people speaking to each other may also cause problems. In most cases, the right floor soundproofing solution will address both.
3. Will soundproofing a floor raise the floor height?
The short answer is yes that all effective floor soundproofing adds some height, however, the products offered by SRS are designed to keep this increase as small as possible.
4. Is floor soundproofing compatible with all types of floor finish?
Some acoustic systems are soft underlays, which may not work with vinyl or ceramic finishes, our products are compatible with carpet and timber finishes, and we offer options for other surfaces too. Speak to our experts to get more information about the right soundproofing for your property.
5. What products are recommended for floor soundproofing?
We offer a range of choices depending on the noise type and floor construction that aim for easy installation combined with high acoustic performance and minimal height loss.
For timber‑joisted floors, we offer:
- Acoustilay 15, which provides excellent all-round performance and is just 15mm thick and can replace standard underlay.
- Maxideck offers strong reduction of airborne noise.
- Subprimo is an excellent solution for reducing impact noise under timber or laminate flooring.
If you have concrete floors, solutions include:
- Acoustilay 3 which is designed specifically for concrete constructions.
