Is Your Home Keeping You Up at Night? Noise-Proofing Tips for a Good Night's Sleep
By CSR Gyprock|December 01, 2006
Most people want a home that is a haven of peace and quiet. However, the trend towards building larger homes on smaller blocks of land, combined with new home entertainment products, has led to an increase in both external and internal noise levels for homeowners.
In fact, sleep disorders cost Australians over $10 billion annually* and have a negative impact on people’s mental and physical well-being. Experts agree that ensuring your home is ‘noise proof’ is one of the keys to a great night’s sleep and maintaining good health.
What effects can environmental noise have on homeowners?
In fact, sleep disorders cost Australians over $10 billion annually* and have a negative impact on people’s mental and physical well-being. Experts agree that ensuring your home is ‘noise proof’ is one of the keys to a great night’s sleep and maintaining good health.
What effects can environmental noise have on homeowners?
- Disruptions to sleep patterns
- Affected performance at school
- Mood swings
- High blood pressure
- Negative impact on mental well-being
- Bathrooms
- Master bedroom
- Children’s bedrooms
- Kitchen and laundry
- External walls
- Reduction in noise levels from outside the home
- Reduction in noise travelling between rooms and upper and lower stories
- Improved acoustic performance in home entertainment areas
- Increased thermal insulation which results in a reduction of heating and cooling costs
- Walls & Ceilings: Poor wall quality enables noise to travel quite easily throughout a home. Plasterboard systems using Gyprock Soundchek™, Australia’s first acoustic plasterboard, can reduce noise levels by up to 70%. For example, a wall of standard construction wall will allow 80% of loud conversation to be heard in the next room. By simply applying a Soundchek™ Level 1 system, this can be reduced to just 25% being heard. Gyprock Soundchek™ systems incorporating Bradford SoundScreen Insulation not only reduce noise levels but can keep rooms up to 7 degrees cooler in summer and 10 degrees warmer in winter.
- Doors: Doors can be a considerable source of sound flanking. Gaps underneath doors on hard surface flooring such as tiles, slate or timber need to be sealed with an appropriate system. Perimeters of all doors must be sealed by appropriate door jamb seals. Hume Doors & Timber also make sound resistant doors solely from timber purchased from suppliers practising responsible forest management.
- Junctions and Flanking Paths: Small gaps between the wall, floor, roof above, skirting and cornice, as well as flanking paths with little or poorly installed acoustic installation can substantially reduce the efficiency of noise reduction wall or ceiling systems. These areas should be filled with a product, such as Gyprock® Wet Area Acrylic Sealant.
- Floor coverings: Floors in two storey homes that are above common areas should receive carpet with good quality underlay. Where hard surfaces like timber, tiles or vinyl are used, rugs can substantially improve performance, though floating floor systems will be necessary for a good result.
- Windows: Poor quality glass and air gaps increase the sound levels from external noise. Trend Windows offers awning-style windows with a slim construction and round sash profile which can be used in conjunction with Pilkington Smart Glass, a heavy laminate glass that can be coloured or textured.
- Roof: Gaps in roof tiles can also increase external noise levels. Monier and Wunderlich manufacture noise-reducing concrete and terracotta tiles to suit different design needs.
