Has anyone tried Roxul Safe N Sound (or similar) for soundproofing?
I wanted to use Green Glue and double drywall between my floor trusses to add mass and reduce sound transmission between floors. But 24 cases of Green Glue is fairly pricey even before installation labor.
One insulation contractor has proposed netting in 5.5 inches of BIB insulation, but I’m not confident this approach will do much to muffle traffic on wood floors. One builder I know suggested using rockwool (Roxul or similar) because it is fairly dense and easy to install. What does the Green Building community think? I know what I would do with an unlimited budget, but I think an affordable approach that will reduce footfalls and such.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Since it's Labor Day, I had some time to do some additional research on sound suppression. Adding mass above, below, or above and below a floor system is the way to go if you can manage it. If adding insulation between floor joists, there doesn't seem to be much value to using specialty insulation. R19 fiberglass offers "good enough" strategy for those of us on a budget, according to Ted White at the Soundproofing Company (http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing101/soundproof-a-room-basics/).
Steven, decoupling your ceiling from the framing will make the most difference. You can do this with resilient channels or resilient clips (RSIC-1). Leave both layers of ceiling drywall 1/4" from the walls and caulk the gap. Be very careful not to screw into the framing above and short-circuit the res bar. have had good success with Safe and Sound but you may be right that the difference isn't enough to justify the price for you.