Soundproofing around a shower?

[Cacher_Chick]

Sounds like adding a whole bunch of steel in front of a stud wall makes sense but why would anyone go to the trouble for a $600 tub and wall kit... Throw some insulation in the wall and call it a day

Thus the reason I would never hire someone who calls himself a "Bathroom Remodeler".


It's really no trouble at all, because it's my house and I have nothing but time.

When I'm watching TV in the adjacent room, I would rather not hear noise coming from the bathroom.
It's an afterthought that obviously has many potential solutions.

I would much rather analyze and do something decent now rather than have it bother me after the rooms are finished.

 

[Todd Stull]

Thus the reason I would never hire someone who calls himself a "Bathroom Remodeler".


It's really no trouble at all, because it's my house and I have nothing but time.

When I'm watching TV in the adjacent room, I would rather not hear noise coming from the bathroom.
It's an afterthought that obviously has many potential solutions.

I would much rather analyze and do something decent now rather than have it bother me after the rooms are finished.

That's why I recomended Insulation in the walls Others were offering some overly complicated solutions so I was just trying to keep it simple for you, that's all. Seems like dlarrivee has a problem with me for some reason or just taking frustration out on me due to the dislike of John. I did nothing wrong here. Just trying to help, My appologies.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[SirElliott]

What worked for me

I had pretty much the same situation except it was a bedroom, my bedroom. The showers is my wife's and we are on opposite shifts.

I did the staggered wall, 2" X 4" on 2" X 6" plates. I added insulation. I did go with two layers of 5/8" sheetrock. I used two products from a company called Green Glue. (I have absolutely no interest in the company) The sheetrock is separated by "Green Glue" which works with the mass of the sheetrock. Reportedly it converts the sound movement energy into heat. Green Glue comes in caulk tubes and you place it between the sheets. I also used their joist tape because we had some left over. There is an outlet in that wall which we wrapped in acoustic foam and caulk.

The insulation was cellulose which seems better than fiberglass for sound. The gap between the floor and sheetrock was filled with acoustic caulk. Details are important in sound reduction.

My bed is less than 3 feet from that wall and I hear nothing. My thoughts were that the incremental costs were small vs. the years of noise. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Hackney plumbing]

I guess I was right,
Sometimes buying a whole roll of roofing paper doesn't make sense if your not going to use it any time soon so another option is some silicone inbetween stud and flange to cut out squeeking.

I can stop by any construction site and pick up all the scraps of tar paper I want to haul off...along with plywood,drywall,2x4,,etc. Its quicker than buying it.

 

[Hackney plumbing]

Cacher chick,Also insulate the voids under the bathtub along with the walls. It will help hold heat longer if a tub bath is taken and will help dampen the sound.

Goodluck with your project,I hope it turns out nice and I'm sure it will. Those sterling units are good if they are installed with care,like your doing.

 

[Todd Stull]

I've installed I think 2 of the Sterling kits in the past but mainly install the Swanstone Veritek when it comes to a "kit" install. Be sure to set your base in a bed of flexable mortar like Custom's Flexbond or Laticrete 253 Gold. It will make a nice solid floor and eliminate any creeks from the subfloor.

Was that a good informative post? Any complaints??

 

[Cacher_Chick]

That's better.

One thing we have to remember is that there are people here from all over the country, with all different levels of experience. What guys like John do in high-end houses might be different that what the common folk do, and that's OK. We can all learn from the experience of others.
That's what I'm here for.

The house I grew up in was built of scrap lumber & tar paper, insulated with sawdust and newspaper, and heated with nothing but a wood stove. We've come a long way.

Thanks to all the people in this forum, my bathroom is ready to be taped.
It is plumbed, framed, wired, and the 60" shower was set in a mortar bed months ago.
It's been permitted and inspected.
It's solid and there are no squeaks.

I'm working on the adjacent rooms now, thus my post.

Thanks to everyone for your input.

 

[Dlarrivee]

I've installed I think 2 of the Sterling kits in the past but mainly install the Swanstone Veritek when it comes to a "kit" install. Be sure to set your base in a bed of flexable mortar like Custom's Flexbond or Laticrete 253 Gold. It will make a nice solid floor and eliminate any creeks from the subfloor.

Was that a good informative post? Any complaints??

The only complaint I have is that you're really making mountains out of mole hills, when people suggest various ideas and you decide that based on the cost of ONE of the items that make up a bathroom, that it isn't WORTH doing any extra work on, I take offence.

 

[Todd Stull]

The only complaint I have is that you're really making mountains out of mole hills, when people suggest various ideas and you decide that based on the cost of ONE of the items that make up a bathroom, that it isn't WORTH doing any extra work on, I take offence.

I didn't really mean it like that but ok... Like I said before, I've installed Sterling Kits and the Swanstone Veriteks and they are both good products. I tend to veer towards the Swan side because the color selections are much better. Lately, I've added isulation to the install for those purposes so that's why I was a little one sided about the recomendation knowing that it does alot of justice. For me, the stakes raise when it's a Custom tile shower... that's when you get into the more expensive membranes and such.

 

[Todd Stull]

... a sterling kit will last 20 to 30 years as is, however, tile showers need to be built with the proper products and typically more expensive products across the board to meet that criteria.

 

[Geniescience]

dlarrivee has the right focus. One thing I'll add is that airtightness can help too, so John W is onto something.

cacher hope this helps.

 

[Hackney plumbing]

The way I see it your not just trying to keep the surrounding rooms quiet but also the shower itself. Those sterling showers are very noisy for the person taking the shower. Nothing you install on the other side of the wall is going to help that. You need to fill that space with insulation or your basically building a drum and the sound is going to be directed toward the person in the shower.

My final advice is to insulate all the voids around the tub and walls and then install 2 layers of drywall. The two layers of drywall is all the "extra" I would consider. Insulation is standard to me and not extra with a sterling unit.

I've installed over 50 of them over the years and have only had a noise complaint when insulation was not used. also the people living in the house has to be considered,some people can hear a clock ticking from the next room and other you have to scream at for them to hear you.

For a shower your going to have high frequency sound.....high frequency sound is easy to control with common materials. Low frequency will pass through some materials like its not even there.

 

[Todd Stull]

The way I see it your not just trying to keep the surrounding rooms quiet but also the shower itself. Those sterling showers are very noisy for the person taking the shower. Nothing you install on the other side of the wall is going to help that. You need to fill that space with insulation or your basically building a drum and the sound is going to be directed toward the person in the shower.

My final advice is to insulate all the voids around the tub and walls and then install 2 layers of drywall. The two layers of drywall is all the "extra" I would consider. Insulation is standard to me and not extra with a sterling unit.

I've installed over 50 of them over the years and have only had a noise complaint when insulation was not used. also the people living in the house has to be considered,some people can hear a clock ticking from the next room and other you have to scream at for them to hear you.

For a shower your going to have high frequency sound.....high frequency sound is easy to control with common materials. Low frequency will pass through some materials like its not even there.

Great points!! That's basically what I was trying to say but I should have worded things a little better.