Shared wall = shared noise

[Brad Weber]

You apparently have one attempt at a fix that apparently did not work, further attempts without an acceptable result may just make things worse. So the other aspect of this is defining what would be defined as an acceptable result. Unless simply "better" is deemed an acceptable result then spending money on anything may not make sense unless they are pretty sure it will actually solve the problem. And once a problem is already identified you may have to go above and beyond what you would have initially for the result to be accepted.

I agree with Cory that unless they plan on tearing down part of the wall then it makes sense to first try to get what is already there optimized.

Don't seal penetrations with expanding foam, it effectively rigidly couples the wall surfaces to the pipe, duct, conduit, etc. which then serves to bridge the two sides of the wall. Get the gap as small as possible then loosely pack it with fiberglass insulation or backer rod and seal it airtight with a resilient sealant.

Paris, was the QuietRock the only difference or did they also seal penetrations, etc.? Just wondering how much of the difference heard was really from the material versus possibly dealing with other issues at the same time.

[tedanderson]

Just to reiterate what has been said several times on this thread, reconstructing the wall is the only thing that is sure to work... and this is why:

The problem isn't in the wall itself but how it was structured in the first place. So even if you could add a layer of some of the most sound-absorbing material in the world, you will not be able to do anything about the sound that's getting over, around and underneath the wall. But at least if you build another wall in front of the existing wall, you save the cost and effort of demolition.

[Esoteric]

So, no blueprints yet, but here are some pics.

This is the back wall of the main worship center.

Mike

[Esoteric]

Here is the electrical room to the right side of the wall.

Mike

[Esoteric]

This is the youth room on the other side of the wall that backs up to the electrical room. The room on the right side is very similar, except that it backs up to the back wall of the worship center.

Mike

[Esoteric]

Then, here is the center stage area upstage in the youth room, which is back to back with the back wall of the main worship center (and part of the electrical room). The first picture is the false wall that is part of the set and the rest are the drywall behind it.

Mike