Solutions and Treatments for Walls
Walls are expected to separate the spaces in which we live and work from weather, view, and noise. Unfortunately, in most residences and workplaces, walls do not provide the degree of acoustic privacy that most would want. In homes and businesses, especially those located in high traffic areas, noise enters through exterior walls. It also travels through interior walls from room to room and can affect your productivity and your ability to carry on a conversation, or it can just create stress. We have a range of wall construction solutions to improve the environment of the spaces you occupy.
TuffMass-UL will enhance substantially the transmission loss of a given wall assembly. Including acoustic fiberglass or mineral wool insulation in the cavity between studs will further improve the acoustic and thermal performance of the wall. For areas where there is a significant low frequency or base component to the problem noise — or a need for the highest level of privacy — decoupling the two wall surfaces is highly recommended.
Interior Walls
One of the most basic yet effective treatments for reducing noise is to add TuffMass-UL to standard stud wall construction. TuffMass-UL is stapled to the face of the studs and a layer of drywall installed per standard practice.
Where it is not possible to open the existing wall, TuffMass-UL can be added over the existing drywall and a second layer of drywall hung to finish the wall.
For walls requiring a higher level of noise reduction, we offer isolation clips. These resilient clips isolate one leaf of the wall assembly from the other. By isolating one panel, the transmission path through the stud is broken, reducing transmission in the mid-range, or speaking, frequencies and greatly improving low frequency performance. This treatment is highly effective for areas around media rooms, dividing walls between offices and work spaces, or any other areas where significant base frequency noise is problematic.
Exterior Walls
Treating exterior walls with TufMass UL is a highly effective solution in all types of wood-framed, CBS, or similar construction. Adding TuffMass-UL behind the drywall is a proven way to increase privacy and keep out unwanted noise. Using mineral wool or acoustic fiberglass insulation in the cavity between studs will increase the effectiveness of this treatment and improve the efficiency of your HVAC system.
For existing interior walls, a layer of TuffMass-UL can be added on top of existing drywall, finished with a second layer of drywall.
In areas with a high housing density or abutting heavy traffic areas, we recommend using a system that includes our RSIC-1 clips. These clips will decouple the inner skin of the wall and break the transmission path for noise coming through the assembly. This treatment is particularly effective against low frequency noise, such as the rumble of trucks, lawn mowers, and other common causes for complaint. Because this treatment requires opening the wall to the studs, this is an opportunity to install mineral wool or acoustic fiberglass if better thermal or acoustic insulation is needed, which also helps keep your home or office warm in the winter and cool in the summer.