Soundproofing a brick wall separating residential properties using the ReductoClip Direct to Wall System

ReductoClip™ Direct To Wall System Case Study for the effective soundproofing of walls against noisy neighbours

Mr and Mrs Billanie live in a 3-bedroom 1950’s semi-detached house and although they have a great relationship with their neighbours (we know not everyone is this fortunate) they were hearing a lot of airborne noise from next door. Anything and everything from the TV, talking and sometimes raised voices and shouting and occasionally dogs barking.

Mr and Mrs Billanie also have young children in their home (as do their neighbours) which means there was also the noise from the children, talking, playing and running.

As well as airborne noise, there was no carpet in their neighbour’s lounge, which meant they often heard the impact noise of footsteps on the floor. Mr and Mrs Ballanie wanted to soundproof the party wall of their lounge, which is where most of the noise from their neighbours was being experienced. Their lounge is directly opposite that of their noisy neighbours lounge. 

Before soundproofing an existing wall, the following questions needed to be answered:

• The type of wall, is it a stud wall or a solid wall? - in this case it was a solid brick wall
• What is the type of noise being heard? Airborne (e.g. TV noise, conversation) or Impact noise (footsteps, doors banging) or is it a combination of both? - a combination of both
• How loud is the noise on their side of the wall? - sometimes loud levels, being able to distinctly hear clear words and conversations
• Is there a chimney on the wall? - yes, with a log burner 
• If so, if you do an ear test to the chimney when hearing the noise, can you hear it coming through the chimney breast? - yes, muffled airborne noise could be heard

Does soundproofing a wall work both ways?

Mr and Mrs Billanie also asked if they soundproof their wall, would their neighbours also hear less noise from them? They were conscious that if they could hear their noisy neighbours, then they could also hear them. Not only did they want to soundproof their party wall to reduce unwanted noise from next door, but they were pleased to learn that the wall soundproofing would also give them more privacy within their own home, by reducing the noise next door were hearing from them too. 

The ReductoClip Direct to Wall System

Mr and Mrs Billanie didn’t want to lose the 120mm from their alcoves that the ReductoClip Independent Stud Wall System requires. Although, it is worth noting that this ReductoClip Independent System still delivers the lowest amount of space loss at 120mm than any other independent wall soundproofing system on the market.

Because of the level of noise Mr and Mrs Billanie were experiencing from their noisy neighbours, the advice from The Soundproofing Store was to therefore go with the ReductoClip Direct To Wall System. Because the ReductoClips are attached directly to the wall (without an independent stud frame) the space loss from their alcoves would only be 60mm.

Benefits of the ReductoClip™ Direct to Wall System

The ReductoClip™ Direct to Wall System is an innovative soundproofing solution, designed to completely isolate walls. Reducing the transference of sound vibration energy, whilst also blocking airborne noise.

• Delivering the highest level of soundproofing with minimal loss of space within the home (13mm - 17mm thinner than all other clip systems)
• Creates a room within a room, de-coupled from the existing structure - offering a high level of soundproofing
• Outstanding performance against noisy neighbours - bringing peace and quiet to the home
• The perfect solution for soundproofing against medium to loud levels of noise such as clear conversation, TV noise and music - as was being experienced by Mr and Mrs Billanie
• Suitable for use on a solid or stud wall
• Dual rubber design, meaning the ReductoClip is able to absorb different sound frequencies - achieving a higher wall soundproofing performance than other clips that feature just one layer of rubber
• Wider furring bars for easier plasterboard fixing - wider bars mean a larger surface area on which to attach the acoustic plasterboard, meaning an easier installation process
• Indents within the furring bars have a central and middle groove, which makes finding the midpoint on the furring bars far easier to work with when butting together the acoustic plasterboard
• Outperforms resilient bars by up to 7dB - a much higher performing system
• Exceeds Part E Building Regulations (not relevant to this particular case study)
• DIY install - can be installed by a competent DIYer or tradesperson - Mr Billanie did the whole installation himself with the help of a friend

What about soundproofing the chimney breast?

There was a chimney breast in the lounge of the wall in question, but it was only the alcoves that were going to be soundproofed. This is because:

• In most cases the chimney breast doesn’t need the same level of soundproofing as the alcoves or wall 
• Soundproofing is all about adding mass and chimney breasts are normally constructed from a double layer of fire bricks
• Fire bricks are far heavier and more dense than the standard bricks (usually) used in the alcoves
• There is often a small air gap behind and the same double layer of fire bricks on the neighbour’s side and this naturally makes the chimney more soundproof than the alcoves

However, there are exceptions, e.g. if the neighbour has removed the chimney on their side of the wall. This was the case with this room in question, with a log burner on Mrs and Mrs Billanie’s side and a removed chimney on their neighbours’ side. In this instance a simple ear to the chimney breast served enough to show that some sound was being heard through the chimney breast. The advice would be to soundproof the external chimney breast with soundboard 4. There is also the option to soundproof behind the log burner and then attach a fire-retardant board behind the fire. In this instance the fire was too close to the backwall to do this. Which meant the ReductoClip direct to wall system was fitted on the alcoves only and the chimney breast remained as it was.

ReductoClip™ Direct To Wall Soundproofing Testimonial 

Mrs Billanie says: "The ReductoClip Soundproofing System has been absolutely brilliant. We are really pleased with it. It was really easy to install, we've plastered and decorated over the top and you can't even tell it's there. It's made a huge difference. The noise transfer in our semi-detached house and our neighbours has really massively reduced. It's really nice to know we're not going to annoy each other, with the kids being too noisy, or the dogs barking.

We really thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is worried about noise, or just wants that little bit extra privacy in their home."