10 Best Floor Soundproofing Materials

The optimal material for soundproofing a "floating" floor in an apartment is the thickness of "Shumoizol" is only 4 mm. The coating is mounted end-to-end with mounting tape and does not take much time even for non-professional builders. At the same time, the canvas is placed on the walls to the thickness of the future screed so that the concrete does not come into contact with them. At the same time, the index of noise reduction transmitted through the vibration of interfloor ceilings of houses is at least 27 dB - not bad at all for 4 mm.

Also, this material can be used on top of a screed or wooden floor as a substrate for laminated parquet or other flooring. Processing in this way does not have any difficulties at all and can easily be performed by the owner of the apartment during repairs. At the same time, the use of the Maxforte acoustic membrane will increase the comfort of housing to the level of elite houses. In parallel with its intended purpose, sound insulation provides a reduction in the level of vibration transmission of the building and has waterproofing properties.

Cork flooring is distinguished by high sound insulation characteristics, which allows you not to resort to additional work in order to reduce external acoustic vibrations in the apartment. But there is also a technical cork that can be used as a substrate on top of a screed or a regular wooden floor on logs.Being an environmentally friendly natural product (sheet material is obtained by pressing with cork tree resins), this material is perfect for residential buildings whose owners suffer from allergic reactions.

The use of sheets with a thickness of 10 mm makes it possible to achieve a reduction in impact noise by 20-22 dB, and sound waves are damped in both directions - the vibrations coming from the apartment will also be significantly muffled. The advantage of using cork can also be resistance to moisture absorption, high fire resistance, as well as the fact that it is absolutely not a breeding ground for microorganisms and fungal molds. Despite all the advantages, this is far from the most demanded material for sound insulation, largely due to its high price.

Despite the existing bituminous film layer (at the same time it serves as an excellent protection against leaks), the Shumanet material for sound insulation due to the top layer of fiberglass is resistant to high temperatures and humidity. It can be successfully used under a screed to organize a “floating” floor and has high sound insulation performance, which makes it possible to achieve an apartment comfort class of at least “A” (luxury housing). It is also often used for soundproofing acoustic studios and other rooms in which external sound vibrations should be minimal.

The floor material has several varieties, but the most interesting is the Shumanet Combo soundproofing, which has an additional sound-absorbing layer (5 mm thick) and better efficiency.Its reduction index reaches 26 dB, which is confirmed by a number of tests. The presence of a certificate of conformity allows you to safely use this material to improve the comfort of residential apartments and private houses.

The properties of this material allow it to be used for completely different purposes. It will also fit for arranging sound insulation, and the indicators of acoustic wave suppression will be far from ordinary. So, when organizing a “floating” floor and with a thickness of a polystyrene foam plate of 20-30 mm, it will be possible to reduce the noise level to 23 dB (50 mm will increase the figure to 41 dB, but in apartments such sheets are rarely laid - impractical). This indicator can be increased by almost half due to the additional use of a sheet substrate with a thickness of up to 5 mm in the design. The thickness of the screed poured from above is also important.

It is up to a soundproofing specialist who has not only knowledge but also practical experience to calculate the required amount of layers to obtain the best results. In any case, the level of sound insulation in terms of efficiency is at least three times higher than stone wool, and the service life is about 90 years (without ultraviolet access).

Long established as an excellent soundproofing material, felt is still successfully used to provide acoustic comfort, which is especially important in apartment buildings.The special popularity of this material is due to its low price, environmental friendliness and a number of other technical advantages. This product is made from 100% safe raw materials, and, in addition to the best soundproofing properties, it has the ability to absorb heat and vibrations. The expediency of its use lies in the ability of felt to provide a reduction in times of not only external, but also internal noise.

For the best indicators of sound insulation of an apartment, a special felt with a built-in membrane or acoustic felt, which differ in thickness and shape of release, is suitable. It is equally successfully used for soundproofing both ceilings and floating floors. The low cost of the material makes it possible to increase the number of layers of felt for better noise reduction efficiency.

The Texound membrane is an innovative product on the market of soundproofing materials presented by the Spanish manufacturer Texa. A distinctive feature of this substrate is increased strength, and at the same time the best elasticity values, which are maintained down to -20 °C. The developers managed to create a material similar in its characteristics to the best natural sound insulator - lead. At the same time, the basis of the Texound membrane is only environmentally friendly aragonite with a complex of necessary polymers. Also, this product has a minimum thickness of 3.7 mm and at the same time the largest specific gravity.

Soundproofing a house with the help of Texound is guaranteed to reduce the level of a wide variety of noises by at least 2 times, which is quite enough to ensure comfortable living conditions in an ordinary apartment.The membrane can be used both for soundproofing walls and partitions, and for floors under a parquet board, laminate or concrete screed. This material meets the requirements of fire safety and is absolutely not affected by microorganisms.

The multi-layer noise-absorbing pad, which is based on type C fiberglass, is characterized by increased resistance to maximum loads. This soundproofing material demonstrates the best stability of the declared characteristics, regardless of the degree of mechanical stress and the length of service life. At the same time, despite the small thickness (only 4 mm), this substrate provides impact noise absorption up to 29 dB and is one of the most effective for floor sound insulation.

Vibrostek-V300 can be used as a soundproofing layer directly under the floor covering or under the concrete screed. In the second case, it is necessary to additionally provide reliable waterproofing. Laying this underlay, taking into account all installation recommendations, guarantees not only the best acoustic effect, but also surface leveling. This material is produced in large rolls up to 450 m long, which is very convenient for arranging floor sound insulation in large areas (offices, luxury housing, etc.).

The material is distinguished by an affordable price and a good sound absorption coefficient, reducing the level of acoustic vibrations by 23 dB. And this is with a thickness of 12 mm (possible maximum is 25 mm).Perfect for a house or apartment, because it can be laid on top of a screed or wooden flooring. The declared sound insulation parameters are provided by the material from which the slab is made - fine woodworking waste of coniferous wood pressed without glue fillers.

With good sound insulation, isoplat will be the best solution for owners suffering from allergic reactions. Due to the use of paraffins, the sheets are resistant to moisture absorption, while maintaining high vapor-permeable properties. Laying on a concrete base allows you to immediately perform two tasks - isolate the apartment from unnecessary noise from below and prepare the base for laying flooring (usually parquet boards). The material perfectly evens out small differences and irregularities, saving the cost of removing these defects.

This building material for soundproofing the floor is supplied in rolls and has different thicknesses, from 6 to 10 mm. In direct proportion to this indicator is the degree of sound insulation, which varies from 20 to 22 dB. Representing foamed polypropylene on a foil basis, Penotherm NPP LE is suitable for concrete floors of apartments and ceilings along logs (second, third floor of a private house). It can be used as a substrate for flooring (laminated parquet, board, etc.), which greatly simplifies the laying process and reduces the cost of soundproofing apartments.

A distinctive feature of the material is its high environmental friendliness - Penotherm NPP LE does not contain fluorine-chlorine-containing hydrocarbon groups at all.Its service life is at least 50 years, during which the soundproofing properties remain unchanged.

A modern composite material for noise insulation is made in the form of a multilayer "pie" consisting of a metal film, fiberglass and a binder bitumen-polymer mass. Great for soundproofing both concrete floors and joists. Its difference can be considered ease of installation - "Technoelast Acoustic" is supplied in rolls and is great for organizing "floating" floors or underfloor heating systems.

In addition, it additionally performs the functions of waterproofing, which will be quite useful for housing in apartment buildings. Laying "overlap" and a good adhesive base provides a durable and sealed layer. As for the main properties, Technoelast Acoustic provides a reduction in impact noise by 27 dB. The metallized film as a screen reflects a significant part of the acoustic waves, providing high sound insulation performance with a relatively small material thickness.