Insulating and sound proofing a walk out basement

Baby H
by Baby H
I'm looking to finish my roughed in basement. It has 1/2 concrete walls and 1/2 stud walls with some pink insulation. It will be a true game room so I want to make sure I sound proof(specially the ceiling and stair well area. So should I do something like a rigid blue on the concrete area?, just do a good pink R30 something, moisture barrier, spray foam, wedges any ideals?
  4 answers
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Mar 27, 2013
    Homasote is one of the leaders in sound proof products. http://www.homasote.com/ If you are realyy looking to soundproof many will use isolation blocking or channels. http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing101/4-elements-of-soundproofing-for-construction/ Of more concern from the sound would be moisture instrusion, insulation etc.
  • We recently just did a basement just like the one you described: http://craftprocontracting.com/contractor-blog/archives/26-Basement-Finishing-Renovation-in-Madison,-NJ-07940.html - it is going to be a bar and game room also. We simply insulated between studs against masonry walls with XPS foamboard insulation at a 2" depth so it didn't require a moisture barrier. We left the ceiling un-insulated to allow the basement to "breath" (hot air rises). The 1/2" drywall ceiling provided adequate sound-proofing but if you want to take it a step further you could consider QuietRock or Resilient Channels (KMS Woodworks provided some excellent tips and links in their comment), though it will be considerably more expensive.
  • Baby H Baby H on Mar 28, 2013
    Thanks KMS and CraftPro, I have checked out the site and I will google that XPS foamboard. I just put in supply/ductwork/return down there so now with all the bulk I'm going to be going with a drop ceiling. Someone mentioned Vinyl tiles for the ceiling for sound proofing. I'm guessing that may be something different than the actual regular ceiling tiles so I will have to do some quick searching..
  • Grouchy Grouchy on Apr 30, 2015
    I have used (can't remember the name) the kind of insulation that is a nasty brown and comes in mats or loose. Unlike the pink fiberglass stuff, this is made from slag so the fibers are very irregular (you can see this on the material) and thus don't transmit the sound waves well. Fiberglass which has very regular shaped fibers not so much. I wrapped a sewer main line that came from an upstairs bathroom, closed in the wall with sheet rock and it worked quite well! Flush away!