[ANGRYKOREAN]

My house has a finished basement which has become a living quarter. Unfortunately when the basement was finished we did not take sound or floor traffic noise into account. With that being said, it's aggravating trying to sleep in the basement room. I wake up at least 3-4 times from floor traffic noise. I've bought ear plugs rated at 32 decibels but I still wake up, not to mention they are uncomfortable and not a permanent solution.

Here's what I'm working with.

The subfloor is 40+ years old so you can imagine how many floor creaks it must make (I'll shim or screw these areas). But I can also hear TV's and every foot step. There's no insulation or anything, plus the basement has recessed lighting which I think allows the sound to easily come through.

I've been reading up on soundproofing materials and I understand how to use some of the materials but if I were to follow this knowledge then it would point to some kind of resilient channels with thick drywall. My concerns are my low ceilings, I really don't want to lower them anymore. I'm looking for any alternatives to killing the noise. Maybe I could take down the ceilings and attach mass loaded vinyl to the back side? Add some insulation inbetween floor joists? Or maybe I could just simply change out the sheetrock panels with quietrock panels? Or green glue 1/2" quietrock panels onto the existing sheetrock panels.

Anyone with experience? Recommendations?

 

[Ron6519]

Sound deadening insulation and the sound deadening sheetrock for below.
Carpeting for the floors above would give you a more muffled sound.

 

[WirelessG]

I don't know a lot about sound proofing, but I had cellulose insulation blown in when I built my house and it filters out a lot of noise.

 

[jklingel]

I agree w/ Ron, and ADD the new sheet rock, don't replace the old w/ it. Mass is needed to stop noise. Can you deal w/ a noise that is a constant "hum"? If your brain will turn it off, it will help w/ what is coming from above.

 

[ANGRYKOREAN]

Sound deadening insulation and the sound deadening sheetrock for below.
Carpeting for the floors above would give you a more muffled sound.

Sound deadening insulation and sheetrock is what I wanted to do. I'm curious as to how much noise that will actually stop though. From my understanding the floor traffic noise that is killing me is caused by vibrations through the floor joists. The insulation will take care of airborne echo noise inbetween joists but I'm curious as to how much noise can be killed by simple insulation + quietrock and green glue.

Carpeted floors are not an option because it was actually changed from carpet to laminate. But on this topic, I wonder if trying to stop the noise from the floor level would be cheaper and easier. I.E., removing laminate flooring and laying down mass loaded vinyl or something.

I don't know a lot about sound proofing, but I had cellulose insulation blown in when I built my house and it filters out a lot of noise.

I have been looking at the sound deadening insulation specifically. The ones that are 5" thick and made out of cotton fibers. I don't know anything about insulation so I will also look into this cellulose material. Especially since the ceilings are already finished, it might be easier to have the stuff blown in instead of tearing down the ceilings.

I agree w/ Ron, and ADD the new sheet rock, don't replace the old w/ it. Mass is needed to stop noise. Can you deal w/ a noise that is a constant "hum"? If your brain will turn it off, it will help w/ what is coming from above.

Yeah, I've been reading up on different ways to soundproof existing ceilings and it would seem that adding sheet rock on top of the existing sheet rock with green glue is one of the cheapest and easiest methods. I just don't know how much I need to soundproof to be content. For example, would 2 panels of 5/8" sheetrock green glued together with insulation inbetween joists be enough for floor traffic noise? Most sites recommend sound clips with drywall attached to channels, etc. for floor noise.

Also, I have no problem dealing with the constant "hum". I have tinnitus in both ears so I always hear ringing when it's silent. I can block out that ringing with any white noise .