Support

Dear PoP – Does anyone have any tips on soundproofing?


Photo by PoPville flickr user DCityDude

“Dear PoP,

I live in a 115 year old townhouse and rent out my basement apartment. Nobody is overly loud or plays music or TV above a civil level, but we can still hear each other through our floor/ceiling at normal volume talking voices. Although our tenant has never complained I’m sure she must be annoyed by our dog running around our place chasing his bone and us walking on wood floors. We have our floors covered as much as possible by area rugs to help with the noise, but we can still hear her and she can surely hear us. We like our tenant and don’t want her to be chased away by our noise. Also, after living in apartments for several years and recently moving to a house my wife and I would prefer not to hear our neighbors.

I’m wondering what our options may be for soundproofing an old row house. The wood floors are original to the home so tearing them up is not an option. In the basement apartment there are drywalled ceilings that likely are screwed directly to the joists. I’m not thrilled about the idea of tearing through the basement ceilings to add some sort of soundproofing materials, but I am starting to think this may be my only option. One other important thing is that my ceiling height downstairs is just above 7ft (the minimum required for my CofO) so I can’t bring this any lower. Do any of your readers have any tips for me that don’t include turning up the volume on my own speakers? Any ideas for good contractors if I must replace the drywall and add soundproofing?”

Some options were given back in Jan. ’10. Anyone else have good suggestions?

Recent Stories

3100 14th Street, NW From a press release: “Burlington Stores, Inc., a national discount retailer offering low prices every day on brand name merchandise for the entire family and home,…

Thanks to M. for sending: “Just saw this morning, New Rule at the DC USA.”

Thanks to Ken for sending: “This was seen near the Ranger Station in Rock Creek Park this morning” J. also writes: “The USGS guys doing water sampling in Rock Creek”

978 I Street, NW Thanks to TE for sending:

You are cordially invited to the Washington Opera Society’s exclusive Christmas/Hannukah Party!

We are pleased to welcome our great opera stars to the company!

Juliette Di Bello, Manuela Tomasz Korossy, Kristin Sampson from the NY City Opera Company, and Kevin Short of the Metropolitan Opera.

Don’t miss this unique holiday concert of seasonal favorites and hit arias from the operatic repertoire sung by our cast of stellar singers. Maestro Benichou will bring his infectious energy as he leads the WOS Festival Ensemble in an evening sure to remember. Glad tidings!

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

You are cordially invited to the Embassy of Austria for a thrilling evening with Mozart. What a better way to spend Christmas and Hannukah! Our full orchestra and lead singers, some of whom sing at the Met, will appeal to teens as they begin their journey to the classics! We expect to be sold out soon…..
Get your tickets now!

Under the Gracious Patronage of H.E. Petra Schneebauer, Ambassador of Austria
~
Julien Benichou, Conductor

featuring:
Kevin Short as Figaro
Manna K. Jones as Susanna
Stephen Powell as Count Almaviva
Laquita Mitchell as Contessa
Anna Kelly as Cherubino
Maggie Polglaze as Barbarina
John Gibney as Bartolo
Leah Heater as Marcellina
Christopher Jon Hartung as Antonio & Don Curzio
Narration provided by Robin Phillips
~
Embassy of Austria
3524 International Court NW
Washington, DC 20008
~
Doors Open/Cocktails 6:30 pm
Performance including Intermission 7:15 pm
Wine Reception with Heavy Hors d’oeuvres 9:15 to 10:30 pm
~
Tickets:
Box Seats $250
Orchestra Reserved $150
Unreserved $125
Seniors (over 65 years old) Unreserved $80 [sold out]
Students with ID $50
~
Cocktail Attire

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

Holiday Part with the Terrells

Join the Terrells and many other local artists for a holiday party at The Fillmore School in Georgetown from 6-8pm on Saturday, December 16th. There will be open studios, live music, chair massages, and local businesses with holiday specials. This

12 Beers of Christmas: Local Seasonals Tasting at metrobar

Join metrobar and the team at DC Beer for a taste of 12 holiday brews, all made in the DMV by your favorite local breweries! Your ticket gets you access to the afternoon tasting with 3oz pours of each of

×

Subscribe to our mailing list