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Sound insulation of wooden floors in a frame house: screed, calcined sand, double ceiling

This WordPress post discusses the sound insulation of wooden floors in a frame house using a combination of screed, calcined sand, and double ceilings. This method of soundproofing offers a number of unique advantages, such as complete absorption of sound waves from the outside, as well as good insulation of floors from moisture and cold. When the screed is applied to floors, calcined sand increases elasticity by forming air gaps. The double ceilings add to the effectiveness of the soundproofing, creating an acoustic barrier and further mitigating outside noise. This combination of materials is cost-effective and reliable, making it perfect for ensuring the soundproofing of wooden floors in a frame house.

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One of the main problems of timber-framed buildings is the low stability and resonance of the floors. It is quite simple to eliminate such a disadvantage: in our instructions we will tell you about suitable materials and methods for arranging both interfloor and attic floors in a frame house.

Sound insulation of wooden floors in a frame house

The main problems of frame floors

The owners of frame houses, who were seduced by the cheapness and speed of construction of this type of buildings, over time begin to experience certain inconveniences. Due to its design features, a hollow floor on wooden beams remains wobbly, vibrations are easily propagated through it, and the ability to absorb noise is considered one of the lowest.

Among the standard technical solutions, there are mainly options with filling voids with stone wool in the format of mats or bulk material. However, due to its low density, the mineral filler is not able to absorb noise, and its tendency to shrinkage forces, over time, to resort to disassembling the floor and its repair.

Overlap insulation with bulk basalt wool

There are also problems with insulation: to create a full-fledged thermal protection belt, cotton wool must be laid without gaps in order to exclude any hint of air circulation inside the shell of the frame structure. To solve all the indicated problems at once, it is not enough just to correctly fill in the filler, you need to think over the structure of the floor in advance and bring it to certain technical standards.

What should be the structure of the floor

To ensure stability, damping vibrations and full-fledged sound insulation, the floor should withstand a load of about 120-130 kg / m2 over operational. This is necessary in order to use as part of the filler a heavy bulk material that can effectively absorb mechanical vibrations. Also, to eliminate floor vibrations over the floor, a semi-dry or conventional cement screed with a thickness of 40-50 mm is required.

The most optimal material for the construction of the frame is considered to be a LVL beam with a width of 200 mm. However, due to its low prevalence in the domestic building materials market, developers have to look for alternatives. This may be a premium calibrated board, but this option is not suitable for everyone due to the high cost.

LVL bar

For a frame house, a cross-overlap device is appropriate: two rows of load-bearing beams 100×50 mm, located transversely. This design greatly facilitates the laying of communications across the location of the beams, which is especially important when installing air heating. The cross frame is highly resistant to deflection and provides the ability to easily separate the core and noise-absorbing filler.

Overlapping a frame house from cross beams

The main disadvantage of cross beams is the need for double-sided rigid floor cladding. Mechanical connections between the beams only allow to eliminate the displacement of the bearing beams, but they cannot compensate for the loads associated with eccentricity. In addition, the presence of heavy filler and screed on the floor obliges to use plywood with a thickness of 10 mm or more OSB 12-14 mm.

Choosing the main filler for overlap

The traditional floor filling material, mineral wool, has several disadvantages. It cakes and loses its properties over time. In addition, due to vibrations of the upper skin under dynamic loads, it is possible to carry out small fibers into the habitable space, which are harmful to health..

Loose materials for floor insulation

Free-flowing fillers such as perlite, vermiculite, foam glass or mineralized chips are relieved of these disadvantages – the most accessible material with the lowest possible density should be chosen. In the simplest version, woodworking waste can be used in the form of shavings soaked in lime-cement milk. The high hygroscopicity of slaked lime prevents the formation of mold and mildew, and the availability of materials makes it possible to use them everywhere.

Loose materials for floor insulation

It is important to use chips: due to the elasticity of the longitudinal fibers, it retains its shape for a long time and is not subject to shrinkage. In addition, a sufficiently large size will allow filling the floor cavities with minimal weight gain..

Soundproofing materials

In the case of frame ceilings, it is impossible to do with such superficial techniques as pasting the ceiling with foamed rubber or using acoustic drywall. Such materials help to reduce the residual sound transmission, but the propagation of impact and structural noise can only be ensured with the help of vibration damping filler..

As such it is convenient to use coarse river sand. To avoid caking and the formation of harmful microflora, the sand must be washed and then calcined. A similar procedure can be performed by yourself using a brazier in the form of a steel sheet, under which a fire is made. Also, calcined sand can be purchased packaged in bags..

Drying sand for soundproofing floors

Separately, it is worth considering methods for preventing the propagation of constructional noise from floor beams to walls and vice versa. It is difficult to get rid of this phenomenon in a frame house, but the installation between the floor beams and the crossbar of gaskets made of EPDM rubber or PSUL helps out well.

Interfloor device

Filling and soundproofing work should be started at the stage when the frame is treated with fire-retardant impregnation and dried. First of all, the lower plane is hemmed with plywood, while the joints between the sheets should be located in the center of the bearing beams.

Before filing the ceiling, it is imperative to nail a vapor barrier from below to the beams, glue the canvases at the overlap and abutment to the walls. So it is possible not only to protect the overlap cake from moisture, but also to prevent the filler from spilling.

Plywood ceiling filing

The calcined sand is poured into the bottom of the cake in a layer of 7–8 cm. The filling is done without compaction; it is advisable to add a powder insecticide. Protection against colonization by rodents is ensured by careful sealing of the junctions between the skin and the supporting elements of the frame.

Sound-thermal insulation cake of a wooden floorSound-thermal insulation cake of a wooden floor

After filling the sound-absorbing layer, it is covered with synthetic burlap or geotextile, then a layer of the main filler is poured on top, mixed with fire retardants. After sewing the upper plane, a screed is performed over the floor. Protection against the leakage of cement laitance is ensured either by a film or by careful sealing of all joints and cracks using a waterproofing mastic.

Concrete screed for wooden floors

A screed device is optional, but highly recommended. A hard layer on top of the floor allows you to eliminate the echoing and at the same time loads the skin, due to which all possible gaps are selected and the floor ceases to be a “trampoline”. There is no need for reinforcement, but the layer should be quite massive – about 40–45 mm for a simple and 60–70 mm for a semi-dry screed, the construction of which the portal described in detail. After drying, the plane is corrected with a self-leveling mixture..

Attic floor device

With the soundproofing of the upper floor in the house, the situation is much simpler, because there is no need to fight over the absorption of shock and structure noise. Soundproofing is required only if the roof above the cold attic is covered with a material that creates a pronounced acoustic effect during rain. Mineral wool and any bulk filler copes well with such tasks..

The main difficulty in filling an attic floor is to eliminate any possible air convection paths. To do this, the insulation must be inserted into a spur and at the same time all joints and junctions must be carefully sealed. You shouldn’t forget about vapor barrier either: in the pie of the attic floor, it is strictly required and is located immediately above the lower cladding.

Thermal insulation of the attic floor with ecowool

Ecowool is considered one of the best materials for insulating attic floors. Its only drawback is a high shrinkage coefficient, but it is more than offset by the high maintainability of the attic floor.

Thermal insulation of the attic floor with ecowool

If the attic is used only for storage or is not used at all, it is advisable to abandon the fastening of the upper sheathing, simply covering the beams with boards or any sheet material. Thus, the insulation will be well ventilated, and if necessary, there will be no additional difficulties associated with dismantling the attic floor. With this version of the sub-floor device, protection against rodent infestation is performed by fixing a fine-mesh steel mesh over the beams.

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Comments: 2
  1. Skylar

    Is the combination of screed, calcined sand, and a double ceiling sufficient to provide effective sound insulation for wooden floors in a frame house?

    Reply
  2. Mia Price

    Could you please provide more details about the effectiveness of sound insulation for wooden floors in a frame house using screed, calcined sand, and a double ceiling? How does this combination compare to other sound insulation methods for wooden floors?

    Reply
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