Q: What strategies and products do you use to soundproof condo or condo conversion projects?
A: Soundproofing is a key issue for those of us active in the condo market. Among the products and strategies we’ve incorporated into our own product line:
- The introduction of cast iron piping, particularly cast iron ductile pipe systems, to significantly abate plumbing noises.
- The installation of STC-rated windows to dramatically reduce the impact from road noise or other environmental sounds.
- The separation of residential units with not one, but two, physically freestanding walls, each separately insulated.
- The addition of sound-retentive mats in addition to a thicker, 1 ½-inch gypcrete floor. In hard surface kitchens and bathrooms, we often install an underlayer of cork; in hardwood areas, we’ve used a sound-retentive mat as a sub-product between the hardwood or tile and the subfloor itself in addition to the “standard” sound-retentive mat and gypcrete.
— Chuck Covell is president of Bozzuto Homes in Greenbelt, Md.
— To participate in future Q&As, contact Rachel Z. Azoff at razoff@hanleywood.com.