Icynene - Minimizing Noise Pollution with Icynene?

Is this really better than normal batting? http://www.icynene.com/quieter/ Sure it seals cracks, but otherwise...

From the web site: "When Icynene® is sprayed into walls, ceilings and floors, building occupants are uninterrupted by airborne sound (human speech, stereos, and plumbing runs) and flanking sound (sound transmitted through the building structure)." How on earth is spraying foam into a cavity going to stop FLANKING noise? That makes no sense! To stop flanking noise, you have to decouple, break the flanking path. Spray-on foam cannot do that. There is also not one single bit of acoustical data in their technical specification sheet. They give plenty of data on the thermal properties (which may or may not be true), but nothing at all on the acoustical properties, and no explanation at all as to how it might manage to magically stop flanking noise! I think I'd be highly skeptical of those claims. When manufacturers make amazing claims that defy the laws of physics, then provide no data at all to support those claims, it's a sure sign that the product probably does not actually perform as advertised. If it did, they would proudly publish the figures. Since they don't, it makes you wonder what they are afraid of revealing... - Stuart -

Soundman2020 wrote:

From the web site: "When Icynene® is sprayed into walls, ceilings and floors, building occupants are uninterrupted by airborne sound (human speech, stereos, and plumbing runs) and flanking sound (sound transmitted through the building structure)." How on earth is spraying foam into a cavity going to stop FLANKING noise? That makes no sense! To stop flanking noise, you have to decouple, break the flanking path. Spray-on foam cannot do that.

I have to say, that claim didn't exactly make me believe in the product...

Soundman2020 wrote:

There is also not one single bit of acoustical data in their technical specification sheet. They give plenty of data on the thermal properties (which may or may not be true), but nothing at all on the acoustical properties, and no explanation at all as to how it might manage to magically stop flanking noise! I think I'd be highly skeptical of those claims. When manufacturers make amazing claims that defy the laws of physics, then provide no data at all to support those claims, it's a sure sign that the product probably does not actually perform as advertised. If it did, they would proudly publish the figures. Since they don't, it makes you wonder what they are afraid of revealing... - Stuart -

Another thing is that it seems like the foam is airtight all the way though (is it called "closed cell"?) and becomes somewhat stiff. I cannot stop thinkng that this, if anything, couples the walls. But what do I know...

Let's face it, anything manufactured by use of Castor Oil just has no place in a musicians life!

Without considering any sound related qualities, and having dealt directly with this product, I would never use it in my home or anywhere close, and advise my friends building homes or whatever the same. My concern would be the toxic fumes which would gas off of this product in the event of a fire, IMHO you'd be toast (no pun intended) in a matter of minutes. Just my two cents...

Well, for a residential structure, it is better suited and seems that the fire rating on it is not anything to be concerned with: http://www.icc-es.org/reports/pdf_files ... R-1826.pdf Overall, it performs better then standard insulation due to it being sprayed in which fills cracks and can dampen flanking noise. But how much flanking is a home owner worried about, really? Most hear the word and think you just made up some shit :) But for what goes on here, it is of no use.