Better Soundproofing of existing walls

My studio is part of my home. For the first year we didn't have a neighbor but now we do about 40-50 feet from us with no wooded area in between the two homes. When the studio was built, all inside and outside walls were insulated with rockwool. The sound leakage outside isn't bad at all but now that we have a neighbor I want it to be even less. The good news is that I have about 8 inches to work with to add on to the existing outside walls of the drum room and guitar room because of the ledge formed from the brick foundation. You can view 3 pictures here to give you a better idea of what I have to work with: I'm not a construction guy at all so please bare with me. Should I just add another layer of insulation and drywall to make the top part of the wall be flush with the bottom foundation? Would something like Auralex Resilient Channel help as well? On the outside of the studio on the wall facing my neighbors house is vinyl siding if that makes any difference. The other outside walls are brick. Would it help at all the plant some sort of trees or put up a fence in between our houses? Thanks for your help!

Hey seawell welcome to the forum, Please:

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

And check out forum guidelines: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 I'm to new to studio design to comment on your situation. Sketch of existing area with all material, dimensions (Width, Length & Height) will help others and maybe even myself comment on your project. Marc

Hi Marc, Thanks. O.K. the location has been updated. I'll post a sketch of the studio floorplan a.s.a.p.

Aloha Seawell, Thanks for updating your profile. :wink: Isolation is accomplished using the mass-air-mass principle, however adding "another layer of insulation and drywall will give you "three leaf" construction, which is what you want to AVOID if possible. Since you already have your inside and outside walls insulated with rockwool, what you could do is: Interior 1) remove any molding around the floors, ceiling, windows, etc. and check if there are any gaps where the drywall ends. If so, (more than likely ) caulk all the gaps with acoustical caulk (not the same as regular caulk), using a backing rod first if the gaps are too big. 2) lay 2nd layer of drywall, overlapping seams (if visible) of the first layer, again, caulking all gaps. 3) lay 3rd layer of drywall, overlapping seams and caulking all gaps. Exterior Depending on your budget and how much effort and $$$ you have/want to put into achieving isolation, the best case scenario would be to remove siding, add 1-2 layers of plywood overlapping seams and caulking all gaps (between layers if more than one), then reinstalling siding. You might also want to consider whatever window and ceiling issues may exist.

Would something like Auralex Resilient Channel help as well?

Not unless you were planning to remove the first layer of drywall, then mounting RC, and then 2-3 layers of drywall, caulking between layers.

On the outside of the studio on the wall facing my neighbors house is vinyl siding if that makes any difference.

Not much difference isolation wise (doesn't help.) Here's a few links for some great info: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125 Hope this helps. Looking forward to your build! Aloha 8)

Thanks guys for your help. Sorry, but I can't seem to find the floor plan right now. I forgot to mention earlier that the ceilings are 15ft high. Does the insulation in the attic picture look sufficient or should I do some more up there as well?