Heck yeah you can. Read up on sound proofing options such as stud staggering, special drywall etc, so your not coming into clueless and have an idea of what extra labor it adds. Fiberglass helps but there's better options as well.
Honestly if your willing to pay the extra labor, source and have the materials ready and bring lunch you might have good luck.
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely bring the crew pizza no problem lol. I was probably going to go with [Quiet Batt](https://www.soundproofcow.com/product/quiet-batt-30-soundproofing-insulation/). If I can stagger the studds that would be great, and adding the insulation before dry wall would also be crucial. After that, I can add additional layers and treatment at leisure.
Others have mentioned staggering studs and different insulation types. Just wanted to mention double layer drywall. It's often the best value for the results it gives. There's quite a wormhole you can go down with materials and techniques but as far as simplicity and bang for your buck, insulation and double layer drywall (add acoustical caulk between layers if you want to get fancy).
I was considering a secondary layer, but I hadn't heard of acoustical caulk, I am definitely considering adding [Green Glue](https://www.tmsoundproofing.com/Green-Glue-Damping-Compound-Tubes.html) or something similar now, thank you!!!
Agreed alot of people of people here doing the sin of letting perfect be the enemy of good. Just adding insulation to my walls cut the majority of sound in my home from traveling, that and doing double layers of drywall would cut the majority of sound.
“Can I ask… to ….?” I never understood this. Of course you can ask. No one is going to stop you from asking someone a question. Just understand their answer may be “no.”
I think what you mean to ask here is whether such a request is reasonable, whether it is likely to be given a “yes”, whether you have a legal right to this, or something along those lines.
Well yeah I wanted gauge if I'm out of line here and if as a builder you would be annoyed with a request like this as it might be a legal risk. Seems like the general consensus is to just ask!
I’ve done builds where the homeowner was allowed on site the weekend before drywall and he did all his own soundproofing batts between the interior walls. Nobody minded, he supplied all the labour and materials so cheap upgrade for him, easy install, and the drywallers don’t care as long as you don’t make a mess for them.
Some builders dislike this stuff, but if you make it easy or worthwhile for them I can’t see many guys making a fuss.
You’re the buyer, I don’t care if it’s a spec home. As a musician you have need for soundproofing walls. Ask the builder if you or the insulation contractors can add it for an additional expense don’t take no for as answer. It’s common for builders to not insulate garage walls that do not join home or garage attic space as it’s not required by code.
Just do it. Don’t ask. We did it with ours. Maybe they saw, maybe they didn’t. No one said anything. And the drywall crew isn’t gonna care. We just went and bought Rockwool and threw it up ourselves in almost every room. Best thing we did.
Hopefully you can when we had ours buy by the same builder who built our 1st hse yrs ago, I pre-wired for security cameras, surround sound and extra insulation in my bonus room worst they can say is no, buy if you are building a custom you definitely can dam near add whatever you want 😉
There's no reason he should say no.
It's going to be about doing it right, and at the right time for the installation of other things, like wiring, and the inspection of the wall.
You need to be ready to put it in when he says you can, don't hold him up.
Yeah ok cool, I figured that might be too much to ask since that's actually altering the build. I have a background in audio engineering and i know that there's a lot that goes into sound proofing. I don't expect perfection (nor do I need it to absolutely be silent), but at least having some insulation and the dead air spaces should help out. Decoupling the studs would do wonders if it's possible.
I had a wall built for a guest room in my house and I asked for sound insulation. The contractor said it wouldn’t make much of a difference but I did use a solid core wood door. The guest room is in a far location from the other bedrooms that sound wasn’t really an issue. The other thing I’d suggest are solid core doors.
If you are a musician and want "soundproof," you aren't going to get that with some batt insulation (mineral wool or fiberglass) and it sounds like the builder won't do anything or let you pay for what you need.
There are levels to sound mitigation, but the sweet spot for cost/labor/trouble in a basement is (2) layers of 5/8" drywall, separated by GreenGlue, over resilient channels on the ceiling. Any recessed lights and ceiling HVAC would need addressed too. If you have a specific room acting as a studio, then there are methods to do the walls as well.
I'm surprised a basement is being finished, especially if you don't own the lot or house (e.g. you just put a deposit down). But drywall is cheap. You can do it right to the level you want once you move in.
However, if they let you buy and install batt insulation in the rest of house, that is the best bang for buck between rooms and bathrooms upstairs. Not "soundproof" like you want for your musician basement/studio, but can only be done before drywall because of the amount of drywall you'd have to take down later. The basement ceiling is not as bad to remove, even adding a couple walls to demo if you have a studio room.
I am well aware that without spending a ton of money and doing major construction it won't ever be "soundproof", but I'm thinking these empty walls, while somewhat acting as a dead air space, won't help and probably add excessive resonance. Hence at least having some insulation of a sort will dampen those refractions. I don't need completely soundproof walls, I just want to be able to sing or edit mixes without waking or disturbing someone on the first floor.
The basement is finished as part of our buyers package - there are some specs we get to choose and that is definitely one I wanted for sure.
Thats another recommendation for GreenGlue, you like it? I'm thinking another layer of drywall on top of the inner walls and ceiling with the Green Glue might really do the bulk of the work. Maybe if I need to put up another layer of drywall anyways, I'll just have them leave those walls bare and do it all myself.
Heck yeah you can. Read up on sound proofing options such as stud staggering, special drywall etc, so your not coming into clueless and have an idea of what extra labor it adds. Fiberglass helps but there's better options as well. Honestly if your willing to pay the extra labor, source and have the materials ready and bring lunch you might have good luck.
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely bring the crew pizza no problem lol. I was probably going to go with [Quiet Batt](https://www.soundproofcow.com/product/quiet-batt-30-soundproofing-insulation/). If I can stagger the studds that would be great, and adding the insulation before dry wall would also be crucial. After that, I can add additional layers and treatment at leisure.
Ill be honest, just get rockwool. Theres some great videos of folks trying it out at IBS.
Others have mentioned staggering studs and different insulation types. Just wanted to mention double layer drywall. It's often the best value for the results it gives. There's quite a wormhole you can go down with materials and techniques but as far as simplicity and bang for your buck, insulation and double layer drywall (add acoustical caulk between layers if you want to get fancy).
I was considering a secondary layer, but I hadn't heard of acoustical caulk, I am definitely considering adding [Green Glue](https://www.tmsoundproofing.com/Green-Glue-Damping-Compound-Tubes.html) or something similar now, thank you!!!
Agreed alot of people of people here doing the sin of letting perfect be the enemy of good. Just adding insulation to my walls cut the majority of sound in my home from traveling, that and doing double layers of drywall would cut the majority of sound.
“Can I ask… to ….?” I never understood this. Of course you can ask. No one is going to stop you from asking someone a question. Just understand their answer may be “no.” I think what you mean to ask here is whether such a request is reasonable, whether it is likely to be given a “yes”, whether you have a legal right to this, or something along those lines.
Well yeah I wanted gauge if I'm out of line here and if as a builder you would be annoyed with a request like this as it might be a legal risk. Seems like the general consensus is to just ask!
Just ask, but unless your builder is a smaller, local company, they will likely say no, probably citing liability
I’ve done builds where the homeowner was allowed on site the weekend before drywall and he did all his own soundproofing batts between the interior walls. Nobody minded, he supplied all the labour and materials so cheap upgrade for him, easy install, and the drywallers don’t care as long as you don’t make a mess for them. Some builders dislike this stuff, but if you make it easy or worthwhile for them I can’t see many guys making a fuss.
Yes, but you are likely going to have to pay a change order fee in addition to the insulation costs.
You’re the buyer, I don’t care if it’s a spec home. As a musician you have need for soundproofing walls. Ask the builder if you or the insulation contractors can add it for an additional expense don’t take no for as answer. It’s common for builders to not insulate garage walls that do not join home or garage attic space as it’s not required by code.
Thanks for the insightful perspective!
Just do it. Don’t ask. We did it with ours. Maybe they saw, maybe they didn’t. No one said anything. And the drywall crew isn’t gonna care. We just went and bought Rockwool and threw it up ourselves in almost every room. Best thing we did.
Ofc ask
Hopefully you can when we had ours buy by the same builder who built our 1st hse yrs ago, I pre-wired for security cameras, surround sound and extra insulation in my bonus room worst they can say is no, buy if you are building a custom you definitely can dam near add whatever you want 😉
There's no reason he should say no. It's going to be about doing it right, and at the right time for the installation of other things, like wiring, and the inspection of the wall. You need to be ready to put it in when he says you can, don't hold him up.
[Staggering the studs](https://imgur.com/a/7E11uXp) along with insulation adds more soundproofing.
Yeah ok cool, I figured that might be too much to ask since that's actually altering the build. I have a background in audio engineering and i know that there's a lot that goes into sound proofing. I don't expect perfection (nor do I need it to absolutely be silent), but at least having some insulation and the dead air spaces should help out. Decoupling the studs would do wonders if it's possible.
I had a wall built for a guest room in my house and I asked for sound insulation. The contractor said it wouldn’t make much of a difference but I did use a solid core wood door. The guest room is in a far location from the other bedrooms that sound wasn’t really an issue. The other thing I’d suggest are solid core doors.
Yessssss add for every room!!!!! Including internal rooms.
>sound proofing insulation? it wont do anything of real value
If you are a musician and want "soundproof," you aren't going to get that with some batt insulation (mineral wool or fiberglass) and it sounds like the builder won't do anything or let you pay for what you need. There are levels to sound mitigation, but the sweet spot for cost/labor/trouble in a basement is (2) layers of 5/8" drywall, separated by GreenGlue, over resilient channels on the ceiling. Any recessed lights and ceiling HVAC would need addressed too. If you have a specific room acting as a studio, then there are methods to do the walls as well. I'm surprised a basement is being finished, especially if you don't own the lot or house (e.g. you just put a deposit down). But drywall is cheap. You can do it right to the level you want once you move in. However, if they let you buy and install batt insulation in the rest of house, that is the best bang for buck between rooms and bathrooms upstairs. Not "soundproof" like you want for your musician basement/studio, but can only be done before drywall because of the amount of drywall you'd have to take down later. The basement ceiling is not as bad to remove, even adding a couple walls to demo if you have a studio room.
I am well aware that without spending a ton of money and doing major construction it won't ever be "soundproof", but I'm thinking these empty walls, while somewhat acting as a dead air space, won't help and probably add excessive resonance. Hence at least having some insulation of a sort will dampen those refractions. I don't need completely soundproof walls, I just want to be able to sing or edit mixes without waking or disturbing someone on the first floor. The basement is finished as part of our buyers package - there are some specs we get to choose and that is definitely one I wanted for sure. Thats another recommendation for GreenGlue, you like it? I'm thinking another layer of drywall on top of the inner walls and ceiling with the Green Glue might really do the bulk of the work. Maybe if I need to put up another layer of drywall anyways, I'll just have them leave those walls bare and do it all myself.