The perception renters have of your property—and whether they would recommend it to their friends—can suffer greatly when they can hear every sound their neighbors make. If they often tell others how your property’s walls are “paper-thin,” the assumption is that the buildings are cheaply made and that you’ve cut corners in other places, too.
Understand Soundproofing Measures
If you frequently get tenant complaints about noise, or you’re in the midst of developing a new multifamily property and want to measure noise transmission through the walls, you’ll need to install soundproofing materials with a Sound Transmission Class rating above 50. While 45 is the minimum rating required for the walls between multifamily units, materials with that rating won’t completely dampen loud speaking. Above 50, most loud noises won’t be heard by the neighbors.
Options for Walls
Sound waves can be stopped dead in their tracks with measures to dampen and absorb them. Those options include channels that separate the walls from the studs in new construction, or a special noise-dampening glue to apply between the two required drywall panels on each side of a common wall (a cost-effective solution that deadens up to 90 percent of noise transmission). Adding just two inches of noise-absorbing insulation thickness to the walls can take an insulation’s STC rating from 45 to 57, effectively creating the privacy and quiet that apartment residents have come to covet.
Options for Floors
Noise-controlling mats installed between the subfloor and flooring materials are an industry standard. Lightweight and easy to install, they range in thickness from 2 to 15 mm, and depending on the flooring used, can provide an STC rating of at least 55. Homasote’s 440 SoundBarrier Wallboard is one product that can provide premium sound dampening and can be applied to the walls, floors, and ceilings. Made of cellulose fiber, the boards themselves (without considering drywall, insulation, mats, or flooring materials) offer an STC rating of 53.
To understand how important soundproofing can be to your bottom line, you really need to consider how important it is to your residents. The professionals at Class A Management know what’s important to renters, to owners, and to the continued profitability of multifamily property ownership. Call us today at 817-295-5959 or e-mail, info@classamgmt.com.