Case of Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound - 12 Tubes

The main point you need to know is that GG and an extra layer of drywall can help...but don't expect anything too dramatic from just that. My problem was noise coming from a downstairs bedroom (darn kids!) going through the ceiling and into the master bedroom. So, I went all in:1. Rip out the existing drywall ceiling. This isn't terribly hard; cut the drywall tape along the corners with a utility knife, then start a hole somewhere with a drywall saw (or hammer if you feel like it) and start pulling sections down.2. Screw strips of drywall to the underside of the exposed upstairs floor with a layer of GG in between. Building codes aside, I would suggest using as few screws as needed to solidly secure the panels. For ALL new drywall, use the heavier 5/8" sheets; mass is your friend. The floor will be normally be about 3/4" thick, so 1.25" drywall screws will work nicely for the first layer.3. Add a second layer of GG'd strips of drywall to the underside of the floor. If you have the patience and ambition, run a bead of acoustic sealant around the edges (so none of the floor is exposed.) At this point you have two layers of drywall and two layers of GG clinging to the underside of the floor. For this layer, you'll need longer screws to reach the floor (such as 1.75")4. Attach whisperclips (or other sound isolation clips) to the bottoms of the trusses or floor beams (to provide support for the new ceiling.) This will take some thought, taking into account that the furring channel (25 gauge, 7/8") should be placed two feet apart, with clips at the ends and every four feet in between. You'll also want to carefully position one of the steel channels where there will be a joint between sheets of drywall (so both sheets can be screwed onto it.)5. Clip furring channel into the clips. I found it easiest to mark where I wanted the ends to be, screw those clips into place, then clip in the channel, and then add any additional clips. (The channel is flexible enough that you can pull it down enough to slip more clips on it.) A common frustration is where to get these steel channels; I found them at a regional home supply store (Menards), or some Home Depot stores carry them. You may have to mail-order them in the end. RESILIENT CHANNEL is NOT an alternative! (This is the stuff that has holes cut in it. You want the solid stuff for use with clips.)6. Install a layer of insulation. You actually want open insulation (such as the cheap fiberglass rolls) rather than closed-cell foam. I went with thick R-19 faced rolls.7. Screw the first layer of 5/8" drywall to the furring channel. Your 1.25" drywall screws will work for this. To hold the sheets of (fairly heavy) drywall in place while you work on them, you'll either want to rent a panel lift or have a couple of strapping young lads to take advantage of. ;-)8. Seal the edges and any gaps with acoustic sealant.9. Time for more GG! Now, the second layer of 5/8" sheetrock goes up! Goop up the backside of a sheet with a random pattern of GG, using around two tubes per 4'x8' sheet. If you wish you can increase the dose to about three tubes for a small additional gain in damping. The GG is fairly watery, and dispenses quite quickly and easily. These are the 'big' tubes; you'll need a large caulk gun (not the smaller size often used for caulking in bathrooms, etc.) Repeat until the entire second layer of drywall is up (with a layer of GG in between the layers.)10. Seal significant gaps with acoustic sealant or expanding foam or such. Finish and texture as you normally would with drywall.Did it work? YES! Before, even normal conversational voices could often be heard between upstairs and downstairs bedrooms. Now, even with music at a 'high normal' volume (ie. about as loud as a sane person would want to listen to music for an extended period at) it remains dead silent in the other room. It was a lot of work (and all told, materials and tool costs ran close to a thousand dollars for about 170 sf of ceiling/floor) but I'm very pleased with the results! Now, it's hardly an absolute barrier to sound; loud noises (like somebody really rocking out with their stereo or loud yelling) can still penetrate. But normal noise is no more!A few closing thoughts...GG cures very slowly. It can still be tacky several weeks after being dispensed, so it's not surprising that it doesn't take full effect for weeks. It does generally easily wash clean with water, although if a film of it dries on your hands it can be hard to completely get rid of the tackiness. The smell is very mild and inoffensive.If you have ductwork running through the ceiling, consider making some soundproofing efforts there as well (such as by wrapping it with an adhesive mass loaded vinyl type product.) If there is a duct feeding into the room through the ceiling, the gap between it and the new ceiling can easily be filled with expanding foam insulation, and the grill simply screwed onto the new drywall.Light fixtures will need some consideration. Surface mounted fixtures can be easily removed; after feeding the wires through holes in the new ceiling, seal up any gaps with expanding foam or acoustic sealant. The light fixture itself can be secured to the ceiling with anchors and bolts (look around your local home store.)If you have recessed lighting, they need special attention; search for how to assemble a box around them to prevent sound transmission through the fixture.Good luck! It's not a small project, but if peace and quiet is important to you, there is definitely hope!

Quiet apartments are important to me. And I’ve made a number of them now. Green glue, decoupling clips, hat channel, insulation, and added mass are parts of a complete noise reducing system.Using green glue between layers of drywall, 4 layers of 5/8 drywall in all (2 under the floor and 2 hanging from hat channel attached to clips) as well as mineral wool insulation I’ve been able to reduce noise between up/down neighbors to next to nothing. I can play 80dB radio up or down and can’t hear it in the other. Impact noise is also reduced but to reduce it even more I’ve added additional tile board upstairs (more mass) with more green glue and rubber isolation mat under a floating floor. Now my lower bedrooms cannot hear upstairs neighbors walking about.Results are excellent. I’ve now rehabbed several old up/down duplexes making them livable and quiet for all my guests. Makes me happy.

I havent seen a bad review here from anyone who has a clue.1. This is neither caulk nor silicone.2. RTFM: do your research before getting into a complicated project like sound dampening.These people writing bad reviews obviously have not.3. Sound isolation is a VERY expensive project. If you balk at the $20 to buy a bigger caulk gun then this project is clearly NOT for you. Thats a drop in the bucket. If you think one tube of liquid and one more layer of sheetrock will turn your bedroom into a recording studio, think again. Im looking at you; dude who thought he could use one tube for a whole wall.4. At the minimum you will need: 2 tubes of Green Glue per piece of sheetrock, two sheetrock layers, caulking (doesnt necessarily have to be specialized soundproofing caulk, but I would recommend it) and rockwool insulation. For optimum results without breaking the bank, buy different sheetrock thicknesses for each layer. This helps to isolate more sound frequencies. Stagger the sheetrock layers so the seams dont match up.5. If you really want results youll need: Whisper clips with channeling, a quality brand of rockwool insulation, 3 Green Glue tubes per sheet, 2 layers of drywall/sheetrock (absolutely NOT plywood) in different thicknesses, and Green Glue soundproofing caulk (caulk EVERYTHING, top plate, bottom plate, between sheetrock seams). This is as close to complete soundproofing as you can get in an already existing structure.

Well I used this product on a wall i share with a noisy neighbor! The existing wall consisted of metal studs, pink insulation, and 5/8" drywall on both sides.I bought 2 cases of Green Glue, 1/2" Celotex insulation foam board and 5/8" drywall for this project!I put 1 1/2 tubes of glue on the foam board and secured it to the existing drywall and then taped the foam board seams with duct tape. After that I put another 1 1/2 tubes of Green Glue on the 5/8" drywall and secured that to the foam board!!! Now on my side of the wall i have 1 5/8" drywall, Green Glue, 1/2" foam board, Green Glue and 5/8" Drywall!!! You would think that that would do the trick but it hasn't! I think it reduced the sound by 20%-30%!!!! The Green Glue says that it will take approx 30 days to cure and until it reaches its full potential. Since i have 2 different layers of Green Glue I'm wondering if its gonna take longer since the first layer is behind the foam, GG and drywall. I think if this doesn't get better im gonna add a layer of the 5/8" Quiet Rock!!!