Ask Scott

Sun Herald

Sunday September 23, 2007

Scott McGregor

Q I live in a semi and we are troubled by noise from our common-wall neighbours - both their footfalls and talking. I was wondering if there was anything we could do ourselves to make our common wall and floor more soundproof?

A Noise coming through common walls is a growing problem for city dwellers with increasing population density and new, lighter weight building materials.

There are two main strategies when it comes to reducing noise: one is to increase the sound-absorbing soft materials in your home such as carpets, curtains and upholstery; the other is to install sound-insulation products to stop the sounds entering in the first place. Products I have discussed in the past are soundproofing wall cladding materials such as Barrierboard, Gyprock Soundcheck or Boral SoundSTOP. These come in a range of standard sizes that can be applied directly to the existing wall surface for reductions of up to 50 per cent or, if you have the space, applied over a series of battens attached to the wall. The battens create a space that can be filled with insulation material such as polyester batts and increase the effectivelness to 75 per cent.

If your ceilings are not already insulated with thermal insulation, this would also be worthwhile as much of the sound could be travelling through the roof space. This will not only reduce your energy bills but also help stop unwanted sound.

Q I have noticed that whenever it rains my front door will not close easily. After a few dry days this settles back to normal. Is there anything I can do about this?

A Sticking timber doors are an age-old problem. When it rains the humidity increases and the timber in the door will take in some extra moisture and swell slightly, causing jam in the jamb. The moisture will also be affecting surrounding timbers and even possibly the ground below your foundations, making things move around. This may also make your door stick.

The solution is to make a note of where the door is sticking and mark it with a pencil. Once you have done this, the tight spots will need to be planed back or even sanded back with a belt sander to ease the sticking. If you are lucky, the adjustment can be made without removing the door from the frame. If you do have to remove the door, it will be easier if you can remove the pins from the hinges rather than completely unscrewing them.

Once the door has been removed, place it on its side edge and brace it in this position to help keep it steady while you work. A door brace can be made by cutting a slot about 50-60mm wide across the side of a length of 90x45 timber, place the edge of the door into the brace slot and tap in a timber wedge to hold the door firmly in place.

You can email me your questions to: scott@otr.com.au