I think that the issues of noise as it relates to our homes is a topic of vital interest and nearly every project I’ve worked on in the last few years has done some type of special sound proofing. Every time I talk about soundproofing in my video blog it always generates interest, so I think we’ll be hearing a lot about building quiet homes in the coming few years (not just media rooms either).

Sound-blocking drywall

I’ve had great success with QuietRock in past projects because it’s an off the shelf project that makes soundproofing relatively simple. Just swap regular 1/2″ or 5/8″ sheetrock for QuietRock and you will make a huge difference in the STC rating of your wall. However, I hear two concerns about their product.

#1 Availability:  Until recently it had to be purchased from specific drywall supply houses.

#2 Cost:  It’s roughly $40-50 per 4×8 sheet (just materials) so a large wall of soundproofing can be expensive.

Regarding availability, I recently saw it stocked at my local Lowes! The price was competitive to the supply houses and they carried the accessories. They had the putty pads for covering outlets (QuietPutty) and tubes of the soundproofing compound (QuietSeal) on the shelf.

A more affordable soundproofing option

Regarding the cost factor, I wanted to find some alternatives to QuietRock and I found a product called Green Glue. I ordered a case online and it came to my office in a week. It’s basically a viscous material that goes between two layers of sheetrock to help minimize sound transmission through the wall cavity. It’s about half the installed cost of QuietRock and, if installed correctly, should yield a similar result. Here’s a video I took of the soundproofing we did in a new home my company is building in Westlake with Barley & Pfeiffer Architects.