I just completed the installation of a HRV system in a new house. The bedrooms all have supply ducting feeding air to the rooms via a 6″ round duct in the attic. Now we went to great lenghts to make the rooms as sound proof as possible with stagger stud walls and wall deading insulation. Now the problem, my clients can hear everthing that there teenage daughters say in their rooms and I guess the daughters can hear all that goes on in the master bedroom. Question? Is there a sound baffle of some sort that can be installed in the duct to prevent this sound???
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Skim-coating with joint compound covers texture, renews old drywall and plaster, and leaves smooth surfaces ready to paint.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
Fine Home Building
Follow
-
Fine Homebuilding
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial Now -
GBA Prime
Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
Obviously a quick trip to a culture where 4 generations eat, sleep, have sex, etc. all in a one room house would be the easy (for you) fix. :-)
Consider a car mufffler. It greatly reduces the noise transmitted in air through metal pipe. A similiar arrangement in the ductwork will help a lot. You want to reduce line-of-sight or single-bounce paths between people having sex (parents or teenager) and those listening (teenager or parents, respectively). Sound absorbing material (acoustical foam or even carpet) on the interior will help a lot. The duct work functions so well as a "wave-guide" because shallow-angle sound gets a good bounce off the metal. Force it to do some 180-degree bounces (the more the better) and consider covering those surface with acoutisically "dead" (not hard) materials. Good Luck.
Thanks for the advise David. I don't think my clents want to go back to the cave man days! John Taylor, Wrangell, Alaska