I am new to the forum.
I would like to get some advice from those who experience a lack of noise insulation in flats that are coming from walls made out of plasterboard and not brick built.
I have contacted the home builder, and sent a video of clip of how the walls are not insulated properly.
It is so bad that you can easily hear and be affected by someone closing their car or van doors, and even more so when someone is closing their flat door gently. This has a thumping sound effect and it feels like driving over a deep pothole at over 50 mph. This is really damaging to anyone's health.
Please see attachment of a short video clip of myself lightly tapping the wall. Imagine if someone had closed their flat door strongly the whole room would shake and cause a bad lasting effect.
The home builder doesn't want to visit my property and they have denied about the lack of wall insulation, where I requested for them to use a stronger material to not absorb noise anymore. The warranty limit shouldn't be their excuse.
I would like to get some possible solutions. It's like you have to wear a crash helmet when living in this type of property.
Thanks!
What you’re describing is classic structure borne drum from a lightweight timberframe/dot anddab wall, not just missing insulation. Pop a socket and borescope a bay to confirm mineral wool and look for unsealed penetrations/back boxes, there’s usually no resilient bar and the cavity is coupling to the frame, which is why door slams outside feel like a pothole. The fix that actually works is an independent lining:
A free-standing 70–90 mm metal stud set 10–20 mm off the wall, 50–60 kg/m3 mineral wool in the new frame, two layers of 15 mm acoustic board with a damping layer between, Green Glue type, all perimeters sealed and putty pads on boxes, mass alone won’t kill the 80–120 Hz thump
Get an ANC/IOA airborne/impact test against Approved Doc E
A fail gives leverage with the builder, a pass points to flanking so you target that lining on the worst elevations. Cheap proof-of-concept: temporarily batten one bay and add 18 mm ply + MLV
If the thump drops, the full independent wall will solve it
Hopefully this helps as much as it helped me once