Most SIP manufacturers claim that homes enclosed with their products are quieter than those that are conventionally framed. But I’ve also heard that that isn’t so, that certain sounds (low frequency, for instance, while others have mentioned traffic and dogs barking) travel better through SIPs. Would anybody like to weigh in on this? The sound deadening aspect of SIPs (if it’s there) is part of their appeal for me.
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no personal experience with SIP sounds but it uses same insulation as the urethene we spray on and it does wonders for sound control. Similar foam in ICFS makes for a very quiet place too.
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I have found my SIP house to be very quiet. I don't live there full time though so the experience is limited.
LOL, since you are there part time, it is only quiet part time.
The rest of the time, you are there!;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You must know me pretty well.
naw - I'm just a shmattazz tonight;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Different materials are better at attenuating sounds of different frequencies. A mixture of materials usually works better than a single material. Foam is good for limiting the intrusion of outside noises; continuous foam is better than foam and studs; concrete and foam together is even better.
For more information, Google "STC" or sound transmission classification. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_transmission_class
Badlybent,
My house is built of SIPs and yes they are quiet, you still can hear some sounds since they come thru windows but the SIP itself is very quiet..
Have you looked at ICF's? Now that's a quiet house!
Actually if I had to do it all over again for the speed that ICF's go together as a do-it-yourselfer. I'd use ICF's for foundation and walls and SIPs for ceilings..
If I lived where termites lived I darn sure would use ICF's
(PS interested in a really cheap way to get a timberframe with either? )
I am nearing completion of an ICF house with 12" SIPs and metal roof. The wall-ceiling connection is very well sealed. It is quieter than a cathedral stick frame ceiling, but not a quiet as a well insulated flat ceiling.
We can't hear showers, but you can easily hear moderate rain. As mentioned, it depends a lot on frequency. I have a concrete second floor over a rigid foam forming system and that is very quiet over a broad range of frequencies (good thing, by shop is below the master bedroom).
Interesting side story: I was having some earthmoving done when I heard major yelling outside. Doors and windows were not installed yet. I went outside to see what the ruckus was about. A junior operator had run into a wall with his John Deer and was being read the riot act by his boss. I walked over, looked at a small chunk of foam broken out, could see no concrete cracks or large chips, told the boss I would spray some foam in and walked away. Jaws dropped and yelling stopped. Nobody inside heard the collision.
Keep in mind that windows are your biggest sound (and heat) leak. Consider minimizing windows on one side if your sound source is from a single direction, like a road, and using concrete, bermes, courtyard walls, or other high mass obstacles. Sound is not like heat. Meaningful sound levels will get through small holes and gaps. Heat loss is very dependant on area.
We have a timber frame house with SIPS on the main 32' x 40' house, built 2004, moved-in Jan '05. Windows are doug fir by Loewen - mostly double hung - 9 over 6 is traditional in NH. My wife has a home office facing north. During 2 winter oil deliveries, the delivery man filled the tank (filling tube located outside the home office) and than pounded on the door to present the invoice; he surprised my wife who never heard the operation.
During the design process, we met other homeowners who complained about interior noise transmission. It seems that their 2nd floors were built directly atop the frame; our timber-framer (Glenn Dodge - New Boston, NH ) provided an insulated 2x4 (on end) cavity to reduce most noise from 1st floor to 2nd.
To address your concern - sound in a house is not based on an element, but rather an assembly of components.
We are in the process of building a SIP house and garage/shop. We have finished the garage/shop and have spent some time there during the Northwest rains, it is nosier that I though it would be. Also other low freq sounds come thru as well. I am thinking about adding some 2x4 and sheathing to the house roof for air circulation and noise reduction, still asking around to see if this would work. A neighbor up the street has just finished an ICF house with a stick built roof, it is very quite.
Sips will transmit the sound of anything striking the surface.
Airborne sounds will be reduced drastically.I can hear sleet blowing against the house during a storm, but I don't notice when the neighbor is giving snowmobile rides to his kids until I see them out the window.It's all relative, Garett
badlybent,
My house (SIP) is extremely quiet, the only noise comes from windows. I don't care which you use (SIPs or ICF's) windows will transmit sound.
Double wall construction also transmits a lot of sound, again mainly thru the windows.. There was a double wall house built in La Jolla California built strickly to limit sound from the waves crashing on the beach and it wasn't any better than a SIP constructed home I was in a few hours before.
If you build without windows there is a tiny bit of improvement in ICF's over SIP's but remember ICF's only work on walls. You can't make a ceiling out of them so if it's rain on the roof or some other such sound Go with SIPs only fir out the actaul roof a bit fromthe SIP or do as I did in part of my house which is used SIP's on the ceiling and then I stick built regular roof trusses.. (or you can buy them prebuilt)