Homeowners
Question: Charlotte R. / Homeowner (Marion,
OH)
We are renovating our basement and are trying to use environmentally
friendly products wherever we can. We will have a bedroom, laundry room,
powder room and home theater down there once the renovation is complete.
We want to use some sort of insulation in all the walls down there to
help muffle the sound from one room going into the others, but we don’t
want to use the standard fiberglass insulation. We’ve heard about other
types of insulation made of recycled materials. Can you help us find the
right product that will muffle the sound as good as or better than
fiberglass?
Sound-Answers.com
Consider using UltraTouch Natural Cotton Batt Insulation by Bonded
Logic, Inc. (www.bondedlogic.com). It contains no chemical irritants, no
VOCs, no formaldehyde, is Class A fire-rated and is made of 85%
post-industrial recycled natural fibers. It will achieve similar STC
ratings (read about Sound Transmission Class in Sound-Answers.com’s
resource
center) as the lesser desired fiberglass insulation. This
product is distributed locally near your home by Advanced Fiber
Technology (www.advancedfiber.com) in Bucyrus, OH. Call or email Sandi Luethold at 419-562-1337 or
info.aft@wavelinc.com.
Beyond the question ~ Also consider using 2 layers of gypsum wall board for the bedroom and sealing all gaps and cracks with a paintable, nonhardening, latex caulk. Consider solid core wood doors (not hollow core) with rubber/neoprene weather stripping.
