Need a sound barrier
Julie Zedrick
last month
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Susan L
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Hedges - for Privacy and Sound Barrier
Comments (18)We have pyracantha, lady banks, green hopseed, and a yellow flowered vine who's name escapes me now. The only one that grows fast and covers a big space is hopseed. The only mess it makes is from the female plant 1/year when it blooms and drops them all over the place. The lady banks grows reallyfast and long. It s not really hard to trim it to keep the tendrils on your side. You can kind of pull them back over to your side of the fence and tuck them in sideways to spread it out, or just cut them. Very forgiving in whatever you do to it. There is a yellow and a white, it sounds like you have room to try a lot of things. Oh yes, re: roses, remember that they drop their leaves in the winter so there would be some open space for a couple of months....See MoreTrees for sound barrier
Comments (12)Quite right, Shazam. That's why I specified north-Calgary and outlying (I'm actually in one of the bedroom communities outside of Calgary's north limit), and mentioned my observation about the Brandons I've seen in my area. The downtown and inner-city areas are also quite a bit more sheltered, which the Brandons prefer. I'm not quite so densely urbanized, and get the north and west winds blasting pretty good XD Pudge, the Zoo's gardens are still lovely and should still be seen. They're well chosen to keep their interest in the fall and winter months, as well as our brief growing season, and they are a fine example of what can be made to grow here. Just not so practical for us on the blasted-heaths *lol* I'll be looking forward to their native-plants conservatory, as I'm working towards a lot of native grasses in my lawn and native flowers in my gardens. What can I say, I'm a lazy gardener *lol* Thanks for the advice on the Techny cedars. I asked around a few more sources and was pointed in the direction of the Wicheta Blue Junipers, which apparently do well enough in my area that one seller warrenties them. Spruces are good windbreaks but they're just not dense enough to be a good sound barrier. The densest spruce I've seen is the "Alberta", and apparently its like the cedars in requiring shelter from the winds (how ironic, a tree named Alberta that doesn't thrive in Alberta......) We "test-drove" a couple of Wicheta Junipers (shoved three together in a row, crouched behind them to see how much we could hear the highway XD ) and they seem to be good candidates. Pricey, alas... Thanks for your help, all! Its muchly appreciated. (where's Luv2gro, i'd've thought she'd've pounced me by now XD ) Le meas -==- Katzedecimal...See MoreLVP in condo with concrete floors - Sound Barrier Underlayment
Comments (8)#1....Good luck with LVP in a condo. #2. I hope you have a second option other than LVP As you have just discovered, LVP is HORRIBLY difficult to get into a condo. The reason: it does NOT LIKE underlayment/underpad. The attached underpad is 'nothing' in the acoustic world. The only product that has a hope in H3LL to get anything close to 'decent' numbers = mass loaded vinyl (MSV) underpad specifically designed for LVP. It cannot be anything thicker than 2mm. This is hard to find. You will often find 1.2mm - 1.5mm. If you can find the 2mm stuff it will be quite expensive. The QuietWalk is 1.4mm. And then you have to convince the condo board that what YOU want is going to meet THEIR requirements. You need to KNOW the type of building construction it is. Then you have to find out what the condo board WANTS TO SEE (STC/IIC/Delta IIC). If your condo is currently 70% carpet, you will most likely need to provide documents that PROVE your choice of LVP (withOUT underpad) plus QuietWalk underlayment MEETS or EXCEEDS the requirements by the HOA or condo board. I used to sell cork flooring and cork underlay and use to help clients and condo boards SET requirements that were REALISTIC for their situation. Vinyl RARELY made it into 'up-down' apartment buildings. Especially if they were wood construction....See MoreHardwood floor sound proofing without a vapor barrier.
Comments (6)Cork underlay with 3mm or 6mm = awesome sound deadening properties. It can be used with a glue down install or a floating wood floor install. Do NOT nail through. QuietWalk has the ability to be NAILED down. This is SUPER important if you are looking at a nail-in-place hardwood. Yes acoustic underlayments are 'expensive'. The acoustic value is HARD to achieve. It takes TONS of engineering to get it right. Quietwalk, once pierced should become a vapour retarder = acceptable over wood. I know it 'feels' expensive ($1/sf = $1400 more) but NEVER go cheap on flooring. Ever. The biggest complaints people have with wood floors on a second floor = noise transfer from up-to-down. And the second biggest complain = noise transfer down hallways and underneath doors. If I told you, for a mere $1400, you could get rid of BOTH issues would you think it a great insurance plan? Probably. I counsel my clients to think of their floors as if they were a roof. How much did you spend on the roof? Did you go cheap with the insulation or the water protection (eaves, downspouts, etc)? Probably not. A floor INSIDE takes the SAME ABUSE as a roof on the outside. It is the SINGLE MOST abused 'finish' in your home. Everything touches the floors. Gravity means anything that goes up must come down...and when it comes down it makes noise. A good acoustic insulation will make you happier than a floor without. Go ahead and get people to turn on a stereo upstairs on the wooden subfloor. Now get them to talk on their phones or talk to one another in the same room (as the stereo). Stand down stairs and see how much you can hear. Now move to a room on the same LEVEL as the stereo and close the door. How much do you hear? A wooden subfloor has roughly the same acoustic value as wooden floors. What you hear today is what you can expect to hear TOMORROW. How happy will you be with that level of noise transfer? Roughly 90% of people can't stand it. The other 10% couldn't care less. The question becomes are you part of the 90% (I know I am) or are you in the 10% camp?...See MorePatricia Colwell Consulting
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