Noisy neighbors in the condo or apartment next door, street sounds, the night owls in your family, or that "man den" are all reasons to consider soundproofing in your home. If you are converting that basement to a rental apartment or mother-in-law suite, you may be able to sound proof and make your home more resistant to fire too. We'll show you how to spend your money wisely on both below beginning with the least expensive.

How to Stop Sound
Sound is a form of energy that travels as a wave - when that wave hits a barrier as in a sheet of drywall, that barrier will vibrate and cause the air on the other side to vibrate, thus transferring the sound through the wall. According to Trademark Soundproofing, there is no one-shot soundproofing technique that will stop noise in its tracks. They try to employ a combination of solutions to achieve solid performance.

1. Absorption- use insulation to absorb the sound coming through walls. 
2. Damping the sound by reducing the vibration between two sheets of drywall using silocone or green glue.
3. Decoupling by separating  the walls from the studs using clips.
4. Create mass by making the wall thicker by adding another sheet of drywall.

Soundproofing and Fire proofing an Existing Room
Drywall is your best friend when it comes to providing sound and fireproofing. Sheets of drywall generally range less than $7.00 for a 5/8 inch thick 8' x 4" sheet.  All drywall affords some degree of fire protection, but it's not fair to say that they fire proof a room. Although drywall is rock and water and is difficult to burn it's only fire resistant. It provides you with additional time to get out of the house before fire comes through it. The most common drywall thickness used for fire resistant installations is 5/8 inches thick.

There are three essential core types of drywall:

• Regular core drywall is fire resistant and is composed mainly of gypsum.
• Type X drywall contains additional ingredients that enhance its fire-resistive properties. The basic component added to Type X to give it superior resistance is fiberglass.
• Type C gypsum wallboard are the most fire resistant. The make-up of Type C drywall is, generally, proprietary, but its fire resistive properties are superior to Type X.

Using drywall, silicone and insultation to soundproof an existing space
Sound may enter a room via the ceiling and adjacent walls. So the ideally we want to use absorption, damping, decoupling and increased mass to reduce the sound's transmission . This is accomplished ideally with insulation and two sheets of drywall sandwiched between silocone or green glue. If your space is limited and you don't want to build another frame for the insulation batts then you can just apply green glue on your existing wall and then apply drywall over that.

On ceilings, the best approach is to first talk to the neighbors living above you to see if they are willing to install a rug or carpet on their floor to reduce the sound from foot traffic to begin with. Many apartments and condos require this.

Silicone caulking is cheap compared to green glue and may work just as well. It is not expensive, so get more than you think you will need. If you have a large wall and want to use green glue, you can buy it in large tubs instead of tubes. 

Apply a thick bead of the silcone caulk to all stud surfaces before you apply the sheetrock (see the green in the above drawings). Remember that the purpose of the silcone or green glue is to dampen the sound and prevent the drywall from vibrating. Then attach the drywall with screws or nails. Screws are actually better, because you can use fewer holes. See Instructions on how to use the green glue.   

Now, follow the same procedure and apply a second sheet of drywall. The silicone acts as a dampener and retards vibration transfer. It does an excellent job for the bucks spent. This second sheet of drywall will usually be all you will need to apply if you already have one layer of drywall up on the room. Most sound proofing experts agree that using green glue is a good investment and will significantly reduce sound from ceilings and adjacent walls. See how green glue compares to other products.

What to use in newly constructed spaces
Nothing beats the tranquility of a quiet and safe home. This is especially important if you are going to be renovating a basement and plan on renting it out to tenants. Your first concern should be sound proofing and equally important is to provoide extra fire protection to the main floor of the house. You can accomplish this using drywall, silicone or green glue and Roxul Safe and Sound insulation. 

Roxul Safe'n'Sound is an innovative insulation specially designed for installation inside your home's interior walls, ceilings and floors to reduce the transfer of noise from one room to another. It's an excellent acoustic barrier that effectively absorbs sound. That's why Roxul Safe'n'Sound is often the choice of professional recording studios.

Roxul Safe'n'Sound is designed specifically for one purpose – soundproofing. It is not intended for thermal applications like insulating cold exterior walls or attics. That's because the higher density that makes it an excellent sound barrier actually compromises its ability to prevent heat loss. So if you're objective is energy savings, choose Roxul ComfortBatt® or other insulation. 

Roxul Safe'n'Sound is fire-resistant, so installing it in interior walls, and ceilings and floors between rooms will help you create a safer home. Roxul Safe'n'Sound is made from stone, so it doesn't burn. In fact, it can withstand temperatures hundreds of degrees higher than conventional insulations. Nor will it create smoke or release toxic gases. In the event of a house fire, Roxul Safe'n'Sound helps slow the spread, and can provide you and your family with precious extra minutes for a safe escape.

Where to Buy Green Glue and Roxul Safe'n'Sound

• Locate a Roxul dealer in the U.S. or Canada
• Where to buy Green Glue