# Anyone have experience with "QuietRock"??



## markopolo

I've seen this product used on a TV show "Holmes on Homes" up here in Canada. They used it to sound-deaden the shared wall between a pair of townhouses. The results seemed to be fantastic! I've checked out the website and found that it's an American product but is available in Canada through Home Depot as well as another local distributor (I'm told by a local AV store).

It's used just like drywall, so the ease of installation is great (according to what I've seen on TV and read through the website). However, it is about 3-4 times more expensive per sheet. Considering that the sound-deadening affect is the equivalent of 8-10 sheets of drywall, I think it's a pretty good deal! They also have other "Quiet" products for various other needs. The one that intruigues me is "QuietCoat". I think you basically paint it onto HVAC ducting & pipes etc... and it deadens them considerably. Great for me considering my theatre room will be next door to my furnace room!

Has anyone here used any of their products yet??? I would love any and all tips and advice. Thanks!


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## tonyvdb

markopolo said:


> I've seen this product used on a TV show "Holmes on Homes" up here in Canada. They used it to sound-deaden the shared wall between a pair of townhouses. The results seemed to be fantastic!


Yup, seen the show and have also heard that it is a great product as you simply need to add that over top of the existing drywall and it stops allot of the sound. However, The show your referring to also built a proper soundproof wall with isolation and staggered studs so there results would have been better.


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## markopolo

Yeah, I do recall the staggered stud wall they worked on. That's the same type of construction that the "shared wall" is done with. My plan is to add a layer of QuietRock onto the existing drywall that's there, giving a really good layer of sound insulating. I'm hoping that by putting it on the furnace room wall that I deaden the sound that can escape up through there as well!


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## John Hile

I saw that Holmes on Homes show as well. It is nice to see soundproofing as a building concern. Especially with home theaters.

I am familiar with QuietRock as well. The product works. They have a few different types of pre-damped panels. Which one were you looking at using?

A few things as a heads up.
1 - Its heavy so you'll want a buddy's help.
2 - It's a bit hard to score, so you will want to perhaps use a drywall saw.
3 - It can be a little pricey, and there are other ways to field assemble the same wall more economically.

Also, the claim of being as good as 6-10 layers of drywall depends on the assembly type and which type of QuietRock panel you use. If you have a chance to look at the test reports and assemblies that they have on their web site, you will be able to tell the difference in performance between their lowest and highest priced boards. 

Most folks don't have the luxury of being able to use a double stud or staggered stud wall, but if you can, it is a great head start for sound isolation. 

If you are attenuating your furnace room wall, keep in mind that sound may be flanking through your duct work, or doors. 

I hope this helped,

John


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## MatrixDweller

markopolo said:


> However, it is about 3-4 times more expensive per sheet.


Try 10 X as expensive. I called them way back when I was designing my home theater (2 years ago) and they quoted me $160 a sheet. They need a minimum order too but I forget what amount they said (10 sheets I think). It is great stuff and will pretty much stop almost everything from going through a wall. You still have to deal with structure borne noise going through the floor. It can also be a waste if you cut any holes in it (ie: for outlets, switches or fixtures) unless you design the inside of the wall to stop sound flanking.

IMO it's not worth the added cost unless you live next to a busy freight train track or airport. Double 5/8" drywall with green glue on staggered studs or a double wall packed with roxul is 1/2 the price and will yield a very good result. I did a single layer of 1/2" drywall and stuffed the ceiling and walls (staggered stud) with roxul and you can only hear faint low bass in the room above when it's very loud in the theater. It would probably be dead quiet in the room above if I had of used double 5/8" drywall.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...nstruction/6932-diy-home-theater-project.html

Also note that if your furnace room has a door that leads into the theater room (like mine does) then the door and it's seal becomes the weakest link. You could put 5 layers of quiet rock on but the door will let the sound through. You would have to have a custom built studio door (which would cost your $1000's) to match the STC rating. 

Be careful too...If your furnace and/or hot water heater are not direct vent types you'll also have to provide adequate combustion air. Otherwise if you seal up the furnace room so that it's nice and soundproof and no external air can get in, you could cause incomplete combustion in the furnace/water heater (wasting fuel) and carbon monoxide could build up in your house. You'd have to consult an HVAC expert on that.


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## adidino

Where do you find it anyway? I wouldn't assume home depot?


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## tonyvdb

Yup, you can get it at most of the larger Home reno places, Home depot, Lows etc.


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## MatrixDweller

I think it's special order though. When I received a quote (I think it was for Quietrock 525) I contacted them through their website (www.quietsolutions.com). Their sales department called me a few times looking to close the sale, but after I found out how much it cost it was completely out of my budget. The Queitrock would have been almost as much as all of the other material costs combined. 

Looking on their website they now advertise their 510 product for as low as $40 in a volume purchases. I would assume that it would be a little more pricey at Home Depot or Lowes.

One thing I noticed was that on the 510's product sheet it states that it's STC rating in standard wood construction is 49. If you look at the second page of the brochure you can see that it shows Quietrock on one side, drywall on the other and insulation in between on the diagram with 49 STC.

They rate standard wood with 5/8 drywall at 34. That's a little misleading and they are skewing the numbers a bit. 34 is the low end and 39 is the high end STC rating. I would assume that their 49 STC rating for Quietrock is the high end rating. To get the full STC gain you also have to seal the top, bottom and seams with their Quietseal product. I'm sure if you added Quietseal to normal drywall construction it would up the STC rating a few points also.

With normal stud configuration it shows a 10 to 15 STC gain. In staggered stud though it only shows a 8 STC gain (54 vs 47) and in double stud it only shows a 1 STC gain (60 vs 59). So it is beneficial in normal stud configuration but is about 3 to 4 times the price of drywall when you factor in the use of QuietSeal and QuietPutty. 

I think it would be most beneficial on ceilings. It's easier to handle that double 5/8" drywall and safer than resilient channel. Most ceilings can't exactly double up the joists because ceiling height (especially in basements) is critical. It's good on walls too, but there are other options that yield almost the same results (double drywall with green glue on staggered stud).


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## John Hile

That was awesome research MatrixDweller, and you are correct about using Green Glue (GG) as an better and more economical alternative to QuietRock.

QuietRock is a great product but you can get better performance at a lower price if you assemble DW and GG panels in the field. Quiet Rock is basically two sheets of drywall that add up to 5/8" with a viscoelastic damping compound in between. (about as much mass as 1 x 5/8" standard DW)

There is a reason you do not see many clear prices on QR. It's quite expensive, and in a nutshell, you will always get a better wall using Green Glue. Always.

That is not to say that QR does not work. They have Test reports available, but they are quite crafty with their Marketing department. (Look at the assemblies as MatrixDweller pointed out)

The least expensive QR is 510 and it is at $39.95/ 4x8 if you buy in bulk.

I made this comparison ( I took this information from published Test reports)

Both of these walls are: 
2x4 Wood Stud walls 24 OC R-13 Insulation (DW is based on $8 to $9/per 4x8)

(A) With 1 sheet QR 510 + 1/2" DW on one side and 1/2" DW on the other: STC 47 = $1.25(QR)+25-28¢(DW)= $1.53 Sq.Ft (QR Side)

(B) With 2 sheets 5/8" DW on each side (no GG): STC 44 (only 3pts less) = 50-56¢ Sq. Ft. (Each Side)

(C) With 2 sheets 5/8" DW w/ GG on 1 side and 1 Sheet 5/8" DW on the other: STC 52 - 79¢(GG) + 50-56¢(DW) = $1.29-$1.35 Sq.Ft. (DW+GG Side)

Keep in mind the following:

1 - You are not likely get the QR510 at the $39.95/sheet price for an order as small as yours. This price is for dealers, and very large projects. You would be paying much more.

2 - You would be paying for shipping on top of whatever price they could give you (more like $60/sheet), and at roughly 70lbs each that could add up as compared to going to your local Big Box to get your $8-$9/sheet 5/8" drywall. (Ouch!)

3 - Usual DW waste for a typical project is 15% and since you don't put GG on the board that your throwing away: Compare 2 x 5/8" drywall ($9x 2 = $18 per 4x8) to QR510 (let's just say $60 per 4x8)
GG & Drywall: $0.00/Sq.Ft GG waste and 56¢/ Sq.Ft. DW waste
QR 510: 1.88 Sq.Ft waste

Compare: 2 x 5/8" drywall with Green Glue at 89¢ sq.ft = $1.45 sq.ft
to QR510 (let's again just say $60 per 4x8) = $1.88 sq.ft. 

On a typical 1000 sq.ft.room that would be a a difference of at least $430

You will also get better performance with the 2 x 5/8" drywall with Green Glue.

So though QR works, I find that field assembled panels using Green Glue is the way to go as far as cost and performance, for both walls and ceilings.


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