Old building - Resilient channel/sounfproofing questions

[Jerry N.]

We are doing a project in an old (typical Chicago) 1890s MF building.  Upper apartments will have finished hardwood floors.  Pre-reno sound transmission through the floors was really bad and we are looking to improve soundproofing, keeping the wood floors.

Does resilient channel really work? Enough to justify the cost - $1-2/sq ft?

Who installs it typically, the drywaller or carpenter?

Has anyone used it or just insulated enough where you thought it made a difference? 

Any recommendations or insights appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

[Brandon Seyferth]

I'd check in with Soundproof Chicago for more specific advice. I've heard there are some questionable designs on the market for resilient channel.

In floors, the toughest type of sound transmission you're dealing with has to do with impact (running, jumping, stepping). To mitigate that type of sound transmission, you'll want to do what you can to decouple the floors from the structure with something that can effectively absorb or diffuse the energy of an impact. Another way to think of impact transmission is to imagine an HVAC unit vibrating away on the roof right above you. If there's no separation from the vibrating source to the solid structure, it'll be very loud where you're standing in the unit underneath. If you put something in between the source and the structure that can absorb the vibration (eg rubber soft enough to absorb and diffuse the vibration), it'll substantially decrease if not totally mitigate sound transmission due to impact.

Mid range and higher sounds are pretty easy to stop with decent insulation, closing air gaps, and mitigating propagation. When you speak with contractors who tell you they can deal with sound, they usually mean they can deal with these frequencies. Low end sounds and impact transfer are powerful and tricky to deal with. Low end sounds even grow and stack up in corners, which is weird.