We went the rock wool route too, and while it definitely quieted things down, it wasn't exactly magic when it came to footsteps or bass-heavy music. I remember thinking, "Did we just spend all that money to still hear my neighbor's late-night furniture rearranging sessions?" 😂
Then someone suggested resilient channels, and honestly, I was skeptical at first. But after biting the bullet and installing them (which was a bit of a pain with our crooked old beams), it really changed the game. Like you said:
"Adding resilient channels later made a huge difference, especially with low-frequency sounds like heavy footsteps or furniture moving."
Couldn't agree more. If anyone's on the fence about whether insulation alone is enough, I'd say pairing it with resilient channels is definitely worth considering. It's one of those upgrades you don't fully appreciate until you're finally enjoying some peace and quiet at 2 AM...
We did the insulation-only thing at first too, and yeah, it helped—but not enough to stop the neighbor's midnight bowling tournaments upstairs. Eventually, we added resilient channels and a second layer of drywall with Green Glue sandwiched between. Honestly, that combo was the sweet spot for us. It's not 100% silent, but now it's more like distant background noise instead of feeling like they're rearranging furniture right above our heads...
We went the insulation-only route too, but honestly, in an older house like ours with creaky floors and thin walls, it barely made a dent. Curious if anyone's tried combining soundproofing methods with carpeting or rugs upstairs—does that help dampen foot traffic noise much?
We actually just tried adding some thick rugs upstairs after our insulation-only attempt didn't really do the trick. Honestly, it did help a bit with the footstep noise—especially the sharper sounds like heels or kids running around—but it wasn't exactly a miracle fix. The creaks are still there, just a little less noticeable. I think the rugs absorb some of the echoey-ness (is that even a word?), but if your floors are really creaky, you'll probably still hear them.
One thing we noticed was that thicker rugs with a good pad underneath seemed to make more of a difference than thinner ones. We started with some cheap thin rugs, and those barely helped at all. Upgrading to something thicker and denser was definitely worth it. Still, I'm curious if anyone's tried anything more heavy-duty, like those soundproof underlays or mats specifically designed for noise dampening? Wondering if those would make a bigger difference...
We went the heavy-duty route with those soundproof underlays you're mentioning, and honestly, it wasn't a huge improvement over thick rugs. It helped dull sharper noises a bit more, but creaks still came through pretty clearly...might depend on how old your floors are though?
