On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:46:10 -0600, "HeyBub"
wrote:

mm wrote:
Speaking of soundproofing, is there anything in the building code or
common practice that would indicate what separates my townhouse from
the next one?

My house was built in 1979, and I see one layer of cinder blocks in
the basement and the attic.

Is there likely to be a second layer of cinder blocks which is part of
the neighbor's house?


PS. The guy who first bought the house was cold all the time and
wanted quiet so he put another layer of sheet rock in the back of his
bedroom closets which cover whole wall that borders the neighborh,
and on the two outside walls, and a layer if cork somewhere else. I
hear almost nothing from the other house, and I'm wondering if there
are two layers of cinder block or one.

Do you have a cinder block wall or do you have drywall? If the latter, I'll
wager the drywall is attached to framing that is NOT attached to the
cinderblocks.

That would be great. In thhe finished floors, the first and second, I
have drywall, including in the back of the closet. Half of the
basement was finished too, and water damaged the bottom 3 inches of
sheetrock near the rear wall of the house. I built booksheleves there
and don't think I ever bothered to fix it. I should look adn see what
is there.

If the cinderblocks are filled with cement, that much mass
could be an effective sound barrier also.

I hadn't thought of that either, but wouldn't that slow down
construction a lot? I doubt they did that.

Perlite would be nice too, Oren, but how do I find out if it's there?