How it works
Created with real-life soundproofing needs and easy application in mind, Green Glue improves your quality of life at home and work.
Discover Green Glue technology
Green Glue offers a unique range of soundproofing materials perfect for new builds and renovations. Our flagship product, Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound, is a viscoelastic compound that effectively dampens sound vibrations. It’s the most popular and affordable soundproofing choice, offering a quick, easy, and effective solution.
Tired of noise pollution?
In today’s busy world, unwanted noise can be a constant distraction. From upstairs footsteps to nearby traffic, it can disrupt your peace. Soundproofing is a worthwhile investment to improve your living environment, reduce fatigue and stress, and can even increase your property value.
The affordable choice
Green Glue products are economical and versatile, suitable for both new construction and renovations. Discover the benefits of a quieter life with Green Glue.
Interior noise 
Exterior noise 
Impact noise 
Flanking noise
Understanding sound transmission
Noise is so prevalent that we often only notice when our surroundings are extraordinarily quiet. Yet, it is possible to create spaces where noise is mitigated by measuring sound travelling from room to room, which is acoustic insulation which provides acoustic resistance. Understanding Weighted Sound Reduction Index (Rw) is critical in selecting the building materials to achieve the optimal level of silence you desire.
Rw values are an established way to measure how much noise is insulated by building materials (walls, doors, windows, etc.). Increased Rw values are a sign of sound isolation in residential and commercial spaces. While you may be familiar with higher decibels means more noise, which is bad, the opposite is true in Rw values. A high Rw rating, such as 60, means less noise is travelling from room to room. Green Glue Noiseproofing products make high Rw ratings achievable with minimal expense compared to other noiseproofing options.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound is not assigned one particular Rw value on its own. Rather, the compound increases the Rw rating of the building assembly it is used in. To review various wall assemblies, please visit the extensive test data available here.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, to achieve LEED certification, minimum STC ratings must be met or exceeded. For more information on STC ratings as it relates to LEED Certification, please click here.
Understanding the benefits of noiseproofing is easy when you exist in a place that has properly sound proofed through damping. Put simply, damping is about reducing or eliminating stored energy created by sound. If you put up a wall between two rooms and the wall has no damping, sound in one room will simply pass through the wall and enter the next room as sound. To achieve isolated sound, apply the best damping on the market.
Damping first works by reducing the vibration caused by sound, known as resonance, and then by dissipating this vibration as it travels through a structure. At most frequencies, a wall’s mass resists airborne sound, and the heavier the wall the more difficult it is for sound to vibrate the wall’s surface. At some frequencies, however, it is difficult to prevent sound from vibrating surfaces. These frequencies are called resonant points.
If a structure has low damping, sound vibration can travel across it for great distances. In fact, poor damping of common building materials like plasterboard or wood is largely responsible for the noise problems that homeowners experience.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound dampens a wall structure by reducing the energy transfer of noise between one room and another. The Compound significantly reduces structure-borne sound reduces flanking noise as well.
Are you jolted by the sound of neighbours or cohabitants that constantly seem to encroach on your privacy? Or are you a night owl, making noise at times that others do not appreciate? Interior noise can ruin the peace of sleep or your ability to concentrate when working. Whether it’s music, the rumble from a home theatre system or conversations that are always a bit too loud, Green Glue Noiseproofing compound is meant to make your space feel more secluded.
Unwanted music from a stereo system, loud noises from a home theater, a noisy washing machine – we all have it in our homes, but we often fail to account for it when planning new construction or considering it in renovation projects.
While in the planning stages of any construction project, work to build noiseproofing solutions into your specifications. Your architect or general contract can assist with this.
Renovating may present more challenges than new construction, but Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound works perfectly to simply add on top of existing structures. Apply Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound and an additional layer of drywall to the existing ceiling if airborne noise, not impact noise, is the primary concern.
Walls
When it comes to noiseproofing walls, first decide whether to work with the existing walls (non-destructive upgrading), or to demolish existing walls (destructive upgrading). Destructive upgrading is more effective, but it costs more and requires more time.
Here are some wall noiseproofing tips:
Remove direct air paths between rooms by sealing cracks covered by wall trip, unsealed doors, and pathways that involve the ventilation system.
Add an extra layer of drywall with Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound. Just adding a plasterboard layer alone may only improves a wall’s Rw rating by 2 points. But when Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound is added with the additional mass, the performance dramatically improves — as much as 12 Rw points with a single additional layer of plasterboard, and 16 Rw points for a double layer.
Note: Avoid using lightweight plasterboard as mass will typically help with sound reduction.
Ceilings and Floors
When feasible, add insulation during a renovation project:
Blow flexible insulation into the ceiling cavities, filling them, if they aren’t already insulated.
If ceilings can be removed, you have a good shot at reducing most of the noise from the floor above.
Next, upgrade the ceiling with Green Glue products and other materials using one of these methods:
For the most effective sound isolation, separate ceiling joists and wall studs with double drywall and Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound.
Use sound clips like Green Glue Noiseproofing Clips or spring ceiling hangers with double drywall and Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound; or clips or staggered studs with Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound on the walls.
Install a resilient channel and Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound with double drywall on the ceiling and furring or directly screwed plasterboard with Compound on walls.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound and double plasterboard screwed directly to the joists and studs.
Avoid using lightweight plasterboard as mass will typically help with sound reduction.
Note: Do not use sound clips, resilient channel or spring ceiling hangers over existing drywall as this creates a triple leaf effect.
UNDERSTANDING THE TRIPLE LEAF EFFECT
In its simplest form, a triple leaf wall is a wall with TWO air cavities, not just one as in a typical wall. (In case you’re curious, a quadruple leaf wall would be a wall with 3 air cavities).
Why is a triple leaf wall a bad thing? After all, it would seem to make sense that any wall structure that has more air cavities for the noise vibration to cross would be more effective at reducing sound transmission. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The reason lies in the science of resonance. Decoupling isn’t effective at all frequencies. If you take two layers of plasterboard, and separate them with an air space, it doesn’t necessarily improve things at low frequencies. For example, the deep bass from your neighbour’s subwoofer might pass easily even through decoupled walls. The air in the cavity creates a continuation of the vibration, called resonance. To attain good low frequency performance, this resonance must be as low in frequency as possible, however for any given mass and space, a triple leaf wall will always have a higher resonance point than a standard double leaf (single cavity) wall.
Insulation
Many homeowners think that simply adding insulation will improve noiseproofing. While insulation is important, you may find that insulation alone will not provide enough sound isolation between rooms. Insulation often provides significant noise reduction unless the noise is structure-borne or flanking noise is present. If insulation is not added to the cavity, the compound is not expected to perform as well.
Here are some tips:
If you have conventional walls or ceilings, structure-borne vibrations and sounds pass easily from one side of the wall to the other, and insulation does little to help.
Insulation works best if your walls are decoupled, i.e., there are no mechanical connections between the two sides of the wall.
Don’t be tempted to use dense insulation thinking it will work better at isolating sound. It can be more expensive and actually raises the resonance of low frequencies.Bottom line: insulation alone will not get rid of noise, but the inclusion of insulation in a cavity can have a tremendous impact when coupled with Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound.
You might be as quiet as a mouse, but the world outside is a noisy place. Traffic, a passing jet plane, or the blare from your neighbour’s lawn mower. A lot of the most bothersome noise occurs at low frequencies – the type most difficult to isolate.
You can’t control the noise around you, but you can do a lot to prevent exterior noise from ruining the inner peace and tranquillity of your home or office. Windows and doors let in a lot of noise, often more than the walls. If your budget allows, invest in deep, high-performance windows and doors.
Impact noise occurs when an object collides with another object, and you usually hear it from the floor above you. Examples include footsteps, a chair sliding across a wood or tile floor, or an object falling on the floor. Impact noise travels freely through a structure and through air pockets. The diagram below illustrates all the pathways that impact noise travels through when a ball hits a bare floor.
Reducing Impact Noise
The best way to protect reduce impact noise is to stop it at the source, before it has a chance to travel.
Here are some tips:
Carpet and Pad
By absorbing most of the energy caused by a falling object, a soft carpet and thick pad cushion are perhaps the most effective tools in controlling impact noise, especially at mid to high frequencies when noise can be at its most annoying. In many cases this is all you need to take care of impact noise problems from above, however this solution is less effective for isolating low frequency noise. It’s important to note that carpet and pad will do very little to reduce airborne noise.
Resilient Underlayment
Resilient underlays made from recycled rubber mats, rigid fiberglass, foam, cork or other materials have much the same effect as a carpet and pad. By absorbing energy, they are effective in reducing mid- to high-frequency impact noise. If the underlays have mass (i.e., rubber) they will also provide some benefit for airborne noise.
Resilient Mounts
Hanging resilient channel, or Green Glue Noiseproofing Clips (or other modern sound clips) or spring ceiling hangers from the ceiling can greatly reduce the impact noise from the floor above. Installation of such products will always require removal of the existing ceiling to avoid the triple leaf effect.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound Application
Applying layers of Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound to the floor above is effective at damping airborne noise, but NOT greatly reduce impact or other structure-borne noise. The compound dissipates the vibrations caused by sound waves as they move through a structure. The compound is applied between two rigid materials (for example, OSB subflooring), and unlike other noiseproofing options, it reduces noise at all frequencies.
Insulation is Important for airborne noise but does little for impact or other structure-borne noise. To help reduce airborne noise from traveling between rooms, you should always include insulation in ceiling cavities.
Noise finds all sorts of pathways to travel through, some direct and others indirect. It’s those indirect pathways that are referred to as flanking noise, and it’s an important concept to consider when renovating or remodelling your home or office.
The diagram above illustrates how noise travels from one room to another. Direct noise is represented by the red arrows – the straight line from the noise source through the wall to the adjoining room. But even more noise enters the adjoining room through indirect pathways: floors, air pockets in ceilings, ductwork, etc. To reduce the amount of noise traveling from one room to another, consider creating a special design just for that room. For example, you could use staggered or double studs, or decoupling such as Green Glue Noiseproofing Clips.
If you are a musician or in the voice recording industry, you may need a superior level of noiseproofing. In this scenario, consider designing a “room within a room.” This is where a double row of studs are combined with separate ceiling joists, effectively eliminating practically all mechanical connections between the room and the rest of the structure.
Here are some other tips on how you can keep flanking noise from ruining your home renovation plan:
Get Serious About Doors
Doors are often the weakest link in a noiseproofing plan. Even if doors do not directly connect two rooms, noise can travel through doors into hallways and into adjoining rooms. Depending on your budget, you can create an oasis of quiet in your home by focusing on your doors.
Go Heavy
Be sure to use solid-core interior doors with exterior jams that have been weather-stripped with effective seals. The heavier the door, the better. Solid wood and steel have similar characteristics.
Add Weight and Damping
Adding Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound and a layer of MDF to the door can boost sound isolation performance. Check with the door manufacturer to ensure the hinges can support the extra load.
Acoustic Doors
You may want to consider specially engineered doors with high performance sealing. When comparison shopping, don’t judge by STC ratings alone; be sure to look for sound transmission loss data at low frequencies. That’s the secret to a truly well-designed acoustic door.
Communicating Doors
If a door connects two rooms directly, two communicating doors typically work much better than even the best single door. Communicating doors form an airlock that isolates noise effectively. It really depends on the quality of the doors. A single good door is going to be better than two poorly sealed doors.
Plugging Up
Another weak link in a sound isolation system is the electrical socket. It offers a pathway for noise to travel; be sure to install outlets in separate stud cavities (never back-to-back). Outlets should be properly sealed and consider adding some mass to the outlet like puddy pads, caulking or insulation.
Deconstruct Your Ducts
Noise traveling through ductwork can be very difficult to isolate. Some tips to consider include the following:
Be sure to use insulated ductwork – lined ductwork absorbs sound, but the lining must be inside the ductwork to be effective.
Make the ductwork pathways long and complex. By forcing noise to travel through complex pathways, more of it can be absorbed by the duct insulation. Use a flexible duct in areas where the duct is not exposed to direct sound. If ductwork is exposed to sound, use soffits to prevent direct exposure. If you must exposed ductwork, try using round ducts rather than rectangular.
Float Your Floors
Although these can be expensive options, using floating floors can be effective at reducing impact noise. This is a floor that has a “floating” surface on top of a resilient layer like rigid fiberglass, rubber mats, etc. The floating surface could be layers of wood, gypsum, or other material.
Seal the Deal
You may be using the best soundproofing material available, but if there are air cracks between two rooms, noise will get through. Be sure to use acoustic sealant; a good choice is water-based, low-odour Green Glue Noiseproofing Sealant. For caulking, use multiple caulk layers on partitions where sound isolation is important. Be careful when sealing around resilient mounts and follow manufacturer instructions.