Soundproofing a floor will reduce impact noise, airborne noise or both. All of our acoustic floor solutions are designed to exceed the UK Part E Building Regulations for the passage of sound. (43dB or higher for airborne noise and 64dB or lower for impact noise).

Different systems offer different levels of noise reduction depending on the level and type of noise needing to be blocked and the current construction of the floor.

No soundproofing will offer 100% reduction, however installing soundproofing will dramatically reduce noisy neighbour or unwanted noise.

*dB results will vary depending on several factors.

Learn more: Why dB results may vary

The short answer is yes. Soundproofing is like waterproofing and is only as good as the weakest point. Sound can travel through very small gaps, so if you were just to soundproof part of the floor you would be wasting your money. 

The best way to soundproof a floor is to:

  1. Improve the mass of the floor to help block airborne noise
  2. Improve the ability of the floor to absorb sound energy and vibration (footsteps). Without this, the addition of mass will have very little effect on helping to block impact noise
  3. Use acoustic insulation (such as acoustic mineral wool) between timber joists to eliminate sound resonating and amplifying in this potential sealed chamber
  4. Use different materials of high mass. Different materials perform better for different sound frequencies, so using a combination of high mass materials will perform better than simply more of the same material

Yes, SoundMats act as a luxury carpet underlay for soft floor finishes, however some hard floor finishes such as thin laminate, vinyl and also tiles may require a 6mm hardboard first. Please refer to the SoundMat installation guide for more details.

For hard floor finishes, an alternative to look at is the Reverso SoundMat which has a built in stable base for most final floor finishes.

Depending on the chosen solution, soundproofing a timber floor can help to reduce impact noise (footsteps) travelling from the room above to the room below. 

Timber floor soundproofing can also help to reduce airborne noise travelling from below to the room above or from the room above to the room below.

Our soundproofing solutions can all be installed by a competent DIYer and over 80% of customers install the systems themselves. For those that don't, then a local tradesperson will have no difficulty installing our solutions. We supply detailed installation instructions and videos and are only ever a phone call away should you have any questions (01423) 206208.

Learn more: Installation