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Soundproofing a Kitchen Extension
Our clients here lived in a three bed semi with a beautiful open plan kitchen extension, and they could hear their neighbours through it constantly. It left them feeling stressed, annoyed and worried about their privacy, and unable to entertain without wondering whether next door could hear everything. Soundproofing a kitchen extension like this one is one of the most satisfying jobs we do, because the whole point of the room is to enjoy it.
What makes this project worth sharing is that we did not just claim it worked, we had it independently tested. Follow along and you will see the before and after numbers, measured by accredited acoustic engineers, and hear what Quietco achieved for this family.
Two Hidden Causes Amplifying the Noise
Before any soundproofing goes in, we look for the main causes, the faults in the building that make everything else pointless until they are fixed. In this house there were two, and both were actively making the neighbours sound louder.
The first was an uninsulated steel beam, the RSJ that opened up the kitchen extension. It ran straight into the party wall as a hollow, uninsulated void, and noise was shooting along it across the whole house and up into the bedrooms above.
The second was dot and dab plasterboard, used across every wall. The dollops of adhesive leave a hollow cavity behind the board, and noise resonates in that gap like a wind instrument, coming out louder at the other end. All of it had to be stripped back and the beam opened up before we could start.
Treating Every Path, in Order
With the causes dealt with, the rest follows our four step method, and the order matters. After the main causes come the direct noise path, then the indirect paths, then the fixtures and fittings.
That meant treating the separating party wall itself, then chasing the noise everywhere else it was travelling, the steel beam, the extension wall, the wall between the lounge and kitchen diner, the chimney stack, the alcove, the flanking wall, and both the ceiling and the floor. Only when every path was sealed was the room ready for plastering.
The Fixtures That Make or Break It
The final step is the one people most often get wrong, because a single careless fitting can undo everything behind it. The skirting, light switches, plug sockets, TV brackets, pictures and flooring all went back in a way that protects the soundproofing rather than punching through it.
The downlighters are a great example. We fitted specialist acoustic boxes over them from above, which do two jobs at once, they stop noise escaping up through the lighting holes into the bedroom, and they stop the upstairs neighbour’s noise coming diagonally down through the ceiling into the kitchen.
The Tested Result, 47dB to 62dB
This is where the project proves itself. Accredited acoustic engineers carried out a UKAS accredited sound test on the party wall before and after the work, so the result is independently verified rather than just our word for it.
Before soundproofing, the party wall measured 47dB, and the clients could hear everything. Afterwards it measured 62dB, a 15dB improvement, and since the government standard is 45dB, that is an excellent result. A 15dB gain is dramatic, because to the human ear each 10dB step sounds roughly like a doubling or halving of loudness.
The real life tests said it all. With music playing, people shouting through the wall, and the neighbour’s television turned up to 80, nothing at all could be heard on the client’s side.
Fill out the contact form to book your FREE noise diagnosis call and find out what is possible in your home. Get in touch here.
A Home They Can Enjoy Again
The numbers are one thing, but daily life is the real test. In the two months after the installation, the clients said they had not heard the neighbours at all in the kitchen extension, no barking dogs, no doors banging, no conversation or music.
Tellingly, they did still hear those things in the parts of the house we had not treated, which is exactly how soundproofing works, it quietens the rooms you treat. In the extension, the room they had struggled to enjoy became a place they could relax and entertain in without a second thought, letting them stay in the home they love. If you want the same for your own home, the best place to start is a free diagnosis.
Fill out the contact form to book your FREE noise diagnosis call and take the first step towards a quieter home. Contact us here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can soundproofing a kitchen extension reduce noise?
On this project the party wall improved by 15dB in an accredited test, taking it from a level where the clients heard everything to one where they hear nothing in that room. The exact figure depends on the property, which is what a free noise diagnosis call establishes.
What is a UKAS accredited sound test?
It is a sound insulation test carried out by acoustic engineers whose competence is independently accredited, so the result is reliable and verifiable rather than a marketing claim.
What were the main causes of the noise in this house?
Two things: an uninsulated steel beam that carried noise across the whole property, and dot and dab plasterboard on the walls that amplified it. Both had to be dealt with before any soundproofing went in.
Does soundproofing one room fix the whole house?
No, and that is worth understanding. Soundproofing quietens the rooms you treat, so these clients still heard the neighbours in untreated parts of the house but not in the finished extension.
What does a 15dB improvement actually mean?
It is a very large change. Because every 10dB is heard as roughly a doubling or halving of loudness, a 15dB reduction takes noise from clearly audible to barely there.
