I have a semi-detached house, and the party walls have very poor sound attenuation. They're 2x4s wall with no insulation, and drywall or lath and plaster in various sections. When my neighbours are having a loud conversation, I can understand what they're saying. I have done a fair bit of research on the methods commonly used for sound attenuation, with my main resource being AVS Forum (those home theatre nerds are the best). However, I haven't come across a thorough account of someone retrofitting a party wall as I plan to do. I'm fairly certain I want to build a staggered stud wall, perhaps with double drywall and green glue between the sheets. Definitely put in some safe'n'sound batts. I like the idea of the isolation clips, but they're super expensive, you can't hang heavy stuff on them, and it's easy to short circuit the system with an errant screw. From what I've read, the studs in a staggered stud wall can be offset by about 1". Has anyone here done this? What did you use for furring strips? Did you use acoustic sealant between the new framing and the existing structure? How was the difference in sound transmission?
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