Which walls are on the upper floor

Hello everyone,

we are building a single-family house with a property developer.
We are currently in the process of designing the house.

In the first draft of the house, we came up with some questions, maybe you can help.

1. The plot is relatively narrow, so the first draft is without roof overhang (to build the house as wide as possible) ==> the gutter is basically on the wall.

Is it possible to do it like this or should we rather install a small roof overhang (30cm??)?

What is the purpose of the roof overhang anyway?

2. The walls on the upper floor are only supposed to be 12cm thick and made of plasterboard/drywall.

I am now afraid that these thin walls will hardly dampen sound. In other words, that you will hear every little "fart" in the neighboring room. But I want to have my peace and talk quietly without everything being heard.

Are my concerns justified?

Which walls can we install for good sound insulation? Walls made of bricks?

Just ask about the sound insulation values, however, I also fear that the sound insulation will not be particularly good

Hello,

1. ...to build the house as wide as possible ==> the gutter is practically on the wall.

That is surely meant as a joke...

What is the purpose of the roof overhang anyway?

For facades with ETICS and synthetic resin plaster, in my opinion, it is necessary => protection against soiling; with mineral plaster it is not quite as critical. With the former compared to mineral plaster, you have to clean the facade more often. A certain shading of the gable windows - depending on the orientation of the building on the property - also results from a roof overhang. "Normal" is 50/60 cm all around as standard.

2. The walls on the upper floor are only supposed to be 12 cm thick and consist of gypsum boards/drywall. I now fear that these thin walls will hardly insulate sound. In other words, that you will hear every little "fart" in the next room. But I want peace and quiet and to have a conversation without hearing everything. Are my concerns justified?

This is a well-known prejudice and by no means the truth - the sound insulation is excellent.

Alternatively - if the good gut feeling simply does not want to set in (it is nothing else, that decides) - consider building the interior walls on the upper floor from calcium silicate bricks. Calcium silicate has poor thermal insulation but very good sound insulation values.

Kind regards

I forgot to write that we are building with clinker... so you mean that the gypsum walls will be sufficient? I want the bricks because of the sound insulation...

Hello,

forgot to mention that we are building with clinker... so you mean that the plasterboard walls will be sufficient? I want the bricks because of the sound insulation...

The topic of "soundproofing" in shell construction is, in my opinion, overrated these days; with a wall construction of a total of 40 with aerated concrete and 30 with perforated bricks plus ETICS, combined with triple glazing – where should noise still penetrate inside?

Search here in the forum – I can't find it quickly, but drywall partitions are definitely better than their reputation. They also have the advantage that you can carry out renovation work with much less dirt/mess, should you want to do so – for example, after the children move out. What you should pay attention to is that not "wood," but "metal studwork" is used, and that the walls are acoustically decoupled from the adjacent components; however, in my experience, this is standard anyway with all reputable providers. Alternatively, gypsum boards are also an option... or as mentioned, aerated concrete walls if your gut doesn't agree.

What you should rather focus your attention on is a good/appropriate ventilation system – after all, your house will be quite airtight due to the preferred masonry construction => mold formation.

Best regards

that the gypsum walls will be sufficient?

I want the bricks because of the sound insulation...

Hello RoughRider

As the construction expert already wrote... many, unfortunately also many professionals, or those who call themselves that, do not know the actual possibilities in drywall construction.

You can easily achieve all the desired sound insulation values... with a system stud wall in drywall construction. The C-profile studs allow all kinds of variants and thicknesses... with the cladding selected according to the requirement and the interior (i.e., mineral wool insulation) you can achieve sound insulation values of over 73 dB.... which you surely will not need in a single-family house. But even with simple stud walls, it easily goes over 50 dB to 60/61 dB.

In addition, it saves you further construction moisture and time during the finishing. Once this wall is standing.. you can immediately wallpaper, apply fine plaster... or install tiles.... so no waiting time for plasterers and drying of the plaster.