If you want to have a recording studio or a dedicated home theater room in your house, you will want to soundproof that room to the highest possible extent.
If you are in a middle of a recording, can you afford to have outside noise messing with it? Don’t you like to enjoy a movie without any disturbance? In that case, you most probably would need the Green Glue Damping Compound (Amazon link).
What is Green Glue?
Green Glue has been the most popular choice of soundproofing experts for many years. It is also considered the most effective damping product in the market.
It has a unique polymeric formula that converts mechanical energy of sound waves into heat energy. This helps in damping the sound vibrations of walls and ceilings making it a great soundproofing material.
Why Do Experts Recommend Green Glue?
- Increases the STC dramatically. As per lab tests, the STC of a wall with two layers of drywall can be increased from 42 STC to 52 STC. That is quite a jump.
- Cost effective, starting at less than $0.50 per square foot.
- The compound is environment friendly and non-hazardous.
- Easy to use in DIY projects.
- Installing Green Glue is fast.
- Versatile Applications – Green Glue can be used for assisting in soundproofing of floors, stages, soffits, loudspeaker cabinets, etc.
How to Apply Green Glue
I found the application process pretty simple. What you would need is a caulking gun with which you will spray the compound on to the drywall sheet.
After you have the first drywall layer up, you can start the process. It is best to first spray along the borders so that the areas close to the edges are not missed out. After that spray randomly in any pattern all over the sheet.
Two tubes are recommended by the manufacturer for each 4’x8′ sheet of drywall. One can also be used per sheet but that will have 70% effectiveness as two tubes.
After applying, the curing starts and effects will be felt after seven days. There will be a continuous improvement in soundproofing thereafter till the compound cures fully. Curing can take upto 60 days.
Packaging And Cost
Green Glue comes in 28 oz tubes and 5-gallon pails.
Tubes
Green Glue Tubes
The tubes are suitable for small to medium applications. Green Glue tubes are sold by the company in sets of 6 and 12.
The Six tube set of Green Glue compound (Amazon link) can be used to treat an area of 288 Sq Ft (three sheets of drywall @2 tubes per sheet)
The twelve tube set (Amazon link) can be used for an area of 576 Sq Ft (six sheets of drywall @2 tubes per sheet)
Pails
Green Glue Pails
Green Glue Pails (Amazon link) are suitable for large area applications. Each pail contains 5 gallons which is almost twice the amount of compound that comes in the 12 tube set.
A pail can be used for an area of 1100-1200 Sq Ft (12 sheets of drywall).
The cost of a pail is about $300 which is approximately $100 more than a set of 12 tubes. Hence, buying a pail instead of tubes is a cost-effective option.
Cheaper Alternative
Quietglue Pro Tubes
The only real competitor of Green Glue is Quietglue Pro (Amazon link).
It is very similar to Green Glue in terms of packaging. Like Green Glue, Quietglue Pro is also sold in 28 oz tubes and 5 gallon pails.
There is a one gallon pail option which Quietglue Pro offers besides these.
Quietglue Pro vs Green Glue
Quietglue Pro makes the same claims that Green Glue does. But, most soundproofing experts recommend Green Glue and verify the authenticity of its lab test reports on performance.
There is a lot of positive feedback for Green Glue on Amazon. In comparison, Quietglue Pro doesn’t have very good customer feedback.
However, Quietglue Pro is about 35% cheaper than Green Glue. A 12 tube set costs approximately $70 less than a Green Glue 12 tube set. For a large scale project, there could be significant savings on the cards. The 12 tube set of Quietglue Pro costs about $130 on Amazon.
There is a problem which many users have faced with Quietglue Pro. Unlike Green Glue, it does not harden quickly enough to stick to the surface. So, when you put up the drywall, the compound keeps dripping and creates a mess.
My Recommendation
For insufficient feedback on performance and the mess created by dripping of Quietglue Pro, I would stick to Green Glue.
Even though it costs a bit more than Quietglue Pro, it is fairly inexpensive for a high-performance soundproofing product.
What is Damping?
Damping is one of the four elements of soundproofing. What a damping material does is that it converts sound (kinetic) energy into heat energy.
In other words, it dissipates the vibrations of a wall or ceiling caused by sound waves and retards the transfer of sound energy. Green Glue is a Constrained Layer Damping product.
Why is Damping Required?
We know that high mass structures on walls like multiple layers of drywall or MDF, offer resistance to sound. More the mass, more difficult it is for sound to vibrate the surface.
However, at some frequencies known as resonant points, it is difficult for the heaviest of walls to prevent vibrations caused by sound. But if the surface is damped, these vibrations can also be reduced drastically.
The figure below compares the structure-borne sound of a wall without damping with that of a wall which has been treated with Green Glue.
Is Green Glue a Miracle Product?
No. Green Glue cannot work alone, it has to be sandwiched between dense materials like thick drywall or MDF to be truly effective.
Though it is not a miracle product, it is definitely a revolutionary product considering its cost and effectiveness as compared to other products.
Click here to check the prices of Green Glue tubes at Amazon.