Questions and Answers for Ceilume Soniguard 24 in. x 24 in. Drop Ceiling Acoustic/Thermal Insulation (Case of 24)

A:  Soniguard will reduce the noise reflecting off the ceiling within a room (NRC) and will reduce the sound coming from other rooms into a space (STC).

A:  Yes, you can buy as many cases as you would like! Just change the quantity on the Soniguard page of HomeDepot.com and the system will give you the cost of the total number of cases you'd like to purchase. Each case contains 25 pieces of 2' x 2' Soniguard for a total of 100 sq ft per case. An 11' x 15' area would need a total of 165 sq ft, so 2 cases of Soniguard would do the trick.

A:  Yes. I used on my 2x2 drop ceiling tiles.

A:  The Soniguard material is about 1-1/2" thick after it fully expands from the shipping container. Typically the Ceiling Link system doesn't provide that much space between the top of the tile and the bottom of your ceiling joists. Due to space considerations, you may want to consider installing rolled or batt insulation between the floor joists above the ceiling before installing the ceiling link system.

A:  Yes, Soniguard would reduce noise when installed as you've described. Please consult with your insulation specialists at Home Depot as there may be more cost effective ways to wrap the ductwork to provide acoustic insulation.

A:  To prevent walking noise from upstairs from intruding into the downstairs space, you'll want to look at an insulation's STC. Sound Transmission Class (STC) is used to rate several different types of building materials for their ability to block sound and prevent it from passing through them. Putting appropriate material between you and a sound source can reduce the apparent loudness of the sound. Adding material with an STC of 5 is clearly noticeable and an STC of 10 or more cuts the apparent loudness by 50%. As the STC goes up, the loudness continues to go down. Here is Soniguard's STC rating when used with different types of ceiling tiles: STC 13 with 0.013" vinyl panels, STC 18 with 0.030" vinyl panels, STC 21 with decorative metal ceiling panels, STC 24 with mineral fiber ceiling panels. Each case of Soniguard contains 25 pieces of 2'x2' material for a total of 100 sq ft of coverage. You would need 1 piece of Soniguard for every 2x2 tile in your space or 2 pieces for every 2x4 tile in your space.

A:  Each tile weighs .8 pounds.

A:  Soniguard Drop Ceiling Insulation weighs .8 lbs per piece.

A:  Soniguard Drop Ceiling Insulation is made of a woven material with no backer. It is designed to be placed in a horizontal orientation on top of a ceiling tile. We have not tested this in a glued up vertical installation and do not feel that it would adhere or perform as well in that application. Please consult with the Building Material Pros at your local Home Depot for a material that is suited for a glue up installation.

A:  This is the ceiling tile.

A:  Ceilume Soniguard is an insulating panel that is made to sit on top of a drop ceiling tile and installed in a ceiling grid. Soniguard insulation can be used above all Ceilume ceiling tiles (copy and paste this link in to your browser to see all of the Ceilume tiles sold at HomeDepot.com: http://www.homedepot.com/s/ceilume?NCNI-5 ). Soniguard will also improve the thermal and acoustic performance of all tin, vinyl, and standard mineral fiber tiles that are installed in a ceiling grid.

A:  The temperature rating is 225F.

A:  Sorry for the delay in response, we had to go back to the manufacturer just to make sure we were giving you the right information. Per the manufacturer: the insulation would survive 225F, based on testing results done on similar materials for automotive applications at a continuous temperature range of 120 C = 250F. They did warn that the material would become "slightly thicker" after being heated to those temperatures.

A:  The Soniguard that your received as part of the Stratford NRC 50+ system is the exact same Soniguard that is for sale at HomeDepot.com. Typically that insulating material is compressed and has a nominal thickness of 1", although it can expand a bit to be thicker. The Soniguard alone has an NRC of .80 but for mechanical and aesthetic reasons, you wouldn't want to use a woven sheet of insulation for a ceiling tile. Once you introduce a smooth tile into the equation, be it a Stratford or one of the other Ceilume tiles sold at HomeDepot.com, you change how the sound interacts with the insulation material. The smooth tile reflects some of the sound before it reaches, and is absorbed by, the Soniguard.