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We had a header beam installed in our basement. The floor joists are exposed for 1ft (~30cm) on both sides for the length of the beam.

The basement is an apartment, so I'd like to add some sound-proofing between the floors.

Is there something similar to attic blow-in insulation where they could shove a large hose to the end and slowly retract it to give a bit of a sound cushion?

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If a blow-in option isn't available, would these acoustical fire bats help for the space that I have access to? –  jberger Jan 10 '12 at 16:44
"sound proof" was probably a little high-hoping for my situation. "better sound proof" –  jberger Apr 20 '12 at 17:25
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2 Answers

See my answer here about methodologies and techniques for soundproofing: http://diy.stackexchange.com/a/11238/3450

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Karl, I appreciate the theoretical explanation and will keep it in mind for future reference. However, it is an apartment and my goal is to get this done ASAP. Tearing down the ceiling to put up acoustic tiles would seem to take awhile and be expensive. –  jberger Jan 10 '12 at 15:06
Agreed. However, keep in mind the explanation I had for insulating -- it's like putting a pillow in a big bass kick drum. It'll muffle things a little bit, but nowhere near the amount that you think it should. The best possible solution is to replace the drywall ceiling with an acoustic product like acoustic tiles or QuietRock -- see quietrock.com. –  Karl Katzke Jan 10 '12 at 18:13
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Purchased 3 packs of Roxul stone wool insulation online at Lowes.com. Shipped to the store for free. Ended up returning 1 pack and still have 1/2 leftover.

Put this stuff in all places where there used to be HVAC outlets; as well as about 2-3ft on both sides along the new header beam. Used 1/2" "lite" drywall.

Previously, with one person downstairs talking and another upstairs near the cold-air return, you could almost clearly hear what the downstairs person was saying.

Now, normal talking is barely audible.

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