What's the minimum STC I should aim for between a home office and a living room with a TV?

You should aim for a minimum of STC 50 to 55 between a home office and a living room with a TV to work comfortably without being distracted by television audio. An STC of 50 will make normal TV volume faintly audible but not intelligible, while STC 55 will render most TV sound effectively inaudible under typical conditions. If your household tends toward louder TV volumes or you take frequent phone calls and video meetings, pushing to STC 55 to 60 is a worthwhile investment.
To put this in practical context, a standard interior wall in most Ottawa homes -- a single row of 2x4 studs with one layer of 1/2-inch drywall on each side and no insulation in the cavity -- achieves only about STC 33 to 35. At that level, normal conversation and certainly television audio will be clearly audible through the wall. Simply adding Rockwool Safe'n'Sound acoustic mineral wool ($1.20-$1.80 per square foot) to the stud cavity improves the rating to roughly STC 39 to 42, which helps but still allows TV sound to be distracting during focused work. To reach the STC 50 to 55 range, you need to add both mass and decoupling to the assembly.
A Practical Wall Upgrade
The most cost-effective upgrade for an existing wall between a home office and living room involves adding resilient channel ($1.50-$2.50 per linear foot) to one side of the wall, installing acoustic mineral wool in the cavity if not already present, and finishing with two layers of 5/8-inch Type X drywall with Green Glue compound ($15-$22 per tube) between them. This assembly can achieve STC 52 to 56 depending on details, and costs approximately $15 to $25 per square foot installed. For a typical 10x8 foot interior wall, expect to pay $2,000 to $4,000 for professional installation including materials, finishing, and painting.
With the massive shift to remote work since 2020, this has become one of the most common soundproofing requests in Ottawa. Homeowners in neighbourhoods like Kanata, Orleans, and Barrhaven who converted spare bedrooms or basement spaces into home offices frequently discover that the existing walls are inadequate for focused work. The investment pays for itself quickly in improved productivity and reduced stress, especially if you are on video calls where background TV noise is not just distracting to you but audible to your colleagues and clients.
Do not forget the door -- it is almost always the weakest link. A standard hollow-core interior door provides only about STC 20 to 25, which will completely undermine even an excellent wall. Replacing it with a solid-core door ($200-$500) and adding proper weatherstripping and a door sweep ($30-$80) to seal the gaps can improve the door's performance to STC 30 to 35. For even better results, consider an acoustic door seal kit with compression gaskets on all four sides. This is one area where a small investment makes a surprisingly large difference. For a tailored assessment of your specific layout, an experienced soundproofing contractor can identify all the weak points and recommend the most efficient path to a quiet home office. The Ottawa Contractor Directory at justynrookcontracting.com/directory can connect you with local professionals who handle these projects regularly.Looking for experienced contractors? The Ottawa Construction Network connects homeowners with qualified professionals:Justyn Rook ContractingJC Carpentry613PAINTING INCThe FixerValcor ConstructionView all contractors →