Soundproofing Performance Area --- any tips or suggestions?

Norris Shepherd · Soundproofing Performance Area --- any tips or suggestions?

Have had a few noise complaints, so I've got to address the issue. Really don't want to worry about bothering people while I'm playing.. would not make it much fun....

Unfinished room in the basement. Ceiling is just the floor joists, with wiring between then. Two outside walls have white styrofoam insulation which will eventually come out and be replaced (apparently emits toxic fumes if it ever catches fire). Other walls unfinished.

...if any one has any knowledge or experience to share on soundproofing a room... please pass it on. Obviously... all the regulars factors come into play... cost, time involved, skill involved, etc.

I've done some research on materials and other things already, just wondering if anyone would like to add anything....

Distilled1

drop acoustic ceiling tiles for top
walls finish all walls with studs and drywall.

cost wise there is really no true way to soundproof with out isolation witch =$$$$

but if you want to slow it and you have a smaller room you can use heavy blankets on all walls and ceiling. where are the complaints from? thats where you want to focus the most

its really hard with out isolating mainly because certain frequency's are going to travel and Concrete lets sound flow very well believe it or not.. you need to trap the sound in channels so that it bounces between two hard surfaces and dissipates some.

RayW

Good points Distilled! I love blankets, myself.

But, then, my neighbors are hard of hearing. So, that would just be decoration for me Laughing

Trapping between two hard surfaces, damper between (or air) is good.

But, then, you have to ask ... don't they like good music? What the hey?

Tell them to turn up their stereo ... opps ... then you'd have to dampen out their noise ... Hmmm Confused

Heck! What do I know? Smile

Nad

years ago i used to staple those cardboardish egg cartons up. the shape is a natural baffle... ok not natural... effective baffle. these days most eggs come in styrofoam though. maybe check with a local grocer to see if they throw them out. though my objective was sound dampening in my area not keeping my area from being heard... though that may equal the same thing I dunno.

and as mentioned by others, blankets - hung loosely away from the wall is maybe most effective. wool - that crap they give ppl in the service that itches llike hell. outside of that:

http://search.ebay.com/search/sea...itle=soundproofing&category0=

or if you wish to get fancy you can get (or build) something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vocal-Recordi...PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

in this case u install a terlet and yer good even for those legendary 5 hour sets that are all the rage these days.

Fable Sinatra

Tabitha_Oxide

Im in a basement in my condo surrounded by poured concrete walls and always have my subwoofer slammin Sl music. No complaints from the 1 adjoining neighbor. (im luckily on the end.)

However if your upstairs, the sound easily is heard through the floor.

Home Depot has soundproofing insulation but I dunno what it would cost to do it. I also heard like nad said about egg cartons. *shrugs*

Start makin omlets for all your meals. Smile

-Tabs

BabbleGrabble

If you plan to finish the walls and ceiling, consider the costly choice of adding sheer walls (plywood) behind 3/4" drywall - makes an amazing difference in soundproofing and adds stability to the framework to boot.

Jambalaya

You didn't say what it is you need to isolate - is it loud guitars? Bass? Drums?

I've been looking into this quite a bit myself, not so much for isolation as for optimizing my studio space. It's an interesting subject.

Egg cartons are a myth, they don't work. Don't waste your time. Neither does mattress foam. The best you can hope for with that stuff is a small reduction in high-frequency flutter echos. You will NOT get any isolation from them.

The ceiling can be done with insulation, then covered with breathable fabric. That's what I'm going to do in my basement first. You can get this stuff called Ultratouch, which is cotton fiber insulation. Much nicer to deal with than fiberglass, I hear, and quite effective for damping sound. I'm going to go here to get it, mainly because they're only a couple hours drive from here.

Also check out GIK Acoustics, they have a pretty good reputation & have some reasonably cost-effective solutions. (Real sound dampening isn't cheap, but you can also DIY to save some cash.)

If you want to pick up more information about the subject, check out this page at realtraps.com. They have TONS of info that will get you going in the right direction. Smile

Also, you can check out the Making A Space forum at TapeOp.com & learn a LOT from people who have been there, done that (or, like me, are doing it right now Wink

).

Norris Shepherd

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Collective wisdom is so much fun...

And once again my vocabulary increases thanks to Nad. I learned what a terlet is.

In case anyone wants to know, here's how I'm gonna try to solve in based on suggestions / research...

short term:

- Bought thickest drape-like material I could find and will be hanging it along the walls from the rafters, making sure it is 'pleated' or wavy along the way.

- Try to get a layer or two of acoustic tiles up against the ceiling.

Long term:

- gonna save my pennies/lindens/loonies to do the walls with one of these stuffs:

http://www.owenscorning.com/comminsul/products.asp?product=1

or

http://www.homasote.com/sb.html

... hopefully the drapes and tiles work for now.

Thanks again.

Distilled1

Norris as a construction manager doing town home/condos I recommend the homasote. when you do do this the kicker on those walls is you need to have an 1/4-1/2 " gap between the concrete and that so that air/sound can travel the length I wish I could draw a picture in here LOL use channel designed for it ask your home depot or??? what you have in the great white north what to use, even firing strips Wink

the drapes and ceiling tile should make quite an improvement. if your going to do 2 layers of those tiles try and put some channel in between and make bays of dead space about 1/2" as well and it will be pretty much a DIY isolation wall to an extent. (they sell drywall channel metal u shaped 8' 16' long pieces to use or you can use cut ends of the tile it self sandwiched between at each seam running the length.)

edit to add this to give you an idea what I am trying to explain http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/channel.htm
for the ceiling and walls Wink

you dont have to add the wool and foam you can use the tiles as gypsum board same principal cheaper and a little less effective

Norris Shepherd

AHHHHhhh YES! Diagrams, testimonials, and another reference page!! Excellent!

TY Distilled... TY very much.. Smile