Question:
I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. winnard
Response:
> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$.
** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? Sound proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound treatment makes the room less reverberant or "live". Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and airtight.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > ** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? Sound > proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound treatment > makes the room less reverberant or "live". > Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, > windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and > airtight.
It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, not true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower couple of octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to outdoors, or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, doors, maybe even floor? That’s what it would take.
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> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any >experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > winnard
The ultimate is a floated room within the room that ride on rubber or spring mounts or buy a prefab ‘iso chamber’. Going down from that construction project, think insulation. If this is an unfinished basement, add insulation between the ceiling beams and hang a tile ceiling and possibly roll some more insulation within the space from the tiles to the beams. Think air-tight, too. Stay away from that gorgeous sonix stuff. It’s great but probably best left for the DE part of a LEDE recording studio control room. — [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]
Response:
> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > winnard
If it’s just a ‘guitar room’ and not a ‘band room’ you may be best off building a box and either putting your amp, a speaker, or switch to a small amp in it for (‘guitar room assumption’) recording. "Soundproofing" a room takes a lot more $ and effort. It depends on what exactly you want to do in this room, all sexual jokes aside…coulda…won’t. Soundproofing for a band practice, for example, is not a trivial task. To what degree, and the reason *why* you want soundproofing…is an important factor in offering suggestions that might work.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any >experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > winnard > The ultimate is a floated room within the room that ride on rubber or > spring mounts or buy a prefab ‘iso chamber’. Going down from that > construction project, think insulation. If this is an unfinished basement, > add insulation between the ceiling beams and hang a tile ceiling and > possibly roll some more insulation within the space from the tiles to the > beams. Think air-tight, too. > Stay away from that gorgeous sonix stuff. It’s great but probably best > left for the DE part of a LEDE recording studio control room.
I always thought that cool foam was to (to some degree) break up standing waves (there are cheaper ways to do this) and generally deaden a small area for recording….not for soundproofing, per se. *Design* is important for soundproofing…a lot can be done with a little design, some insulation, and some drywall and carpet. Particularly if you have the freedom to finish an unfinished basement to be ’soundproof’ above all other concerns.
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>Soundproofing for a band practice, for example, >is not a trivial task.
Agreed. If you go full soundproof/floated room don’t forget to add an air conditioning system with maybe a humidity control so the 9′ steinway grand piano is kept happy. Pure mass is what blocks bass frequencies… As in, multilayers of heavy sheetrock liquid nailed and sealed together. — [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any > > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > ** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? Sound > proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound treatment > makes the room less reverberant or "live". > Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, > windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and > airtight. > It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, not > true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower couple of > octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." > Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to outdoors, > or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, doors, > maybe even floor? That’s what it would take.
The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome with my hobby. Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t find a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with sheetrock. winnard
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Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. David
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have > any >>>experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. >>** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? > Sound >>proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound > treatment >>makes the room less reverberant or "live". >> Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, >>windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and >>airtight. >It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, > not >true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower > couple of >octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." >Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to > outdoors, >or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, > doors, >maybe even floor? That’s what it would take. > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by > 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have > any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are > a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound > dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome > with my hobby. > Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t find > a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. > I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls > are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m > thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with > sheetrock. > winnard
Then (assuming it is a finished room) I’d plan on tacking up something on the wall that adjoins the rest of the house… like 6" foam, covered by moving blankets…brute force method. Angle if you like…look up plans for a studio if you want to cut standing waves. Make sure the insulation *above* the room is substantial enough, because it will transmit and maybe resonate if it isn’t. Having regular furniture like a sofa or two will help with standing waves and feedback. If you want to get fancy, you could look up some plans for some tubular bass traps…never done it, but the concept seems simple enough to a hacker.
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> Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. > David
Can you spray that stuff with Borax to make it less so?
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>> Stay away from that gorgeous sonix stuff. It’s great but probably best > left for the DE part of a LEDE recording studio control room. >I always thought that cool foam was to (to some degree) break up >standing waves (there are cheaper ways to do this) and generally >deaden a small area for recording….not for soundproofing, per se.
They really aren’t that good for absorbing below 400Hz. Though deadening material such as Sonex isn’t a replacement for an air-tight seal with some mass behind it. Ahh, I see what you mean now.. Yes, foam (Sonex) lowers that echo within the room, but is not a sound sealer of a room. >*Design* is important for soundproofing…a lot can be done with >a little design, some insulation, and some drywall and carpet. >Particularly if you have the freedom to finish an unfinished >basement to be ’soundproof’ above all other concerns.
Does he own the house/building his practice room is in? How permanent does he want this? Does he want to keep the sound in the room or lower the echo of the room? A sealed room can be live and a dead room itself doesn’t make it sealed but probably helps a lot. Also, once the top-end frequencies are squelched from leaving the room, that just leaves the lo-end which should help dramatically, as what others will hear on the outside won’t be intelligible to them — just sounds woofy. I used to work in an office that the other side of one wall was a movie theater. I could hear a little bit of music from it sometimes, but couldn’t understand or make it out and it never bothered me at all. Yeah, some bass leaked, but it wasn’t a bother. — [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > > I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have > any > > > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > > ** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? > Sound > > proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound > treatment > > makes the room less reverberant or "live". > > Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, > > windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and > > airtight. > It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, > not > true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower > couple of > octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." > Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to > outdoors, > or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, > doors, > maybe even floor? That’s what it would take. > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by > 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have > any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are > a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound > dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome > with my hobby.
A set of ear plugs are WAY easier and cheaper. ;-)
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> A set of ear plugs are WAY easier and cheaper. ;-)
** Has no effect of low frequency sounds - often the most annoying ones for neighbours.
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> The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by >13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have >any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are >a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound >dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome >with my hobby.
Seal the door with weather stripping beads. Add a whipper seal at the bottom. Maybe replace the door with a solid one (security door) if it’s the normal hollow type. Think air-tight. Sound can travel through the ceiling and floor, too, so add insulation under it from the basement. Insulating the ceiling might be hard.. depends what’s above it. Are the walls joining the rest of the house solid brick or are those the outside walls? You could do a build-out wall. IOW, throw up a new wall frame a couple inches out to make a floated wall. Fill the inside before framing with insulation and sheetrock it with a couple layers of the thick stuff to give it mass. — [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>>> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have >any >>>>experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. >>>** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? >Sound >>>proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound >treatment >>>makes the room less reverberant or "live". >>> Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, >>>windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and >>>airtight. >>It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, >not >>true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower >couple of >>octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." >>Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to >outdoors, >>or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, >doors, >>maybe even floor? That’s what it would take. > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by >13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have >any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are >a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound >dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome >with my hobby. > A set of ear plugs are WAY easier and cheaper. ;-)
Hey, keep in mind…she’s watching TV and talking on the phone! *That* gets complicated and expensive.
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>> Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. > David >Can you spray that stuff with Borax to make it less so?
If you spray it with fireworks, eventually the flammability goes away. Pete — Well, I guess reality is what you make of it. –Bender
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. >>David >Can you spray that stuff with Borax to make it less so? > If you spray it with fireworks, eventually the flammability goes away. > Pete > — > Well, I guess reality is what you make of it. –Bender
Hi, How about WD-40? Tony
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > > I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have > any > > > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > > ** Do you want sound treatment for the room or sound PROOFING ?? > Sound > > proofing stops the noise getting out and disturbing others. Sound > treatment > > makes the room less reverberant or "live". > > Sound proofing a room is a major undertaking – the walls, doors, > > windows, ceilings etc all let sound through if not very heavy, solid and > > airtight. > It can be very expensive, and it almost always results in noise reduction, > not > true sound proofing. Low frequencies (bass, kick drum, even the lower > couple of > octaves on guitars) are especially tough to "soundproof." > Where’s the room at in the house? You want to soundproof relative to > outdoors, > or the rest of your home? Are you prepared to do double walls, ceilings, > doors, > maybe even floor? That’s what it would take. > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by > 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have > any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are > a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound > dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome > with my hobby. > Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t find > a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. > I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls > are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m > thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with > sheetrock. > winnard
Hi "winnard", Might I suggest,…..Go and talk to a "audiologist" or two, they go to a big expense getting a "booth" for their patient to sit in (wearing headphones mind you) that is isolated for *outside* noise in order to accurately test their hearing. Nowadays, these booths are somewhat prefab in nature. Older professionals in the business might remember the "old days" where they had to build something themselves to get a suitable environment. With that said…..A drummer I regularly play with, that has some money to burn, had his home built with the intent to have a "soundproof" music room in the basement. All three floors of the house are concrete with 10′ ceiling height in the basement to accommodate 2 feet of treatment area to isolate sound wanting to radiate upwards (lots of stuff has been tried in the ceiling area). A floating floor was constructed to help with sound bouncing off the slab and radiating up/out. The walls to the room are 1 foot thick hollow with panels of foam suspended within the walls and not touching the outer walls. A lot of effort has gone into isolating this area. When all is said and done, out side the house is pretty darn quiet, the basement is completely underground and when standing outside near the room, all you hear is the lowest of lows (mainly the siding vibrating a little) "Mama" can be upstairs and watch her TV with only having to add a little volume in order to hear. However, the room is nowhere near "soundproof". Methinks that attempting to really be very effective to eliminate sound in a existing residence would be a major undertaking to say the least. "Shaving" off the extreme highs and lows might be doable, but in the end, concessions between the players and the non-players would likely still have to be addressed. Cheers, robert
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>> Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. >>> David >> Can you spray that stuff with Borax to make it less so? > If you spray it with fireworks, eventually the flammability goes away. > Pete > — > Well, I guess reality is what you make of it. –Bender > Hi, > How about WD-40? > Tony
LOL Lloyd
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(stuff snipped) > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by > 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have > any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are > a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound > dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome > with my hobby. > Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t find > a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. > I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls > are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m > thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with > sheetrock. > winnard
Here’s a "wild and crazy idea" that just might do the trick! 1] Get a PA system nothing too big will do. 2] Mike your amp and the drums completely. 3] Locate speakers/ monitors inside the music room. 4] Locate other monitors outside the room in the house but facing the music room. 5] Have the phase of the signal to the "outside" reversed. 6] Adjust the volume (and position) of "outside" speakers till the phase cancellation is maximized inside the house! 
Lloyd
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find a friendly HVAC contractor and ask if you can have the scraps of his 1" 6Lb density RFB (Rigid Fiberglass board). He’ll probably sell you full thing that will suck up bass adaquately. If you can get enough to cover 2 walls completely at a depth of 6 – 8" you’ll be way ahead of the game compared to the foam which really doesn’t do shit below 2.5Khz. You’ll need to face it with some acoustically transparent material like burlap and, Oh yeah, you’ll have to peel off the foil layer… epp
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m going to try to soundproof my guitar room somehow, anyone have any > experience doing this? I know that foam stuff is way$$$. > winnard
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > (stuff snipped) > The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by > 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t have > any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door are > a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound > dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome > with my hobby. > Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t find > a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. > I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls > are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m > thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with > sheetrock. > winnard > Here’s a "wild and crazy idea" that just might do the trick! > 1] Get a PA system nothing too big will do. > 2] Mike your amp and the drums completely. > 3] Locate speakers/ monitors inside the music room. > 4] Locate other monitors outside the room in the house but facing the music > room. > 5] Have the phase of the signal to the "outside" reversed. > 6] Adjust the volume (and position) of "outside" speakers till the phase > cancellation is maximized inside the house! > > Lloyd
WOW…..Thats thinking outside the box! ERic
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>> Don’t forget that some urethane foam is flammable…..ala Great White. >> David >Can you spray that stuff with Borax to make it less so? > If you spray it with fireworks, eventually the flammability goes away. > Pete
YES!!! (In the voice of Ed McMann)
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> (stuff snipped) >> The room is in the back of my house, bottom floor. It’s 20 foot long by >> 13 feet wide, big enough for a drum set a bass and guitar. I don’t > have >> any neighbors behind or to the West of my house, the neighbors next door > are >> a couple of kids who live with their near-deaf grandmother. The sound >> dampening is mostly for respect for my wife, who has been really awesome >> with my hobby. >> Oh, did I mention, my daughter wants to play drums 8^). If you can’t > find >> a drummer spawn one, but that’s another chapter. >> I added a couple of throw rugs and it helped the echo noise. Two walls >> are brick, the other two are built up with thick glass windows. I’m >> thinking about adding foamboard to the brick walls and covering with >> sheetrock. >> winnard > Here’s a "wild and crazy idea" that just might do the trick! > 1] Get a PA system nothing too big will do. > 2] Mike your amp and the drums completely. > 3] Locate speakers/ monitors inside the music room. > 4] Locate other monitors outside the room in the house but facing the > music > room. > 5] Have the phase of the signal to the "outside" reversed. > 6] Adjust the volume (and position) of "outside" speakers till the phase > cancellation is maximized inside the house! > > Lloyd > WOW…..Thats thinking outside the box! > ERic
…Yeah and there wasn’t any drugs involved! 
Lloyd
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>*sigh* Yet more evidence of humour impairment – you haven’t been >wearing your tinfoil hat have you?
Sorry, I don’t come from a culture where stupid == funny. — "Anyone who willingly engages in a battle of wits with a fish is at best evenly matched." — Pete Young
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Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
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Soundproofing a room or space is a bit like emptying the ocean with a spoon; it can be done but only with great effort. You can do a little with a little time and money but it you want to make a major difference it will take tons of time and money. Motley Crew used to rehearse in our studio and we learned that stopping sound transmission is a hugh job. Good luck Richard – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. > But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go > to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
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I just saw dream homes on hgtv. Checkout owening corning web page.
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I thought this was an important enough point to be worth highlighting. Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the studs or joists themselves. Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
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> Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
Hence the importance of using resilient furring strips as I pointed out – they isolate the drywall from the studs or joists (to a large degree) and allow the drywall to absorb the sound energy and then to dissipate it through movement of the drywall with little transmission to the studs or joists. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
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this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and barely hear it. now, my bass module, which used to rattle the pictures on my walls, causes no vibrations at all. don’t know if anyone can say anything about that, or even if i’m nuts. > Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
–
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>this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it.
Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so don’t get a good result. By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring in the basement.. We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! -v.
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Get electronic drums. You say you don’t want recording studio quality, but drums are certainly major league LOUD. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it. > Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). > Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As > others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so > don’t get a good result. > By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. > Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want > to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is > needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but > without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation > it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through > the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring > in the basement.. > We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening > board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and > separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to > avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical > passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. > Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! > -v
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This of course depends on the frequency of the sound. I agree that in this case (drums) mass is what counts. But for voice and higher frequencies, insulation is effective. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I thought this was an important enough point to be worth > highlighting. > Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between > studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that > fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the > studs or joists themselves. > Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
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>{Some psychotherapists use lead sheeting (comes in rolls) in the walls >{to deaden sound. It works surprisingly well and is a nobrainer to >{install when the walls are open. – km >That’s hilarious! Doesn’t lead cause some kinda brain damage? Those >psychotherapists know how to keep themselves in business eh? I wonder >what would happen 20 years down the road when You list the house and >the inspector reports the presence of sheets of lead in the walls?
*sigh* Yet another proof that exposure to a small amount of knowledge may be more damaging than total ignorance. Lead only causes brain damage if you ingest it or breath it in dust form (the double-whammy is lead face powder, because it will apparently slowly eat away at your skin, but that hasn’t been in style for nearly two hundred years), neither of which is likely to happen if it’s encased in your walls. — "I think that everyone should have a crazy friend, just to keep one’s own problems in perspective." –Pat Steppic
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Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the volume being carried around the house. This room would be built in an unfinished basement. Any info would be helpful! Email me if you like. Bryan
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In misc.consumers.house >Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room >reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a >sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the >volume being carried around the house.
First, make it as air-tight as possible. You will need to add weatherstripping to the door. Second, buy a bunch of the egg crate mattress covers and line the walls and doors with it.
Response:
Drywall is effective but you must install it on resilient furring strips… basically a flexible galvanized metal strip you screw the panels to… they hold the drywall off of the studs or joists. Most places recommend a double layer of drywall but that seems a bit excessive for your purposes. What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists. Nailing up carpets and egg crates and all that might make a small difference in high frequency but I don’t think it’ll do a whole lotta good for drums… mass is what you want… drywall is the cheapest way to get it.. Another trick is to put small panels in your corners, floor to ceiling. I’ve seen plans where there’s a 4" gap in the middle of the corner panel and the hollow behind the gap is filled with fiberglass batt… called a bass trap. Then there’s Helmholtz Resonators… never made one but a friend did and it’s essentially two panels of masonite seperated by a 2×2" frame with a series of carefully spaced holes drilled in each panel. There’s some formula to determine spacing… these suckers are suspended near walls and by gawd do they ever suck up high frequency sound. Cheap and effective but you’ll need to do some research if you go that route. Otherwise, like another poster stated just try to make everything as airtight as possible. Caulking, strips of wood or weatherstripping wherever there’s a gap, spray in expanding foam insulation is excellent to seal up around outlets or other gaps. I’m pretty much in the middle of this type of deal myself. My "band" jammed in my basement for the past 6 months until I moved everything to another space while I fix up the basement – and let me tell you I am CHEAP. Trying to do it for next to nothing with no major reno project headaches. For drums the bass seems to be the biggest problem… moves a large percussion wave… I’ve found a 4′x4′ panel on feet, covered with open cell foam or some other absorbant type of insulating material and placed somewhere in front of the bass drum works really well. It intercepts the wave and dissipates it through flexing in its feet. Anyway… it’s all worth it if you get to beat on your drums whenever you want! John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
Response:
>*sigh* Yet more evidence of humour impairment – you haven’t been >wearing your tinfoil hat have you?
Sorry, I don’t come from a culture where stupid == funny. — "Anyone who willingly engages in a battle of wits with a fish is at best evenly matched." — Pete Young
Response:
Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
Response:
Soundproofing a room or space is a bit like emptying the ocean with a spoon; it can be done but only with great effort. You can do a little with a little time and money but it you want to make a major difference it will take tons of time and money. Motley Crew used to rehearse in our studio and we learned that stopping sound transmission is a hugh job. Good luck Richard – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. > But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go > to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
Response:
I just saw dream homes on hgtv. Checkout owening corning web page.
Response:
I thought this was an important enough point to be worth highlighting. Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the studs or joists themselves. Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
Response:
> Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
Hence the importance of using resilient furring strips as I pointed out – they isolate the drywall from the studs or joists (to a large degree) and allow the drywall to absorb the sound energy and then to dissipate it through movement of the drywall with little transmission to the studs or joists. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
Response:
this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and barely hear it. now, my bass module, which used to rattle the pictures on my walls, causes no vibrations at all. don’t know if anyone can say anything about that, or even if i’m nuts. > Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
–
Response:
>this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it.
Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so don’t get a good result. By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring in the basement.. We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! -v.
Response:
Get electronic drums. You say you don’t want recording studio quality, but drums are certainly major league LOUD. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it. > Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). > Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As > others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so > don’t get a good result. > By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. > Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want > to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is > needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but > without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation > it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through > the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring > in the basement.. > We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening > board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and > separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to > avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical > passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. > Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! > -v
Response:
This of course depends on the frequency of the sound. I agree that in this case (drums) mass is what counts. But for voice and higher frequencies, insulation is effective. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I thought this was an important enough point to be worth > highlighting. > Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between > studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that > fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the > studs or joists themselves. > Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
Response:
>{Some psychotherapists use lead sheeting (comes in rolls) in the walls >{to deaden sound. It works surprisingly well and is a nobrainer to >{install when the walls are open. – km >That’s hilarious! Doesn’t lead cause some kinda brain damage? Those >psychotherapists know how to keep themselves in business eh? I wonder >what would happen 20 years down the road when You list the house and >the inspector reports the presence of sheets of lead in the walls?
*sigh* Yet another proof that exposure to a small amount of knowledge may be more damaging than total ignorance. Lead only causes brain damage if you ingest it or breath it in dust form (the double-whammy is lead face powder, because it will apparently slowly eat away at your skin, but that hasn’t been in style for nearly two hundred years), neither of which is likely to happen if it’s encased in your walls. — "I think that everyone should have a crazy friend, just to keep one’s own problems in perspective." –Pat Steppic
Response:
Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the volume being carried around the house. This room would be built in an unfinished basement. Any info would be helpful! Email me if you like. Bryan
Response:
In misc.consumers.house >Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room >reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a >sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the >volume being carried around the house.
First, make it as air-tight as possible. You will need to add weatherstripping to the door. Second, buy a bunch of the egg crate mattress covers and line the walls and doors with it.
Response:
Drywall is effective but you must install it on resilient furring strips… basically a flexible galvanized metal strip you screw the panels to… they hold the drywall off of the studs or joists. Most places recommend a double layer of drywall but that seems a bit excessive for your purposes. What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists. Nailing up carpets and egg crates and all that might make a small difference in high frequency but I don’t think it’ll do a whole lotta good for drums… mass is what you want… drywall is the cheapest way to get it.. Another trick is to put small panels in your corners, floor to ceiling. I’ve seen plans where there’s a 4" gap in the middle of the corner panel and the hollow behind the gap is filled with fiberglass batt… called a bass trap. Then there’s Helmholtz Resonators… never made one but a friend did and it’s essentially two panels of masonite seperated by a 2×2" frame with a series of carefully spaced holes drilled in each panel. There’s some formula to determine spacing… these suckers are suspended near walls and by gawd do they ever suck up high frequency sound. Cheap and effective but you’ll need to do some research if you go that route. Otherwise, like another poster stated just try to make everything as airtight as possible. Caulking, strips of wood or weatherstripping wherever there’s a gap, spray in expanding foam insulation is excellent to seal up around outlets or other gaps. I’m pretty much in the middle of this type of deal myself. My "band" jammed in my basement for the past 6 months until I moved everything to another space while I fix up the basement – and let me tell you I am CHEAP. Trying to do it for next to nothing with no major reno project headaches. For drums the bass seems to be the biggest problem… moves a large percussion wave… I’ve found a 4′x4′ panel on feet, covered with open cell foam or some other absorbant type of insulating material and placed somewhere in front of the bass drum works really well. It intercepts the wave and dissipates it through flexing in its feet. Anyway… it’s all worth it if you get to beat on your drums whenever you want! John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
Response:
>*sigh* Yet more evidence of humour impairment – you haven’t been >wearing your tinfoil hat have you?
Sorry, I don’t come from a culture where stupid == funny. — "Anyone who willingly engages in a battle of wits with a fish is at best evenly matched." — Pete Young
Response:
Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
Response:
Soundproofing a room or space is a bit like emptying the ocean with a spoon; it can be done but only with great effort. You can do a little with a little time and money but it you want to make a major difference it will take tons of time and money. Motley Crew used to rehearse in our studio and we learned that stopping sound transmission is a hugh job. Good luck Richard – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Actually , go to high end stereo place. I don’t have a current catalog. > But you can buy (foam padding ??) type devices to absorb the sound. Go > to high end audio newsgroup for better suggestions.
Response:
I just saw dream homes on hgtv. Checkout owening corning web page.
Response:
I thought this was an important enough point to be worth highlighting. Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the studs or joists themselves. Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
Response:
> Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
Hence the importance of using resilient furring strips as I pointed out – they isolate the drywall from the studs or joists (to a large degree) and allow the drywall to absorb the sound energy and then to dissipate it through movement of the drywall with little transmission to the studs or joists. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes > sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring > strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists.
Response:
this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and barely hear it. now, my bass module, which used to rattle the pictures on my walls, causes no vibrations at all. don’t know if anyone can say anything about that, or even if i’m nuts. > Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
–
Response:
>this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it.
Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so don’t get a good result. By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring in the basement.. We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! -v.
Response:
Get electronic drums. You say you don’t want recording studio quality, but drums are certainly major league LOUD. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->this is going to sound crazy….but i recently installed wilsonart >laminate flooring with their top-o-d-line soundproofing flooring. >that floor is *dead* silent. you could drop a bowling ball on it and >barely hear it. > Mass. Separation. Prevention of infiltration (direct air paths). > Take care of all factors and you will have good soundproofing. As > others have pointed out, folks tend to do one and not the others, so > don’t get a good result. > By all means weatherstrip, caulk, seal. > Mass is the hardest for most folks, because it is heavy. People want > to go with easy light weight foam products but really some mass is > needed especially for bass. Double drywall is well recognized, but > without the resilient suspension or some alternate means of separation > it will not be effective because it will just transmit right through > the solids, like hammering on a pipe in the attic and having it ring > in the basement.. > We have some sound reducing surfaces where a softer sound deadening > board was used behind the gypsum board, thus giving both mass and > separation. We also have double framed walls in these areas so as to > avoid through transmission via the studs. And pipe and electrical > passages were carefully stuffed and foamed so as to avoid air paths. > Seems to be helpful but then have not done a controlled study! > -v
Response:
This of course depends on the frequency of the sound. I agree that in this case (drums) mass is what counts. But for voice and higher frequencies, insulation is effective. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I thought this was an important enough point to be worth > highlighting. > Too many people pack fiberglass into the empty space between > studs and joists. Only to have the sound go around all that > fiberglass and travel from one side to the other through the > studs or joists themselves. > Yes, without drywall, all the exposed fiberglass will seem to > absorb the sound. However, that all changes when the drywall > is installed. In a wall, the sound will vibrate the drywall, > which in turn will vibrate the studs, which in turn will vibrate > the drywall on the other side. Thus, the sound makes it through.
Response:
>{Some psychotherapists use lead sheeting (comes in rolls) in the walls >{to deaden sound. It works surprisingly well and is a nobrainer to >{install when the walls are open. – km >That’s hilarious! Doesn’t lead cause some kinda brain damage? Those >psychotherapists know how to keep themselves in business eh? I wonder >what would happen 20 years down the road when You list the house and >the inspector reports the presence of sheets of lead in the walls?
*sigh* Yet another proof that exposure to a small amount of knowledge may be more damaging than total ignorance. Lead only causes brain damage if you ingest it or breath it in dust form (the double-whammy is lead face powder, because it will apparently slowly eat away at your skin, but that hasn’t been in style for nearly two hundred years), neither of which is likely to happen if it’s encased in your walls. — "I think that everyone should have a crazy friend, just to keep one’s own problems in perspective." –Pat Steppic
Response:
Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the volume being carried around the house. This room would be built in an unfinished basement. Any info would be helpful! Email me if you like. Bryan
Response:
In misc.consumers.house >Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room >reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a >sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the >volume being carried around the house.
First, make it as air-tight as possible. You will need to add weatherstripping to the door. Second, buy a bunch of the egg crate mattress covers and line the walls and doors with it.
Response:
Drywall is effective but you must install it on resilient furring strips… basically a flexible galvanized metal strip you screw the panels to… they hold the drywall off of the studs or joists. Most places recommend a double layer of drywall but that seems a bit excessive for your purposes. What you are doing is creating a large mass that absorbes sound waves and then dissipates the sound through the resilient furring strips instead of tranmitting it through the studs or joists. Nailing up carpets and egg crates and all that might make a small difference in high frequency but I don’t think it’ll do a whole lotta good for drums… mass is what you want… drywall is the cheapest way to get it.. Another trick is to put small panels in your corners, floor to ceiling. I’ve seen plans where there’s a 4" gap in the middle of the corner panel and the hollow behind the gap is filled with fiberglass batt… called a bass trap. Then there’s Helmholtz Resonators… never made one but a friend did and it’s essentially two panels of masonite seperated by a 2×2" frame with a series of carefully spaced holes drilled in each panel. There’s some formula to determine spacing… these suckers are suspended near walls and by gawd do they ever suck up high frequency sound. Cheap and effective but you’ll need to do some research if you go that route. Otherwise, like another poster stated just try to make everything as airtight as possible. Caulking, strips of wood or weatherstripping wherever there’s a gap, spray in expanding foam insulation is excellent to seal up around outlets or other gaps. I’m pretty much in the middle of this type of deal myself. My "band" jammed in my basement for the past 6 months until I moved everything to another space while I fix up the basement – and let me tell you I am CHEAP. Trying to do it for next to nothing with no major reno project headaches. For drums the bass seems to be the biggest problem… moves a large percussion wave… I’ve found a 4′x4′ panel on feet, covered with open cell foam or some other absorbant type of insulating material and placed somewhere in front of the bass drum works really well. It intercepts the wave and dissipates it through flexing in its feet. Anyway… it’s all worth it if you get to beat on your drums whenever you want! John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Any suggestions on a cost effective way to soundproof a room > reasonably well? Not recording studio quality, but simply a > sound resistant room so that I can play drums without the > volume being carried around the house. > This room would be built in an unfinished basement. > Any info would be helpful! > Email me if you like. > Bryan
Response:
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