Best option for soundproofing new room

jkarp

New member
Hi, I'm moving into a house next week with a basement. It's a stand-alone house (meaning no shared walls). The basement is pretty big with windows. Within the basement though, there is a room with a door and no windows. The whole basement is carpeted.

I would like to do whatever I can within reason to make a "soundproof" area for my drumset. I'm willing to spend money, but cannot make any structural changes since I'm renting. I'm guessing the closed off room might be the best option to start with. The other option would be to build a soundproof room within the larger basement area.

I would love to hear any thoughts, recommendations or experiences that might be helpful. How "soundproof" can I expect to get? Ideally I would love to be able to bang away at 1am, but I don't know that that's realistic. Oh yeah, and I play the drums pretty damn hard too, so that doesn't help my situation at all ;-)

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

...Josh
 
I can play the drums and other loud things in my studio and it's perfectly possible to keep the sound in. The fact the floor is the actual earth, or concrete on earth or whatever is handy - you can build right on it. The key is mass and air gaps. There are tons of books and internet material on it, and it's quite a do it yourself project. Weak links for first time builders are ventilation and the doors. The materials are easy to buy and not too expensive - but - you need lots of it!
 
I must first ask whom you are wishing to isolate from? If neighbors, how far away are they from you? Is that even an issue? If others in the house, then you are probably screwed. Unless they are keen with an occasional 1AM beat-down.

Then I must also ask if you plan to record in the space that has no windows. I am only guessing that is a small room that would not be the most ideal space for recording drums. What is the room size there?

And welcome to HR! :)
 
Would "no structural changes" include insulating the hell out of the [storage room?] by any chance?

I mean, if at least one side is paneling (seems as if many are), it's fairly simple to rip & replace if it isn't glued down. HEAVY insulation - Roxul Safe and Sound is a favorite. If it can be done without serious damage and you're okay with doing it properly, I'd imagine the owner may even welcome it.
 
Thanks so much for the replies everyone! To answer a few questions...

I'm trying to isolate the sound from neighbors. I don't know exactly how far away each neighbor is, but the way the homes on this street are laid out is with the garage in the back of the house, so there's no much separation distance in between each home. Check out the pic I've attached.

I will not be recording anything of importance in this room. I'm thinking I'll have all of my other music stuff (mixer, guitars, etc) outside the closed off room in the main part of the basement, then just the drums in the closed off room.

I will measure the exact ceiling height next time I go over there. I'm guessing it's a little lower than average or right around average. I'll measure the "closed off basement room" as well. I have an 8x10 drum studio that I rent now and I can tell you that the room in the basement is larger than that.

No structural changes in the house just means nothing major that's gonna mess the landlord up going forward. I can likely do whatever I want as far as insulation, etc as long as there's no reason the landlord shouldn't be happy about it. She's a very reasonable lady!

So it sounds like a "room within the room" is my best bet here. I'm wondering if I should attempt to DIY or hire someone to do it right from the get go? I would like to be up and running as soon as possible in the new house, so maybe i'll look at hiring someone. If anyone has any links or info specifically that they recommend for the "room within a room" route, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks again for all the help and responses everyone!

...Josh
 
Before planning anything, the first thing I would do is setup and play in the room and have someone listen outside to see if it will even be an issue. If possible introduce yourself to your neighbors and ask them what they think.
 
Before planning anything, the first thing I would do is setup and play in the room and have someone listen outside to see if it will even be an issue. If possible introduce yourself to your neighbors and ask them what they think.

Yep, that's my plan Jimmy! I plan on keeping my current rented studio space (just in case!). Once I get moved into the house next week, I'll bring my drums over, set them up and what I'm dealing with exactly.

I do have another option of trying to work with the detached garage behind the house. All the homes on my street have detached garages behind the homes that are accessible from an alley. The garage would be nice since it's more removed from the homes, but the basement is attractive since it's below ground. I'll have more info on what I'm working with once I move in!

Thanks again... Josh
 
Yep, that's my plan Jimmy! I plan on keeping my current rented studio space (just in case!). Once I get moved into the house next week, I'll bring my drums over, set them up and what I'm dealing with exactly.

I do have another option of trying to work with the detached garage behind the house. All the homes on my street have detached garages behind the homes that are accessible from an alley. The garage would be nice since it's more removed from the homes, but the basement is attractive since it's below ground. I'll have more info on what I'm working with once I move in!

Thanks again... Josh

Is the garage heated or cooled? You don't show where you are located. Also security issues then. Someone hears you in the detached garage playing mad drums, they know what you have in there and is an easy steal (spoken from my horrible experience of theft). :(
 
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