styrofoam panels

dragonworks

Banned
a local company here makes styrofoam panels
for insulation. I may be able to have access for free to there throwaways. 4x8 sheets with
breaks or holes etc from 1/2 inch to 4 inch
thick. They have a whole roomful they are going to throw away I have been told. How good is this for sound proofing and how much
should I take if any? Mistercque, your close by if this stuff is any good and I get more than I need would you want any? I hope this
pans out if they are useful.
 
dragonworks said:
a local company here makes styrofoam panels
for insulation. I may be able to have access for free to there throwaways. 4x8 sheets with
breaks or holes etc from 1/2 inch to 4 inch
thick. They have a whole roomful they are going to throw away I have been told. How good is this for sound proofing and how much
should I take if any? Mistercque, your close by if this stuff is any good and I get more than I need would you want any? I hope this
pans out if they are useful.

I wouldn't expect a question like this from a "senior member." That foam you're talking about won't stop sound anymore than clear glass stops light. Yeah, if you pile on the foam so you're got 3 feet of it on each wall, then you might get some sound proofing, but you're going to waste a lot of space and time trying to do that. My friend, who didn't know any better, bought some of that exact foam you're refering to to "sound proof" the window in their jam space. I said to him "what did you do that for? that's not going to stop the sound..." He didn't know any better. So I decided to help him at least get the best out of what he already bought. I cut the foam to the exact size of the window and sealed it up nice, even put two layers... when all was said and done, we spent night doing it, and it didn't do a damn thing for sound proofing, further supporting the fact that foam won't stop sound. If you're serious about getting free stuff look for apartment buildings going up and look in their scrap piles for wood. They ALWAYS have a scrap pile, and it's ALWAYS for the taking. Get some wood and thicken your walls.
 
Brian


Thank you. First, to be a senior member you need not know anything about recording. Next, I dont need it for sound proofing, I am underground and the sound is not getting out so I dont have to worry about that. What I was
thinking of was for sound absortion to deaden the room? Would the styrofoam be good for that? I know they use acoustic foam. How about applying the foam to the styrofoam?
That would make it very easy to put up in corners etc and be
temporary. I want to take my underground garage and turn it into a studio/playroom and when I sell the house I want to be able to remove all walls etc that were used for the studio leaving a large playroom. The only wall that is not
underground is the garage door side which I intend on removing and bulding cinderblocks about 4 course high then
adding a picture window with double hungs on either side.
No neighbors on that side and a fir tree barrier. Will have to do something to put in the window just like you did to deaden the sound when recording and quickly removable for letting daylight and fresh air in.
 
The foam will act as a deadener of you put it on the walls (high end absorption) and can also be used within a wall structure as an acoustic deadener. if it's free use it mate!!
 
John

Thanx again, I love your site and will be visiting it again soon. Did I reply to a post of yours where I said to
visit a computer fair? I thought it was you but I cant find
the post again?
 
What you're saying about mounting studio foam on styrafoam is a good idea. If you're getting it for free use it up. Just be carefull with what you use to glue the studio foam to the styrafoam with. What one of the foams can stand might melt the other. Auralex makes good glues. I use Foamtac. I just hung some studio foam in my studio with it, it works good.

As far as putting the foam in your walls like John said... it doesn't sound like you're looking to take down your walls to put foam inside are you? That's something that, if you're building, and you find the foam before you put paneling up, you'd put the foam in then, it's not really an afterthought kind of item.

Anyway... if you have a place to store LOTS of foam sheets, take it, you'll find a use for them.

As far as the "newbie" and "senior member" crap goes... I don't need those titles to tell me what I know. I have experience in the real world, with real studios, in real studio situations, that's what I come here for, and I hope people will consider the things I say. I just laugh when I see "newbie" in front of my name :)
 
Thanks for the posting about the styrofoam. I was also wondering about its absorptive properties. My idea, similarly, was to buy a couple sheets of those 4 x 8 rigid insulation sheets, cut them into smaller units, wrap them in fabric, and mount those in my echo-y new control room. I don't want totally "dead"--simply non-reverberating.

Or would I do better to simply buy the K-mart mattress pads and do the same thing? Would the rigid board be more absorbtive, and should I worry about what type of fabric--for example; can I paint burlap and have it still be as effective? (After all the home renovations, I don't have the $$$ for studiofoam proper).

[Edited by MM2 on 08-04-2000 at 13:36]
 
MM2 said:
Thanks for the posting about the styrofoam. I was also wondering about its absorptive properties. My idea, similarly, was to buy a couple sheets of those 4 x 8 rigid insulation sheets, cut them into smaller units, wrap them in fabric, and mount those in my echo-y new control room. I don't want totally "dead"--simply non-reverberating.

Or would I do better to simply buy the K-mart mattress pads and do the same thing? Would the rigid board be more absorbtive, and should I worry about what type of fabric--for example; can I paint burlap and have it still be as effective? (After all the home renovations, I don't have the $$$ for studiofoam proper).

[Edited by MM2 on 08-04-2000 at 13:36]

The K-mart mattress pads will do a little bit for you, but as far as low end absorption they won't do crap. Also, I don't know if anyone here is thinking about fire saftey, but those K-mart mattress pads aren't fire rated like the nice acoustic foams.

Think of it like this... If you're going to just be doing recordings for yourself, putting anything in the room that's semi absorptive will be better than putting nothing in the room. On the other hand, if you're going to record other people, you want to make your rooms impressive, so then you buy he nice stuff. You can pretty much answer your own questions by sticking to those two guidlines.
 
I saw my dad has alot of rigid styrofoam panels from being inside fridge doors. I wondered if it would work as an ok absorber. Cuz everyone knows a teen like me doesnt have the $ for propper treatment. I have home made bass traps that work pretty well. Would hanging these panels and covering them in fabric work for my bedroom studio needs? Just something to tame reflections
 
It would help some with reflections certainly. Not sure how it would effect the freq response in the room but maybe someone more knowledgable will be along.
 
From what I have heard, closed cell, rigid styrofoam will do nothing but reflect sound. No absorption at all at any frequency. The foam isn't in the fridge wall so you cant hear the body screaming. It's for insulating. :D
 
good question. I wondered about using styrofoam to make artistic diffusion panels opinions appreciated
 
Styrofoam is useless for acoustic treatment (it is reflective), and if it catches fire the fumes will probably kill you. I doubt an insurance company is going to pay a claim on a structure that had flammable and poisonous materials installed in a way not intended by the manufacturer.
 
Styrofoam panels , I would stay away from it. It stops virtually no sound transmission especially bass due to its lightweight construction, and does very little to help acoustic properties of the room. It is designed to stop heat and cold.

I have had many friends over the years get hold of free styrofoam panels and try to build a rehearsal room or recording room and they just wasted their time. May as well use egg cartons (OH NO!! I said it) which are just as big a waste of time.

There is one thing you can do with the Styrofoam, you could construct a defuser, but wood is better.

Alan.
 
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