DIY Panels

[Dan Merrill]

I built some simple sound absorbers today for my friend's guitar teaching room. (It was loud with too much room echo) Got some pics some of you might enjoy as I know pics speak volumes when making your own.

Materials

1-4'x8' sheet of 1/4" luan board
1-16" x 96" MDF board, 3/4" thick
1- 4x8 sheet Knauf 2" fiberboard
2" drywall screws- for frame
1" drywall screws- for luan back
4 yards of blue upolstery fabric- (similar to a burlap weave)
3/8" staples

We built 4, 2'x4" panels.

Specs on the fiberboard will knock down 500hz to 5k and reduced amounts off either end of these numbers.

Basically we built trays with the MDF and luan, and dropped inthe fiberboard, wrapped it in cloth and stapled it to the back. They look really good and clean. the lines are actually better than they look inthe final photo...

He plans to hang some from the ceiling using eye hooks and wire to lower the freq response, and also put them on the walls.

[Dan Merrill]

panel components

[Dan Merrill]

finished pic

[Dan Merrill]

correction we built 4, 2 foot x 4 FOOT panels!

[John Sayers]

Cool Dan - did you work out how much they cost you?? I'd be really interested in a cost comparison with other commercial products/sq foot.

cheers
John

[Dan Merrill]

I got a deal on the fiberboard, and total materials were about 50.00 USD. Had I paid full price for the fiberboard I think it would have been another $10.00.

So, $12.50 a panel, $1.56 sq foot- not bad.

The 2" auralex I've previously bought was about $16.00 a panel. Buying auralex or a similar product would be easier but obviously there are applications where studio foam is not the desired look...

[ausrock]

Dan,

Can you please let us know how successful the panels were, etc.,

[Dan Merrill]

sure. it may be a week before they're up- but maybe I can get a picture of them once they're up, and a report as well.

[frederic]

Originally posted by Dan Merrill
sure. it may be a week before they're up- but maybe I can get a picture of them once they're up, and a report as well.

Nice job, very nice

[Yadi]

thanks to this link I found a source for Knauf fiberglass. It is a manufacturer who makes/fabricates treatments for General Motors. Lucky me. The guy I dealt with was really cool, knew exactly what I was doing and sold me 3" boards, supposedly more dense than 3lb rating. They even cut them for me and loaded my van. I bought 10 - 2' x 4' x 2" for $5.80 each.

Now I plan to cover them with a red (almost burlap loose weave) fabric. I think I am going to screw 3/8 plywood to the walls (same size as the treatment) and liquid nail the treatment to the boards....so whoever takes these down won't destroy the wallboard.

All said and done, I figure I saved over $100 compared to Auralex.

Thanks all!

[Dan Merrill]

Yadi,
Cool! that 3" stuff will really smack down some of the lower frequencies.

As a follow up, I haven't actually made it into my bud's space since he put them up, but he reported to me that just 2 panels really improved his 10'x 6' teaching room. Where he used to be bothered by ear fatigue from a loud room he now has to speak a little louder, because the room markedly deader sounding.

I gotta build about 36 of these in the next weeks, we'll see how the mass production goes... will post any alterations I may come up with in the process.

[Bushice]

What's MDF board?

Bushice

[ausrock]

Bush,

Hopefully the attached pic will help answer that. MDF is much denser than chipboard/particleboard/pineboard, whichever you wish to call it.

[Bushice]

Thanks, Aus. i thought it was an abbreviation for something.

Bushice

[ola]

Medium Density Fibreboard

[Dan Merrill]

And the best part about using MDF is that unlike plywood or pine board, MDF cuts and stays straight and true. makes for nice lines.

[elevate]

Where can you get some of that fiberboard? Would they have it at something like Lowe's or Home Depot?

[edit]
Just to clarify, I'm referring to the the fiberglass stuff, not the MDF.

[Dan Merrill]

Elevate,
Go to the end of this thread below, there is some info I've posted in the past about fiberboard insulation. In short, HD does not carry it

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthr...ighlight=knauf