What to Put on the Floor

A

Alex W

New member
So I just read the post from Jonathan in the discussion on Don's studio saying that carpet & pad ontop of concrete sounds bad. Bummer. That's what I was planning on doing. Does anyone else have experience with other floor coverings for concrete? My construction budget is already way-tapped and I can't see squeezing a parquet floor out of that turnip.

Alex
 
it's not that carpet is a No-No, but that Carpet absorbs well at hi frequencies and very little at low frequencies. if you want to use carpet, then you'll need to balance the absorption using low Peaking absorbers.

if you're installing a suspended ceiling this can be completed rather inexpensively using Helmholtz resonators.

in place of the standard suspended ceiling tile, build a 2x4 or 2x2 frame tile of this construction (top to bottom):

Top...
aaaaa - 3 inches of R-11 insulation
zzzz - 3/4" particle board or MFD
yyyy - 703 2"
xxxxx - 3/16" Plywood or Masonite with Holes 3/16" on 6" centers
Bottom
.
.
.
Floor

note that concrete floors and Wood parquet floors have very similar absorption coefficients. parquet though is a bit better in the low frequencies so with parquet you're really paying for the look and feel, not the acoustics.
 
I'm using a floor made from recycled car tires, it looks great, it performs fantastic (soundwise), and the clients absolutely love it.
If you need details just email me and I'll sent you details of my supplier.
 
I'd be interested in the info on the recycled tire flooring. Tried to e-mail you but apparently you've selected not to receive e-mails through the forum. Go ahead and post the info if you've got it.

Thanks, Alex
 
?? private message thing works fine,
but, email me your name and address at sjoerd@ngsproductions.com and I'll arrange for some samples to be sent to you.
My supplier is http://www.livingreen.com
How much do you need? Because I have some left after doing our tracking room.

I should perhaps outline some of the advantages of the product over wooden floors.
1. You can glue it straight onto concrete. Wooden floors need 2 layers of material (one base and one sound absorbsion).
2. Despite it not being thick, it feels soft to walk on. Its therefore not tiring to the feet.
3. Its smooth, but not as reflective as wood. I find it superior for sound.
4. There is less noise when tracking. No sound of feet moving or tapping, no sound of instrument cords etc.
5. Superb grip and strength. You can put any drums etc. with the pins on the floor, it will not damage it in any way, and the drums won't move. They use the same stuff in golf clubs (spikes!) and weight rooms.
6. You can clean it easily. Its advised to put a sealant on it a couple of times for a good finish.

To fit it you will need a bunch of very sharp Stanley blades, a steel ruler and special glue. Cutting it will give you some muscles, gluing it is a shitty job, but once its in ....... All together a lot less work than putting in a wooden floor.

Disadvantages. Just one, for the first month it smells a bit of rubber, seal it a couple of times and it is gone.

There is also a much thicker rubber mat available. This is IDEAL for under floating floors, timber frames etc. (in fact, I wish I could re-do the floor in our control room). You can cut small squires to carry a frame, or even better, just cover the floor, then put a frame on top and the finish floor over that.
 
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Sounds cool.

I've sent an e-mail to the folks at Living Green so I'll try and find out if they can sell it to home recc'er. Thanks for your help!

Alex
 
sjoko,

this may sound like a strange request but, would it be possible to see a picture of it installed?

cheers

R
 
email me and I'll sent you one.
Even tough ... as I told Alex, I had to go through all the pics to try and find one that showed the floor:rolleyes:
I suppose I never thought about "floor pictures"
 
that sounds like a good idea for a performance room, but is it really practical in a control room? especially with a guy sitting on the seats with wheels?

:cool:

just a thought

Rochey
 
<<note that concrete floors and Wood parquet floors have very similar absorption coefficients. parquet though is a bit better in the low frequencies so with parquet you're really paying for the look and feel, not the acoustics.
>>

i must beg to differ with Sonix, only because in my real world experience changing from concrete to parquet was so dramatic in everyway. I've no idea how it works out on paper.
 
Hey there.

Looking at the quotations I had,
The standard black one at 5/32" thick was $2.10 per square ft.
Econights - balck with colored bits - was $2.87
The 1/4" thick matting I used in the drum and vocal booths was $3.08.

By the way, you can also use the 1/4" stuff just as a mat. It works wonders under drum kits. They do not move, and the mat does not transmit any vibrations. The only disadvantage is that its heavy to carry around.
 
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