Sound proof my Studio/Jam space.

M

Muffin

New member
Improve my Studio/Jam space.

Greetings,
I've been slowly building my studio. I have an old house and have been busy renovating and this was the last room in the house. I needed something temporary to try to keep the noise down atleast a little bit as not to drive my wife crazy. I stripped the walls of their lovely paneling and ugly particalboard ceiling tile to a skeleton frame. I stuffed the 10" joist with r20 insulation and r12 between the studs in the walls, support by old bed sheets stapled to the joist/studs.
There are 2 windows, one located right behind the drums(picture 1) and one, while facing the drums, to the left(picture 4).
It does ok, keeps the noise from bouncing, but I'd like to finish my project.
The pictures provided is the space I have to work with. Dimensions are 15'x10'x7'(height) this room is in the basement(cement floor). The bottom picture is the ceiling that I did in the main room of my basement and I'd like to do the same in the studio if at all possible. It's simply 1"x6"s with a 1/2" gap.

What I'd like is a room that is nearly soundproof, however not ruining my acoustics for recording(drums mainly).

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Muffin said:
I needed something temporary to try to keep the noise down atleast a little bit as not to drive my wife crazy. I stripped the walls of their lovely paneling and ugly particalboard ceiling tile to a skeleton frame. I stuffed the 10" joist with r20 insulation and r12 between the studs in the walls, support by old bed sheets stapled to the joist/studs.
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Ok. You are doing acoustic treatment and NOT sound-proofing. By removing paneling... etc. you have actually reduced the transmission loss of the walls & ceiling, making the sound go through better.

To keep noise down and not drive your wife (and the neighbors) crazy, you will need to build a mass barrier. Heavy drywall will work the best in your situation - 2 layers if possible. If you can afford Green Glue with 2 layers of 5/8" gypsum board, you will get up to 10db additional transmission loss.

Muffin said:
It does ok, keeps the noise from bouncing, but I'd like to finish my project.
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Yes, That is what it does.

Muffin said:
The pictures provided is the space I have to work with. Dimensions are 15'x10'x7'(height) this room is in the basement(cement floor). The bottom picture is the ceiling that I did in the main room of my basement and I'd like to do the same in the studio if at all possible. It's simply 1"x6"s with a 1/2" gap.
Click to expand...
The 1 X 6's are a nice touch! You can have absorption behind them for trapping and the wood slats create diffusion which is needed in a recording room.

Muffin said:
What I'd like is a room that is nearly soundproof, however not ruining my acoustics for recording(drums mainly).
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Again, my friend, please do not confuse sound-proofing with acoustics treatment. They are 2 completely different animals.

You can have a room that is sound-proofed to the outside world but is one big echo chamber with flutter and mode problems... AND on the other hand you can build an excellent sounding room that has terrible transmission loss and a band playing in there can be heard down the block.

Do a search on Mass - Air - Mass walls. This should point you in the right direction for sound proofing. For treatment -- recording rooms require different treatment than mix/control rooms.

I hope this helps. I probably need to write an article to post here on the differences between sound-proofing and acoustics treatment. :D

Cheers,
John
 
Well thank-you very much sir for your insight, it's always great to learn!
I knew that sound proofing and acoustic treatments were 2 different things, but I was curious if it was possible to achieve both.

I will look into mass-air-mass walls, thank-you for the tip.

I also heard of placing sheets of fibreboard before drywall, not sure it would be any more effective then drywall or not. Also I'm assuming the insulation in the walls would be useless once sheeting it right? If it is I may just stuff it up into the ceiling.

Lastly are the windows an issue?
 
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Forget about soundproofing. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just being realistic.

The effort and expense would be outrageous, and you'd be left with precious little space to work with.

Think of a room like a fishtank. If it has a hole, it doesn't matter where it is - it's going to leak. If your room isn't airtight, it isn't soundproof.

And if your room is airtight, then you can't breathe.

So there's the issue of ventilation - how do you ventilate a space you're trying to soundproof?

I'd focus my energies on getting along with the wife and neighbors so that you can play.
 
Supercreep said:
Forget about soundproofing. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just being realistic.

The effort and expense would be outrageous, and you'd be left with precious little space to work with.

Think of a room like a fishtank. If it has a hole, it doesn't matter where it is - it's going to leak. If your room isn't airtight, it isn't soundproof.

And if your room is airtight, then you can't breathe.

So there's the issue of ventilation - how do you ventilate a space you're trying to soundproof?

I'd focus my energies on getting along with the wife and neighbors so that you can play.
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Well luckily for me, my wife is great with all the noise, and I only have 1 neighbor(aside from those across the street).

I'm not expecting to get the room absolutely sound proof. I know that would be quite the job. However I'd like to keep the sound from travelling too far outside the room itself. I have a 6 month old son so of course I don't want my music to effect him in anyway.

I just want the room to be relatively controlled.
 
Alright so I've ruled out the option of 'sound proofing' my studio but rather I'd like it more 'sound controlled'.
Based on the suggestions I've gotten so far hows this for an idea?
Strip my walls of the insulation and stuff it up into the ceiling.
Double drywall the walls.
Insulate the door(weather stripping as well).
1.5" styrofoam covering the entire ceiling with 1"x6"s over top.

What you think? Practical? Would it keep most the noise in the room? What else should be added/changed?
 
Muffin said:
Strip my walls of the insulation and stuff it up into the ceiling.
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I would suggest you leave the insulation in the walls and add it to the ceiling. You need it in the walls to damp resonances.

Muffin said:
Double drywall the walls.
Insulate the door(weather stripping as well).
Click to expand...
Excellent!!

Muffin said:
1.5" styrofoam covering the entire ceiling with 1"x6"s over top.
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I wouldn't use styrofoam (fire hazzard) and it's not such a good absorber.. use rock wool or OC 703. The 1 X 6s are an excellent idea too!

Cheers,
John
 
jhbrandt said:
I would suggest you leave the insulation in the walls and add it to the ceiling. You need it in the walls to damp resonances.


Excellent!!


I wouldn't use styrofoam (fire hazzard) and it's not such a good absorber.. use rock wool or OC 703. The 1 X 6s are an excellent idea too!

Cheers,
John
Click to expand...

Thank-you, I'll look into the rock wool.
Would you place rock wool over the entire ceiling(including joists) or just in between the joist spacings?

Lastly, windows. What needs to be done with those?
 
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Muffin said:
Thank-you, I'll look into the rock wool.
Would you place rock wool over the entire ceiling(including joists) or just in between the joist spacings?

Lastly, windows. What needs to be done with those?
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The job will only be as good as it's weakest link. So double drywall and insulation is wasted if you have windows untreated.

Same with your door. If it's a hollow core door, it's going to resonate and transmit sound structurally.

Same with electrical outlets. Sound flanks and will escape. You will want to make the room as airtight as you can.

Best case scenario for windows is to build over them. Otherwise, removable panels that fit snugly could work, if you can find a way to make it airtight.
 
You don't have to do this all at once, FYI.
Drywall is relatively inexpensive, so doing the double layer of drywall to start out would be a good starting point. If you can't afford the compressed fibreglass or rockwool insulation behind the drywall, you might try a thicker ( R-25) layer of "pink" fibreglass insulation.
 
Muffin said:
Would you place rock wool over the entire ceiling(including joists) or just in between the joist spacings?
Click to expand...

Only between the joists.

If you want to improve TL through the ceiling, place one or two layers of drywall up between the joists against the sub-floor before you put in the fiberglass.

Muffin said:
Lastly, windows. What needs to be done with those?
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You have several options; 1. block them up completely. 2. add a thick 'fixed' panel to the window opening and seal well. 3. open the windows for additional bass trapping. - just kidding. haha. Scratch #3. (Ever wonder who writes those stupid multiple choice questions on tests??)

Also, FYI, the good old pink fluffy stuff is actually better in the walls than OC 703 or any compressed stuff. It's function is quite different inside the wall cavity.

Cheers,
John
 
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