Best soundproof floor cover to block out loud sounds from downstairs garage?

[Perfectionist]

Hi guys, my first thread post. I love music and have decided to start building a 15x15ft music room. Problem is I will be building my studio on the second floor from the Garage. All kinds of hammering and clanking can be heard from the Garage. I want my studio soundproof. I'm on a budget but what is an affordable way (400$ or less) to block out loud sounds from downstairs as much as possible coming through the floor? THank you

 

[Chili]

Not possible. Sound proofing or "transmission loss" has to be designed into the room. It's almost impossible to achieve any acceptable level by adding to an existing structure.

Friday night, I stayed at the Embassy Suites in El Segundo, California, basically right next to LAX. At 9pm, I was just finishing up some emails and I heard some thumping start up, then some music. WTF, you know... Turns out there was a corporate party in one of the banquet rooms 5 floors down. That's five floors of concrete through which I heard the thumping.

 

[Perfectionist]

Not possible. Sound proofing or "transmission loss" has to be designed into the room. It's almost impossible to achieve any acceptable level by adding to an existing structure.

So if I'm correct, what your saying is that I cant block sound coming from the Garage but I can soundproof the garage ("has to be designed into the room") in order to seize sound from going up the floor?

If that is the case, what can I do to reduce sound in the garage? Adding more sheet rock in the whole garage would be far to expensive. Would studio foam be enough? Suggestions?

 

[RAMI]

Putting aside the whole sound-proofing thing, why are you building a 15X15 room? Is the room already built? If so, then I guess there's nothing you can do about it. But if it isn't built yet, you might want to re-think your choice of dimensions. A square room is the worst possible scenario for acoustics. Well, the worst is a cube, so hopefully it's not 15X15X15.

 

[Chili]

So if I'm correct, what your saying is that I cant block sound coming from the Garage but I can soundproof the garage ("has to be designed into the room") in order to seize sound from going up the floor?

If that is the case, what can I do to reduce sound in the garage? Adding more sheet rock in the whole garage would be far to expensive. Would studio foam be enough? Suggestions?

If you're going to put a studio over top of a garage with a lot of noise, pounding, banging, hammering, etc, you will not be able to stop the sound from making its way into your studio. Then it becomes a matter of adjusting your schedule, rethink what is acceptable, find another location. Stuff like that.

And studio foam does practically nothing for anything, except waste your money.

 

[Chili]

Well, the worst is a cube, so hopefully it's not 15X15X15.

And this kind of ties in with allowing for compromises.... My studio is a cube. 10x10x10, but I make it work. Lots of bass traps, direct inputs when possible, keep volumes low, search out other rooms in the house for tracking, if necessary. When you don't have ideal conditions, you have to think outside the box (I hate that cliché) to come up with better solutions.

$400 and some foam will not stop sound from getting into your studio. Five floors of concrete couldn't keep that DJ music from getting in my hotel room.

 

[RAMI]

And this kind of ties in with allowing for compromises.... My studio is a cube. 10x10x10, but I make it work.

Well yeah, you make it work because you have no choice. My point was that, if he hasn't built it yet, he might want to re-think it.

 

[Perfectionist]

Wow guys, just blew my whole plan out of the water. I was going to build 2 walls parallel from the existing walls with some 2x6's and then Sheetrock it and lay carpet down with some foam padding on the walls. It sounds like i can't do anything about downstairs...that sucks but I'll make it work. Guess I just have to arrange times to record.

Ok, but now answer this. Can I cancel the sound from my (to-be) studio from being heard in the garage if I put down insulation and carpet, etc? Thanks guys. Your knowledge is far beyond mine on this.

 

[pikingrin]

Ok, but now answer this. Can I cancel the sound from my (to-be) studio from being heard in the garage if I put down insulation and carpet, etc? Thanks guys. Your knowledge is far beyond mine on this.

This would be the same as sound coming in; it's going to be just as difficult keeping your sounds from going into the garage. One of the bands I was in a while back had a practice space upstairs from a garage. When they had the space built they used sound-absorbing panels behind the sheetrock and under the carpet - it didn't do anything at all. With the room completely closed (and garage doors downstairs), you could still easily hear the drums and the bass (even at a relatively low volume) 150ft away out at the street. "Soundproofing" materials doubled the cost but did not do anything to keep the sound from our rehearsals from escaping. We had to move our practice schedule around because if we practiced after dark, 9 times out of 10, the cops would show up and shut us down.

 

[mjbphotos]

Carpet does NOTHING for your sound (blocking or treating) - do not waste your money on putting padding and carpet on the walls!
Just like you can't block the sounds from the garage coming up into your room, you will not block the sounds from your room going down to the garage. You can DI (direct input) instruments, rather than miking amps.
You need to learn the difference between acoustic treatment and sound blocking. Start reading all the threads in this section of the forum, follow the links to some of the real studio design pros who frequent here.

 

[Btyre2013]

yes never ever put carpet on the walls, it's THE worst thing you can do for the sound, you'll get a permanent muddy sound whilst getting rid of the high frequencies and emphasising bass problems even more than just a bare wall.