commercial acoustic ceiling tiles as component in bass traps?

ReInventor

ReInventor

New member
I am a commercial electrician. One of my job perks is the ability to pick up unused materials from construction sites. Acoustic ceiling tiles are usually abundant. If one is scratched in the least it is thrown out, so I can get these pretty readily and for free.

My question is can they be used in place of 703 in bass traps? It would take a few more tiles than 703 panels to make the required thicknesses, but should it work? Are the sound absorbing properties of these conducive to this application?

I could treat my entire room for just the cost of fabric and mounting hardware!!! Too good to be true right?
 
depends

There are some tiles that are compressed fiberglass. I used this material for my bass traps. They are 1" thick and usually have a skin then the yellow fiberglass backing. You can stack these for your 4"
Ryan
 
True. The yellow compressed fiberglass will work well, but the regular cellulose fiber acoustic tiles have a higher acoustic impedance than the compressed fiberglass and therefore do not have the same absorption coefficient. They will work to some degree.

Here are some comparison NRCs:
Product 125hz 250hz 500hz 1000hz 2000hz 4000hz NRC
Owens/Corning
703, plain, 2" 0.17 0.86 1.14 1.07 1.02 0.98 1.00

Ceiling Tile
Fine Fissured 0.36 0.41 0.65 0.84 0.90 0.88 0.70
 
jhbrandt said:
True. The yellow compressed fiberglass will work well, but the regular cellulose fiber acoustic tiles have a higher acoustic impedance than the compressed fiberglass and therefore do not have the same absorption coefficient. They will work to some degree.

Ceiling Tile
Fine Fissured 0.36 0.41 0.65 0.84 0.90 0.88 0.70
Click to expand...

John,

Is that NRC for the Ceiling Tile, just the generic fiber/mix panels that are 5/8" thick and generally have a NRC rating of .55 or so? The kind you see in most offices? (not fiberglass type)
 
That's for Armstrong Ceiling Tile - Fine Fissured High NRC. = 0.7
For their Cirrus Beveled Tile it is NRC = 0.85 ... not bad!

Actually if you want to use these as bass trap material, I suggest that you use them with air spacing between them in layers. If you will look at the figures for the low frequencies you will notice that these are actually better at the LF than OC 703. :D This is due to the acoustic impedance of the material and, as shown by the chart, this is only noted for the 125Hz band. ~shrug~ This is the only data that I have on these things. I have never used them for bass traps and probably never will. :D let me know if you do -- and the results.
Cheers,
John
 
Thanks, I was thinking that same thing. To maximize cost savings, what would happen if you used them in a corner trap, with 2" of rockwool (6pcf), an inch of air space or so, then one of those panels , all in a 1x4 frame, floor to ceiling in the corner?

It may not be as good as 4" of the wool, or OC 705, but at 125hz and below, it might help.

Just a thought for utilizing free material.

Thanks,
Greg
 
I used the compressed fiberglass tiles to create my bass traps.
Stacked them up, put them in wood frames, covered with muslin.
Worked great for me! 160 sq ft of traps in 110 sq ft room.
I made them anywhere from 2" to 10" thick, depending on how much space was available. (since it was a tiny space, I had to squeeze it in everywhere I could).
I secured it in the wooden frames with a brad nailer jsut shooting a bunch of brads through the frame into the fiberglass.
Worked very, very well!
Cheers
C.
 
The ones I have access to most readily are compressed cellulose I guess, the Armstrong type that John pointed out.

I think I'll try this. I'm going to treat a corner with a floor to ceiling bass trap and two 2x4 absorbers on either side of it with this material. I'll use three sheets thick with an air space between the sheets. Will certainly be better than nothing correct?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top