deadening ducts

[mncheetah]

What is the best way to deaden sound transmission through ductwork - assuming a typical basement Heating\cooling system(furnace\central air unit indoors and every room sharing the same send and return ducts)?

Do they make a rubber type connector (see picture) that can absorb the vibrations(and withstand high temperatures)?

Any other ideas???

 

[Todzilla]

DUCTLESS?

Ducts are an ideal way to distribute sound throughout your house. There are baffling schemes described in F. Alton Everest's books, but they are pretty complicated and require you to pretty much tear up your existing ductwork as it runs through the studio and put new oversized ducts in with baffle boxes.

If you are doing this on the cheap (and you're doing it in a basement as I recall), I would consider excluding the ducts from your room framing and then using a fan to exchange air with an adjacent space on an as-needed basis. If your room is big enough, this won't be a problem. I never ran out of air in my similar deployment and when it gets stale, your ears need a break anyway.

If you want to do keep ductwork anyway, you'll want a dedicated feed and supply duct that meets the other ductwork way back at the main unit. Do not have the studio duct vents along a common duct path with other rooms' feeds.

Good Luck!

 

[Track Rat]

I don't know the name of the product but what I did was to replace the ductwork that went into my studio and the ductwork that went to the room above my studio with flexable duct. It looks like a slinky that's about 8" in diameter that's covered with insulation and the whole thing is wrapped in plastic (like trash bag material). You can get this stuff at most hardware stores.

 

[mncheetah]

Track Rat, is the stuff you're describing made for heat or cold-air return?