Isolation room

C

CharlieDrum

New member
Im trying to build an 11'W x 7.5'H x 8'D isolation room in my master bedroom.
I've been widowed for almost three years now and i would love to use my room for this project.
I just dont know where ot how to start or what to use.
 
CharlieDrum said:
Im trying to build an 11'W x 7.5'H x 8'D isolation room in my master bedroom.
I've been widowed for almost three years now and i would love to use my room for this project.
I just dont know where ot how to start or what to use.
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I forgot to mention that I'm not wanting a soundproof room...just to reduce lots of decibels to prevent my neighbors from complaining.
 
The sound transfers through the hard surfaces of the room, so to truly 'isolate', you need to create a 'room within a room' using rubber pads that keep the inside room's surfaces from contacting the outside room's surfaces. Expensive, heavy, and will make the room much smaller, of course.
To absorb some of the volume, put 4-6" of rockwool on all the surfaces. Cover and seal up any openings such as windows.
 
what is your intention for the room, practice, rehearsal, jamming, recording, mixing/mastering? I'm assuming electric guitars. How close are the neighbors? Assuming single family house. What is the current size and layout? Do you currently have complaints from the neighbors?

Not to be the devil's advocate or anything, but is this house necessarily the one you plan to stay in for the long term? You'd hate to spend $$$ and then some years later, have to pay $ to rip it out and present the house for sale. I don't know your situation (heavens forbid you need to deal with HOAs) or location so it's hard to give suggestions. If you're free to move wherever you want, if your house is in a hot market and you want to get far away, now would be the time.
 
You might consider, is an iso-box. A smaller sized box that holds just the amplifier. Dimensions being a few feet.

In the near, I am looking to build one of these.
 
Y
bluesfordan said:
what is your intention for the room, practice, rehearsal, jamming, recording, mixing/mastering? I'm assuming electric guitars. How close are the neighbors? Assuming single family house. What is the current size and layout? Do you currently have complaints from the neighbors?

Not to be the devil's advocate or anything, but is this house necessarily the one you plan to stay in for the long term? You'd hate to spend $$$ and then some years later, have to pay $ to rip it out and present the house for sale. I don't know your situation (heavens forbid you need to deal with HOAs) or location so it's hard to give suggestions. If you're free to move wherever you want, if your house is in a hot market and you want to get far away, now would be the time.
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Yes, i plan to practice and jam in it. My two girls play music as well. We've lived in this house for 19 yrs and we plan to stay here. So this is why I plan to build an isolated drum room.
 
mjbphotos said:
The sound transfers through the hard surfaces of the room, so to truly 'isolate', you need to create a 'room within a room' using rubber pads that keep the inside room's surfaces from contacting the outside room's surfaces. Expensive, heavy, and will make the room much smaller, of course.
To absorb some of the volume, put 4-6" of rockwool on all the surfaces. Cover and seal up any openings such as windows.
Click to expand...
Thank you..
 
bluesfordan said:
what is your intention for the room, practice, rehearsal, jamming, recording, mixing/mastering? I'm assuming electric guitars. How close are the neighbors? Assuming single family house. What is the current size and layout? Do you currently have complaints from the neighbors?

Not to be the devil's advocate or anything, but is this house necessarily the one you plan to stay in for the long term? You'd hate to spend $$$ and then some years later, have to pay $ to rip it out and present the house for sale. I don't know your situation (heavens forbid you need to deal with HOAs) or location so it's hard to give suggestions. If you're free to move wherever you want, if your house is in a hot market and you want to get far away, now would be the time.
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Practice and jam... I also have my two girls play music with me as well.
 
You missed the killer feature- the drum word. Drums upstairs on a suspended floor is a killer. You have the drum sound, but worse, the physical hit of the pedal. It means at the very least a new floor. Often 18mm plywood, suspended on rubber. Either little neoprene blocks, or neoprene strips or even a complete mat. If your floor boards have gaps that is pointless as a barrier so you may need to lift them and replace with solid. While doing it you need to investigate if your joists can take the weight. If your walls are solid then you might be able to add extra layers to them and the ceiling, but if the walls are lightweight you may need a complete room in the room, eating up a minimum of 4“ on walls and a bit more on the ceiling. Downstairs is easy. Upstairs means weight. Lots of weight and I’m not competent to decide if your floor can take it. Just think of the weight a huge pile of sheet rock is? Ground floor on concrete is easy. Upstairs on a suspended floor with the joists in dinky hangers sticking out an inch from the wall? I’ve done loads of ground floor studios and just one luckily on concrete beam and block on an upper floor. I’m not sure I could safely add mass to one of my bedrooms that make drums a possibility.
 
I should have guessed drums from the screen name. D'oh !!

good point about the hangers, newer construction is often about meeting bare minimums
 
I never saw it either! With many upstairs bedrooms - joist size is minimised. My old house bounced on the 1st floor (is that US 2nd floor???) His floor area is 3 sheets. so that's what? 180 lbs is US money. 1/2" Drywall is about 40lbs. A room within a room with two layers is 6 sheets for the ceiling and with the walls about 20 sheets, plus the weight of the studs and joists. So for the sheet material we're looking at nearly a 1000 lbs plus the timber 10ft of 2 x 3" is about 20lbs. We're well over half a ton, and that's without equipment and people. Are those joists carrying the weight on decent hangers, or just a bit short sitting on top of a bit of brick, or maybe even a bit wormy? Many jobbing builders might be capable of saying "yes, this will NOT collapse" - others might be unsure and some will guess. I like concrete taking the weight, not hidden bits of timber outs of sight and mind.
 
I think the one I did weighed over 1000kg's. It is very easy to work out being that the insulation etc is all weight listed. 10ftx8ftx7ft high booth- 4" timber- 2" battens - 6" booth floor joists - 4" insulation boards floor ceiling and walls + 2" extra in walls. - 18mm osb floor plus carpet - 10mm osb inside and out ceiling and walls............Then a door plus equipment plus possibly 2 people 140kg's.

But it was in a room which had new 12ft span 9"x2" joists 400mm/16" centers with the 10ft booth going across about 12 of them.

It all mounts up.
 
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the second floor (1st floor to the overseas folks) of my old house was like a trampoline. The house was built in 1962, you would think it would have been a little more solid but they were probably already starting to build to maximize profit over durability even then. Couldn't have a turntable and also dance. Cassette and CD weren't a problem LOL.
 
rob aylestone said:
I never saw it either! With many upstairs bedrooms - joist size is minimised. My old house bounced on the 1st floor (is that US 2nd floor???) His floor area is 3 sheets. so that's what? 180 lbs is US money. 1/2" Drywall is about 40lbs. A room within a room with two layers is 6 sheets for the ceiling and with the walls about 20 sheets, plus the weight of the studs and joists. So for the sheet material we're looking at nearly a 1000 lbs plus the timber 10ft of 2 x 3" is about 20lbs. We're well over half a ton, and that's without equipment and people. Are those joists carrying the weight on decent hangers, or just a bit short sitting on top of a bit of brick, or maybe even a bit wormy? Many jobbing builders might be capable of saying "yes, this will NOT collapse" - others might be unsure and some will guess. I like concrete taking the weight, not hidden bits of timber outs of sight and mind.
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Did I miss something? I don't see where he said it was upstairs necessarily.

Might I make another suggestion? Have you considered an electronic kit? I know they can be expensive, but they don't have to be. But I'm not a drummer, so I don't know what would be acceptable to you. But what you're proposing will probably end up costing roughly the price of a cheap e-kit, and the e-kit will still be much quieter.
 
Now if this is in a house with just you and you don't care about the noise transferring downstairs (if indeed it IS upstairs) and you just care about the neighbors next door (and this isn't a row house, or townhouse as we call it here, meaning you don't share a common wall with anyone), it shouldn't be that hard. The problem is that if you're going to spend any real time in the box, you're going to need some sort of ventilation, and that is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
 
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