pvc pipe celing project budget $100

doulos24

New member
ok this is nuts I've gone off the deep end this time. I've made a semi angled celing out of pvc pipe covering the mix position. I'm just geting started this is the frame work for the celing. I'm going to suspend acoustic celing tiles fixed to some thin plywood or similar to give me a reflection free celing any ideas welcome. I've spent 42 dollars so far and I'm taking about 5 of it back in stuff I haven't used so I have about 65 I can throw at this so any ideas are welcome :)
I did a stress test and with the wall braced design I was able to hold up 5 7 foot long 2 by 4s with very little bending and the miricale of them all with that design i actully can and did put it together by myself :P



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I don't think pvc pipe will support the weight of even the thinnest plywood you can find. I'd try to find something much lighter, you don't want your ceiling falling down on you...
 
Just a thought... I used foam-core board (from an art supply store) as a support backing for some acoustic panels I made a couple months ago. The 3/8" foam board is stiff enough to hold shape, but very light and very inexpensive. It's also very easy to attach acoustic foam with a little spray adhesive.

I posted a pictorial of the project here: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=279020

I could easily see someone adapting the same principle to a larger panel that could sit on top of your PVC "frame."
 
I don't think pvc pipe will support the weight of even the thinnest plywood you can find. I'd try to find something much lighter, you don't want your ceiling falling down on you...

because its angled and against the wall I'm about positive I could at least go with 1/2 inch thick plywood without any problem this is not the flimsy flexable pvc pipe its pretty rigid stuff.

why so low?

they didnt have it in 10 feet lengths so i had to use 5 feet pieces I'm thinking of taking it up another foot or so but I don't think it's necessary do you guys? I thought once its covered its like having infinant high celings?
 
because its angled and against the wall I'm about positive I could at least go with 1/2 inch thick plywood without any problem this is not the flimsy flexable pvc pipe its pretty rigid stuff.

Hey, you're there and I'm not. But if I DO get there, I don't think I'm gonna stand under that thing...
 
um not from what ive been told but will see dont asume i dont have any bass traps or side reflections this is just for the celing
 
update

ok I'm done I think. I changed the design a bit and added more bracing to it I just mounted the acoustic panels to the pvc pipes with zip ties but it works :D

went from the frame to this

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Why don't you hang a cloud off the ceiling and forget the frame altogether?

I really thought that why would be the most obvious. I'm not allowed to drill into the celing where I'm at, so I made a free standing one to the best of my ability
 
I really thought that why would be the most obvious. I'm not allowed to drill into the celing where I'm at, so I made a free standing one to the best of my ability

You did not say this. OK in that case put the frame up higher, right hard against the ceiling, and hang the cloud from it, only a couple of inches (50 mm) below the frame.

I see the frame is bending under the weight, Run a second PVC pipe (horizontal pipes) under the first and tie them together with cable ties.

Cheers

Alan.
 
the pipes arn't bending the center supports are 1.5 inch the frame is 1.25 and the frame is about 2 inches higher so they are angled a lil. This fame can support my body weight. I did add another 1.5 inch center beam centered on the back wall, but it really isnt needed. What's the advantage of taking the celing higher asuming the celing has full sound absortion? The nrc of these tiles are .55 say I got the total nrc to be 1.0 by adding a full layer of unfaced r-19 on top 6.5 inches thick I'm guessing that should put the new nrc value over 1.0 with the tiles. If I did this would there be any advantage to going higher? my understanding is when you pass a nrc of 1.0 it's like having very high celings at the mix position

Unfaced 6.25" R19 on wall 0.64 at 125hz 1.14 250hz 1.09 500hz 0.99 1000hz 1.00 2000hz 1.21 4000hz 1.05 nrc
plus .55 nrc of the acoustic tiles that should theoretically = insanely high celings correct?
 
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Do you have absorption at the first reflection points on the walls? That's just as important if you want accurate stereo. I like the rolls of insulation in the corner, lol. I've got bags of Cocoon fill in the corners with some 2" panels standing on them, stradling the corner. It works amazing but I'm going to buy some LENRD bas traps to put in the other corners because they look cool and they'll still help + I don't have to worry about mounting them. I too cannot drill into the walls/ceiling and won't even be living here for more than a month.
 
Are those rigid fiberglass acoustic ceiling tiles with facing on them?
If they are, then you have them upside down for what you are trying to achieve. (the facing is opaque to sound - it will reflect!)
If they are not the rigid fiberglass, then I am not sure what effect they will have on your acoustics.
3/4" of absorption is not really very much.
If you are attempting to provide an "infinite ceiling" sort of thing, you are going to need something more in the order of 18" to 30" of depth of RF to begin to approximate this.
Working around attaching things to the ceiling is probably a bad idea; it's ineffective at best, hazardous at worst, and really, really bad looking no matter what you do.
You might want to concentrate on learning how to mix in the environment you have to deal with, until you have a proper space.
best of luck!
Chris
 
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