Soundproofing An Empty Bedroom

[Jae Little]

I want to soundproof an empty bedroom in my crib. What I need to know is what are ALL the materials I need to do this? I'm buying a booth though from Whisper Room but I'll be doing some production and mixing. Basically everything in the same room. So what do you I need to get it soundproofed?

 

[travelin travis]

2x4's
drywall
insulation
screws
drywall compound
drywall tape
plywood
caulk

......you gotta build a room within your present room or so I'm told.

when i was 16 i went to a friends house for band practice. he put that egg carton stuff on his bedroom door. i asked him what it was for and he said it was to keep sound from going thru the door. i asked him if it worked and he said no but it looks kinda cool.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

First, there is no such thing as "soundproof". Only levels of sound transmission loss. What you need is Mass, decoupling, a transmission loss target, knowledge of two leaf systems and how they work and understanding the concept of the weakest link. But what is even more important is a thorough understanding of the existing limitations. For some, such as second floor apartments, achieving a
50db Transmission loss at 10 hz is improbable, unless you are Bill Gates. But if you were, you could move and save money.

......you gotta build a room within your present room or so I'm told.

It makes no sense to build a room within a room, unless you can float a concrete slab, otherwise, you are wasting time and money. A floating wood floor simply does not have the mass to lower the resonant frequency to a point that is as good as the walls, even if the walls were massive. Therefore it becomes a weak link. For instance, if you were trying to isolate 100 db at 20 hz, for the walls, I would submit that 4 layers of drywall would NOT do it. At least on one leaf. Maybe the equivilent of 4 to 5 layers on each of TWO leaves, but then your ceiling/roof leaf would have to match, as well as your floor, AND doors, AND window, AND HVAC among others. Simply put, extreme "floating" isolation is extremely expensive, and takes existing conditions that allow for handling the weight of a floating room. This is NO easy task. When you float a room, you open pandoras box for all kinds of uninvited problems. For one, unless you want to step UP into it, you will have to dig a hole deep enough for not only one slab, but TWO...the support slab, AND the floating slab. If the soils in your local are not appropriate, then you have another problem. If you live in a seismic location, you have another. If the roof support structure is not appropriate for suspending an interior leaf or beefing the exterior leaf, you have another...etc etc etc. Personally, unless you can afford a year and have a massive budget, or do NOT generate a source that requires extreme isolation, I would FORGET IT!! Read these and you will see why. These are good examples of what you may face.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921&sid=7024c1c0e0e28732049723a9331a4ff4
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3876&sid=7024c1c0e0e28732049723a9331a4ff4
fitZ

 

[travelin travis]

what if the floating floor had sand between all the joists? that's alot of mass.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

what if the floating floor had sand between all the joists? that's alot of mass.

How you gonna keep it from falling through? And the point loads at your support slab should be engineered. BTW, if you read the links IN FULL, you would know what to expect.

 

[Jae Little]

I'm doing production and mixing but I want to get a good sound. I don't want the sound bouncing off the walls giving me negative feedback.

Is there an easier way to do this or not?

 

[Jae Little]

I came at it all wrong. How do you "Treat" an empty bedroom?

 

[Canobliss]

These links were passed on to me and now to you.

http://www.hp-h.com/p/hapicmpur/basstraps.htm

http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm

check them both out

 

[Jae Little]

Them bass traps seem easy to do but I wonder if they'll really work. If so, I'll go out and buy the pieces soon as I get paid so I can do this room.

 

[eraos]

Them bass traps seem easy to do but I wonder if they'll really work. If so, I'll go out and buy the pieces soon as I get paid so I can do this room.

Yeah, I just looked at the link too, and the guy says " I don't pretend to know if this is the best (or even an effective) way to make bass traps, but here's how I made mine, step by step."

I'm wondering how well they work, too.

 

[travelin travis]

Yeah, I just looked at the link too, and the guy says " I don't pretend to know if this is the best (or even an effective) way to make bass traps, but here's how I made mine, step by step."

I'm wondering how well they work, too.

I have seen Ethan of RealTraps.com recommend 703 insulation panels wrapped in cloth, on many occasions for home recordists. You don't need to build frames. Just wrap the 703 or rockwool in a cloth (that you can breathe thru) and hang it in the corners or on the wall (using a spacer) via picture frame wire and a nail or screw.

 

[travelin travis]

How you gonna keep it from falling through? And the point loads at your support slab should be engineered. BTW, if you read the links IN FULL, you would know what to expect.

Those are some lengthy posts. I did'nt find an answer to why the sand falling thru the joists would be a problem. Why would this be a problem? I think this stuff is pretty irrelevant to most of us home recordists anyway. Any way you slice it, isolation is expensive. I still like to read about this stuff anyway. Maybe some day I will be able to put it to use.

 

[planeman]

I do all my work in the same room and I sound proofed mine, excuse me I increased the levels of sound transmission loss by creating panels of carpet with a foam insallation behind it for the walls. I used the same bass traps similar to the links that we're givin. and for the cieling I used eggcrate foam with jagged horizontal and parallel line patterns. I removed everything from a rather spaces closet that I had, padded it and placed a thick mattress in front of it for a vocal booth. a cheap lil secret I picked up from a well known producer in atlanta. anyway that's how I did it and it's probably one of the best recrdings I have heard. just make sure you get a good interface and mics. and if you have windows make sure you cover them also.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

I did'nt find an answer to why the sand falling thru the joists would be a problem. Why would this be a problem?

I think this will illlustrate why.
fitZ

 

[travelin travis]

I think this will illlustrate why.
fitZ

i've read that placing the joists on pucks, which are'nt very thick, works fine for floating a floor. i have'nt tried it and really would'nt know though. that's why i did'nt see a problem with some sand falling through the joists.