Soundproofing shed-type thingy

[damo79]

Hi there,

We bought a house last year that has a miniature version of the house in the backyard (by that, I mean a wooden shed, with a power source). It's quite well made (thick wooden walls) but is still, pretty much a shed.

I have an 8 month old so playing my acoustic guitar and singing badly isn't doing her sleeping any favors. I was hoping to sound-proof the shed as much as possible and maybe using that?

I'm not expecting perfection (or even close) as the space is only 7.5ft x7.5ft x 7.5ft.

However, it's only me, and my acoustic. Plus, perhaps my mac for recording. What kind of sound proofing would you recommend in this instance? Would be good to get some use out of it before my daughter becomes big enough to claim it off me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Massive Master]

The only real option is heavy insulation (Roxul 'Safe and Sound' comes to mind) in the walls and caulking all the windows. The bummer part is that you're going to have to rip off all the wood and reinstall it.

Keep ventilation in mind though -- Gonna keep heat.

The fact that it's a near cube is going to cause a semi-nightmare as far as acoustic inherent to the space goes... If you don't mind having a few extra bags of SnS in the corners, that will help the sound *in* the room.

 

[JimmyS1969]

Sound proof? Naw. You have the best sound proofing by not being in the house that baby is in. I am sure you meant acoustic treatment to make the room sound better.

There are many things you can do. Seems like this is more a recording environment than a place to mix right? They have two completely different needs.

I would suggest basic starting with some moving blankets and some insulation piled up in the corners (just wrapped rolls of cheap pink stuff for the testing). See how it sounds. Then if that is not enough then add some more. Experiment a bit in the cheap way.

The fact that your shed is basically a cube with equal distances between walls means that you will have extreme buildup of low frequencies. The fluffy stuff in the corners will help that.

I do not feel you need to go as far as doing tests on the room frequencies. Just experiment until you get the sound you are looking for. And don't waste your time overthinking it. Just make it so it sounds good to you and spend your time recording.

 

[JimmyS1969]

The only real option is heavy insulation (Roxul 'Safe and Sound' comes to mind) in the walls and caulking all the windows. The bummer part is that you're going to have to rip off all the wood and reinstall it.

Keep ventilation in mind though -- Gonna keep heat.

The fact that it's a near cube is going to cause a semi-nightmare as far as acoustic inherent to the space goes... If you don't mind having a few extra bags of SnS in the corners, that will help the sound *in* the room.

I think you misunderstood John. Well, he stated 'sound proof' but he must have meant acoustic treatment. The shed is separate from the house so it is completely decoupled from the baby room.

 

[ecc83]

Looks like you are in a temperate zone like me Damo so you are going to be infested with similar wildlife?
Pigeon, Wood and feral make a heck of a racket as to the corvid family so you will need to at least make the walls airtight and shutter the windows. Of course, recording in the wee smalls is an answer but with a baby those are perhaps all the time you and your good lady get together?

Otherwise, as previously said, hang some duvets!

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

It already has internal cladding so not much you can do there. I suspect the biggest problem is the height if you build an inner room within it you are going to lose at least four to five inches in height and your head will be close to the ceiling. You might be able to work in the remaining width and depth? Hell I've been in smaller booths than that! Sound treatment to remove the boxy sound probably means only really close techniques will work well. That all said, my video editing suite is an 8x8 space with 7' 8" ceiling and occasionally I record in there and the results aren't bad at all and it has minimal sound treatment, parallel hard walls and just carpet. I suspect your Snow White and the seven dwarfs cottage is just too small to be practical once you fiddle with it.

 

[damo79]

Thanks guys, this is super helpful. I didn't expect to see so many responses when I returned.

I should have been clearer - while the baby is the reason for me thinking outside the house, I'm trying to insulate my neighbors from my singing. I'd like to be able to belt out as much as possible without them throwing fruit at me.

So, soundproofing is the main task. Obviously any acoustic treatment I can add would be great, but I know I don't have much space to play with.

Dave - Yeah, I'm in Portland Oregon, which is very similar to the UK climate-wise (I'm from Solihull originally - not far from you!). So I'll get onto that.

Thanks again guys, this is really helpful. I think I might start with Duvets and go from there.

 

[rob aylestone]

Duvets are good for treatment, but pretty poor at not annoying neighbours - to get isolation, mass is the key. Fluffy down lets plenty of sound through, but reduces the higher frequency stuff being reflected.Throw a duvet over a guitar amp to see what passes through - it's quite a bit!

 

[ashcat_lt]

Get another shed that's at least a foot bigger in every dimension and build it around this one. Stuff insulation in those walls (and ceiling), then rip off the interior paneling on the existing one and stuff insulation in those walls (and ceiling) and then don't put the wood back up. Calk up all the seams on both. Use weather stripping around at least the outermost door. Then probably start thinking about ventilation.

 

[ausrock]

The weakest points are the windows and door. Find a way to either double glaze them or have solid hinged shutters that you can close when necessary.......the important thing, is that they are totally sealed.......sound will find a way through the smallest crack.

The easiest fix with the walls would be to line the inside with acoustic rated sheetrock/plaster board to add more mass BUT do it properly. Soundwaves really lose a lot of energy when they pass through materials of differing density/mass.

Controlling the rooms acoustics are a different animal to sound proofing. You can search back through the Studio Design section here for posts (especially by John Sayers) from 10 or more years ago or more simply go to John Sayers forums John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum • Index page and read and ask questions there.