What do u guys think of my improvised sound proofing?

wow!! i am impressed with how many of you guys are so concerned with fire saftey lol :laughings:

i feel like i walked into a smokey the bear PSA haha

anyway if it is killing unwanted room relections and giving you a tight/clean/dry vocal that you will use a plug-in reverb to create depth on in the mix... then it's prolly ok.

one thing i can say in the 27 years i've been on earth is that i've never known anyone who has been involved in a house fire.

"The odds of your house burning down are pretty small. It happens to just .08 percent of U.S. citizens."

just sayin' let the flames begin.
 
dintymoore said:
Nothing beats the time I hooked a garden hose up to my snorkel and thought I could go 20' down. At 3 feet it felt like I had steel hose clamps around my chest. But that's how you learn.

:)
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hahahaha!

We did that! We were looking for an easy way to clean the bottom of a friends pool.
We were so sure it'd work we tied a bunch of weights on me to keep me on the bottom!


:laughings::laughings::laughings:

Hee! below a couple of feet your diaphragm isn't strong enough to suck any air in.

:laughings:
 
ShayneBishop said:
... What do u guys think of it? Is it hindering me from a specific sound or is it ruining my sound?...
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Shayne as you can tell by the posts, most people don't think it's a great idea. For me I think a mic sounds more normal with several feet of air around it.

But it doesn't matter. What works is what works for you.

With anything, I'd just try it and if I thought it helped I wouldn't care what anybody says. In the end what anybody else thinks is irrelevant.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I don't see how it's so dangerous if it's only used in a box around the mic like he's done.
If he put it on the walls then yeah, that's dangerous.
But if just having that stuff in a small box around the mic is so dangerous, then are you also saying don't allow any boxes of stuff you order that come packed in foam inside the house?
I doubt you get something you ordered in and immediately frantically unpack it and get the dangerous box outside!
That's a bit of an overreaction.

However ...... it's probably not very useful for the purpose he's using it for either.
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I absolutely DO remove packing foam from my home immediately after removing my purchase. I am not (however) frantic - I am always methodical.

Packing foam (untreated) is not approved for use inside a home (or business) regardless of the amount involved - it exceeds (by far) both the allowable flame spread as well as developed smoke.

I am a professional in the construction industry - and I would be not only remiss - but could also be held accountable in a court of law if I well to take the position that this was permissible.

A problem with approving something like this is that it can create the thought that (if this is acceptable in this small amount) that more should also be acceptable.

Would you care to let us all know at what point the amount of material would be unacceptable?

Does 5sf meet your approval - but not 10sf - 15sf?

When does it suddenly become unacceptable (in your mind) - and what is the criteria you use to determine when the braking point is reached?

Reality is that (from the perspective of complying with building codes (here in the states anyway) untreated foam has been proven to be a hazard and no amount is approved for use.

It is only in this manner that the governing bodies feel that can protect life and limb....... the is no objective evidence to support your contention. Your statement is subjective at best.

Rod
 
stevieb said:
I think Lt. Bob has a better grasp on reality than most of the other posters in this thread- I was just about to post that the amount of POSSIBLY flammable foam the OP is using is unlikely to make his entire studio a fire trap. I think all the nay-saying is having the effect of squashing creativity- not flaming anyone, or staying that was the intent, mind you, just the effect.

There are ways of treating a flammable material to render it, to some level, non-flammable. It's been decades since I learned about that, and thus have forgotten everything about it except that it would have worked for grass hay we were considering for a haunted house, and that we decided to just use a very little amount of hay and thus stay below the threshold of flammable material allowed. I suspect the OP is below that threshold, too- so I say, knock yourself out!
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First of all - here in the states - the use of flammable material is determined using 3 criteria, which are as follows:

1. Allowable flame spread.

2. Allowable smoke developed.

3. The gross area of coverage.

If either the flame spread or smoke developed during fire conditions is exceed, then no amount of that material is approved for exposed use within a room or space.

There are very specific restrictions for allowable finishes in a home:

Allowable finishes are Class "C" - flame spread 76 - 200. maximum smoke-developed 0-450

in addition foam finishes cannot contribute to the fire when the heat source is removed (in other words if you place flame directly to the foam and ignite it, burning has to cease when the flame is removed).

There are no exceptions for this in any code just because you use it in a smaller amount that you might be allowed to use if it did meet the criteria.

I also noted (in my 1st post) that treatment of the material would make it acceptable.

Sorry - but this is not overkill, regardless of what your opinion might be.

Your opinion is not a code - it is just an opinion.

Sincerely,

Rod
 
Rod Gervais said:
I absolutely DO remove packing foam from my home immediately after removing my purchase.
Rod
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well that's silly but you do what feels best for you.
You obviously believe in the 'nanny state' way of doing things. I'm quite confident that I could have a few square feet of that foam in my house and manage to not set it on fire.
:laughings:

All a code is is someones' opinion that made it into the code.
And before you get all high and mighty, I grew up in the construction industry ..... I know for a fact that there's PLENTY of stuff in codes that's debatable.
Mind you, I'm NOT saying that this foam can't be dangerous ..... I'm NOT saying it should be all over the place ....... but a box around a mic? Give me a break ........ I can say with absolute certainty that I could have that useless soundbox in my house for the next 20 years and it would NEVER be set on fire.
Foam doesn't spontaneously ignite ...... there's plenty of other stuff in your house just as flammable ..... life always has risks ...... the code is not a handwritten letter from GOD which governs every second of our thinking .... well, maybe yours ........ I'm VERY fire conscious ..... VERY careful about it ...... I personally find you to be somewhat overreacting ..... I don't really care if you agree or not.
It IS a matter of opinion as to how far you go in following the code to the smallest tiny amount of foam. Maybe you unpack things and immediately get the packing materials out of the house before they kill you but not too many other people do. I've never ever read a single account of someones' house burning down because of packing foam that they didn't get out of the house quickly enough ........ that's actually pretty funny seeing as how I doubt it's ever happened or, if so, maybe once or twice out of literally billions of packages going into peoples' homes.


If he sets fire to that little box he has a problem. It's hard for me to see how that's gonna happen.
But I suppose you'll come back with anecdotal stories of poor miss Bessie who didn't listen to you and she and her 40 cats died in a terrible fire.
:rolleyes:
:laughings:
 
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Lt. Bob said:
well that's silly but you do what feels best for you.
You obviously believe in the 'nanny state' way of doing things. I'm quite confident that I could have a few square feet of that foam in my house and manage to not set it on fire.
:laughings:
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I do not believe in the "nanny state" way of doing things - but I am an expert in the building and life safety codes - have a little more than a billion dollars in construction under my belt - and absolutely view the codes as intended - which is a minimum standard for construction.

All a code is is someones' opinion that made it into the code.
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Wrong. Apparently you do not understand the code making process. First a committee of professionals in the industry is put together to review the existing codes, along with discussing the thousands of suggestions that are made (by other professionals all over the country), then a draft of the proposed modifications to the code is put together. That goes out for public review. Thousands of more comment (mostly by professional in the industry - the general public does not generally get involved unless they are retired professional) By professionals I mean Architects, Engineers, Building Official's, Fire Marshall's, both members and non members of the code industry, builders, etc. Only after all of that - and it goes back and forth ore than a few times - does the committee finally produce a finished draft - which is still open for comments until the point where it becomes code.

So it is not just "someone's opinion".

And before you get all high and mighty, I grew up in the construction industry ..... I know for a fact that there's PLENTY of stuff in codes that's debatable.
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Name that plenty of stuff please. What (exactly) is debatable?

Mind you, I'm NOT saying that this foam can't be dangerous ..... I'm NOT saying it should be all over the place ....... but a box around a mic? Give me a break ........ I can say with absolute certainty that I could have that useless soundbox in my house for the next 20 years and it would NEVER be set on fire.
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So you live in a house that can never catch fire? Must have had some magic happen during the construction.

Foam doesn't spontaneously ignite ...... there's plenty of other stuff in your house just as flammable ..... life always has risks ...... the code is not a handwritten letter from GOD which governs every second of our thinking .... well, maybe yours ........
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You assume the foam has to be the source - it could just be a source of additional fuel and greater generated smoke.

I'm VERY fire conscious ..... VERY careful about it ...... I personally find you to be somewhat overreacting ..... I don't really care if you agree or not.
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Nor do I care that you don't.

It IS a matter of opinion as to how far you go in following the code to the smallest tiny amount of foam.
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Whose opinion would that be? Certainly not the Building Inspector or Fire Marshall. Nor the insurance companies. There is no where in the code where it states that you can use materials that don't meet code. This is not a restaurant - you do not get to choose as you please. Would you explain to me what section of the code allows you to pick and choose? Do you mean to say that you can deliberately violate the code and if you get away with it that this makes it somehow OK? Because that is not true - if they find a violation of the code even years after construction they can make you correct it.

Maybe you unpack things and immediately get the packing materials out of the house before they kill you but not too many other people do.
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Bet you every single on of the people whose family members have died in fires that were accelerated due to the presence of this material do.

I've never ever read a single account of someones' house burning down because of packing foam that they didn't get out of the house quickly enough ........ that's actually pretty funny seeing as how I doubt it's ever happened or, if so, maybe once or twice out of literally billions of packages going into peoples' homes.
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Nope - all of the major fires involving this have been commercial - probably because of the fact that there are not anywhere near the numbers of homes using this in finishes as there are commercial establishments - however - in commercial establishments the deaths are in the thousands world wide (100 in the Station fire alone) These (of course) are the big news headliners - a fire that only a few people died from would never make national - or even regional news.


If he sets fire to that little box he has a problem. It's hard for me to see how that's gonna happen.
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As i said - what if the box is secondary?

But I suppose you'll come back with anecdotal stories of poor miss Bessie who didn't listen to you and she and her 40 cats died in a terrible fire.
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No I won't - but I will ask you to tell the poster exactly how much of this stuff you say is "safe" - seeing as you (and you alone) seem to be the only one with the magic number.

Rod
 
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granted ...... and if you have been reading, I've NEVER said the stuff is safe or should be used for really anything.
I'm just saying that it's entirely possible to have a small amount without it being a serious danger.

And I also, or rather .... my dead dad, had a billion dollars in jobs for his very large general contracting firm doing all high rise and/or large office buildings.

But I'm not really disagreeing with you over this ...... people use that crap on walls and that's pretty dangerous.
SO ...... I don't want anyone thinking that type of foam is safe or that I'm advocating its' use.
I'm simply saying a small amount of it can be in your house without it killing you.

But there's so many caveats. Is the guy a smoker?
Well, then maybe he shouldn't even have that small amount around a mic because he might forget and set it off.

Obviously the safest thing to do is to have none at all ...... I just simply think that some small amount can be handled in a way that makes it non-threatening..
 
Do building codes really cover how much packing foam you have in your house? Or any other flamable substance?
 
TetraFish said:
Do building codes really cover how much packing foam you have in your house? Or any other flamable substance?
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All materials you buy for home furnishings (controlled by life safety codes) and acoustic treatments (controlled by both life safety and building codes) have limited flame spread and developed smoke ratings that they are required to adhere to - and they are required to be tested in accordance with particular standards to prove they meet those requirements. The answer is "yes".

Rod
 
Lt. Bob said:
granted ...... and if you have been reading, I've NEVER said the stuff is safe or should be used for really anything.I'm just saying that it's entirely possible to have a small amount without it being a serious danger.
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Bob,

With all due respect, once you tell someone it is OK to use - but cannot define what would be the safe maximum allowed - what stops them from putting it on one wall - or perhaps the ceiling - how do you define for them exactly how much is safe? Although I might agree (in principle) that a cup full is not too much to have in your home - seeing as I cannot say (with any certainty) where the actual line is between safe and not safe - then I have to say not safe period.

It's too bad you cannot understand that.

And I also, or rather .... my dead dad, had a billion dollars in jobs for his very large general contracting firm doing all high rise and/or large office buildings.
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I am truly sorry to hear about your loss - lost my dad back in 2002 - I still miss the heck out of him.

I would venture a guess that your dad's attitude toward the code may have been a little different than yours is. I am certain that with that much construction he got nailed once or twice and had to pay to correct something that slipped by someone. Every one does when they get to the point where they are not directly making each and every decision.

Give you an example - high rise hotel - handicapped bathroom design (for the guest rooms). The plans were inspected by the feds (ADA) and by the State Building Inspectors office - plans were all approved - permits issued - rooms were all finished - furniture was in them - there are multiple references to review to determine whether they meet code or not (as is the case with many construction components - which is why there are hundreds and hundreds of standards referenced in the various codes) in this case the ADA (whiich is not enforced by the states), ANSI A117.1 the Building Code, the Supplement to the Code and various Addendum to the supplement.

Anyway - an onsite State Building Official raised the question of the bathroom clearances, with the final determination being that they were not compliant. A modification was sought - which was denied. An appeal was then filed - which was also denied - the rooms had to be modified to meet the code. This regardless of the fact that the State reviewed the drawings and issued a permit for the work,

The final cost to modify 17 bathrooms and the necessary modifications to the rooms themselves to make this all work - just slightly over 1/2 million dollars. The costs associated to lost time and revenue for the owners is not included in that total.

You want to tell me how insignificant it is to make a mistake, or how much choice you have when it comes to complying with the code?

But I'm not really disagreeing with you over this ...... people use that crap on walls and that's pretty dangerous. SO ...... I don't want anyone thinking that type of foam is safe or that I'm advocating its' use. I'm simply saying a small amount of it can be in your house without it killing you.
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But you have yet to define the breaking point - exactly how much is safe? At what point does it become a potential danger?

But there's so many caveats. Is the guy a smoker? Well, then maybe he shouldn't even have that small amount around a mic because he might forget and set it off.
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Maybe something else will set it off - perhaps a bad electrical cord?

Obviously the safest thing to do is to have none at all ...... I just simply think that some small amount can be handled in a way that makes it non-threatening..
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Again - understand that I do not have that luxury..... I am a consultant in the field - I am considered a professional and as such I am held to a higher standard (by the court systems) than the average Joe when it comes to things like this - I do not have the luxury of even suggesting that a code violation is acceptable - I could lose everything I own if there ever was an issue - heck - in some states I could even be criminally prosecuted.

Sincerely,

Rod
 
Ahhh, SCREW Rami's self-righteous rants, dintymoore's foul language, Lt. Bob's clear grasp of the situation, and even my own opinions on this stuff.

I'm going back to egg crates.:D
 
Rod Gervais said:
Bob,

With all due respect, once you tell someone it is OK to use - but cannot define what would be the safe maximum allowed - what stops them from putting it on one wall - or perhaps the ceiling
Rod
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dude ..... with all due respect, I said a small amount several times and also several times said it wouldn't be safe to have much of it. People that AREN'T stupid can grasp what's meant by that in a thread with a fucking picture of the item being discussed without having a sq. footage measurement. believe it or not.
OK?
So basically you're just trying to pick a fight and show your imagined better understanding of the issue.
You don't understand it better than I do and there hasn't been a single thing you've said that I wasn't aware of.
Enough ...... I think you're over reacting and I don't agree that a small amount of foam like that is a danger.

Though you SAY you're not for a nanny state ... you completely contradict that by implying that people aren't able to read the fact that I specifically said that using very much of it would be dangerous.
But .. no ..... if we allow any at all ..... then some poor stupid person might not understnad that I really mean only a small amount and oh my God, we have to protect them from their own stupidity.

THAT'S nanny state dude, regardless of what you claim to be for.

You're wrong ..... period ..... there is NO code requirement that people can't have packing foam in their house ..... there is NO code requirement that people immediately take packing materials out of the house.
If you tried to run that stuff by about just anyone you'd get laughed out of the room.

Do as you wish but to immediately carry packing materials out of the house is an over reaction and WAY fearful.
 
Rod Gervais said:
Again - understand that I do not have that luxury..... I am a consultant in the field - I am considered a professional and as such I am held to a higher standard (by the court systems) than the average Joe when it comes to things like this - I do not have the luxury of even suggesting that a code violation is acceptable - I could lose everything I own if there ever was an issue - heck - in some states I could even be criminally prosecuted.

Sincerely,

Rod
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well you're not working here ... you can't be sued or prosecuted plus no one has suggested that anyone use this stuff for anything. The only frickin' thing I said was that a small box like that wouldn't be dangerous and I don't believe it is, you opinion notwithstanding. IMO you're way over reacting and also, talking to me like I'm a moron. Cut it out.
 
WOW...
Codes are just crazy...
I worked at a guys studio a while back that was in the middle of nowhere, very obvious NO electrical inspections...
But it was really no big deal because NOT having wire nuts on the connections is no biggie, having NO junction boxes was no biggie, having electrical sparks and shorted out circuits was no biggie...

Having circuits grounded properly is no biggie either..
THAT is IF your FAMILY and friends and PAYING clients life/safety is no biggie...

Lt. Bob, ask your home insurance guy next time you see him that SAME question about foam on the walls..

Building to code cost MORE money/time...

I agree 100% with Rod on this one...

One more thing; it kills me when SOME seem to think its OK to make BAD decisions about safety when OTHER peoples lives are at risk...WOW..Sure glad MOST will never be allowed to do so...
 
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