'Soundproof' Room

[_JohnB330ci]

Hey guys, so this is going to be a fairly detailed but also not very detailed post.

 

Basically, I'm a drummer, have been for many years, and in my current living situation I can't drum. The reason for this was before I used to be able too, due to getting home from School at around 3:30pm, my neighbours were all at work, so noise wasn't a problem, and I just didn't play on weekends. Now I don't want to use mutes, I have done in the past, and I hate them, they make cymbals sound absolutely crap, and removes all tone from the drums. It kills the fun basically, and plus, I record drums, so muting isn't an option. I don't want to switch to an electronic kit either due to when gigging and I just don't enjoy playing on electronic kits.

 

Now, I have a garage completely free to my use, and there are many people who've built 'soundproof boxes' that go inside of rooms, such as a garage or basement. Now, I know the general idea behind building them, and I'd prefer to do a single layer build, using just acoustic insulation, and not using a two/three layer where you leave air pockets, reason for this is, despite being in a garage, it is only a single garage, and this would limit space, plus I'm trying to keep costs at a minimum.

 

Now the way I'd be building the 'room' is a 6 side room, including a floating floor, for these I will use U-Boat floor floaters, then I would build the walls like a normal house wall, with evenly spread out wooden beams, which I would put sound insulation in between the posts, filling any gaps in the wood with Silicone. I would then add sound blankets on the walls and ceilings, then adding acoustic foam to reduce echo inside of the room in areas I need with bass traps, I would also lay a simple carpet on the floor.

 

The door is something I would need advice on, knowing I need to block the gaps (I think using Weather blocking stuff?)

 

My questions are, what tips, advice and tricks would you give, also what products would you recommend because I can't find a highly recommend sound isolation foam/panel

[Julian5]

so your just making a wooden box with sound foam?

[JefferyD90]

3 minutes ago, SherifsDog22 said:

Hey guys, so this is going to be a fairly detailed but also not very detailed post.

 

Basically, I'm a drummer, have been for many years, and in my current living situation I can't drum. The reason for this was before I used to be able too, due to getting home from School at around 3:30pm, my neighbours were all at work, so noise wasn't a problem, and I just didn't play on weekends. Now I don't want to use mutes, I have done in the past, and I hate them, they make cymbals sound absolutely crap, and removes all tone from the drums. It kills the fun basically, and plus, I record drums, so muting isn't an option. I don't want to switch to an electronic kit either due to when gigging and I just don't enjoy playing on electronic kits.

 

Now, I have a garage completely free to my use, and there are many people who've built 'soundproof boxes' that go inside of rooms, such as a garage or basement. Now, I know the general idea behind building them, and I'd prefer to do a single layer build, using just acoustic insulation, and not using a two/three layer where you leave air pockets, reason for this is, despite being in a garage, it is only a single garage, and this would limit space, plus I'm trying to keep costs at a minimum.

 

Now the way I'd be building the 'room' is a 6 side room, including a floating floor, for these I will use U-Boat floor floaters, then I would build the walls like a normal house wall, with evenly spread out wooden beams, which I would put sound insulation in between the posts, filling any gaps in the wood with Silicone. I would then add sound blankets on the walls and ceilings, then adding acoustic foam to reduce echo inside of the room in areas I need with bass traps, I would also lay a simple carpet on the floor.

 

The door is something I would need advice on, knowing I need to block the gaps (I think using Weather blocking stuff?)

 

My questions are, what tips, advice and tricks would you give, also what products would you recommend because I can't find a highly recommend sound isolation foam/panel

Getting a soundproof room isn't cheap.  But, the best start is foam padding for the walls and making sure any windows are covered.  There are also electronic sound dampener (which are basically microphones with reverse speakers, you can make your own) but these are janky at best usually.

[DolphinOps]

4 minutes ago, SherifsDog22 said:

Hey guys, so this is going to be a fairly detailed but also not very detailed post.

 

Basically, I'm a drummer, have been for many years, and in my current living situation I can't drum. The reason for this was before I used to be able too, due to getting home from School at around 3:30pm, my neighbours were all at work, so noise wasn't a problem, and I just didn't play on weekends. Now I don't want to use mutes, I have done in the past, and I hate them, they make cymbals sound absolutely crap, and removes all tone from the drums. It kills the fun basically, and plus, I record drums, so muting isn't an option. I don't want to switch to an electronic kit either due to when gigging and I just don't enjoy playing on electronic kits.

 

Now, I have a garage completely free to my use, and there are many people who've built 'soundproof boxes' that go inside of rooms, such as a garage or basement. Now, I know the general idea behind building them, and I'd prefer to do a single layer build, using just acoustic insulation, and not using a two/three layer where you leave air pockets, reason for this is, despite being in a garage, it is only a single garage, and this would limit space, plus I'm trying to keep costs at a minimum.

 

Now the way I'd be building the 'room' is a 6 side room, including a floating floor, for these I will use U-Boat floor floaters, then I would build the walls like a normal house wall, with evenly spread out wooden beams, which I would put sound insulation in between the posts, filling any gaps in the wood with Silicone. I would then add sound blankets on the walls and ceilings, then adding acoustic foam to reduce echo inside of the room in areas I need with bass traps, I would also lay a simple carpet on the floor.

 

The door is something I would need advice on, knowing I need to block the gaps (I think using Weather blocking stuff?)

 

My questions are, what tips, advice and tricks would you give, also what products would you recommend because I can't find a highly recommend sound isolation foam/panel

if you're willing to diy these homemade panels seem to work really quite well

 

[steffeeh]

Hopefully I can post this link without people getting triggered and jumping me this time:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/studio-building-acoustics/

 

Post there as well

[W-L]

3 minutes ago, SherifsDog22 said:

-SNIP-

For a door get an exterior insulated door that would be less hassle and just a cheap one from your regular homedepot will have decent sound dampening. As for the walls if you wanted to go really sound proof to the point of not being able to hear anything outside the room you can get sound proof drywall that uses a polymeric dampening material in conjunction with sound proof insulation in between the walls. 

[_JohnB330ci]

6 minutes ago, Julian5 said:

so your just making a wooden box with sound foam?

Not exactly, "sound foam" is used for echo and reverb reduction, I want to stop sound escaping, an almost airtight room, but yes, esentially a wooden box

[_JohnB330ci]

3 minutes ago, W-L said:

For a door get an exterior insulated door that would be less hassle and just a cheap one from your regular homedepot will have decent sound dampening. As for the walls if you wanted to go really sound proof to the point of not being able to hear anything outside the room you can get sound proof drywall that uses a polymeric dampening material in conjunction with sound proof insulation in between the walls. 

Thanks for the advice, do you have any links to the drywall material?

[Julian5]

Just now, SherifsDog22 said:

Not exactly, "sound foam" is used for echo and reverb reduction, I want to stop sound escaping, an almost airtight room, but yes, esentially a wooden box

arou mounting it ont he ground or making a floor? I suggest sealing the box with silicone maybe (add an air vent) using mdf, and using windows/door weather proofing on the door

[_JohnB330ci]

6 minutes ago, JefferyD90 said:

Getting a soundproof room isn't cheap.  But, the best start is foam padding for the walls and making sure any windows are covered.  There are also electronic sound dampener (which are basically microphones with reverse speakers, you can make your own) but these are janky at best usually.

I'm not soundproofing an existing room, I'm building one to go inside of a room, can help to cut down on cost cause it means I don't need to pump the walls full of anything, and plus I can build it to the dimensions I need.

[JefferyD90]

1 minute ago, SherifsDog22 said:

I'm not soundproofing an existing room, I'm building one to go inside of a room, can help to cut down on cost cause it means I don't need to pump the walls full of anything, and plus I can build it to the dimensions I need.

I understand that, but you have to have a door to get into it... or something...  If you could do 2 walls with a air space between them, that would be best even.

[_JohnB330ci]

2 minutes ago, Julian5 said:

arou mounting it ont he ground or making a floor? I suggest sealing the box with silicone maybe (add an air vent) using mdf, and using windows/door weather proofing on the door

I'm making a floor using the U-Boat risers to get it off the ground to reduce sound transfer, I did say about sealing wood with silicone, and I was considering the airvent however Idk how to do it, and thanks for the door tip

 

[W-L]

1 minute ago, SherifsDog22 said:

Thanks for the advice, do you have any links to the drywall material?

I've seen a demo of Quiet rock it works quite well but it require a lot of attention when installing to apply acoustic sealants between drywall sheets and around electrical boxes to ensure good soundproofness. However it can get a little costly as the drywall material isn't cheap.  

https://www.lowes.com/pd/QuietRock-Drywall-Panel-Common-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-0-5-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft/3069747

[_JohnB330ci]

2 minutes ago, JefferyD90 said:

I understand that, but you have to have a door to get into it... or something...  If you could do 2 walls with a air space between them, that would be best even.

I said I didn't want to do a duel layer wall build, this is to cut down on cost and allow for more space inside the room, I'm not looking for something that removes 100% of the sound escaping, just quiet enough so my neighbours don't care (My garage is also detached and 20m away from my house, but currently on its own its too loud.

[_JohnB330ci]

5 minutes ago, W-L said:

I've seen a demo of Quiet rock it works quite well but it require a lot of attention when installing to apply acoustic sealants between drywall sheets and around electrical boxes to ensure good soundproofness. However it can get a little costly as the drywall material isn't cheap.  

https://www.lowes.com/pd/QuietRock-Drywall-Panel-Common-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-0-5-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft/3069747

This is great, I will try to find something equivalent because I don't think they sell this in the UK

[SSL]

A soundproof room needs these things:

• No air-borne or mechanical-borne paths for soundwaves (vibrations) to travel
• Mass-loaded barriers

Room-within-a-room construction is ideal. If you cannot achieve this, you can retrofit an existing space an additional layer of drywall mounted on specially designed furring strips - Resilient Channel is a proprietary brand of such a fitting.

 

The other thing you need to decide on is your mass-loaded barrier. As mentioned you can get drywall designed for this task. You can also combine regular 3/4" drywall in a sandwich with a sound-absorbing material such as mass-loaded vinyl or a product like Green Glue. All seams should be air-tight, including around electrical conduits.

 

For the door, make sure it is solid wood. No insulation or cardboard. Do not skimp in this area. The door also needs to be mounted so that when closed it is airtight - that means weatherstripping all around.

 

Air ducts will be a major weakness and should be positioned pointing away from other dwellings if possible. Ideally, get a system that is acoustically baffled or can be closed off when sound blocking is needed.

[_JohnB330ci]

3 minutes ago, SSL said:

A soundproof room needs these things:

• No air-borne or mechanical-borne paths for soundwaves (vibrations) to travel
• Mass-loaded barriers

Room-within-a-room construction is ideal. If you cannot achieve this, you can retrofit an existing space an additional layer of drywall mounted on specially designed furring strips - Resilient Channel is a proprietary brand of such a fitting.

 

The other thing you need to decide on is your mass-loaded barrier. As mentioned you can get drywall designed for this task. You can also combine regular 3/4" drywall in a sandwich with a sound-absorbing material such as mass-loaded vinyl or a product like Green Glue. All seams should be air-tight, including around electrical conduits.

 

For the door, make sure it is solid wood. No insulation or cardboard. Do not skimp in this area. The door also needs to be mounted so that when closed it is airtight - that means weatherstripping all around.

 

Air ducts will be a major weakness and should be positioned pointing away from other dwellings if possible. Ideally, get a system that is acoustically baffled or can be closed off when sound blocking is needed.

This is fantastic, I do plan to do the room inside a room, and I can get hold of woods fairly cheap where I live. I'm looking at a drywall panel (http://www.building-supplies-online.co.uk/soundproof-plasterboard-12-5mm-x-2400-x-1200mm-tapered-edge.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_campaign=google-shopping&m=Abstract&gclid=Cj0KEQiA7qLDBRD9xJ7PscDCu5IBEiQAqo3BxGKYBel6G0Pvi32KID57Ew4XW1mpTOr2lVXXN_R_wbEaAgrP8P8HAQ) would something like this be good?

I've got a good understanding on the door, for the air vent, if I made a "smaller" door in a sense, that could be closed off when playing (sort of like a attic hatch) would that work fine? I could add an fan as well to push air in faster if needed.

[SSL]

3 minutes ago, SherifsDog22 said:

This is fantastic, I do plan to do the room inside a room, and I can get hold of woods fairly cheap where I live. I'm looking at a drywall panel (http://www.building-supplies-online.co.uk/soundproof-plasterboard-12-5mm-x-2400-x-1200mm-tapered-edge.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_campaign=google-shopping&m=Abstract&gclid=Cj0KEQiA7qLDBRD9xJ7PscDCu5IBEiQAqo3BxGKYBel6G0Pvi32KID57Ew4XW1mpTOr2lVXXN_R_wbEaAgrP8P8HAQ) would something like this be good?

I've got a good understanding on the door, for the air vent, if I made a "smaller" door in a sense, that could be closed off when playing (sort of like a attic hatch) would that work fine? I could add an fan as well to push air in faster if needed.

 

That would work. It would need to be airtight as well. I can tell you from experience with practice rooms in a music school, nothing will kill the soundproofing like a door that doesn't close properly.

 

One other thing, look into Sorbothane to set your drum kit on. This will help absorb vibrations going into the floor.

[_JohnB330ci]

2 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

That would work. It would need to be airtight as well. I can tell you from experience with practice rooms in a music school, nothing will kill the soundproofing like a door that doesn't close properly.

 

One other thing, look into Sorbothane to set your drum kit on. This will help absorb vibrations going into the floor.

Alright, thank you very much, I will probably build a DIY Floating platform (Tennis ball trick) for my drumkit to sit on

[spwath]

Check out this, a helpful resource, with factual info without being hard to read.

http://www.auralex.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/acoustics101v3_0.pdf