mushy Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Hi everybody, newbie here, im looking for some advice on the best way to soundproof my music rehearsal rooms, there is going to be 3 possibly 4 rooms the building is made out of brick with pitched slate roof. There is residential property to the back and also across the road. Any help much appreciated, does anyone know rough costs for this type of thing? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Without buying in and trying to do a DIY job, construct hollow walls (thin ply, inch and a half gap, thin ply) and fill the hollows with building sand. The trick is lots of mass to deaden that sound. Has worked a treat with me. One of the easiest ways is to build a framework out of 1 1/2 inch battens, then fit the panels to either side, then the battens make your gap (but leave routes for the sand to fall past your crossmembers as you fill from the top). Other altenatives are the studiospares ready made booths, but expect to pay lots! Despite popular belief egg cartons on the walls don't work!!!! I've tried it! Perhaps a roof in a similair manner to the walls to create a room within a room, but watch the weight of that sand! And also fit your lighting cables/conduit before you fill the walls with sand (not mentioning who drilled a hole in a wall for an alarm cable, only to be greeted by an awful lot of sand he'd forgotten about!). Touch of nice thick and reasonably squashy foam on the floor with a second wooden floor "floating" on top should stop lots of mechanical vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p.k.roberts Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Agreed, the only real thing that is going to stop sound energy is mass and lots of it! If you do a search for 'sound proofing' on the Sound On Sound website http://www.soundonsound.com/ there are some useful articles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Although going back to 1995, this article may be of some use.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 In addition to mass, you will need to decouple your inner structure from the outer one. Without this, the attenuation will be compromised.Therefore, your room within a room will need to float on heavy duty neoprene pads and not touch the outer structure unless it's via a flexible coupling. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The entire BBC Asian Network studio in the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television floats on neoprene because of the sound from the IMAX cinema next door being mechanically coupled through the building. Or so a friend said! Totally useless information but it seemed to fit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Cedd: specialist neoprene-topped supports are common in a great many radio and TV studios to decouple a floating concrete floor from the structural floor As for the original question, Simon Lewis has given a perfect introductory course in soundproofing in just two paragraphs For true sound proofing you need lots of mass...and a two-skin approach with the interior walls, floor and ceiling de-coupled from the structure of the building. Many of the things people see in studios and think of a soundproofing (Sonex panels, egg cartons, etc.) are not for acoustic isolation at all but, rather, to improve the acoustics within the room by damping reflections (echos). Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for that peeps, I will try some of the links provided. In your opinions, do you think it is possible to stop the sound escaping and being heard by neighbouring houses that lye at the back and across the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for that peeps, I will try some of the links provided. In your opinions, do you think it is possible to stop the sound escaping and being heard by neighbouring houses that lye at the back and across the road? How big is your budget? The truthful answer is "yes but it will cost you". The sort of isolation you want (and much more) is done all the time in studios for TV, radio and recording...but these tend to generate rather more revenue than a rehearsal room so the necessary cash can be spent. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for that peeps, I will try some of the links provided. In your opinions, do you think it is possible to stop the sound escaping and being heard by neighbouring houses that lye at the back and across the road? How big is your budget? The truthful answer is "yes but it will cost you". The sort of isolation you want (and much more) is done all the time in studios for TV, radio and recording...but these tend to generate rather more revenue than a rehearsal room so the necessary cash can be spent. Bob Hi Bob, It isnt a huge budget obviously, id maybe say a couple of grand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well my studio is in a two and a half normal length garage with raised flat roof, and I can play the drums late at night and not be able to hear it outside. Internal timber walls on studiospares neoprene strip, with a plasterboard/insulation board/MDF inside sandwich. From my past projects (and the mistakes) I now make the ceiling in the same way - and then 'sit' this on top of the walls. Gaps are your enemy - and the join between ceiling and wall was weak in my earlier designs. MDF is on the inside of the room as it survives well from bumps. use it horizontally, and then a strip of pine to hide the gap. The floor is a concrete slab and just rubber back carpet. The trick is door seals - make sure they shut tight with a door closer - studiospares do some thin door neoprene too. There is a window from the drum room and it's two single panes of 6mm glass sitting on the same neoprene strip with a big air gap. The control room is another room within a room with a similar window in the same place - so 4 panes of glass in total between them. The outside of the garage is a single skin of brickwork, with the usual felt roof. Fibreglass insulation stuffed into gap between the inner and outer shells, and performance is fine. My son can practice in there on a full size kit and we don't know he's there. I've done 6 of these, all getting a bit better. I've spotted most snags now. If you buy the timber from a proper timber merchant and not B&Q and get all the other stuf from trade rather than domestic sources it isn't as expensive as it could be. Sand, as mentioned above is great for a dense barrier, but beware in a garage - it settles, and seems to love the damp - after 3 years, there were damp marks coming through. Drilling a hole revealed dark, damp sand! Indoors, not a probem, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 A quick thought on the glass. If you use glass of different thickness, this can help reduce resonance in the window pairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundo26 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Studiospares sell this stuff (www.studiospares.com) 08456 441020 call for a catalogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 A quick thought on the glass. If you use glass of different thickness, this can help reduce resonance in the window pairs.And the panes shouldn't be parallel to each other. You might want to research 'Camden Walling'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well my studio is in a two and a half normal length garage with raised flat roof, and I can play the drums late at night and not be able to hear it outside. Internal timber walls on studiospares neoprene strip, with a plasterboard/insulation board/MDF inside sandwich. From my past projects (and the mistakes) I now make the ceiling in the same way - and then 'sit' this on top of the walls. Gaps are your enemy - and the join between ceiling and wall was weak in my earlier designs. MDF is on the inside of the room as it survives well from bumps. use it horizontally, and then a strip of pine to hide the gap. The floor is a concrete slab and just rubber back carpet. The trick is door seals - make sure they shut tight with a door closer - studiospares do some thin door neoprene too. There is a window from the drum room and it's two single panes of 6mm glass sitting on the same neoprene strip with a big air gap. The control room is another room within a room with a similar window in the same place - so 4 panes of glass in total between them. The outside of the garage is a single skin of brickwork, with the usual felt roof. Fibreglass insulation stuffed into gap between the inner and outer shells, and performance is fine. My son can practice in there on a full size kit and we don't know he's there. I've done 6 of these, all getting a bit better. I've spotted most snags now. If you buy the timber from a proper timber merchant and not B&Q and get all the other stuf from trade rather than domestic sources it isn't as expensive as it could be. Sand, as mentioned above is great for a dense barrier, but beware in a garage - it settles, and seems to love the damp - after 3 years, there were damp marks coming through. Drilling a hole revealed dark, damp sand! Indoors, not a probem, of course. thanks for that, very helpful indeed! In your opinion, do you think this will defo be enough to soundpoof the hardest of hitters and thrashers from the neighboutring properties? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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