i need help in soundproofing my room

[bolshoi]

good day.
i need help in soundproofing my room.
where should i buy the stuffs for soundproofing? (locally ha)
and how to construct it na hindi masyado mahalang magagastos.

the ideal design on blocking the sound para hindi makalabas
sa other side of the wall.

i will make a partition dividing 1 room into two rooms.
how to make this partition soundproof.

thanks.

[KitC]

good day.
i need help in soundproofing my room.
where should i buy the stuffs for soundproofing? (locally ha)
and how to construct it na hindi masyado mahalang magagastos.

the ideal design on blocking the sound para hindi makalabas
sa other side of the wall.

I'm afraid there's no easy way to fully soundproof a room without adding a whole lot of mass to the walls. I'm talking concrete slabs and building a room within a room.

Btw, the use of egg cartons has absolutely no effect on soundproofing.

[bolshoi]

thanks for that. actually, i'm planning to put egg cartons on the ceiling but after what you've said, hindi na siguro.

in constructing a double wall partition. which is much better for blocking the sound, gypsum board or hardiflex?

will this be effective?
before screwing the boards on the 2"x3" wood. latagan ko muna ng acoustic foam para di magkadikit and wood and the board para walang vibration.

pls comment on this.  
i really appreciate your suggestions.

thank you very much

[KitC]

I'm not a qualified acoustician so I can't give you any more advice than what I research myself and from advice from my architect buddies. Try to examine your priorities. You stated that you want soundproofing. Like I said, that cannot be done without a LOT of mass in the walls and that means cement blocks/slabs and concrete. Some even go to the extreme of sandwiching lead sheets in between concrete walls to lessen wall thickness. Your proposed use of hardiflex or gypsum board will only attenuate sound transmission by maybe 10 decibels tops depending on how you treat all 6 sides of the room (assuming it is rectangular). At most, the air space separation will give you around around 3 to 6 db attenuation.

The egg trays on the other hand, aside from being a fire hazard and food for termites, will only diffuse sound, and at a fixed frequency because it's depth is rather shallow.

Try to get advice from qualified architects (my buddy has experience building acoustically treated rooms and sometimes surprises me with the materials they use) and acoustic engineers.

[bolshoi]

thanks for your reply. i relly appreciate it.

[jplacson]

Rule of thumb is usually... the heavier the material, the more soundproof it is.  Nothing can beat a solid concrete wall (well, maybe solid 12" steel walls like the ones in bank safes would work better..hahaha)... take note of the term "solid".  Any gaps, cracks, etc... will let sound leak in.

hardiflex, of the same thickness, works better than gypsum.  GI sheets work well too... but you have to pad this REALLY well with acoustic foam inbetween to prevent it from resonating...unless you can get a hold of a 1/4" thick steel sheet to use as your doors and walls!

seal ALL gaps.  your room has to be airtight.  get rubber seals for the doors, use on both inner and outer frames...build double doors if budget and space permit.

How 'soundproof' do you want it to be? Is it to keep the sound out or sound in?

[KitC]

seal ALL gaps.  your room has to be airtight.  get rubber seals for the doors, use on both inner and outer frames...build double doors if budget and space permit.

Remember to put ventilation into the equation also. Building an airtight room will mean oven-like temps inside. Then there is the matter of treating the walls to minimize reflections, standing waves, and resonances. - something tells me I should have studied audio engineering in college instead of being a mechanical engineer.

[jplacson]

KitC..nah... ventilation is too expensive... just give everyone ice packs!  

split type ACs are the best for this... but even then, a lot of studios shut of ACs to reduce noise.

but if your purpose is just to keep sound in.. and its not for recording... then a regular AC will do.

[bolshoi]

How 'soundproof' do you want it to be? Is it to keep the sound out or sound in?


i want to keep the sound inside the room para walang maistorbo sa kabilang room.

so hardiflex has a better soundproofing properties than a gypsum board?
ok, thanks. i'll check it out sa nearest mc home depot.

ok din ba gamitin yun foam na ginagamit sa ilalim ng mga carpets?

salamat po.

[bolshoi]

sir kitc,

yun sa wall naman. no need to put this cork tile sa lahat ng side?
or dapat lahat ng side meron. or is there any alternative sa cork tile na mas cheaper? wag lang kurtina ha.

thanks

[jplacson]

cork tile and other acoustic treatments are just to make the room sound better for recording... or just better in general.

you don't have to tile the whole wall unless you're going for an anechoic (no echo, dead room...you feel like you're going deaf from silence type) which you're not.

if you're going to home depot anyway, they sell large rolls of acoustic foam and/or fiberglass padding.  This is much better than cork or eggcrates... it's flame retardant, easy to glue to the walls... comes in bare (just the foam) and carpetted versions.  Just look around, I'm sure you'll see a couple of vendors selling the stuff... it's about 1" thick, dark gray/black.  Fiberglass filling is either yellow or pink... feels like really heavy cotton... this is good for wall stuffings.

[KitC]

KitC..nah... ventilation is too expensive... just give everyone ice packs!  

split type ACs are the best for this... but even then, a lot of studios shut of ACs to reduce noise.

but if your purpose is just to keep sound in.. and its not for recording... then a regular AC will do.

Not to mention all the baffling, duct lining, blah, blah.... brings me back to my HVAC design days.

bolshoi - I suggest doing some research before laying down money on materials and construction. The materials you suggest have limited soundproofing/absorption capabilities. Sometimes the design of the room itself plays a major part in soundproofing and even then, there will always be leakage through the ceiling and vents.

Bass frequencies are usually hard to contain and you will need a very rigid and heavy structure for adequate soundproofing. To give you a little insight on how to construct a room within a room, try reading thru this very long studio build diary. If you know any architects, try to pick their brains on materials sourcing. Like I said, my archi buddy knows of some very good, affordable sound absorbent material that would otherwise be unthought of in most cases.

hth,

[KitC]

cork tile and other acoustic treatments are just to make the room sound better for recording... or just better in general.

you don't have to tile the whole wall unless you're going for an anechoic (no echo, dead room...you feel like you're going deaf from silence type) which you're not.

Most recording environments I've visited have a 'live' side and a 'dead' side; the drums are usually located in the live side of the room since drums usually sound better in a reflective environment. Vocals and amped instruments are usually tracked in the non-reflective side of the room.