#1927979 - 04/16/08 08:53 AM
Sound proofing... (not treatment)
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bubbagump
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Registered: 04/25/06
Posts: 69
Loc: Columbus, OH
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So I just purchased a new home and the lady and I want to convert the basement into studio space... about 1200sq ft. We are dividing the space into several rooms. I am quite up on sound treatment, but sound proofing is another issue. This is what I have to work with. There is existing framing we wish to use for cost reasons. It is 2x6 construction. The ceiling is not finished and a drop ceiling is likely the best way to handle this for cost an access reasons (plumbing etc). So what is the best way to sound "proof" this? I know the old staggered studs deal and caulk etc, but I don't have this luxury here. Reducing bleed is the main concern as I will likely be doing sessions at the same time she is teaching her violin students. Suggestions beyond just stuffing the walls with R-19 and putting batting on top of the drop ceiling? Any suggestions of products to use beyond the regular old OC pink stuff for interior walls? (perhaps something cheaper and more effective?  ) Should I leave the 2x6 base plates and tear out the studs replacing them with 2x4 to make a staggered system? I am thinking this will be not very effective seeing that I am using a drop ceiling so why go through the effort.... Is RC1 worth looking at? And is that sound board dry wall (like the Georgia Pacific, not QuietRock which is too much $$$$) really worth a darn versus regular old 1/2" dry wall? My guess is that they are slightly denser but not much more effective. Considerations for door types and installation? In all fo this bang for the buck is what I am after and not squeezing the last 2% of blood from a stone.
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#1928302 - 04/17/08 01:09 AM
Re: Sound proofing... (not treatment)
[Re: bubbagump]
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dogster
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Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 17
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Hi
Two things:- Dead Air and Mass. So what you want is a "room within a room", where you have an air gap between your studio room/s walls and the existing structure. Ideally you would float the whole thing on rubber blocks or similar.
Whatever building materials you use, it is imperative to make it air-tight, and air-tight between rooms as well. Even a 1mm gap will leak sound making all other sound-proofing efforts almost worthless.
There's an excellent document called Acoustics 101 which describes how to go about this, and while it mentions products by Auralex, there's no reason why you can't substitute other products or get creative with construction materials. You can read it online - it was once available as a PDF but apparently no more. (I have a copy of the PDF, I can email you if you want).
Acoustics 101
Green Glue is worth having a look at, although I haven't tried it out yet.
Green Glue
An acoustically treated ventilation system is a real good idea so that you don't undo all your good work (having built heavy, floating, airtight studio rooms). I built 2 small versions of the one in the pic for my 4-person iso booth (one for intake, one for exhaust) using MDF lined with acoustic foam.
The ducting in the above pic is a product called Silenex.
An average person doing mild activity (eg playing an instrument) requires 12.5 litres per minute of fresh air, which isn't hard to deliver into a room, but the problem will be in keeping it cool. Some sort of air conditioning will definitely be required. If you're going to design and build it yourself, don't forget to take static pressure into account - a low noise computer fan will easily shift air into the back of a PC, but may not have enough grunt to pull air though 6 metres of ventilation duct.
How far you go with it depends on what your requirements really are. For example, can you get away with using headphones while violin lessons are in progress ?
Regarding different types of drywall, look for the STC rating as an indicator of how effective they are. Even though the STC rating only measures down to 125hz (or 100hz using the RW [Road Weighted] method) and is therefore useless when trying to determine how much bass guitar sound you will keep in, or how much jet plane noise you will keep out, it may be useful in determining how much violin (or singing, or glockenspiel...) you will keep out of the recording space.
Are brick walls an option ?
Cheers, Stewart.
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#1928448 - 04/17/08 10:22 AM
Re: Sound proofing... (not treatment)
[Re: dogster]
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bubbagump
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Registered: 04/25/06
Posts: 69
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Thanks for the info... to further illuminate, here are the plans I have worked up.
Note that the recording is in the left most room and lessons happen in the right most two. So I think there is decent air space between the two. (Almost 15 ft) So I am thinking staggered studs on both walls with RC1 are plenty with RC1 on the ceiling. (Insulated walls and ceiling of course and yes I know the 100 don'ts for RC1 installation... no screws into studs, leave a 1/4" gap etc) Am I nuts?
Edited by bubbagump (04/17/08 11:32 AM)
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#1928703 - 04/17/08 09:44 PM
Re: Sound proofing... (not treatment)
[Re: bubbagump]
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dogster
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Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 17
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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The Dead Air will only be dead air if all your doors are airtight, so don't skimp on the doors. I'd suggest at least 40mm solid timber or MDF with some sort of seal - the link is to an Australian website but I expect you'd be able to get this sort of thing worldwide.
Door Seals Australia - STC 47 Rw
Is your drawing to scale ? By the looks of it your studio space is a manageable size, so whatever you use to fill the cavities in the walls, double it for your recording space. Put double doors on with seals, and squeeze twice as much insulation in the walls (that's the "Mass" part of the equation). What is the density of RC1 in pounds per cu ft / kg m3 ? I had a sticky-beak on the web but couldn't find any info.
Do you have any windows to consider ?
Also, try to have separate ventilation ducting into each room ie don't "daisy-chain".
Cheers, Stewart.
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#1928934 - 04/18/08 09:46 AM
Re: Sound proofing... (not treatment)
[Re: dogster]
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bubbagump
Senior Member
Registered: 04/25/06
Posts: 69
Loc: Columbus, OH
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RC1 is standard old resilient channel. So no PSF...
As for doors, I am not too worried. I will likely use exterior doors to take advantage of their seals.
Alright... it seems that the best thing I can do without too much hassle and reasonable bang for the buck...
Staggered studs, 5/8" type X on either side, a butt load of insulation, and seal around my receptacles/switches with caulk or Great Stuff foam spray.
Edited by bubbagump (04/18/08 09:47 AM)
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