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Soundproofing Your Home Theater - Part One: The Basics

post #1 of 18
1/4/11 at 9:22am
Thread Starter 
Soundproofing Your Home Theater - Part One: The Basics
Author: Alan Lofft, Axiom


Overhead view of dual layers of sheetrock: place silicone caulk between
the layers as well as where the sheetrock attaches to the studs.

As much as we all love home theater movie soundtracks and music at realistic playback levels (realistic does not necessarily mean extremely loud), most of us have to deal with other people in our livesfamily, roommates, companions, younger children and/or older relatives in the house, or neighbors in nearby, adjacent or adjoining homes. Even if you live in the woods or on the plains, there is still the pervasive problem of preventing the sounds that you enjoy from traveling through your dwelling's structure to other rooms to annoy those who may not appreciate your late-evening movie or music tastes.

An added benefit of soundproofing your home theater room will be that the soundproofed room will also keep annoying noise and outside sounds from entering the room. You'll have created a peaceful and quiet sanctuary in your home that shuts out the noise and clamor of daily life, be it car horns, coffee grinders, leaf blowers, or loud music on inferior playback systems (even those with wheels attached). Quiet spaces bring a measure of tranquility to our lives.

That said, soundproofing is a rather complex subject best treated in several articles.

Different approaches are required for new home construction or for soundproofing a room in an existing home. Soundproofing after the fact may involve building a room within a room, literally, depending on just how much sound you want to keep in and keep out of the room.

Read the complete article at HomeToys.com
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post #2 of 18
1/4/11 at 2:46pm
good article. I need to soundproof the mechanical room in my dental office and will likely use some of those tips.
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post #3 of 18
1/5/11 at 2:24pm
Is this a rerun of the same article from 2006? I thought silicone as a dampener was debunked?
My take away from the discussion here in the archive from then was that silicone is no where near as effective as Green Glue.

Anyone?
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post #4 of 18
1/6/11 at 6:02am
Green Glue is relatively cheap, and tests have proven its effectiveness. If you are paying for two layers of drywall, you might as well use the proper damping material between them.
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post #5 of 18
1/6/11 at 2:03pm
In my experience, silicone (the good kind, such as 30 year Silicone II) works well as a gap filler when used in sufficient quantities, and maintains flexibility when filling gaps between fixed structural framing and floating wall systems.

In my non-scientific opinion, after working with Greenglue and Silicone both, I think it would be a poor dampener when used as shown in the illustration. My guess is that you would end up with only the benefits of double drywall.

In remodel work, whisper clips and hat channel, double drywall and greenglue, have consistantly shown the best results per dollar, as reported by many of the dedicated theater forum users.
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post #6 of 18
1/7/11 at 11:28am
The silicone myth has been busted by many, including at least one independent lab. It's an urban legend, like egg cartons
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post #7 of 18
1/7/11 at 2:12pm
This may be something you guys haven't thought of yet when i lived in NY we used to sound proof apartments, to bathroom walls even each of the ballrooms in the Marriott hotel in upstate NY.

This product is called Cellulose and it is used for insulation. The type we used is the blown in material. A typical install would be drilling a 1 inch hole in the wall cavity and via a 1 inch nozzle, pump the material in there under pressure. When done, you had a great insulator and a fantastic sound barrier. There are other methods to applying yet this was the most common way.

In AZ here, we spray it on open walls prior to drywall, spray it on ceilings, or into attics for the insulation property, yet also for a sound barrier that works extremely well as we have heard from 1000's of our customers. I even did my attic here and walls in AZ with it.

Just wanted to share as this would be a very viable option for existing homes to even new builds for sound proofing.
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post #8 of 18
1/7/11 at 2:26pm
Hello Datagg, Thanks for that. Properly installed blown-in insulation can be nice. However, I've grown to not be a fan of blown in insulation, both cellulose and fiberglass. I've seen too many installs where the insulation got hung up on wire, etc. and then backed up. This compresses the insulation, which means some areas have no insulation, while the backed up areas now conduct a vibration.

This is even worse when the ceiling is decoupled with channel, as the blown in insulation can really lock up the flex of the channel.
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post #9 of 18
1/7/11 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted White View Post

Hello Datagg, Thanks for that. Properly installed blown-in insulation can be nice. However, I've grown to not be a fan of blown in insulation, both cellulose and fiberglass. I've seen too many installs where the insulation got hung up on wire, etc. and then backed up. This compresses the insulation, which means some areas have no insulation, while the backed up areas now conduct a vibration.

This is even worse when the ceiling is decoupled with channel, as the blown in insulation can really lock up the flex of the channel.

Hi ted. Yes that is true it can get hung up at times. Allot depended on the company who did the install and the equipment used. For instance, the Home Depot machines don't pack enough blower power to compress or even fill the cavity up well. When people wanted to use those machines, we highly advised against it.. yet if they insisted, we told them to drill to sets of holes, maybe even three per each cavity to ensure proper compression & a good luck hand shake. 90% of the time people who did there own called us to fix it.

We used a machine called the Force 2. It had enough power to not only blow down a cavity, it would even go up 4 feet ensuring a properly condensed and compact install. We were also savvy enough to know if cavity took less than it should which would always dictate we drilled another hole lower, or upper. Firewalls were a huge issue also, which were easily determined by the time and amount of insulation that went in. So the proper machine and experience is key.

Not saying this by any means is the best method to sound proof, yet it is a viable solution to an existing structure without tearing things apart.
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post #10 of 18
1/11/11 at 9:23am
Like all options success depends on proper installation.
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post #11 of 18
1/12/11 at 8:23am
Soundproofing a home theater increases the sound experience. it increases the bass and treble experience to an amazing extent.
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post #12 of 18
1/12/11 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Datagg View Post

Like all options success depends on proper installation.

I agree 100%. Absolutely true. Furthermore much success depends on the experience of the crew. I'm sure your crew produces fine results.
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post #13 of 18
1/13/11 at 6:53pm
According to the STC ratings, insulating the wall with FG (on its own) doesn't contribute much. I wonder though how much of this is due to the poor performance of FG for sound-deadening. Are there comparative figures for Roxul? Are there figures for Bonded Logic, the FG alternative that is made from recycled denim.

I've heard of the staggered studs, it does double the amount of work in building the wall. Also there's going to be bridging at rough openings and the ends of the walls. Is there any formula for figuring out how much performance loss is due to such deadening? I have heard that thermal bridging for stud walls can reduce efficiency of insulation by 40%. Would it be easier to put up sheets of 3/4" foamboard, covered with furring strips and then dry-walled? Would this accomplish anything in sound-proofing?
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post #14 of 18
1/14/11 at 7:15am
In a wall, all medium / low density insulation works similarly. You can spend a lot or a little, and get very similar results.

Insulation provides a bigger payback with sound isolation when incorporated in a decoupled assembly. Same with mass. The same mass or insulation will provide more improvement (STC points) on a decoupled wall than a coupled wall
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post #15 of 18
1/14/11 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted White View Post

In a wall, all medium / low density insulation works similarly. You can spend a lot or a little, and get very similar results.

Insulation provides a bigger payback with sound isolation when incorporated in a decoupled assembly. Same with mass. The same mass or insulation will provide more improvement (STC points) on a decoupled wall than a coupled wall

Well said Ted
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post #16 of 18
1/15/11 at 5:02am
Be cautious to avoid adding an RC to an existing surface. You can actually increase sound transmission at some critical frequencies.
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post #17 of 18
1/15/11 at 5:24am
I see many good questions regarding noise control in this post. Several articles worth. In general, and every job has its unique constraints, for noise control you have to understand the sound source (its frequency and energy levels) and its transmission path(s) to the receiver. Then you can determine the best means of blocking, breaking, absorbing and/or isolating, which usually means a system design combining several methods.

Constrained layer damping is very effective, but only when used in conjunction with insulation, acoustic sealants, etc. A very small unsealed area can take a high STC rated wall, floor or ceiling system and reduce it to half the rating. Note that doors are your biggest enemy.
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post #18 of 18
1/25/11 at 4:27pm
I am trying to sell out of my quiet rock soundproofing. I recently sold my av company and have the 3x8 sheets of 525 on sale for $35 and the 4x12 sheets on sale for $45 each. This was my preferred method of soundproofing for theaters when I owned my company. Email me at brnagin4@me.com I'll email you the eBay auction or we can work it out. Www.quietsolution.com
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