Sound proofing an existing room w/ roxul

Hopefully Ted White or another member with a lot of expertise will drop by and provide good responses. In the meantime, here is a mediocre response:

I don't think there is anything special about Roxul, except that it doesn't make you itch like fiberglass. In terms of acoustic performance, R13 fiberglass is about as good as anything else.

Have you read up on "flanking"? If you haven't seen them yet, spend some time with the articles here: www.soundproofingcompany.com

If you only treat some of the walls, sound will "flank" your treatments and enter the rest of the house. I would plan on adding a second layer of drywall with Green Glue to all the walls, including the ceiling.

Have you thought about how you will handle the door? It's a huge source of potential sound leakage. The budget approach would be to replace the existing door with a 1-3/4" solid slab exterior door -- the heavier, the better -- with good weatherstripping (including the bottom).

Items not addressed by this plan: (1) decoupling (would require removing all the existing drywall and putting up clips and channel); (2) the floor (another source of flanking problems); (3) penetrations of the DD+GG envelope from recessed lights, electrical outlets, etc.; (4) HVAC. With a limited budget, you may not be able to fix all of this. Even so, you should understand, and be willing to accept, the compromises you're making.

I agree with all of the above. Additionally, the GG + Drywall on a 16" OC wall framing won't work great, either.

Overkill is based entirely on your expectations. It may be, or it may not be. What are your real expectations? Are you watching loud movies and need to keep loud deep base from the other rooms? Or are you at normal levels and just don't want to disturb others in the house? How loud is the normal sound, and what kind is it (bass or other 'normal' frequencies) you want to keep from escaping? Are you ok in turning down just the subwoofer at night? All that would dictate what is, or isn't, overkill for own unique needs.

Hi Myke,

 

OT, but what part of NC?

Decoupling with clips would would be a good start,especially if you think you might upgrade in the future, but if you're just treating the one wall, you may not see a benefit.

Adding a second layer of 5/8" drywall would be the basic element in anything you do. Don't pass on this option.

You could damp the drywall, but again, just treating one surface might render this wasted funds.

I'd drop the insulation unless you had some hanging around, as this will cost a lot per square foot and provide the least improvement of all the things being discussed.

 

Cool man, Thanks!  I have family that lives in Morrisville/Apex, its a nice place.  Your room is approx the same size as mine and a bonus room too, so I'll chime in with any ideas I may have.....

 

Also, check this out.  Its a a local group with many folks in our area.  Lots of good helpful people in there.

No worries man, weve got members all the way from completed HTs to future builders. Another benefit is local sales/trades of gear..... Anyways love to have you onboard if your interested.

Ive been in this house for 3yrs, so technically 3yrs. I didnt do much in the first year though as i was still "collecting" equipment....

Yup Im a weekend warrior. I live alone and in the country so i didnt do any soundproofing other than extra insulation on the shared interior wall. Furthermore i run an Infinite baffle sub so all bets are off on containment

Oh, O.T. means Off Topic, sorry for derailing your thread. Drop me a line if you need a hand with anything!

It's also important that the clips be spaced every 48" along any given channel. You should be supplied with extensive installation instructions when you order your material. You should check on that.

Not to Necropost...but I'm doing it anyways......if I may piggyback on this thread for one moment:
I've got a small HT in the basement that has a fairly standard drop ceiling, the usual Home Depot (junkish) treatment.

What I want to do is isolate some of the noise my children make upstairs so I don't hear them so much when I'm in my Office which is 'next to' the room
that has the theater bits. (PJ, screen, etc). My home was built in the 60's, for whatever that's worth.

My question is this: Will stuffing (or simply layering) Roxul Safe N Sound batting provide any sort of improvement. I understand
the concept of Sound as Water, and what I am hoping to achieve is not, by any stretch of the imagination, sound proofing. I'm more
interested in taking the edge off the voies and TV sounds, *NOT* the vibrations of running feet, I'm more interested in filtering out high frequencies
rather than low (think: excited kids watching a movie upstairs). Right now, its almost like they are in the same room. as I would be directly beneath.

Right now above the standard HT ceiling tiles there is nothing but joists and pipes and then the plywood for the floor above, onto which a very old pine floor is affixed.
Can I get away with spending some $$$ on Roxul's Sound based product and achieve a bit of sound deadening....or will it be an exercise in throwing
money at the wrong way to fix a problem.

My ideal solution is go to HD, pick up a dozen bags of the stuff, and start popping tiles........but I have a feeling it wont be quite so easy, or is it?

Comments appreciated

Insulation will more than likely be an improvement. You do not need to "stuff" it with more insulation than it needs - simply chose the correct thickness of insulation for the air space above the ceiling tiles. Standard pink fluffy building insulation will provide the best results, no need to purchase anything more expensive. And you can save yourself some cash by purchasing it from an insulation distributor instead of a home improvement store
Edited by GIK Acoustics - 1/18/13 at 5:17pm

I'm not maybe quite so optimistic. I wager you'll find it just took the edge off. Not very effective below ~350Hz and as you pointed out, even less for footfall noise. Just my speculation.