[GibsonLP]

Hey there,

I came across your site on a google search, I was wondering if you could give me a few useful tips...

I am moving to a studio apartment soon, it has a big room (12 by 6 meters) that I am going to use both for my HT system and for my musical instruments.


The acoustic arrangement there is awful, although it has an acoustic ceiling there (not something too good though...) - the walls are a triple plaster (Plaster, space with some thermal isolation foam inside, another plaster and another plaster) (I think that's the name in English... it's the stuff you put on your leg when you break it ) and the floor is a floating wooden floor with a concrete floor below (which is quite okay).


The problem is that I have neighbors quite nearby (wall by wall in fact...).


My father was smart enough to leave a 50cm space between their wall to mine so I could put whatever I want on this space in order to isolate it even more.


What do you say about it? should I open the floor as well and put some stuff inside? how much does a normal acoustic wall should cost?


Thanks!

 

[settopguy]

Look at www.acoustics101.com for ideas on soundproofing. Also search the web for "Sound proofing".


The two ways to block sound are to use lots of weight and air pockets. In this forum people often talk about building additional walls that don't touch nearby walls. The idea is to build a room inside the current room. The new room should have as few connections as possible to the surrounding room to make it hard for sound to travel through the structure. The additional walls put additional layers of heavy gypsum board between the source of the sound, and the outside wall.

 

[GibsonLP]

Thanks, I have read most of the things in acoustics101.com already, my situation is a bit different however... It's a room located inside a hanger, the hanger has a concrete floor and is made out of thin metal.

Inside this hanger we have a few small apartments, all made out of plaster (drywall?). so inside it looks a bit like a house instead of a hanger

The outside of the hanger is covered with a thin wood, so except from the roof, nobody could tell it's a hanger.


My father built a studio for me as a surprise, so I couldn't really tell him what to do, but he was smart enough to do these things:

1. Build an additional plaster wall (not to share their wall), so the "shared" wall is in fact another wall, located approx 60cm (2 feet) from their wall, my studio's wall is made out of 3 plaster layers (plaster, plaster,10cm (approx 3") stud space filled with some thermal (and maybe sound) absorbing stuff, plaster).

We have access to the empty space between the apartments (for now anyway... until we close the hole there...) so I could fill it with anything I want.
2. Float the floor, so I have a 5cm (approx 2") wooden floor which floats approx 20cm (2/3 feet) above the concrete floor (it's not filled with anything, should I fill it?)
3. Put a floating ceiling, however - it doesn't look like the good type, it looks like a thick holed cardboard.


I have attached a simple drawing that should explain what I am talking about,


You'd see the line with the question mark there, I though about putting an additional "portable" acoustic plates there when I play, to absorb more sound, I do not wish to destroy the main room by "cutting" it but I do wish to absorb as much sound as I can't so the neighbors won't leave


Any kind of help would be very much appreciated


Thanks.

 

[GibsonLP]

There it goes.

 

[MattJ]

Gibson, I would suggest you get the following book:


Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest, it's about $35.00. One place you can get it is Amazon.com. It covers everything acoustic, room design, sound proofing and several chapters on designing a recording studio.


Hope this helps.

 

[sbradley02]

Quote:

Originally posted by MattJ Gibson, I would suggest you get the following book: Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest, it's about $35.00. One place you can get it is Amazon.com. It covers everything acoustic, room design, sound proofing and several chapters on designing a recording studio. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip, will definitely pick upp a copy!


Seth

 

[GibsonLP]

Quote:

Originally posted by MattJ Gibson, I would suggest you get the following book: Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest, it's about $35.00. One place you can get it is Amazon.com. It covers everything acoustic, room design, sound proofing and several chapters on designing a recording studio. Hope this helps.

Thanks

 

[settopguy]

I am not an expert, but I can give you some ideas to research.


The multiple layers of walls sound good, but the floors and ceilings may need more layers.


For the floors, add a 5/8" thick gypsum board (often called "sheetrock" in the U.S.A.) covered with MDF or other high density board. Glue the layers together and avoid screws or nails. The glue will do less to transmit sound than a stiff nail pounded through all the layers. Some people use roofing felt as another layer to help reduce sound transmission. Use thick carpet pads (probably two layers of them) and heavy carpeting.


Beneath the floor stuff in thick bats of insulation. This will help trap air, and make it harder for sound to leak out. Or if it is hard to reach underneath, you could spray foam insulation beneathe the room.


Since you will probably play music or movies loudly, I think an additional wall between your studio and the apartments is required. For low cost and high weight, consider a poured concrete wall. Concrete block or brick are less desirable since they often have many cracks. The wall should at least be as long as the studio. It would be better if you could extend the concrete wall around both ends of the studio, and possibly the 4th side as well.


If you don't want to mess with concrete walls, consider building another wall with double layers of gypsum board on both sides, and insulation in the middle. If that wall is not enough, you may have enough room to put in a third wall. Again surrounding the studio all all sides would help.


For the ceilings a couple layers of gypsum board will help. The ceiling may the be the easiest way for sound to leak out, and with an metal roof far above, the sound will bounce all over the place. So you really want to concentrate on sound proofing the ceiling. If you build another layer of walls around the studio, consider adding another ceiling.


Note that much of the soundproofing will limit air leaking in or out of the room. However, you still need good ventilation so you don't run out of breathable air. How does fresh air reach the room? Through air ducts? Through an open ceiling? If there are air ducts, you don't want to share air ducts with the other apartments. ideally the studio would have its own source of fresh air, and separate heating and cooling system.


Avoid holes in the walls. If there are holes for anything including wires, try to seal the holes to minimize the sound which leaks out.


Use weatherstripping around doors to get a better air seal. If the door is a hollow door, replace it with a solid door, such as those made for the outside door of a house.