I’m finishing my basement and will be using it as a game/play room. I also plan on setting up my good stereo down there. I like to crank it up at times and that bothers the wife and kiddies. The floor above is hardwood and the noise can be very annoying. The question comes down to, what substance or product will provide the best sound proofing? Does regular insulation dampen sound waves enough so my wife doesn’t have to listen to every song that I think rocks. Benefits of a dry wall ceiling over a drop ceiling with acoustic tile?
I’ve always heard that styrofoam egg containers are great sound insulators. Just get your hands on 578 of them and glue them to the ceiling of the basement (or to the floor in your living area).
This is something I have seriously been curious about, so let me know if it works. I’ll even send you two containers to get you started.
(yes, people, I am joking about the floor thing)
For some reason, I just knew egg cartons would be suggested.
There are hundreds of web sites I have seen; most dealing with selling you their solution. I’m lazy, I did not want to go through every site and contact various vendors. I am looking for known specifics on doing the job myself with getting the best bang for my buck.
Drywall and insulation do an OK job of soundproofing, but because in a traditional drywall ceiling the drywall is attatched directly to the floor joists, the sound vibrations can still pass through pretty easily. If you are going with a drywall ceiling, I’d recommend going with a suspended drywall ceiling. This includes a system of rails like in a traditional suspended acoustic tile ceiling, with the drywall attatched to the rails instead of directly to the joists. This isolates the ceiling away from the joists (and hence the floor above) and helps reduce the amount of vibration.
Most big home centers should have the hardware available for building a suspended ceiling, but I’ll admit I haven’t really checked around to see what their offerings are.
[sub]rummaging through the junk piles Oh great shite on a shingle, where is Modern Carpentry??? Ah, here it is![/sub]
OK, the following is rehashed from Modern Carpentry, by Willis H. Wagner, a great reference for home construction and possibly the best book I’ve ever bought. (mods, I tried not to step on the copyright.)
One method of measuring sound transmission is by the Sound Transmission Class (STC) system. By this system, at:
30 STC Loud speech can be understood through a wall
35 STC Loud speech is audible, but cannot be understood
42 STC Loud speech is audible as a murmur
50 STC Loud speech cannot be heard.
Joists with a 1/2" plywood subfloor on top and 1/2" gypsum underneath will provide a STC 36, but you will probably want as high of STC as possible. A design with a 3/4" thick subfloor and building paper between the subfloor and wood plank flooring, and a 5/8" gypsum wallboard ceiling suspended by spring clips will provide a, STC of 48. The book also gives an example of an STC 52 ceiling made with soundproofing insulation between the joists, gypsum panels suspended under the joists by resilient metal channels, and carpet over the subfloor/plank floor on top.
So to sum it up, the following will help soundproof a ceiling:[ul]
[li]a suspended ceiling of 5/8 gypsum–the mass will reflect the sound; having it in suspension will limit mechanical transmission of the sound[/li][li]Insulation between the joists–this will dampen any sound transmitted by air[/li][li]a thick floor–to reflect the sound[/li][li]carpeting[/ul][/li]Acoustic panels will dampen reflected sound in the basement, but will not stop sound transmission. Egg crates don’t work. They may work poorly to limit reflected sound in the basement, but will not keep the sound out of the rest of the house. Of course, back when I was a broke musician, that didn’t keep me from lining the practice room walls with egg crates and quilts.
Cornflakes, thanks for the straight dope! I will look for the book,
How high is your existing basement ceiling? If you have the space, the best solution would be to build a room that is physically isolated from the rest of the house; that is, build a new set of walls and ceiling that are pretty much free standing (I’m assuming your basement floor is concrete); this way the only way that sound could be transmitted is through the air. To further isolate, use double layers of sheetrock on both sides of these walls (although you probably wouldn’t be able to put any sheetrock on the “top” of your ceiling studs [not really joists since they won’t be supporting s floor]), and use acoustic-grade fiberglass insulation (you may have to special order it).
Just to add to the confusion – materials vary in their soundproofing capability with the frequency of the sound. High frequency sounds are relatively easy to stop. It’s the strong bass notes that are tough. You’ve all heard the kids with the low profile tires and the 2000 watt amp in the back seat of their Geo Metro. You can hear them for miles, but it’s only the thump, thump, thump of the bass that gets through.
Egg cartons, or even the 3 foot foam pyramids that are used in sound chambers, only prevent reflection of the sound, not transmission, as noted above. Those sorts or rooms are anechoic, not soundproof.
Call Sam Ash, on West 48th Street. Ask them who supplies panels of Eggcrate Foam. You can buy them in something like 3 foot squares. Liquid Nails, and you’re fat city.
If not Sam Ash, call ASC_-Audio Services Center ( I think on West 54th Street). They may have a good supplier. Barring anything else, call Sony Music Studios on West 55th Street. Ask for anyone in Technical Maintenance, ask them where to buy the eggcrate foam. It’s High Density Foam eggcrating, excellent at absorbing most sounds.
Yeah…the low end stuff is the hardest. But, eggcrating is a LOT cheaper than building a floating room, as accurately described above. Good luck.
Cartooniverse
Don’t know how well it works, but you might want to explore noise-cancellation technology.
Also, has anyone experience with those 4’ X 8’ sheets of “Homosote” (whatever) you can get at builder’s stores? They are specifically made for noise-reduction and can be used like drywall.
WELL…I am in the process of building a recording studio in my home, so this is something I am a little familiear with. DON’T USE EGG CARTONS. Although they work ok for sound insulation, they also are quite flamable. Something happens to catch one on fire, your whole room is going to go up like a match, which would be very unpleasent if you happen to be there at the time. The foam they sell at music supply stores is great, but it is expensive. Sometimes you can find local foam manufacturers that will sell to the public. A freind of mine when building his studio went with Dallas Foam here in texas, and got a pretty good deal. But again, you have to check to see if it is flamable. My friend got a sample, and took it out back and tried to light it before he did his studio.
For my vocal booth(the only part of the studio I am really concerend about sound proofing at the moment), I covered the entire inside of the room in fiberglass insulation. You put the paper side against the wall, the itchy nasty pink fiberglass side out. then you cover the fiberglass with the lightest cloth you can find(preferably something that doesn’t burn easily), and the sound goes through the cloth, and disperses in the fibers of the insulation. It works about as well as the expensive foam stuff, but is cheaper(although quite a bit bulkier.