soundproofing the ceiling in my basement

[B-Bottom]

What is the most cost effective way of doing this? The rest of the basement is underground and is cement so I'm not worried about that. The ceiling is my main concern. So any tips on how to do this as cheaply as possible would be great.

[Fran da Man]

Cheap? don't know about cheap; unless you find some place thats throwing out an old drop ceiling.

If you're going to do it you may as well do it right.

 

http://www.auralex.com/

[takeout]

Soundproof as in "no sound gets upstairs", or soundproof as in "the room sounds weird and I'd like to make it sound better"?

 

If it's the latter, you can do lots of stuff. You can turn the ceiling into a series of Real Traps (Google it for plans), but the Owens Corning 703 fiberglass isn't cheap.

 

If it's the former, well... you're {censored}ed. The only thing that makes rooms soundproof is mass. Lots of it. Egg cartons won't work, packing blankets won't work, carpet scraps won't work unless you have enough to carpet a small office building. And it won't be cheap either. Sand works, as does concrete; neither one can be easily contained between ceiling joists.

 

EDIT: I just saw your "house" thread. You may not need "soundproof". Do this:

 

1. Find out what your local noise ordinance is.

2. Get a dB meter from Radio Shack

3. Have your band set up in the basement, or just take your PA down there and blast music at roughly equivalent to your practice volume. Stand outside and measure the noise based on your local ordinance (e.g. "

 

You may find your basement is quieter than you thought from the outside.

 

[B-Bottom]

 

Originally posted by takeout Soundproof as in "no sound gets upstairs", or soundproof as in "the room sounds weird and I'd like to make it sound better"? If it's the latter, you can do lots of stuff. You can turn the ceiling into a series of Real Traps (Google it for plans), but the Owens Corning 703 fiberglass isn't cheap. If it's the former, well... you're {censored}ed. The only thing that makes rooms soundproof is mass. Lots of it. Egg cartons won't work, packing blankets won't work, carpet scraps won't work unless you have enough to carpet a small office building. And it won't be cheap either. Sand works, as does concrete; neither one can be easily contained between ceiling joists. EDIT: I just saw your "house" thread. You may not need "soundproof". Do this: 1. Find out what your local noise ordinance is. 2. Get a dB meter from Radio Shack 3. Have your band set up in the basement, or just take your PA down there and blast music at roughly equivalent to your practice volume. Stand outside and measure the noise based on your local ordinance (e.g. " You may find your basement is quieter than you thought from the outside.

 

 

thanks for the tips I'll have to check that out. I wanted to do as much as possible to the basement now before everyone starts bringing their stuff over .

[BEAD]

concrete walls seem great until y'all set up. I'd try to cover the walls with old blankets of something... otherwise practice will probably sound terrible.

 

I've got a buddy who works in a foam factory... I don't have to pay for soundproofing.

 

also... open a dialogue with your neighbors now. much better to have them call you than the police. don't practice late at night... be considerate... you should be fine.

[lug]

I would just make sure my estates were large enough that any sounds were far enough away from neighbors as to not disturb them.

[KeroseneTrewthe]

Hey B-Bottom,

 

I work at a foam converting plant. I get these 1/4+ x 2' x 6' sections of 4# foam. Its pretty dense and does a decent job at stopping sound. Stop it completely? No but helps cut it down. If you pay to ship it I might be able to hook you up with some. I'll see what I can snag.

 

 

 

Im in the same situation as you. Reallys its not too bad unless your guitarist play with half stacks and such.

 

For now, blanket the walls and the ducting as much as you can. It helps a lot.

[bnyswonger]

I've got an old drop ceiling in my basement, which is way better than nothing...but I'd like to put some fiberglass up between the joists and then drywall it. I'll pick up a couple more inches of "headroom" - not really an issue except when I grab the upright.

[takeout]

Originally posted by bnyswonger I've got an old drop ceiling in my basement, which is way better than nothing...but I'd like to put some fiberglass up between the joists and then drywall it. I'll pick up a couple more inches of "headroom" - not really an issue except when I grab the upright.

Bob -

 

Don't use the "pink stuff"; use the 703 fiberboard I mentioned above. You basically would have:

 

Upstairs Floor

Air gap

703

Air gap

Drywall

 

Makes a hell of a Helmholtz resonator. The room's low end will tighten up a lot too.

[bnyswonger]

Originally posted by takeout Bob - Don't use the "pink stuff"; use the 703 fiberboard I mentioned above. You basically would have: Upstairs Floor Air gap 703 Air gap Drywall Makes a hell of a Helmholtz resonator. The room's low end will tighten up a lot too.

 

Interesting... Actually, the stuff they used for the drop ceiling is petty dense...maybe I could cut that up and do something similar without having to buy the 703...

[takeout]

Originally posted by bnyswonger Interesting... Actually, the stuff they used for the drop ceiling is petty dense...maybe I could cut that up and do something similar without having to buy the 703...

Hmmm... it might, if you double-layer it. The 703 is roughly 1.5" thick or so.

[bholder]

 

Originally posted by KeroseneTrewthe Hey B-Bottom, I work at a foam converting plant. I get these 1/4+ x 2' x 6' sections of 4# foam. Its pretty dense and does a decent job at stopping sound. Stop it completely? No but helps cut it down. If you pay to ship it I might be able to hook you up with some. I'll see what I can snag. Im in the same situation as you. Reallys its not too bad unless your guitarist play with half stacks and such. For now, blanket the walls and the ducting as much as you can. It helps a lot.

 

 

I had one iteration of my last band playing in my basement for about 6 months - the guitarist insisted on playing through two full Marshall stacks in parallel even for practice. Got us "busted" by the neighbors for noise once.

 

On stopping sound from spreading, foam won't do much. It's excellent for killing reverberation noise in basements, though.

[Decker]

You want to keep the sound in the basement. Trying to absorb the sound with foam isn't going to help. Sound absorbing materials don't work very well in the low frequencies (300 hz and down), which is where the kick drum and bass are playing. Also, putting materials against the wall is not as efficient as spacing them away from the wall a couple of inches. I have a stack of R-19 fiberglass rolls floor to ceiling in a corner of my living room to absorb excess bass frequencies. (Yes, I do live alone. How did you know?) Even so, there is plenty of bass, and it can be heard down the hall outside my apartment. I would think that a couple of layers of sheetrock on the ceiling would do more to contain the sound than any foam or other absorbant. And make a cover for any forced air vents, to be used when you are playing. You might want to check the Jon Risch web site for some DIY acoustic treatments. (www.geocities.com/jonrisch)

[Markee]

You'll need to make some kind of drop curtain for your windows if you have any in the room. Ventilation then becomes a problem...

[Decker]

Here's another source of info on studio treatments: www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html. Pretty extensive article on absorption and diffusion techniques.

[The Real MC]

If you like subsonic bass or kick, it will radiate throughout the structure no matter how much soundproofing you use. That's why many prosumer studios are in converted garages that are unattached to the house.

[nosamiam]

If your ceiling is plain drywall, you may want to go over it with another layer of drywall. Or better yet, nail 2x4's into the joists and nail 2 layers of drywall into the 2x4's. The extra mass of the double-layer, plus the air gap should make a pretty big difference. And it's a reasonably cheap way to go.

[takeout]

 

Originally posted by nosamiam If your ceiling is plain drywall, you may want to go over it with another layer of drywall. Or better yet, nail 2x4's into the joists and nail 2 layers of drywall into the 2x4's. The extra mass of the double-layer, plus the air gap should make a pretty big difference. And it's a reasonably cheap way to go.

 

Yeah, but you can't just have an air gap alone. If it's two stiff surfaces separated by air, you've turned it into a drum. If you have some dense insulator in there, but not touching the resonant panels (drywall), you can effectively slow down the offending frequencies.