building home studio. Soundproofing?

S

Steven Mc.

New member
I'm Probably going to be building a home studio room soon (for pretty professional stuff), And I have Like NO MONEY. I have all the studio equipment, thats not the question. I'll probably get an old contruction prefab like they carry on a small truck, put It In My backyard, Then I sound proof it. the Question is, how can you at low cost build a relatively sound proof wall? we live next to a beach so i was thinking to build a sturdy wooden frame about the inside of the room, and pour sand in-between the metal prefab wall and antother dry wall I build on the inside. I can get the wood and sand and dry wall for free, and I hope to carpent the inside after the dry wall. sound good? I have NO idea what to put on the roof,(HELP) I'll probably place the prefab On Cinderblocks. ANY suggestions at ALL? If you have a studio, tell me about how you built it, and what problems you found...ect. please guys. anything at all about sound proofing at very low cost. help. post anything if you have any experience. thanks in advance to all In FP. steve
 
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Sand is probably not a good idea, especially since it sounds like you will get it straight from the beach area. Salt laden sand against a steel wall in a high humidty environment is asking for a quickly corroded through wall. Not to mention the enormous amount of side load weight and overall weight for that matter.

6" studded walls filled with fiberglass insulation is much more effective and lighter. Besides it will keep you electric cost down when you run that AC.
 
Fiber glass? well The walls of the studio I use right now are filled with fiberglass, drywall and tatami mats...but if you shout in it, you can still hear on the outside. I heard sand was a much better soundproofer. But Like you mentioned, It does seem like the Prefab wall would corrode easily. What If I nail sturdy plywood to the wall first? then the sand would be Inbetween Wood and drywall? that should stop rust right? Any feedback anyone?
 
How thick are those fiberglass walls? Keep in mind too that they were not constructed for soundproofing. When walls are floated and the studs are alternate spaced you can achieve a very high STC. This takes a lot of carefull work. In addition 2 layers of gypsum board are usually used and sometimes a sheet of lead or one of the newer materials. Again very expensive.

Sand is typically used to float a floor.

When it comes to real soundproofing it can get expensive. There aren't any real ways to keep the cost down, if there were it would be used in high end studios.
 
Sand will be an excellent insulator though, as Tim20 pointed out, you may have corrosion issues.

If you can do it without corrosion intervening (your plywood-drywall idea), I'd say go for it.

The only thing that really stops sound is physical mass. And it looks like sand is a convenient way for you to get this physical insulation.

Take advantage of your circumstances!

-Hoax
 
I would say that when you build the wall, put a couple of layers of of plywood in between, with spaces in each one. Let me see if i can make a diagram

___________________________
Sand Here
___________________________
Leave Empty
___________________________
Sand Here
___________________________
Leave Empty
___________________________

I would say make each space at least 2 inches and make as many as you can fit in the wall. If you do it this way the sound will slow down a lot more because it has to penetrate more then one wall. You can also get a sheet of rubber and cover the board that will be touching the sand. Also wash the sand with a little bleach and water. That Should help well.
Hope this helps!
 
Well I know instead of using auralex once you've built your wall. You should get egg cartons. I got a box load with about 100 8x8 egg cartons for 20 bucks from some farmer online. Do a search on yahoo. It's eggcartens.com com or something like that. I know that works just like auralex.
 
Egg cartons don't even come close to comparing to acoustical treatment foam, whether it be Auralex or some other brand.

There are 1000's of articles out there on the web explaining why egg cartons are a waste of money, not to mention a real fire hazard. You'd be better off hanging up blankets.

Also, foam is for acoustical treament for what goes on inside the room and does next to nothing for sound isolation. Soundproofing/isolation is about keep sound from getting in and out of a room.
 
If you can save up enough money then as dvyce says sheetblock and gypsum is the way to go. Add 4 inches of fiberglass in the walls and not much is going to get through if your construction techniques are done right.

I still worry about your sand idea in a steel building no matter what you do. The side loads are going to be enormous and the walls will have a hard time "breathing" through the sand. Moisture has a knack for very easily being sucked into something like that, but taking forever to get back out.

The salt will quickly leach into the wood framing and eat the nails right in two leading to wall failure. That's why only floors are done this way. If something fails the weight can only go down, not out.

Wet wood is also a termite's dream since they don't have to travel back down into the ground for water.
 
Why are we resurrecting a 7 year old thread? The OP's author hasn't posted on the forum in over 4 years.
 
Go to this website: Acoustics101.com

Go to this website and download the pdf and read it. I am currently building my studio with this information and the people that provide support are great. I have yet to use it in any of my recordings, but based on the analysis, the sound quality that will be produced will be off the chart. The recordings I have as of now have been used in a small closet with blankets...not the best for sound quality because high frequencies get absorbed BUT low frequencies still get through and bounce back into the mic causing muddiness. And the booth was not sound proof. With that said, it is important to remember that mass is your friend and the higher the STC, the more sound proof your room will be. At the same time you need to know the know qualities of the absorptive materials of your foam and what your trying to get out of your performances. Dimensions of a room play a big part in acoustics especially lower frequencies and that the higher the frequency, the easier it can be absorbed. Anyways, enough of me talking..this site will tell you everything you need to know about how everything works as well as what to do to build one!

Hope it works out
 
I'm also looking to sound proof a small room. Does anyone have opinions on this sound proofing paint that I have seen adverts for? Also what is the best foam to get, what thickness etc. TIA
 
soundproofing and acoutic treatment are two different things..
soundproofing takes true construction if you basement or room is finished then you have tear down walls insert at least 4" of fiberglass or rockwool insulation...then do sheet rock then green glue the sheet rock then green glue then the thickess drywall you can find this should be done on all wall and the ceiling..
then once this is done.. forget putting up acoustic foam..get some true asborption panels and get some true basstraps at least 4" thick I'll say at least 6" for bass traps though the more the better and then comes the fun part
setting up your equipment in the right way so
you get the best stereo image,etc.
you'lll need to tune your room placing acoustic treatment in the right areas ...mixing cloud etc....
shape of the room is important too

best site for this kind of stuff ever
John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum • Index page
 
first thig I found is dealing with first reflections behind the speakers and bass traping. You can use fiber glass wrapped up in fabric. inexpensibe... but time consuming.
 
you can use acoustical material and Fiberglass insulation insulates walls very well. Use closely packed fiberglass bats for your wall insulation.
 
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