If you read my other topic, I was going to build a rehearsal space in a Home Depot shed. After realizing that it would have cost a small fortune to do that right, I've decided to install a center wall in my garage creating two sections. One for the rehearsal space, and the other for storage.
Since space is limited, I want to avoid the room within a room method. I'm hoping that with the thick insulated center wall (including green glued dry wall) and some sort of soundproofing material in the rehearsal area to create a near air tight seal, the sound will be pretty well isolated. The three walls in my garage are drywall with insulation, and the garage door is a standard door with a thin layer of insulation.
Sorry that the text is hard to read, but here's a crude floor plan:
Do you think this will work to isolate the sound? I know that it won't be completely soundproof, but hopefully enough that it won't disturb the neighbors. I think the biggest challenge will be the door in the center wall. Any recommendations on doors?
If you could put some real-world numbers to your build, then it would be a lot easier to answer your questions! "Will this be enough isolation?" Enough for WHAT? Enough for a full rock band with a sleeping baby next door? Not a chance. Enough for a single piccolo played lightly, and no neighbors within 50 m? Sure!
If you build a single-leaf wall, you are basically limited to "mass-law" with regard to how much isolation you can get. Mass law says that each time you double the mass of the entire wall, you get an extra 6 dB of isolation. You need an extra 10 dB (roughly) so that it sounds about half as loud (subjectively). So you need, very roughly four times the mass to get it half as loud. So let's say you have two layers of 5/8 drywall as your single leaf, and and after you listen to that, you figure that you need to get the level down so more, to about half what you are hearing: You need to ad ANOTHER SIX layers of 5/8 drywall to do that, theoretically. Of course, all this assumes that the wall is the only way for sound to get through. If the sound is actually getting around your wall ("flanking") by another path, such as through the ceiling, floor, side wall, or out one window and back in another, then NO amount of extra drywall will help.
That's the reason folks here recommend full two.leaf MSM walls. There are no easy cheap ways to isolate a room. The easiest and cheapest is a full room-in-a-room two leaf MSM wall on double studs. Anything less that that won't do the job. There are no magical materials that defy the laws of physics (despite what some unscrupulous manufacturers might claim on their web sites). You cannot persuade the laws of physics to somehow not be applicable to your studio. I wish you could, but it just ain't possible.
So most likely what you propose will not accomplish what you want. If you need to get sufficient isolation so that a loud rock band does not bother the neighbors, a single leaf wall just won't cut it. (Unless maybe you make it out of very thick concrete, or lead sheeting... :) )
- Stuart -
If you could put some real-world numbers to your build, then it would be a lot easier to answer your questions! "Will this be enough isolation?" Enough for WHAT? Enough for a full rock band with a sleeping baby next door? Not a chance. Enough for a single piccolo played lightly, and no neighbors within 50 m? Sure!
We're a full rock band with a drummer that likes to play loud... :(
One thing to note; we practiced at my house for about three months in a unsoundproofed bedroom. Of course it was incredibly loud inside the house, but not bad outside and we never got single complaint from the neighbors. So if we can at least isolate the sound to the level that it was when we played in the bedroom, we should be good to go.
So with the thick center wall, the mass and space between the wall and the garage door, hopefully it will be isolated to at least the level it was in our bedroom.. Thoughts, comments?
Update: we are going to build the wall about a foot away from the garage door to maximize space. Our builder is going to build an enclosed frame for the garage door to move up into when it is in the open position.
He also noted that the neighbors to our left (the one's that I'm worried about) don't have any windows on the side of their house closest to my garage... I'm sure we'll be heard when they are outside, but I'm sure they won't hear a peep when they are inside. Wish me luck everyone. :)