New Garage for Band Rehearsal

Hey! This is my first post here in the forum! I'm portuguese, so you can expect some mistakes, and sorry for that. So, I will move house, and I want to do a Rehearsal garage. I will need to do some insulation, but I don't know if I'll need much reduction in dBs. Here is the Garage Plans: http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7073/houseplans.th.jpg Here I'll post some photos of where the garage will be, and there you can see the distance between neighbourhood and the Garage; http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1255/outsidephoto2.th.jpg http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6093/outsidephoto1.th.jpg http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/433/garagemfrontal.th.jpg (You can see a window in my garage, but for now, it's not an important thing to consider because i'll close that window and it will be a single wall with no holes) Based on these plans and distances, and after doing a big research here in the forum and in other websites, I sketched the plans I have for the Insulation: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3834/plansfotinsulation1.th.jpg For now, I don't care much about acoustic treatment. I'm only concerned if I just need to do something like that, or I will need to do more insulation to avoid problems with neighbourhood. The major problem are the drums. I'm I going in the right way? If I'm posting in the wrong sub-forum, move this thread for the right one please, and sorry for that. Thanks for the attention, Lucas Pedrosa PS: If you are interested or think it's important to know what kind of music we will play, it's like Radiohead, Bombay Bicycle Club, Foals... and so on xD

Please read the Before You Post thread. Folks here will be more happy if they see that you follow the path.

Oh, sorry. I really thought I had read that thread! I'm really sorry for that. So, I will give as much detail and as much info as I know. Location: Coimbra, in Portugal Budget: it really depends, I want the lowest budget that can guarantee some good insulation for the drum and amps. It should be under 3000$ Details about the Garage: http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3570/houseplans2.jpg I'm thinking in creating a two door plan. As I already said, the main problem are the drums. The drummer don't play too loud, but it's always a problem... So, would you advise me what density of rock wool would fit better in this plan? You think that the plan I've made is enough for some insulation? It don't need to be perfect, as you imagine with this budget, but we need to consider the distance to the "other building" ( neighbourhood).

Oh, and I've forgot to say thank you!! ;) Lucas Pedrosa

Question. What are you trying to archive here? "As I already said, the main problem are the drums. The drummer don't play too loud, but it's always a problem... So, would you advise me what density of rock wool would fit better in this plan?" Isolation means mass...drummers mean loud...rock wool means insulation=mid/high frequencies. What you need is mass. How you get it is one thing but rock wool/insulation isn't the solution.

Thanks for the response! But, help me with this please. Isn't the "room in a room" plan a good solution for preventing the transmission loss?! Am I wrong? And I thought the plasterboard + rock wool + air gap + brick wall was going to help with the insulation of some low frequencies. So, what will be the best solution for this? Add a floating concrete floor and adding another brick wall? :? Isn't this going to be much more expensive?! Please, i'd be grateful with your advice. Thanks again :wink: Lucas Pedrosa

Some of the confusion on both sides is the use of the word insulation. While it can be used properly, as you have used it, most involved in this aspect of construction use the word "insulation" when talking about the material that is scratchy, itchy and has a thermal ability. When talking about sound and sound-proofing, the word "isolation" is used. Or sometimes as easily, though somewhat incorrect but at least better known, sound proofing can be used as a replacement for isolation. What you have or are trying to do reads correct, I would like to see a better plan, more clearly laid out. If rockwool is all you can get, then that is the insulation you have to use, but if there are other cheaper and lighter weight insulation's, I would look into those first.

For now, I don't care much about acoustic treatment. I'm only concerned if I just need to do something like that, or I will need to do more insulation to avoid problems with neighbourhood. The major problem are the drums. I'm I going in the right way?

Actually, no you aren't going the right way, but the good news is that you didn't build anything yet, so it is easy to fix your design!

Isn't the "room in a room" plan a good solution for preventing the transmission loss?!

Yes it is, but you have to do it right, and from your sketch it looks like you might not be. Like Brien already said, there might be some confusion here with the words, so let's try to clarify that first: "Isolation" means to stop sound getting into your room, or out of your room. "Insulation" is the fluffy stuff, like mineral wool or fiberglass that you put inside your walls to help with the isolation, and also use to make treatment. "Treatment" means the things that you put inside your finished room to make it sound good. Normally when you isolate a room, it will sound bad afterwards because the things you do to isolate it obviously keep the sound inside the room. Isolating your room makes it sound bad, so you have to treat the room to make it sound good again. OK, so "room in a room" is the best way to isolate your room. To do that you have to build a complete stud frame (you called the, "wood sticks" on your diagram, but the correct name in English is "studs"). That stud frame goes around all four walls and also across the ceiling, but it must not touch any of them: it is independent, and there is no mechanical contact between the stud framing and the original room wall. It looks like you got this part right in your diagram, but you didn't show the ceiling framing, which is an important part of "room in a room" construction. The "studs" that go across the ceiling are actually called "joists", but they are exactly the same type of wood as for the walls. For some reason, the name just changes when you put them on the ceiling!

And I thought the plasterboard + rock wool + air gap + brick wall was going to help with the insulation of some low frequencies.

Yes it will. In fact, it will isolate the room at all frequencies, but isolates much better for high frequencies than for low frequencies. In order to improve the isolation you can add more mass to the wall, or increase the air gap, or both. The pace where I think you are going wrong is the floor: Your diagram shows what looks like a "floating floor", but there is not enough mass on it to work, and it is not designed correctly at all. It is REALLY hard and REALLY expensive to float a floor correctly, and you most likely do not need to do that. You didn't mention what type of floor you already have in that room, and you also didn't say what is underneath that floor. Is it a concrete floor? Is it on the ground, or is there something else below? If it is concrete on the ground, then that is all you need. Next, you show a layer of rubber on your floor, but that is a bad idea. You should probably just leave the floor as bare wood or concrete, and put proper treatment on the ceiling and walls. Rubber and carpet on the floor is generally not a good idea for studios.

So, what will be the best solution for this? Add a floating concrete floor and adding another brick wall?

Well, you COULD do that, but I don't think it will be necessary! It seems like you have the right basic idea, but you need to improve it in some places. Please post more details, and answer the questions I outlined above. - Stuart -