Floating ceiling from joists VS ceiling on top of walls

Hello, I've built a small room in the corner of my basement for my drums. I've achieved my desired levels of sound isolation in frequencies above 400 or so, but low frequencies from my kick and snare still make it through my house as a thud noise. I have simply a few walls built out of the corner of my basement, stuffed with roxul insulation and a thick ol' door. My ceiling at the moment Is a stud ceiling that I constructed, attached to a large beam on one side and, on the other side, an existing frame that was built along the perimeter of the foundation a long time ago. I feel that this is where my problem lies. Should I use RCs and build a new ceiling from the joists down, or can I construct a stud frame that sits on top of the existing stud walls that I've constructed? It would be isolated physically from any surfaces to the side and above, and I feel that this would be easier option, as I have a few copper pipes running along the existing basement ceiling and would like to avoid constructing around them. It would essentially be a square booth in the corner of the basement. Is this okay? Ceiling height is not a huge concern - I sit down when I play drums.

High frequencies are easy to attenuate/isolate. Low frequencies are a different beast. The best way to deal with low frequencies is to build a room in a room. Tons of mass on each leaf and a good amount of distance between each leaf will create a low enough resonant frequency to effectively isolate those pesky low frequencies.

I have simply a few walls built out of the corner of my basement, stuffed with roxul insulation and a thick ol' door.

With your current design, you're relying entirely on mass and a good air tight seal. In order to treat the problematic frequencies, you'd need mass that just isn't realistically achievable.

Should I use RCs and build a new ceiling from the joists down, or can I construct a stud frame that sits on top of the existing stud walls that I've constructed?

RC's do not offer good low frequency isolation. So no, this isn't the best option for you. I'm not entirely clear on what you've built thus far. Can you draw it up for us? Either way, if you're in a corner of your basement, you'll need to build 2 other walls (one with a door in it). Then, build another room in that with it's own ceiling that is resting on top of your inner leaf walls. Your foundation walls are great for the outer leaf. The other two outer leaf walls you'll have to construct will need to have lots of mass. Your door has to provide the same isolation the wall does. So again, lots of mass and great seals. The inner leaf will be nice and beefy just like your outer leaf. It will have a door that will match the outer leaf door. Backer rod and caulk every joint. If you are drumming in there, you'll probably want some fresh air. So look up HVAC stuff here on the forum. Until we see drawings with measurements, it's impossible to recommend specifics with your build. Greg

Gregwor wrote:

High frequencies are easy to attenuate/isolate. Low frequencies are a different beast. The best way to deal with low frequencies is to build a room in a room. Tons of mass on each leaf and a good amount of distance between each leaf will create a low enough resonant frequency to effectively isolate those pesky low frequencies.

I have simply a few walls built out of the corner of my basement, stuffed with roxul insulation and a thick ol' door.

With your current design, you're relying entirely on mass and a good air tight seal. In order to treat the problematic frequencies, you'd need mass that just isn't realistically achievable.

Should I use RCs and build a new ceiling from the joists down, or can I construct a stud frame that sits on top of the existing stud walls that I've constructed?

RC's do not offer good low frequency isolation. So no, this isn't the best option for you. I'm not entirely clear on what you've built thus far. Can you draw it up for us? Either way, if you're in a corner of your basement, you'll need to build 2 other walls (one with a door in it). Then, build another room in that with it's own ceiling that is resting on top of your inner leaf walls. Your foundation walls are great for the outer leaf. The other two outer leaf walls you'll have to construct will need to have lots of mass. Your door has to provide the same isolation the wall does. So again, lots of mass and great seals. The inner leaf will be nice and beefy just like your outer leaf. It will have a door that will match the outer leaf door. Backer rod and caulk every joint. If you are drumming in there, you'll probably want some fresh air. So look up HVAC stuff here on the forum. Until we see drawings with measurements, it's impossible to recommend specifics with your build. Greg

You say that the levels of mass needed are impractical. What if I were to build the two walls extending outward from the foundation out of cinder block? That would be a start, no? I’d only have to worry about the other two walls, which are both parallel to the foundation. Edit: the ceiling would surely still be a bottleneck with this idea, so maybe it isn’t the best. I’ll get photos up soon. It’s a 110 year old house, quite big and heavy timber construction with thick plaster walls and tall ceilings. My goal is to reduce most of the transmission to our tenant, who is on the opposite side of the house and on the second floor. I have placed my drums as far as possible from them. Do you still believe I need a two leaf wall?

Again, I can't picture what's done on your place yet, but I quickly drew this up to show you what I'm talking about. The inner room would have a ceiling placed on it's walls. The ceiling would be made using John's inside out technique. And of course, there would be doors..... and it wouldn't have square rooms. Greg