Help with TribalStudio - soundproofing.

Hey. Right, I have many many questions. I've read through many many threads and everything is saying the same thing. Build rooms with-in rooms etc. Then you get the people who think they can totally soundproof their rooms with foam. So i got bored very quickly are reading through all this. My studio (it could also be described as a small room with recoring stuff in it - lol) is 6m x 3m. The walls are dense blockwork walls, nothing special. The adjacent room is my kitchen. I'm only 16, so im living with my parents, so teachnically it's their kitchen. Now the issue is, im recording about a band a week at this stage (im still in school so it's all i can fit in) and my sister and brother come home and are being their usual noisy selves in the kitchen. Then the phone rings amd people are talking next door and you can here all this through the walls. It's connected by a door (we've hung two fire doors in opposite ways). Now you can see the bands looking at each other when all this is happening next door thinking...hmmmm.....crap studio......wont this come out in the recording.......beer..hmmm......cold beer. Oops, i got slighly distracted. So i need some way of reducing the noise in and out of the room. Also in the near future im thinking of spliting the room in two and have one for mixing and one for tracking. So the same treatment will be applied there. (i'll be asking for help with the design soon enough :D ) So what i want to know is what can i attach to the walls that will reduce the noise. Now im not looking for perfection - I can't afford perfection. But something needs to be done. ANY comments are welcome, anything at all. Now i've read many articles that people have linked to in previous threads so I've done all my homework....but I haven't found an anwser yet. Thankyou guys. Btw - this was also posted at Homerecording.com/bbs but i've had no replies there, apart from to post here.

No rudeness, but if you have read a lot, you know about the sticky in the construction forum for new posters. Andre

Andre is referring to this... Which includes a link to this. I believe you're in Stage 6 or maybe Stage 7. Good luck! :)

drummerdude666 wrote:

... i got bored very quickly are reading through all this.

i know exactly what you mean. i was going to explain how to fix your situation, but i also got bored very quickly :P

AVare - Yeh i'd looked through all of that. Unfortunalty most of that isn't applicable to me. It's all about Building from scratch and putting isolation in the cavity walls etc. My rooms built and i wanted to know what i can put on the walls that could reduce the noise transmition through the walls. Sharward - lol. Yeh, i'd read that thread before. I am about stage 6 ot 7. But i had read the threads shown there but i still couldn't figure out what was my best option. thanks for the links though. And Dan Fitzpatrick, a friend from HR.com, :D Yeh i did get very bored, reading through so much stuff which was mostly not applicable to me, but regardless i read it as i figured people would point me in the direction of those threads. So i had read them before posting this. Dan Fitzpatrick, if you do know how to fix my problem, i would greatly appriciate you telling me, as i am very unsure as what i can do...

Hey DD, Retrofitting an existing space to increase transmission loss (known as "T.L.," or "adding soundproofing") is no easy task. It's typically major construction surgery to get any real results. There are products by manufacturers that claim they are "magical" (such as QuietSolution's stuff), but when you do the math (costwise and in low frequency TL), you're left facing the reality that there is no easy or inexpensive way to get good results. We don't mean to discourage you -- our goal is to keep you from following a path of frustration, buying or building things that have been proven not to work. For what it's worth, I have been researching and redesigning my space for six months now, and I have yet to put two pieces of wood together. It's 90% planning and 10% building. Part of the 90% planning is learning as much as you can about what works, what doesn't work, and why. Granted, we don't have any real information about your existing space... But I predict that you will discover that in order to get the results you're hoping for, you will have to develop a two-leaf, Mass-Air-Mass system. Keep reading and studying, and you'll get there. If there were a cheap and easy solution to the problem, I dare say that attendance of this forum would be far less than it is. Sorry... Laws of physics are pretty darned stubborn. :roll:

hey man, yeah we're not trying to be mean. but you really do have to do the reading and educate yourself. but i'll give you a quick and dirty answer to your question

My rooms built and i wanted to know what i can put on the walls that could reduce the noise transmition through the walls.

what you put on the walls is more drywall, as many layers as you can, and make sure it is sealed with caulk preferably special acoustic caulk that will not crack over time. preferably add drywall to both sides if you can but if not add more layers ot the inside. you don't say, but you mention walls of block, so if your probelm wall is block then make sure it is sealed painted well so you can't see any tiny holes/pores in the block -- on both sides. and then add more drywall to this as above. if you can, remove the existing wall board and put insulation int he walls first, because that will help a lot too. there is usually no insulation in interior walls. and make sure your doors seal airtight, even around the bottom. use some kind of weatherstripping and make sure the doors close tightly. hope that helps. if you want to help us help you give us more details, a sketch or even some photos would be nice.

AVare - Yeh i'd looked through all of that. Unfortunalty most of that isn't applicable to me. It's all about Building from scratch and putting isolation in the cavity walls etc

How did you miss the part about DESCRIBING your room, and your location? We can't give constructive information without details. Just a couple of things from the post that you have ignored...

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions. Start your post with an overview of your goals and where you are in the process... Research? Planning? Construction already underway? Finished, and wanna know why it doesn't work? HOW LOUD are you, and how picky/loud are your neighbors? How close? This is subjective, so you will need to buy something like the Radio Shack Sound Level MeterEdit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

Andre

Thanks very much for the replies. I've been checking back these last few days on this, was dissapointed as i thought there were no new replies, i see 'drummerdude666' next to the thread title. On other forums this is where the person who last posted name is displayed. So i looked at this intead of openening the thread. My bad. Ok, i'll keep reading. Thanks for the help. I'll also get some pics and maybe a video of the room to show you guys some more. My dad's an architect so i'll get the room spec of you also. Out of intrest...a studio i help at (it's a budget studio like mine, but they record many bands). They've got normal rooms. All they've dont to them is put carpet on all the walls, and cover it with fabric to make it look nice....This has cut out some sound.........but everything i've read here is saying that carpet on walls is a bunch of crap and shouldn't be done. This guy is a long time enginneer and he says it works....Iis he talking out of his ass?

Hey DD, I'm not picking on you (really!), but you do have some more studying ahead of you. There's a world of difference between absorbant materials that reduce sound reflections (i.e., decreasing echo inside the room) and mass materials that increase transmission loss (i.e., decreasing sound escaping from the room).

knightfly wrote:

. . . almost ALL carpet is FLAMMABLE; placing it on walls is dangerous, it collects dust, mites, mold, etc, and is generally (even acoustically) a VERY BAD idea . . . (Source)

So, with all due respect to your long time engineer who says it works... He is indeed "talking out of his ass."

I have a lot of time off starting tomorow. I'm 16 and i've just finished my GCSE's. I am well up for spending a long time reading up on this. I always try and fully understand things. It's a bit of a curse, it's been hell during my exams. I always look into things too deeply, and often miss the point of it all. I'd rather read books, i spend a lot of my spare time traveling, gym, etc. Could you suggest a few books that i could/should read to help me fully understand what i shoud to. I live in the UK, please any books, no matter how complicated, or therotically based. I enjoy learning about things that i have no clue about. :D

Congratulations on getting through your GCSEs, DD. (For those who don't know, that stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education -- I had to look it up myself!) If it's books you're looking for, there's a list of books (some with reviews) on StudioTips.com. And/or, you can do what I've been doing for the last six months: absorbing everything here (and on some other great forums, such as the ones at StudioTips.com and HomeRecording.com) just about every moment of the day that I'm not eating, sleeping, or working. (And who am I kidding? I sometimes do many or even all of those things simultaneously! ;) ) You seem like a bright kid, DD -- just keep sifting through the stacks of previous posts here (and on the other forums) and you'll be able to distinguish between fact and fiction. :cool: And when a question comes up to which you can't seem to find an answer, you can always post it... Not only will you benefit, but those who come in behind you with the same question later on. :) Now go edit your profile already so that you can prove your ability to follow directions! :twisted:

<Now go edit your profile already so that you can prove your ability to follow directions!> Yes Sir! :shock: lol. Right, i will get reading...i think a few days recovery is in order first then i get right on it. That's for the links sharwood. I'll keep you guys posted on my situation :D

You edited your profile! Thanks! Andre

As requested :wink: Hopefully the new information will be posted tonight :?

Ok, I need some programs to show you guys the design of my studio at the moment and what my plans are. I've been messing around with smart draw but i dont like it, and i havn't picked it up quickly (which is what i usually do). What free (or trial) programs could i use to help with the design. All i want is 2D. So i can show walls and bits of furniture in the studio. A program that will scale things automatically etc. What does everybody use?

What does everybody use?

smartdraw :):) cheers john

SketchUp is an awesome program that IMO just as easy to use as any 2D program out there and you can draw in 3D with ease. Do a Google search for SketchUp and check it out. The trial version should give you plenty of time to be able to post a nice Picture. Marcel

Brilliant. I'll starting to draw it up now. I'll post the designs soon.......as long as i can figure out these programs. :?

Heres some rough deigns to show you what they are like now. 1- New possible design with a seperating wall, one room for tracking, another for mixing. 2- Room as it stands now, all furniture in ther must fit into the new room design. What i want is a sperate room for recording and mixing. Any other ideas, it means that the rooms are almost perfect squares....and i know that's not good. If you have any suggestions, i would love to hear them, and/or any plans.

There are ways you can make two rooms without 90 degree angles. Consider this recent example. Stick that in your head and maybe you'll think of another way to make two non-square rooms. :-)

Ok, how about this as an idea? I've included the .skp if anyone wants to have a play. In a home studio how much difference would a non-square room make to the mixing/tracking? Thanks for looking, and issues, problems you see, please tell me.

forgot to inclue in the picture. red block is 3 seater sofa. white block is drum kit.

Looks like that sofa is obstructing access to the door. :(

Nope, It does appear like that in the drawing, and in reality it does slightly block the way. At the moment the desk is in the place of the sofa is also blocks it slightly, and it's not been an issue. Thanks.