studio inner and outer walls, help

Hello, I am working on this studio project here and have a few questions. I need to make it as sound proof as possible so I am planning on building a room inside the existing room. Is there any specific products that I should use on the outer wall and between the two walls that will help block the sound going in and out better than insulation? I saw some stuff at lowes that was 4x8 sheets and looked like shredded cardboard and insulation and about 5/8" thick, I think its called sound board. Do you think that would work good? Thanks for any and all help!

Room inside a room is the way to go as far as soundproofing goes, just remember that you can't cheat. For sound proofing you need mass an air space and mass again SEALED, so any product that doesn't have mass and goes next to your Mass or worst replace it in a wall would be a waste of money IMHO. Fiberglass, rockwool, rigid isulation 703, name it when used in a wall cavity are only used as damper, it do not keep sound from getting in or out, Mass does it. So an heavy wall, wool, an air space at least 1" more if you can, wool, another heavy wall. Is what you are after. As we speak gypsum board is the cheapeast way to add mass...as far as i know. Regards

danatedrummer, please start here. The "sound board" to which you refer is crap. :evil: Forget everything you think you know about soundproofing. Really. Part of my becoming "educated" was getting "unedicated" on all the things I thought I knew about "soundproofing." You haven't given us many details about your situation. There's not enough input to get a lot of output from us. I hope this helps propel you in the right direction. --Keith :mrgreen:

OK, the studio is in my detached garrage and the building is 24x24 -576 sq feet. I am using about 3/4 of that for the studio. The building is already there. I would like to soundproof it as best as possible so I can be out there at 2:00 in the morning without bothering my neighbors. The height of the ceilings right now is 8' 3" and the floor is concrete. I am not sure if I am going to split it into two rooms with another small iso room or just leave it one big room with a small iso booth for vocals. I had to leave a little room to park my lawn mower and make a little shop. here is a picture of it I did in paintbrush. please let me know what you think I should do. But my main focus right now is getting it as sound proof as possible. I am on as tight of a budget as possible. I would like to spend no more than 800$ on the ceiling and walls. The floor will come later. thanks nate

Nate, To be honnest with you getting your studio soundproof with a 800$ budget is totally unrealistic. :cry:

I agree. Sorry for the buzzkill, Nate, but $800 is not going to take you very far at all -- especially not for 2 a.m. drums. Your budget would have to be increased by -- this is no joke -- at least five to ten times that amount for you to get good results -- and even then, I don't know you'd reach the "2 a.m. drums" threshold. Unless you're a mile away from your farthest neighbor. You're either going to have to lower your expectations or increase your budget or both. Check out [url=http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921[/url]my projoect thread[/url]. Yes, it's the longest thread on the forum and it will probably take days to read it all. But look at the initial advice I got. That gives you a sense of the amount of work/money/time needed to achieve goals like yours. In the end I went with a plan that is similar but not exactly what is prescribed initially. It's been almost two years since my thread started and I'm still under construction. You'll also want to take notice of my signature line. Good luck. --Keith :mrgreen:

What can I do at least to get started? I will take my time and do what I need to make it right. The building is about 200 feet from my house and any others. So It doesnt have to be totally soundproofed, just the best I can do. Is the black tar paper that people use on roofs and under floors worth trying at all? Maybe a few layers of it on the existing wall and ceiling beforeI insulate and put the inner walls up?

danatedrummer wrote:

Is the black tar paper that people use on roofs and under floors worth trying at all? Maybe a few layers of it on the existing wall and ceiling beforeI insulate and put the inner walls up?

No. It's not heavy enough. You're looking for quick and cheap solutions, of which there are none. Have you bought Rod's Book yet? How much of my thread did you review so far? :? I understand you are in a hurry to get started doing something. Please, for your sake and that of your neighbors, redirect that energy towards learning. --Keith :mrgreen:

I have ordered rods book and will take my time with this studio. I will also have to raise my budget to get an effective studio. Thanks so much for your help so far. I have been trying to decide on a design, which I know the book will cover, but what do you think about this design? Thanks Nate :?

Hi Nate Glad to see you didn't give up easily, cause building an home studio, the way you want to be, you'll need patience and lot's of time. Rod's book is a very good references. As is this Forum. For your design proposal, Strive for a symetric design in the control room,Where is the listening position ? where are your doors and windows? If i read you graph correctly you ISO booth are way too small, don't forget that you'll need to use some space for acoustic control inside those rooms and in every room in your studio for that matter. Draw you graph taking that in consideration, thickness of walls materials, and acoustics if you don't want ot end up with "cereal box" sized rooms :wink: . My work in progress studio have a similar building dimension as yours you may want to check it out. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... highlight= Regards