Sound dampening enhancements to a basement rehearsal space

Hi- Great site! I am a first time poster. I have read the "Before Posting" thread and apologize in advance if I miss something. I am looking to enhance a preexisting room in my basement for purposes of turning it into a rehearsal space for my band. While "soundproofing" isn't an objective, effective "sound dampening" is. I'm basically looking to just dampen the space to minimize volume for my wife and little one on the way. I am located in the State of Rhode Island in the USA. My house is a custom ranch approximately 3000 sft. The room I am looking to enhance is approx. 12' x 26'. Walls are approx. 7 ft high. The walls are constructed with paneling over 2x3' studs. The exterior sides of the walls are exposed with nothing between the 2x3s. There is an existing hanging ceiling (sheet rock on the ceiling would not be an option given the mechanical, etc.). The room is also directly underneath our family room, which has hardwood flooring. There is new carpeting on the floor of the basement room. My questions are, what are my options with respect sound/volume mitigating enhancements to the room (walls and ceiling)? I would think that the ceiling would require more attention for those above. What would be the most effective and cost efficient material I may add under the floor above (e.g. Rockwool)? How thick? Material specs? In terms of the walls, I was thinking two layers of 5/8" sheetrock over a 2" layer of Rockwool (or alternative) in between the walls over the exterior since it's already exposed. I attempted to attach pics, but the files were too large. I have provided a few links. Also, my budget is between $500-1000. Thoughts? Alternative suggestions will be greatly appreciated. http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m60/ ... C00848.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m60/ ... C00847.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m60/ ... C00846.jpg

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum. The walls in that room at this point may as well be made of paper towels. :roll: In fact, I wouldn't even go so far as to call them walls -- I'd call them "vertical dividers." What is your vertical clearance right now? That itself will dictate a lot of what you can and can't do, ceilingwise. Find out from your local building department what the minimum height requirement would be for a basement build-out. I suspect that the build-out that was done down there isn't to code now, so perhaps it wasn't done with a permit... :? You'll definitely want to do this one on the up-and-up. Learn more about the importance of codes and permits. Definitely buy Rod's book, as it will be your first and most important investment. You might be able to beef up the upstairs floor from between the joists (provided your joists are able to withstand the extra weight - don't assume that), then have an equally massive ceiling in your room. This is covered pretty extensively in Rod's book. Personally, I would not put 2 layers of 5/8" drywall on 2x3 studs. Besides, that would only be for one side? Did you plan on leaving the thin, flimsy, wimpy paneling on the noisy side? The infinitesimal amount of mass on the inner leaf, coupled with a mere 2 1/2" of gap in your mass-air-mass equation, would yield terrible transmission loss figures. I'm almost certain you'll need to demolish those "walls" and make new ones. Finally, be sure to review Luftweg's "Basement studio-room project in Boston area" thread and Andy Eade's Rotten Basement Conversion Thread for a rather rude awakening into the perils of basement studio builds when it comes to water intrusion. Still think your $500 to $1,000 figure is realistic? ;-) --Keith :mrgreen:

Thanks Keith! Sounds more complicated than I had hoped :( I will check out the resources you suggested as well. Mike