best way to cover sliding glass door

I am in the process of making some changes in my studio. One room that is currently used as a looby/entry way has a sliding glass door for the entrance into my walkout basement studio. I would like to turn this room into a tracking room. My problem is not so much noise going out as it is coming in. We are within two miles of the airport. Now I cant cover the door completely as it is the main entrance for my clients. What I had in mind was covering the stationary side with a "wall" and the other side just installing a standard entry door. Some sort of "barn door" slider would be cool but I dont think that there would be anyway to get enuf isolation around the edges. I also do not have enuf space in this are to even make a small sound lock. Does anyone have any other thoughts. In this room I would be recording everything from drums to guitar amps to vocals. As always thanks so much for your help. jdf

polite nudge

A top-down floorplan sketch would help a lot. Perhaps a sound trap approach will help, but without seeing the layout and obstructions, I can't say for sure. --Keith :mrgreen:

thanks keith. i will get some pix up tomorrow. jdf

here is the photo. the door to the left goes into the other live room. there is approx. 4" above door for me to work with. the drop ceiling covers pipes for the kitchen above. to the right side i have 6 ft. of room. hope this helps for ideas. thanks. jdf

NO more room for a sound lock? I was going to suggest wall in the window section (as you had planned) and install a second glass sliding door with different glass - with a 2-3 inch gap approx. Aircraft is a killer - my mate has walls/celing 1 m thick and you STILL hear the planes overheasd if you listen closely. Whether he has constructed it as MAM/ 2 leaf is not a question I asked but I reckon a second door is your best option. Cheers

Agreed... But is that a drop ceiling I am seeing? :roll: --Keith :mrgreen:

yes it is a drop ceiling. as i mentioned the kitchen is above and i need to have access to the pipes above. will another slider give enuf isolation even a few inches away?

If indeed your existing sliding glass door is your weakest link, then yes, adding a wall to section off a sound lock area with another door of some kind with extreme detail to seals will help. However, I'm concerned about the drop ceiling because it's far from air tight and may become your weakest link if it isn't already. if your proposed wall were to only go as high as the drop ceiling, then I have my doubts as to its effectiveness. Drop ceilings like that really have no place in studio designs where isolation is a major concern. You may have no choice but to live with it... But I just need to temper expectations. --Keith :mrgreen:

thanks keith the noise from above(in the kitchen) isnt a concern. i know i have to live with the drop ceiling situation. i may have to build some sort of header to stretch between the two doors that stops just below the drop ceiling. the only problem with this is that both door frames would have to touch at the top. perhaps if it was thick enough it may help. i have 4"of headroom from the top of the slider to the drop ceiling. any thoughts? thanks jdf

I think the drop ceiling is going to severely limit the effectiveness of another door.

i guess i will just have to try to "cover" the door then with more mass and make the best of it. perhaps wall up the side that does not move and figure a way to make a "plug" or a swinging or sliding mass partition for the other side so the door can still be used. this i can do using the existing door frame and the ceiling wont come into play.

I don't think that will help you much either, I'm afraid... :roll: You need two leaves in all directions (except the floor in your case) in order to have good isolation. You might be able to get away with 3 leaves in some spots if you overcompensate for them in those specific areas where necessary. Even if you have excellent walls, your poor ceiling will become your weakest link and your room will only isolate as effectively as your ceiling. Don't assume that only noise generated inside the kitchen will creep into the studio. If you can hear the airplanes in your kitchen, then you'll most likely hear them in your studio via your kitchen. :( Have you bought Rod's book yet? If not, you should... It'll be the best few bucks you spend. I realize your goal isn't perfection, but rather, doing the best you can with the least amount of investment and disruption to the structure... Pretty common actually. I just want to make sure you don't do "X" and expect the results of "Y," or worse, do the equivalent effort of "Y" and end up with only the results of "X." Dig? --Keith :mrgreen:

thanks again keith i think i will just leave the room as it is then (lobby and entry). jdf