Sound leaking out of Garage Door

Hey all, I'm closing in a garage but the garage door has to stay. Any tips on how to keep sound from leaking out of a wooden 1-car garage door with approx. 4 - 7'x2' sections. I thought about using a strong adhesive and attaching drywall panels cut to the size of each section. Were gonna add some rubber seals around door to make sure it is air tight..... Any thoughts?????????? Thanx

Welcome to the forum, Erock. Start at the sticky threads. They're critically important. You're not following the guidelines, so we can't afford to help you until you do. Examples (including but not limited to):

• Your profile shows no location, therefore we don't know where you are.
• You say the garage door needs to "stay" but we don't know whether or not it needs to be operable.
• You don't describe the "sound" you need to contain.
• No budget details.
• No details of existing construction beyond dimensions of garage door sections.

Please also review the many garage conversion projects detailed here. See if there's anything to which you can relate on them. You'll get as much out of this resource as you put into it. 8) I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, but our time is limited. Thanks, and again, sincere welcomes to you. --Keith :mrgreen:

Sorry 'bout that, I got excited and skipped a few details....... Were enclosing a 20x20x7 garage in a wood house with just 2x4 studs for walls with wood exterior panels and there's no drywall on the walls or ceiling joists either. The floor is a cement slab which we plan to carpet and the room will be used mainly as a reheasal space for a (somewhat loud) rock band. We figure it will cost about $250.00 for the 5/8" drywall and the RC1 resilient channel we are thinking of using in between the drywall and the studs. We have some of the pink insulation stuff for the walls and were thinkin' blowing some insulation up into the attic once the ceiling drywall is up. We have an AC unit going in the window facing the backyard where the is more distance to neighbors and I found a nice post that describes how to make a window plug to stop leakage there. Were on a tight budget, but we want to isolate some pf the sound leaking from the garage for less than $50.00 if possible. It is a sectional wood garage doors that needs to remain operational. Hope this gives a better idea of what I'm doin'.....Thanks for any info or advice! Eric btw, writing from Orlando FL

I'm afraid I'm not very optimistic, my friend. Your budget is very low, so low that I don't think you can accomplish much with it. You're confsued about the "beef-up" (drywall strips between walls) you've been seeing here. You can't use resilient channel on your beef-up strips. That would be terrible for isolation in more ways that I have the time to describe. You can't plug a window that has an air conditioner going into it... :roll: With your budget you might be able to improve the quality of the sound inside the garage, but you'll make very little (if any) measurable reduction in the amount of sound that escapes to the outside world. I wish I had better news for you. I realize not everyone has a large budget and I acknowledge that I have a reputation of being an "overkill" guy. However, I feel it is my responsibility to tell you the reality that you simply can't get to where you want to go on the budget you have. Is this a home that you own yourself? Or is this your parents' home? (I don't want to make any assumptions... But when I was a teen, my friends and I had the same challenges.) Sorry... --Keith :mrgreen:

I agree with Sharward, that small budget will be tough... just using the resilient channel on the existing wall studs and putting the 5/8 over that will help much more than trying to get it in between the studs. you'll still need insulation though, plus something for the ceiling. I think this will exceed your $50 budget. by "operational" - do you mean that the door will be opening and closing on a regular basis? or just that you don't want to damage it? lastly, can you consider (carefully) removing it (and storing it), and building a wall (with a door if you don't have another door already in place)? it would be much more isolation than trying to patch the garage door. if you have to leave it in place for appearance sake, then mybe you can build a wall internally to block it off, although if its the only door this likely won't work either.

Thanks a lot for the replies, were still trying to remain optimistic though!!! I am basically helping a friend convert his garage into a rehearsal space...... but I plan to convert the garage in my house into a studio (I plan to invest 5-10k into the bldg.) later this year, so I'm trying to learn and get familiar with some of the options. Just to clarify, I meant in my previous posts that we estimated a $250-300 cost for the ceiling and walls (which should cover drywall/RC1 Resilient Channel/Caulking/etc). We can spend an extra $50.00 or so right now on the garage if it helps...There is two windows, we plan to use one for the A/C unit and plug-up the other one. The home owner will pay for the cost of typical (cheaper) wall & ceiling insulation plus carpeting for the room. Right now the owner wants to keep the garage fully operational (although I will try to change his mind on that), so adding a layer of foam or drywall to each panel is the only idea we've had other than laying a big mattress against it when we play?!?! If we get complaints, the owner agreed we could pull the window A/C unit out and plug-up the window, then run an A/C duct from the house. We'll even consider putting up another layer of drywall if we still have problems.... I still had a few questions though..... 1. Is that a yes for using the resilient channel with 1 layer of 5/8" drywall as opposed to just screwing drywall to the studs, i.e., the RC1 channel is relatively cheap, so is this the best use for our $$$? 2. Use the cheaper pink fiberglass insulation (and save the extra $$ for more caulking, etc.) or use a cotton fiber type in the walls? 3. What types of inslulation for the attic are good (does it even make much of a difference)? 4. Should we bother with glueing foam or drywall to the wood panels of the garage door or just lay a mattress in front of it (yuck)? 5. Installation instructions for resilient channel recommend using 2" neopreme pads to support the bottom of the drywall on the walls where they meet the floor. Does anyone know where to get this at a good price or an inexpensive substitute? Thanks for any comments.....Wish us luck.....we start construction in a week or two..... ;~ Eric

Erock wrote:

Thanks a lot for the replies, were still trying to remain optimistic though!!!

With all due respect, all the optimism in the world won't change science. I appreciate that you want to stay positive, but you have to temper your optimism with reality.

Erock wrote:

I am basically helping a friend convert his garage into a rehearsal space...... but I plan to convert the garage in my house into a studio (I plan to invest 5-10k into the bldg.) later this year, so I'm trying to learn and get familiar with some of the options.

OK, so this is for your friend's house... Got it.

Erock wrote:

Just to clarify, I meant in my previous posts that we estimated a $250-300 cost for the ceiling and walls (which should cover drywall/RC1 Resilient Channel/Caulking/etc). We can spend an extra $50.00 or so right now on the garage if it helps...

See, this "if it helps" stuff really bothers me. It's akin to my saying, "I want to buy a new car and I want to pay cash for it. I've got a thousand dollars in cash and some jigsaw puzzles I can sell at a garage sale... Oh, and I've also got some loose change in a dresser drawer if it helps..." I'm not trying to poke fun at you. Really. I'm not. But you're simply not going to get hardly anywhere with so little money. I appreciate the clarification on the fact that you have an extra $50 above and beyond the drywall and resilient channel money... And that compared to $50, $300 to $350 seems like it's a lot more. But with the level of isolation you're aiming to achieve, and given the fact that you're going to have gaping holes the size of windows in your wimpy two leaf envelope, I just see nothing but money being wasted, especially on a house that your friend doesn't even own. :roll:

Erock wrote:

Right now the owner wants to keep the garage fully operational (although I will try to change his mind on that), so adding a layer of foam or drywall to each panel is the only idea we've had other than laying a big mattress against it when we play?!?!

Forget foam. Foam is not for soundproofing. Any Web site or manufacturer of foam telling you otherwise is at best misinformed and at worst lying to you. An extra layer of drywall will be an improvement, but alone it is not much of one, and with huge holes the size of windows (an air conditioner in one of them does not negate the effect of the hole in your isolation!!!!!!), you may as well not even bother because of the "weakest link" effect. Mattress? Oh, I'll get to that mattress idea. Read on......

Erock wrote:

If we get complaints, the owner agreed we could pull the window A/C unit out and plug-up the window, then run an A/C duct from the house. We'll even consider putting up another layer of drywall if we still have problems....

OK, so you figure you'll "plug up the window." Where will you get fresh air ventilation? Building code requires that habitable space without operable windows have mechanical ventilation that supplies the room with enough fresh air to keep its occupants safe. My city requires 0.5 ACH (air changes per hour). Oh, and before you even think about it, "We'll just open the doors once in a while to get some fresh air" will not suffice.

Erock wrote:

1. Is that a yes for using the resilient channel with 1 layer of 5/8" drywall as opposed to just screwing drywall to the studs, i.e., the RC1 channel is relatively cheap, so is this the best use for our $$$?

It's clear to me in the way you phrased the question that you don't yet understand the concept of mass-air-mass. Beefing up the outer leaf is a good thing. Resilient channel is a good thing for the inner leaf to decouple it (somewhat) from your outer leaf. (Independent frames are superior.) The size of the air gap between the leaves is every bit as important as the thickness/density of the mass of the leaves. If you don't fully get what I just wrote, and why, then you need to do more studying here on mass-air-mass.

Erock wrote:

2. Use the cheaper pink fiberglass insulation (and save the extra $$ for more caulking, etc.) or use a cotton fiber type in the walls?

The type of insulation is less critical than all of the other factors -- the mass, the air, and the mass. Insulation counts as air as long as it's breatheable. Everything I'm writing has been written here time and time again. Read more here. We can't afford the time to keep repeating the same information all the time.

Erock wrote:

3. What types of inslulation for the attic are good (does it even make much of a difference)?

You're focused on the wrong things.

Erock wrote:

4. Should we bother with glueing foam or drywall to the wood panels of the garage door or just lay a mattress in front of it (yuck)?

Laying a mattress in front of the door will do hardly anything other than attract moisture, dirt, and dust, become a havent for mold and bacteria and other critters, and it might help dampen the door from resonating a little. Again, you're focused on the wrong things and you're allowing yourself to be a sucker for mythology instead of the science that you need to understand in order to be at all successful in your endeavors. Plus, you can't glue foam onto a garage door without increasing the overall weight of the door, and then you risk damaging the door and the opener by overloading the spring(s). I have a lousy entry-level garage door that I considered insulating with a styrofoam insulation kit, but I decided against it when I consulted with a couple of garage door experts who told me that ruining my opener and hardware was inevitable in time.

Erock wrote:

5. Installation instructions for resilient channel recommend using 2" neopreme pads to support the bottom of the drywall on the walls where they meet the floor. Does anyone know where to get this at a good price or an inexpensive substitute?

No, you don't need Neoprene pads... But you do need there to be a gap between the drywall and the floor, and then that gap needs to be filled in with backer rod and acoustic sealant (caulk), which is not the same as regular caulk and is generally not sold in home improvement stores / Home Depot.

Erock wrote:

Thanks for any comments.....Wish us luck.....we start construction in a week or two.....

I sincerely hope for your sake that you not start construction until you have a SOLID grasp of the fundamentals. I'm not trying to beat you down, but you're proving to me that you do not. I know I'm being somewhat harsh in my reply. I want you to know that it is because I genuinely do care about this that I even bother to reply. For comparison, it took me about six to eight months of research, most of which I spent reading threads on this forum, before I applied for my building permit and started my 120 square foot rehearsal space. It's two years later and I'm still constructing it. I'm on the extreme end, I realize... But you've got more learning to do. Please slow down! --Keith :mrgreen:

(i think Rev. Sharward needs an amen.) Amen! :D