Stand Alone Garage On Rocks.

Hi everyone, I have been reading around the forum off and on for a year now thinking about soundproofing my garage. Before i go any further here are some specs. 14 Feet Wide 10 Feet 4 Inches High in the center. 6 Feet 5 Inches High on the sides. 23 Feet 4 Inches Deep. The last 3 feet are shelves all the way across. Front is mostly a metal folding garage door. Nearest house is mine at 35 feet Frame is made of 2x4s The walls are made of Plywood, I don't know what type. The outside is Siding, and shingles on the roof. Fan on the back wall at the top in the center. Windows on each side I play drums, and I'm always in a band. Usually the band is really loud. I have 4 Goals that I want to accomplish. 1. Be able to have a loud band play at a decent hour without annoying the neighbors. 2. Be able to play drums late at night without annoying the neighbors 3. Be able to have a loud band play late at night without annoying the neighbors. 4. Optimize for recording drums. Now the tricky part is that I do not have much time or money right now. I can spend about $1000 right now. I'm hoping to be able to pull off the first goal without making it harder to accomplish goals 2 through 4 later on. From what I've read so far I believe my best chance is to seal any cracks , and Insulate everything. Then when I have money later build a room inside a room. So that leaves me a few questions. 1. Is Insulating really the most cost/time effective thing I can do? If not, What is? 2. What type of insulation should i use? Thank you for reading, I think that covers everything. Let me know of any errors or omissions on my part. I will Post pictures very soon.

here are the pictures.

lordwud... greetings, and welcome to the forum. your space looks great, full of potential! however, having a budget of less than 1k will severly limit what you are trying to accomplish. for starters, no insulation will provide you with isolation. there is a large difference between isolation (goals 1,2,3) and just treating your room to make it sound good. (goal #4). to start, there are some excellent buildouts here of garages, look at T-Mixes and sharwards builds... the isolation techniques they used are basically what you want to do too. your first 1k$ will probably go to sheetrock between the existing joists, all the way around the walls and ceiling, then using acoustical caulk, seal the entire thing... that will start your isolation, then when you ahve more money, you can fill in with insulation, then build your second wall (room within a room)... good luck... read on... many good things on this forum, but you have to actually read it to get the info. (especially since many of the moderators have been detained by other things lately! (tennis???) lol! ) kevin

Wow, I didnt even think of that. My original Plan was to insulate, then put up a double layer of drywall. then frame out a whole new room inside this room. Am I right that you're basically saying I should cut drywall to fit and cover all of the plywood that is visible from the inside? I'll look around a bit more, but if im between the studs how should i attatch the drywall? I have been having trouble locating accoustical sealent, does anyone know if Rubberized roof sealant will work? its designed to be watertight and stay flexible. I was at lowes the other day for somethign else and i saw http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=108917-29-0319-JP&lpage=none I'd probably just be better off ordering proper sealent online huh?

Lordwud, Lovin the room. Surprised Glen hasn't jumped in yet. You have somehwere around 900-1000 square feet of wall and ceiling by my calcs. Hard to determine with that wonderful ceiling. So what that tells me is for one layer of rock you need approx. 30 sheets. which will cost around $6 per sheet or 200 bones. But be careful with your ceiling/roof. If you can find the specs you need to know the "Design Loads" The dead and live loads which a truss is engineered to support Your caulk is going to cost you anywhere from $4 a tube to $7. And by the time you are finished you will need "A LOT" I would guess between 50 and 75 if you caulk everything you are supposed to. Look in your area for a contractors supply house that deals with windows and or waterproofing. They should at least be able to guide you somewhere if they don't have it. And then insulation....if memory serves me right I think it is about $.70 per square foot. So if I did my math correctly and my prices are about right ...your first mass with one layer of sheet rock will cost about $1k. And thats all the stuff you will never get to see once your interior walls are up. :shock: I think Brad said it in DH's thread. Its a shame to cover up all that hard work Peace Tom

TomVan wrote:

Surprised Glen hasn't jumped in yet.

soon :-)

i concur - add the drywall to the existing walls and roof (repeat - if you're not sure, get a structural engineer to verify you can add the load). if you can only get one layer on the ceiling, then do it. each bit will help... frame out the existing door and put in a single door to significantly reduce sound escaping through that garage door... the open insulation inside may be too much absorption so consider insulating every other space instead - alternate like a checker board. cover with a flame retardent treated cloth. stack plastic covered rolls of insulation in the corners. if you find some money let over, consider cutting plywood strips and making slats to get a bit more life in the room on the walls. once you get some more budget you can consider building our a nice control room and live room...

Ok, So does everyone agree my very first step should be to attach drywall to the plywood between the studs? It seems like the best way to install the drywall is with glue. Im thinking about using liquid nails drywall adhesive. Is there any reason I shouldn't? I'm also trying to track down acoustical sealant. I've called about 15 hardware stores so far, with no luck. I would ask for recommendations for a specific brand, but it seems like whatever the first local place has in stock is my choice. Glenn, your design definitely got me excited to get to work on this. For the door, are you suggesting i replace the current garage door with a whole new exterior wall? or that I place a wall directly behind the garage door with a small door in it?

the drywall between the studs - just stand it up and use 1x2 cleats to hold it in place. seal with caulk. if you can, replace the garage door with a framed wall. if you need to preserve the look of a garage door, put some plywood or other strips about 40cm high on the exterior of the new wall and paint it to look like a garage door...

I found a place not too far from my house that always keeps acoustical sealant in stock, I have two cases right now, and can get more whenever. Im going to put up the layer of drywall between the studs this weekend or next. Im going to edit my first post and keep a running tally of what I spend on this project.