Small Iso Booth For Saxophone Practice In Apartment

[JP YVR]

Hey all,

Starting a new post based on questions I asked on another thread (http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=2&t=5745)

Some background... I am planning to build a small iso booth (in the neighbourhood of 4'x5'x8' Outside Diameter) with sound reduction being the primary goal. I want this to practice saxophone. Average SPL is 80-90dB. I would like to reduce that by half, if possible. I do realize this is a very small booth, but I know there will be room enough for my needs.

The booth will sit in the corner (outside wall) of an 18' L x15' W x 9'H 1920's timber frame and plastered wall apartment. There is one common wall on the far side of the room (I do play quietly and my neighbour never complains) and above a restaurant (we do not hear one another). The floor is timber framed with hardwood flooring, a layer of sheathing with laminate on top.

Stuart has graciously answered a few of my questions, but I will pose them on this revised post so they're all in one place (*** Stuart, sorry if some of this is redundant***).
I do have some building experience and will be doing this myself. I actually built another booth many years ago (2x4 frame, 5/8" Sheetrock on both sides with Roxul for insulation, no floor as it sat on concrete in basement of a different 1920's apartment). It worked wonderfully for my needs at the time.

Here goes...

1) Thinking of building a 5' x 4' x 8" Outside diameter booth. 45dB noise reduction is my primary goal, but if I can spread out modes inside, all the better. I realize that 4' and 8' are multiples of each other so would like to know what height would be better (ie 7'11", 7'10", etc) allowing me the most headroom in this tiny box ; )

2) Not totally sure how the leaf system works with regards to this room. If the walls are already a 2-leaf, how do I construct the booth? Would a staggered double-leaf 6" framed wall be more effective than a standard double-leaf 4" framed wall? OR 1b) would a single-leaf with, say, 1 layer of 5/8" and 1 layer of 1/2" sheetrock (acoustically sealed, of course) with Donnacona as the inside layer (or simply, cotton sheets if the Donnacona is superfluous?) be more effective?

3) Since the floor is not sitting on concrete, should I place the booth on neoprene castors or pucks or mat/pad or what?

Thanks for your time and advice!
Jeremy

[JP YVR]

Forgot to mention that i would like to spend no more than $1000.
Also, not planning to have ventilation - Practice for 30-40 minutes, take break, repeat.

Thanks.

[JP YVR]

Anybody have suggestions or advice on this?

Thanks!

[JP YVR]

Sorry to be a bother.

The thing i'm mostly struggling with is the leaf concept. The room I am building the booth in is already a 2-leaf MSM...

If I build the booth with only 1-leaf, that makes it a 3-leaf MSM = BAD
If I make the booth a 2-leaf, that makes it a 4-leaf MSM = WORSE

Am I correct?

Thanks much!

[John Sayers]

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =1&t=14147

[JP YVR]

Thanks for this, John. Two questions if you have a sec.

1) What is the STC value of this booth?

2) Wondering how I would deal with sound transmission through the floor it would sit on (my apartment is an old wood framed building)?

Much appreciated!
Jeremy

[John Sayers]

You are right - they don't appear to have the product anymore - they used to have a product call Black Acoustical Board.
The closest I can see is this one but they don't tell you the density

http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/en-gb/ ... z2ioy08UoS