John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

So I'm pretty squared away on how to sound proof a room. Take down the existing interior drywall, insulate with fiberglass/rockwool, attach soundproofing clips the studs, attach hat channel, build new interior wall frames, and mount a double layer of drywall sealed up with acoustic glue.

I have no idea how to soundproof a big double bay door.

Has anyone here ever done this?

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I have no idea how to soundproof a big double bay door. Has anyone here ever done this?

Yes! Several times...

There are two ways of dealing with that. The most drastic and best way is to take the doors out and brick up the opening, taking care to seal the sides and top to the existing rough opening. Drastic? Yes. Effective? Yes. But not always possible. Some areas do not allow you to change the facade or appearance of your house, especially gated communities or where all the houses on the street are designed to look similar. Or you might not want to do that, for your own appreciation of aesthetics, or because you might want to sell the house at some point, and return the garage to being a garage. For those cases, you need "plan 'B'": build a new stud-framed wall just inside of the garage door. First you fix the door in place with some form of clamps, bolts, locks, steel plates, etc., but ones that can be removed in the future, then you remove all the hardware from the lifting mechanism, so that all that is left is the door by itself. Then you do your best to seal around the edges of that door, so that water, wind, dust, bugs, etc. can't get into the cavity that you are about to create. The build your stud frame in front of it, taking care to seal that to the existing walls and floor. Put insulation in the cavity, and put two layers of 5/8" drywall on the studs, joints staggered. Caulk around the edges. Done!

Yes, when you then build your inner-leaf studio inside the garage, that will create a 3-leaf system, but it is usually nothing to worry about. The thin metal of most garage doors is not going to be much of a leaf. But to be safe, you should still check the calculations for F+ and F- to make sure they are low enough, and compensate with more mass on the middle and inner leaves if necessary, and/or by increasing the cavity depths.

As I said, I've done a few of those, both ways, and both work. The first way is better, of course, because it does not create a 3-leaf system, does not take up extra space, and has a lot more mass, but "plan B" works well too, if you do it carefully.


- Stuart -

Hey, thanks for the suggestions.

Bricking up the bay entry is definitely not an option.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how a double leaf wall goes in front of the metal bay door. I understand building the frame part. But I can't visualize how a flat frame can be made airtight to the bay door opening. Also not clear on how the exterior wall of this new frame is attached, when the metal bay door is all locked down outside.

Last, it seems by the time you've built a double wall, complete with studs to the concrete floor, to tear it all down in the event of moving, and patching it up to look presentable again would be another major construction job.

I guess I'm praying for some type of component, non-permanent solution. I'm imagining stackable, lightweight panels, with 6" fiberglass insulation on one or both sides. Something that can be removed later without too much fuss.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how a double leaf wall goes in front of the metal bay door. I understand building the frame part. But I can't visualize how a flat frame can be made airtight to the bay door opening. Also not clear on how the exterior wall of this new frame is attached, when the metal bay door is all locked down outside.

Do it like this:

I guess I'm praying for some type of component, non-permanent solution. I'm imagining stackable, lightweight panels, with 6" fiberglass insulation on one or both sides. Something that can be removed later without too much fuss.

If there were some way of doing that, that really worked, you can bet there's be a company doing it, and making a fortune out of it! Unfortunately, the laws of physics are not cooperating too well, and there's no such system.... "Lightweight" panels would not provide any useful isolation, so any such solution is dead in the water.

- Stuart -

Stuart,

I'm needing to deal with this as well for my live room and worried about the three/four leaf system. I think the only doors my builder is able to get here in cold Canada (it's been -30 degrees all week.. colder than the North and South pole according to the news), is a "fully insulated" door that as you can imagine, is a hollow steel door stuffed with foam or isolation. So there's 2 leafs. Plus me building the other walls = 4 leaf.

Should I be doing everything possible with my builder to try and get a single layer non-insulated door like in your SketchUp pictures?

Please advise.

Thanks as usual!

Greg

I think the only doors my builder is able to get here..

We are still talking about your garage doors, right?

... is a "fully insulated" door that as you can imagine, is a hollow steel door stuffed with foam or isolation. So there's 2 leafs.

Not necessarily. If that's built the way typical garage doors are built, then it's acting more like a single-leaf than a two leaf, although there's a bit of both in there.

If this 3-leaf / 4-leaf issue is a big concern, then just compensate by creating larger air gaps and putting more mass on that "isolation wall" that I showed above. For example, add a thick layer of fiber-cement board, in addition to the thick OSB and drywall, and use Green Glue in between those layers. As long as you can drive down the resonant frequencies low enough (do the math), then you'll still get good isolation.


- Stuart -

Would there be an advantage to using OSB and drywall compared to using a few layers of 5/8" drywall with green glue on the wall? As far as I can see, OSB is lighter so drywall in a pure mass war would win.

Thanks as usual!

Greg

Would there be an advantage to using OSB and drywall compared to using a few layers of 5/8" drywall with green glue on the wall?

OSB is structural: It adds sheer strength to the wall. Drywall is not. OSB is better at handling exterior conditions: drywall is not. OSB gives you a nailing surface across the entire wall, which is useful if your nails on the later layers of drywall happen to miss the stud by a little. I usually recommend that the first layer of sheathing to go on, should be OSB or marine plywood, directly on the studs. Then come the layers of drywall, on top of that.

- Stuart -