cellar studio wondow soundproofing

karambos · Post by **karambos** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 9:44 pm

Hi there,

I have a small studio in a celler apartment. There's one double-glazed window in the control room, outside of which is a kind of drainage and lighting "box" measuring approx 4"x4"x4" where the light gets in and the leaves gather in autumn. The top of this box is a grid at ground level where the rain can and does get through.

I made a jpeg (graphic) of the window from inside the studio and a cross section of the "box" and to save on your server space I put it up on mine. Here's the link:
http://www.thefair.de/studioWindow.htm

My question is - how do I soundproof it?

I thought about doing the following and was wondering if you thought it a good idea. I want to do two things
1) treat each window individually by screwing in two 0.5 inch (1 cm) thick pieces of plywood, seperated by a 2 inch (5 cm) gap filled with Rockwool, over each window
2) put sandbags in the external "box" area covered with a polythene sheet to keep them dry.

I'm grateful for any advice

dbluefield · Post by **dbluefield** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 1:37 am

What's the problem? Sound bothering people outside?

Do you own this, or rent? Filling a window box with sand could cause other issues.

Best,

Dave

karambos · Post by **karambos** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 6:22 am

hi there,

all surrounding buildings are living quarters. I'm luck in that the floor directly above me (i.e. the ground floor) is one small sized company that work normal office hours as do I so there's noone above that will be directly affected but there are other blocks of flats in the immediate area that I suppose would be affected if I played music too loud. I have to admit. I haven't had any complaints yet. That's probably because I haven't been there much since I moved.

BTW, you can get a better picture by looking at http://www.thefair.de/studio1.html

thanks

dbluefield · Post by **dbluefield** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 7:22 am

Well maybe Knightfly is around here for some construction advice?.

I don't see why you couldn't do what you propose, though I might put a vapor barier over the plywood on the outside of each window, trying to make the entire window structure water tight from the outside, berfore introducing the sand.

I would guess that much sand would give pretty good mass, and it certainly wouldn't cost much.

As for the grate above, it would perhaps be good to cover that as well with some kind of cover?--slanting away from the foundation to prevent water getting in the hole in the first place?

By the way, I see lots of foam on your control room walls but no bass traps.

Is it kinda "boomy" in there?

Best,

Dave

Post by **John Sayers** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 7:53 am

Why not add a new roof under the grate??

cheers
john

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 8:07 am

John's idea would be a good start - first though -

What's your budget?

Does the Grid lift off for cleaning leaves?

Is that supposed to be your (legal) fire escape, or can you (and do you want to) really seal it off?

Is there room to add a second similar window just inside the lip where John added the roof? If so, could it be tightly weatherstripped and still be openable?

Have you measured the sound level outside while your stuff is playing, and do you know the legal sound level laws in your area? (There may not even be a problem til you know this)

Also, do the pebbles actually WORK, or is there standing water in the "box" when it rains?

Waiting your answers... Steve

karambos · Post by **karambos** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 4:47 am

What's your budget?
up to 300 dollars (Euros but it's approx the same)

Does the Grid lift off for cleaning leaves?
No. It's bolted shut. So it's not a fire escape. I have to get the leaves out by sweeping them from inside the building.

Is that supposed to be your (legal) fire escape, or can you (and do you want to) really seal it off?.
It's not a fire escape as the grid is not openable. Yes, I want to seal it off. If as all possible, I'd still like to have light iven if it means I only get light when I open the window.

Is there room to add a second similar window just inside the lip where John added the roof? If so, could it be tightly weatherstripped and still be openable?
Yes, there is room but not for a window Such a window would not let the rain through and we'd be into the realms of getting someone else in to do the job and it'll cost serious money.

Have you measured the sound level outside while your stuff is playing, and do you know the legal sound level laws in your area? (There may not even be a problem til you know this)
No, I haven't. That's a good point.

Also, do the pebbles actually WORK, or is there standing water in the "box" when it rains?
Yes. Drainage has never been a problem.

Thanks

Karl

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:37 am

Karl, "Is there room to add a second similar window just inside the lip where John added the roof? If so, could it be tightly weatherstripped and still be openable?
Yes, there is room but not for a window Such a window would not let the rain through and we'd be into the realms of getting someone else in to do the job and it'll cost serious money." -

I'm not sure I understand your comment about "not for a window" - I'm attaching a re-draw of your picture with what I meant, is this still a problem?

I can see why John's roof would cause problems now that we know about the lack of access to clean out the leaves, but it seems like my markup of your drawing might work - comments? Steve

karambos · Post by **karambos** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 12:40 am

AAaaahhh!

I see what you mean. I thought you meant a kind of slanting window exactly where John suggested the roof.

Your suggestion makes perfect sense. Not sure about building that window myself though. Never done that sort of thing before. Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess......

thx

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:36 am

If you can find a duplicate (or close) of your existing window, you would just turn the hinge setup around so that the outer one opens out, but with the latch inside -

I thought you must have misunderstood, because I couldn't see why that would NOT work for you. It gives access to clean out the leaves but doesn't give them any more place to collect, and it would be sheltered by the building overhang.

Check your local suppliers for what they call "pre-hung" window casements - that makes things a LOT simpler, you just install the whole thing in your opening, shimming out and caulking as necessary. Remember you need airtight fit for sound isolation.

Let us know how you get on... Steve

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cellar studio wondow soundproofing

cellar studio wondow soundproofing

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