When I first moved into my house, I excitedly called over the guys to come and have a practice session in the basement. I had previously lived in a condo, so practicing there would be impossible, or very unenjoyable. The basement of the house had about 4 feet of ground surrounding it, and the upper part was a regular wall with windows in it. I figured it wouldn't be much of a problem, and since there was so much dirt around the bottom part of the house it would help absorb some of that vibration. I was dead wrong!
As soon as we started, my neighbor notified me that he could hear the loud sounds at his house, about 300 feet away. Disappointed, we stopped. The sound was going right out the thin glass windows and, there was nothing I could do until I made some big changes. The noise from the back side of the house wasn't as bad, but there was still a window that let vibrations pass through easily. I had always dreamed about building a sound proofed room in my house, so I set off on a mission to do so!
SHEETROCK
I thought about building a room within a room, but that might be overkill for what I was looking for. I wasn't worried about sound passing into the rest of the house, just outside. I decided that I would build a wall closing off the back part of the basement, and treat that as much as I could to stop the sound. I would also build an angled wall in front of the windowed wall to help fight standing waves, and stop vibration from passing through directly to the wall.
Design of larger wall
To help keep transfer of vibration from passing through the large wall to the windows, I utilized a staggered stud approach. The base and top board are 2x6 boards, with regular 2x4 studs placed 16 inches apart on each side. The layering is staggered, so the studs end up being about 8 inches from each other, but the important part is that each wall does not touch the other wall. The only way vibration can pass through is to go through the 2x6 at the top an bottom, so just by having that transfer is cut down dramatically. Next step would be sheetrock - lots and lots of sheetrock! The only way to stop sound is to absorb and isolate it. The staggered wall helps to keep it isolated, and multiple layers of different sized drywall help to absorb it. Each side of the wall has 3 layers of sheetrock, at different depths. Standard half inch, as well as 5/8th inch board (which was very heavy!). Sheetrock layers should alternate, so first batch vertical, next batch horizontal, etc... You can put as many as you like, and the more the better.
I used clear silicon on the studs before applying the first layer of sheetrock, and sealed it on the top and bottom. Buy a bunch of these containers, you're gonna need a good amount - they will help keep the pieces from vibrating against each other, and do their part in reducing transmission. You can also pick up a product called Green Glue which is designed for this exact purpose.
There are many ways to accomplish the task of sound isolation and absorption, and another good method is mounting the sheetrock on special hangers that keep it from touching the studs. Ceilings hung by wires, and floors resting on special pads can also be utilized to even further the affect.
In the end, I am now able to play with the full band and not disturb my neighbors - a job well done!
Wall Construction Tips For Sound Isolation in a Home Studio
Miles has been writing blogs and articles for the past few years. Some of his hobbies include playing the drums, drawing, and singing in a band. In addition, he builds informational websites. Check out one of his latest site at http://www.weedeaterparts.org where he provides some great information on Weedeater Parts.
SHEETROCK
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