Help with Sound Proofing / Noise Reduction

[Vieja melanurus]

I'm hoping to get a little guidance with a sound proofing (or at least a sound minimizing) project I'm about to begin. I have a home recording studio on the downstairs level of our house. Directly above it is my wife's study. The ceiling/floor only contains some yellow insulation. So there's really nothing to absorb noise coming from downstairs. Currently we're able to negotiate a schedule that involves me using headphones if she's actually in there working, but it would be nice if there was a relatively uncomplicated means to provide a greater barrier against noise between the rooms.

One idea I had was to install another layer of drywall (or plywood or MDF or ?) on the ceiling of the studio and sandwich a layer of mass loaded vinyl in between the existing drywall ceiling and the new layer. How effective do you folks think this would be? Or are there other comparably involved options that might work better?

I'd appreciate any and all suggestions.

 

[NTK]

Welcome to ASR!

Ceiling hung from spring hangers.

Create Quiet | Isolated Ceilings - Kinetics Noise Control | Manufacturer

Sound Control Ceilings are used to improve the Sound Transmission Loss (TL) of the floor/ceiling system for airborne or floor impact-generated noise.

kineticsnoise.com

 

[suttondesign]

yes. hat channels with isolating clips. very effective. isomax. kinetics noise control.

 

[Vieja melanurus]

Wow, interesting! I will check Kinetics out.

 

[stoo23]

They work very well
Not sure how well the mass loaded vinyl would work.
Probably Far cheaper and effective to do the Dry Wall with a cavity and some 50 to 80 kg Roof Insulation 'Bats' as well as the Springs

 

[Philbo King]

Cellulose insulation blown into the hollow space between floor joists can give a significant reduction in sound transmission at low cost. It's a good idea to use cellulose treated with Borax as fire retardant. A side benefit of the Borax is that it mummifies any rodents or bugs that find their way in.

Sound absorption properties of unbleached cellulose loose-fill insulation material :: BioResources

bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu

(Quick & dirty view: see Figure 2)

 

[Dunring]

I had a friend a few years ago and helped install drywall, we used Quietrock which claims it absorbs 7 times the sound of normal drywall. It really silenced the place. If I ever build new, going to use it everywhere. There was an episode of "Holmes on Holmes" where they install it and test with a decibel meter if you can bring up that episode.

 

[suttondesign]

oh, yes, for sure. i also used the sound control drywall along with hat channel and isomax clips. the drywall is so heavy! but very effective.

 

[alex-z]

The most cost effective approach in my experience is 5.5" pink fiberglass covered with two layers of 5/8" aka fire rated drywall. The special drywall types that makes claims about acoustic performance aren't worth the additional cost.

MLV works but is not ideal for a budget build. It also works better when used as part of your floor underlay, not sandwiched between drywall layers.

 

[bert stoltenborg]

I'm hoping to get a little guidance with a sound proofing (or at least a sound minimizing) project I'm about to begin. I have a home recording studio on the downstairs level of our house. Directly above it is my wife's study. The ceiling/floor only contains some yellow insulation. So there's really nothing to absorb noise coming from downstairs. Currently we're able to negotiate a schedule that involves me using headphones if she's actually in there working, but it would be nice if there was a relatively uncomplicated means to provide a greater barrier against noise between the rooms.

One idea I had was to install another layer of drywall (or plywood or MDF or ?) on the ceiling of the studio and sandwich a layer of mass loaded vinyl in between the existing drywall ceiling and the new layer. How effective do you folks think this would be? Or are there other comparably involved options that might work better?

I'd appreciate any and all suggestions.

You're confusing absorption and isolation.
You have to exactly describe the construction, take flanking sound into account and in fact have to define the sound you are producing (there is a difference between EDM and acoustic guitar music)and the sound reduction you need to not bother your wife (you could measure that by generating pink noise in the studio and record it in both rooms and by post processing determine the level differences between the studio and upstairs, preferably in octave or 1/3 octave bands. Only if you provide these data it is possible to say something sensible about this situation.

 

[Speedskater]

Just like in wristwatches, they are marked 'water resistant' because waterproof is almost impossible, soundproof is also almost impossible.

The "AVS Forum" has a section:
'Dedicated Theater Design & Construction'
with decades of threads on making rooms 'sound resistant'.

https://www.avsforum.com/forums/dedicated-theater-design-construction.19/

 

[Vieja melanurus]

The most cost effective approach in my experience is 5.5" pink fiberglass covered with two layers of 5/8" aka fire rated drywall. The special drywall types that makes claims about acoustic performance aren't worth the additional cost.

MLV works but is not ideal for a budget build. It also works better when used as part of your floor underlay, not sandwiched between drywall layers.

Might another approach be to redo the floor in the room above the studio? We were considering redoing that floor anyway, and I would actually prefer this, as it would remove the necessity to completely break down the studio (and my wife's study has practically no furniture in it - just a table and a few chairs really). So perhaps pulling up the floor in that room and installing a subfloor with MLV and perhaps an additional layer of something else (?) would be a viable option too.

 

[Vieja melanurus]

Just like in wristwatches, they are marked 'water resistant' because waterproof is almost impossible, soundproof is also almost impossible.

The "AVS Forum" has a section:
'Dedicated Theater Design & Construction'
with decades of threads on making rooms 'sound resistant'.

https://www.avsforum.com/forums/dedicated-theater-design-construction.19/

Yes, of course. Sound resistance or sound reduction is what we're after. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the term soundproofing!

 

[stoo23]

I'd forget the MLV unless you have a cheap supply but I think other options would be more effective.
If you are considering the route you suggest then fitting 80kg fiberglass 'batts' is a very effective and far cheaper option !!

 

[Vieja melanurus]

I'd forget the MLV unless you have a cheap supply but I think other options would be more effective.
If you are considering the route you suggest then fitting 80kg fiberglass 'batts' is a very effective and far cheaper option !!

Yes, the MLV is definitely not cheap!

 

[Andrej]

The heavier 5/8" drywall helps (when compared to the more typical 1/2"). What really helps is isolating the drywall from the joists, as suggested in other posts, and adding another layer with GreenGlue in between the two layers (adds constrained layer damping. For walls, the screws are spaced wide, for ceiling i have no idea what spacing is needed to support two layers of 5/8" sheetrock). I have done it with walls, never a ceiling, and both make a significant measurable difference. Absorbtion does very little for isolation, and nothing will handle lowest frequencies in a typical US built home.

 

[stoo23]

Well, I think you Will find there IS a measurable difference between a Dry walled 'cavity' wall With and Without 80kg fiberglass !!

 

[Andrej]

Well, I think you Will find there IS a measurable difference between a Dry walled 'cavity' wall With and Without 80kg fiberglass !!

What is the thickness and area of 80kg of fiberglass? Of course it will help, but everything I have read on this subject claimed that the effect is relatively small especially at lower frequencies. I guess that if it cannot tame a resonance in a room, it will not stop transmission. 11 inches of rock wool in my ceiling did not help much. Just my 2 cents worth. YMMV.

 

[kemmler3D]

it would be nice if there was a relatively uncomplicated means to provide a greater barrier against noise between the rooms.

It sure would.

Joking aside, your best option is definitely isolation first, then layers of insulation, special drywall, etc.

There may be ways to construct the floor in the office to help too, but keep in mind that sound can travel through any material that is physically touching both rooms, i.e. walls, studs, pipes, conduit, etc.

Also, keep in mind that ANY path of open air between spaces will transmit a lot of sound. So if you have vents or anything that go between the rooms, either get rid of them (if that's a safe option) or baffle them.

 

[Vieja melanurus]

It sure would.

Joking aside, your best option is definitely isolation first, then layers of insulation, special drywall, etc.

There may be ways to construct the floor in the office to help too, but keep in mind that sound can travel through any material that is physically touching both rooms, i.e. walls, studs, pipes, conduit, etc.

Also, keep in mind that ANY path of open air between spaces will transmit a lot of sound. So if you have vents or anything that go between the rooms, either get rid of them (if that's a safe option) or baffle them.

Thank you. Isolation certainly sounds like the way to go. Because the office above is an easier room to renovate, we'd be looking at isolating the floor. No vents or other ductwork between the rooms. The floor/ceiling could be filled completely with insulation. If we pull up the subfloor and all from the office, we could even glue in drywall above the existing downstairs ceiling, between the joists. Then float the floor on some sort of rubber joist isolators. I imagine this is usually done to minimize sound/vibration from traveling down through the floor, but would it not work well in the other direction too?