hi, currently my band is practicing in my basement, which is basically just a bunch of concrete with a low ceiling. we do some basic recording (mixer into the line in on a computer), but we are looking to "renovate" our practice space a bit. There is a 25' x 30' "corner" of the basement that i would like to enclose, soundproof, and carpet, but i am finding that a lot of the professional padding, foam, etc is really really expensive, and i am a poor teenager on a budget

my plan is to put carpet down on the floor, hopefully i can find some used/cheap stuff somewhere, but i don't know what to do about the walls/ceiling. does anyone know of a cheap foam/padding that i could buy in bulk to cover the room? or am i even going about this the right way?...

thanks a lot in advance,
Damian

To be honest I don't really understand what you are trying to do. If you are talking about soundproofing, which is not to have sound bleeding in & out, then it's not gonna be cheap by any means. That's veeery expensive.

i guess that wasn't that clear, basically, ive got a large, open, unfinished basement, and i want to take a corner of that basement, and "enclose" it for better recording and isolation. everything is concrete, so i want carpet on the floor, but i dont know what to do about "walls". my dream would be some kind of removable hanging partitions, which i could take down later if i wanted the rearrange the basement.

hope that helps

thanks

Beware of the difference between acoustic treatment & soundproofing. The foam stuff is acoustic treatment to get the room sounding right & will do nothing to prevent loud sound escaping the room.

For sound proofing you need materials with a high density, to stop bass you need MASS. Thick walls, dual walls with an air gap, multiple MDF layers, that kind of thing.

Try John L Sayers site for a start

Peter

Forget about soundproofing unless you have $10K to play with. I just built a very temporary room in a basement shop for practicing purposes and I used a bunch of solid core doors pulled out of a dumpster. My friend's building is being turned into condos (like every other downtown building) and they were throwing away all of the old doors. There were some office dividers that we used for the roof. The entire structure looks like a crack house but it does what it needs to do. As far as soundproof, on a scale of 1-10 I give it a 2. All it does is provide a smaller and tamer acoustical environment than the huge 1150ft`2 concrete box its in. I'm guessing thats more of what you're going for.

Nick Fournier

for soundproofing you really have to do some construction, at least framing a couple walls and a ceiling then insulating and drywalling. I doubt if you need $10k, maybe more like $1500 and you do all the work and get some materials for almost nothing. Anything on the temporary side usually means it's not attached to something, and that means not much isolation. Mass and airtightness are the important aspects of soundproofing. Roughly speaking, a 10% hole leaks 90% of the sound.

Actually, I looked into it for my basement...$1500 wouldn't even start. Unless he's got enough headroom in the basement for a second ceiling, the ceiling/floor is the killer there.

Well...for decent soundproofing, you're already in the easiest part of the house (although the least comfortable). As stated above...MASS is key here and there is no better massive wall than 8 inches (typical) of poured concrete backed-up by earth. If there's relatively little foundation above grade (say 8 inches as would be the minimum...unless whoever built the house is a dummy), you're on your way. As Pop stated, if you can afford a solid ceiling below the joists (headroom), you CAN do a credible job for relatively little expense. If you know some about framing...then the costs will be minimal. Build a ceiling by hanging ledgers around the perimeter that are shot directly into the foundation walls. Low-velocity guns are available that will drive hardened steel pins directly into the concrete, but these should only be used by qualified people. There have been bad...sometimes fatal accidents caused by people using these carelessly. The ledgers can also be attached by driving concrete screws directly through the ledgers and into the foundation walls. There are special kits you can buy to do this and a hammer-drill is the only special tool required...slower but safer. Using either mechanical fastener, I would also use a bonding agent such as one of the polyurethane caulk-type adhesives for added security. "PL Premium" is a good one, but there are others as well. After the ledger is secured, you can just hang joists sized for the span and considering this ceiling will not be carrying any live load those don't have to be huge. A less effective method would be to suspend the ceiling from the joists above. In either case, the ceiling would also need to be insulated and as much mass as you can apply for the actual ceiling surface would increase the effectiveness of the ceiling system. Doors, windows and even electrical openings are all cases that would need special treatments details. As well...you need to keep in mind things like fresh-air circulation sized for the space (more attention to sound-leakage needed) and as always when designing a space but especially in a closed and difficult area like a basement...egress should be a prime consideration (fire!). If in doubt, consult a qualified professional and/or your local building department to make sure you're in compliance.

-john

This may be an option to consider if your budget is anything like mine would've been when I was that age (not much). Don't worry about building walls quite yet and focus on building some moveable partitions, sorta like the cubicles you see in big office setups. This would provide a very flexible situation for dirt cheap.Scout out some residential construction sites and ASK the foreman or gc for scrap destined for the burn pile or dumpster whichever the case. Do the same with some local flooring places and you might be surprised at what you find.

You may want to take a look at johnlsayers.com. I think thier forum has alot of valuable info if you take the time to search it.

M

I have similar issue but with an old style garage. I'm not worried about the sound inside, I'm worried about my neighbors outside. What about old roofing shingles stacked/glued together in the walls? Would that provide a significant buffer to the "noise" (music to the rest of us)

quote:

I have similar issue but with an old style garage. I'm not worried about the sound inside, I'm worried about my neighbors outside.

Unfortunately, this seems to be where things get expensive(both time and cash.) Check out the above mentioned studio design forum read some of the garage conversions in the construction page. How far away are your neighbors and what are your goals?

Lance

alright excuse me but fuck all these other guys.
I am 16 years old and i drum in a band. we dont want the neighbors getting mad and we want to have our recording a little better.so we went to our local carpet shop and asked them to save there foam scraps from when they carpet houses(you know that foam that is under the carpet. and after about a month they had a shit load of it so we asked them how much money they wanted and they said that we actuallt saved them money because they have to pay to haul away the dumpster so they just gave us all of it. so we went down into the basement and put one layer on and it was pretty good.but we had some left over so we put another layer on the ceiling. It works great! and if you really wanna be legit try to make some shapes coming out of the wall and ceiling because it helps dampen the sound.

Well, how can you argue with that? I remember when I was 16 and knew it all

quote:

Originally posted by Damian Blankenship:
hi, currently my band is practicing in my basement, which is basically just a bunch of concrete with a low ceiling. we do some basic recording (mixer into the line in on a computer), but we are looking to "renovate" our practice space a bit. There is a 25' x 30' "corner" of the basement that i would like to enclose, soundproof, and carpet, but i am finding that a lot of the professional padding, foam, etc is really really expensive, and i am a poor teenager on a budget

my plan is to put carpet down on the floor, hopefully i can find some used/cheap stuff somewhere, but i don't know what to do about the walls/ceiling. does anyone know of a cheap foam/padding that i could buy in bulk to cover the room? or am i even going about this the right way?...

thanks a lot in advance,
Damian

Damian, I think that all of these replies have different approaches to what you are trying to do at different levels of interest. I think that since you say that you are a teen, that one, your folks would probably have the last say unless of course your are paying the rent and it is your space. I think that finding a MINERAL WOOL dealer and framing the walls and filling it with that would be a quick and fairly inexpensive way. Mineral and OC 703 have all been tested and have very limited differences in acoustic quality. Density is key so I recommend 4 inches around the room of it. It will at least deaden the sound some, but if you are in the basement, it should be pretty calm to the neighbors unless you are putting a 4x12 cab right next to the window or walk out door (if ya have that) I have my studio in the basement of my house and have no issues. Granted I am on a acre or so and not close to my neightbors, but still.

I think that the guy here posting all tough about the carpet foam and taking time to cut it is a joke. C'mon man, unless you want all your 1 to 2K range to go ape shit, then go for it. Better off buying from foambymail.com or aurelex and glueing that to the wall. Carpet foam is messy and falls apart over time, but jr. will figure that one out once the elements get to it. Sorry man, that was just a lame post to a legitimate question that a guy asked.

I think that 10K is a bit high too for the space that you described. Now if you were going to completely treat your entire basement for sound sure that would be a rate I would expect to be quoted. again, consult mortgage paying parents before that happens.

It can be done, but if you are underground where is the noise going to go? Windows sure... Go to Walmart or Target and get a heavy oriental carpet and hang it up in the window. acts as a great broadband diffusor and a great sound blocker. Not DEAD, but does help.

Hope that this helps?

Doc

check out these two web sites that deal with products to soundproof you basement relatively cheap. acoustics101.com and soundproofingamerica.com. I hope that on of these two web sites are what you are looking for

P.S. Just a small quote from acoustics101.com to elaborate a little on Mr. Tooldrummer's theory on carpet foam scraps!

Isolation construction – the core concept in Acoustics 101 – is not inexpensive. Acoustics 101 carries with it an assumption that you have a few bucks to spend to make your studio the best it can be. For example, it is important to realize that empty egg cartons, cork squares and carpet scraps are not going to (a) keep sound from leaving or intruding upon your studio.


Not a smart move or investment

http://www.realtraps.com/index.htm

http://www.atsacoustics.com/cat--DIY-Acoustic-Materials--102.html

http://www.readyacoustics.com/