Soundproofing a room

[redrum]

ive been zapped that same way b4 too.
didnt knock me out, but NOT FUN.

[UncleEbinezer]

So its clear that having a wife and child (and lack of money) slow you down a little, but we are moving closer to finishing my room over the garage.  I have done a ton of investigating on soundproofing thanks to this thread among others.

I thought I was going to go with double 1/2" or 1/2" and 3/4" drywall with green glue in between, but someone just told me about homasote board.  Anyone have experience with this? 

I'm still leaning towards the drywall/green glue solution as I am pretty sure it is a hell of a lot more economical than homasote, but if the results vary significantly, I may reconsider. 

[antelope19]

I don't know about that other stuff, but you gotta go with whatever is going to be best for re-sale value of the house. 

[kellerb]

So its clear that having a wife and child (and lack of money) slow you down a little, but we are moving closer to finishing my room over the garage.  I have done a ton of investigating on soundproofing thanks to this thread among others.

I thought I was going to go with double 1/2" or 1/2" and 3/4" drywall with green glue in between, but someone just told me about homasote board.  Anyone have experience with this? 

I'm still leaning towards the drywall/green glue solution as I am pretty sure it is a hell of a lot more economical than homasote, but if the results vary significantly, I may reconsider.

varying the thickness of the drywall will absorb sound better than just doubling the same thickness.  That's simple acoustics absorption based on wavelength.  On the other hand, I suspect 3/4" drywall might be extra expensive, so it might not be worth it

[Marmar]

mass = silence

[UncleEbinezer]

marmar, just to be clear, mass or density.  I know you said mass, but just want to make sure I understand the reasoning.  A dual layer of drywall with green glue should get me my mass, right?

keller, are you suggesting to essentially create an uneven wall?  Not sure if the wife will have that.   :-D  I will have some weird angles in the room just based on the design. 

[kellerb]

marmar, just to be clear, mass or density.  I know you said mass, but just want to make sure I understand the reasoning.  A dual layer of drywall with green glue should get me my mass, right?

keller, are you suggesting to essentially create an uneven wall?  Not sure if the wife will have that.   :-D  I will have some weird angles in the room just based on the design.

Nah, I'm talking about the 2 layers of drywall glued together.  Varying the thicknesses of those layers helps absorb/trap a wider variety of frequencies better

[UncleEbinezer]

marmar, just to be clear, mass or density.  I know you said mass, but just want to make sure I understand the reasoning.  A dual layer of drywall with green glue should get me my mass, right?

keller, are you suggesting to essentially create an uneven wall?  Not sure if the wife will have that.   :-D  I will have some weird angles in the room just based on the design.

Nah, I'm talking about the 2 layers of drywall glued together.  Varying the thicknesses of those layers helps absorb/trap a wider variety of frequencies better

I know this is a very simple summary of what I believe you are saying...

So 2 1/2" would basically only trap the same frequency v 1/2 and 3/4 trapping 2 different ones.

[kellerb]

marmar, just to be clear, mass or density.  I know you said mass, but just want to make sure I understand the reasoning.  A dual layer of drywall with green glue should get me my mass, right?

keller, are you suggesting to essentially create an uneven wall?  Not sure if the wife will have that.   :-D  I will have some weird angles in the room just based on the design.

Nah, I'm talking about the 2 layers of drywall glued together.  Varying the thicknesses of those layers helps absorb/trap a wider variety of frequencies better

I know this is a very simple summary of what I believe you are saying...

So 2 1/2" would basically only trap the same frequency v 1/2 and 3/4 trapping 2 different ones.

correct!

[mattstick]

It's been a long time since I studied studio design, but I do know that one of the best techniques for soundproofing is to actually create 2 walls of different widths, with space between them.

[Marmar]

2 layers, different densities, firmly attached/anchored......

This is why my walls were filled with sand....the base layer of sheet rock was "greenboard" very hard, dense stuff......then a 1 1/2" gap filled with sand......outer wall was made of 1 layer, and if my memory serves me correct I used a very soft gypsum board for that layer.....then I had acoustic treatment on top of that....

I found the hardest part to get "right" was the ceiling....I basically just ended up hanging a dense material from the center and let it sag to where it attached to the corners of the room....

It's been a long time since I studied studio design, but I do know that one of the best techniques for soundproofing is to actually create 2 walls of different widths, with space between them

That's what dividers are for the cheap and easy way to break up the room.....

[gah]

I'm just glad this is finally getting done! Telling when I can move my kit in!  :-D