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Neat idea for sound proofing. Input please!

Metallkasten

Metallkasten

Jul 25, 2002
394
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#1
I was thinking about a cheap way to sound proof a room, and remember reading that cardboard egg cartons are good for this.


Then I realized that my school (I do culinary) goes through cases of eggs every day, and I could totally ask the pastry chef to save them for me.


How well do these work?
 
#6
msquared said:
Egg cartons will do absolutely nothing to soundproof.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as cheap soundproofing. The cheapest thing you can do is get your drummer a set of electronic drums and have everyone play with headphones.
Click to expand...

You CAN find the foam egg-crate stuff, if you know where to look.
 
#7
msquared said:
Egg cartons will do absolutely nothing to soundproof.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as cheap soundproofing. The cheapest thing you can do is get your drummer a set of electronic drums and have everyone play with headphones.
Click to expand...

Correct, all the foam stuff you see in studios isn't sound proofing and neither is the egg carton stuff... it's intended to balance frequencies and to correct acoustical issues caused from things like early reflections and standing waves.

The only way to effectively sound proof is to use multiple layers of dense materials with absorptive porperties to create lots of mass, with minimal points of contact and dead air in between. In short, there really is no cheap way to soundproof.

The absolute cheapest thing to do would be to rent a place to record/practice where loud sound is not an issue.
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c
 
#9
Trevorus said:
Yeah, double drywall with spacers can get expensive, eh?
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That's a good start. Mass loaded vinyl is nice to throw in there too. The walls are probably the easiest part... dealing with windows and doors, floating your floor and ceiling as well as the necesssary ventilation are the tricky parts (if you're shooting for really sound proof).

Here are some good resources...
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#10
The only way I was able to soundproof a room was to build a room inside a room. The key is to leave about 6" of air space between rooms. I Used 2x6 wood studding, fiberglass insulation, 1/2" drywall taped all joints. Solid core door and commerical carpet on the floor, walls and ceiling. I also added new circuit breakers, wiring and outlets. I converted a 21'x20' 2 car garage. The room ended up 16'x16'. And we could jam all through the night without any fuss from the neighbors. Just make sure you have a self contained air conditioning unit in the room, it gets hot in there pretty fast. I was able to build the room for under $1,000.00 in materials. I did all the labor.
 
#11
If you are building an inside liner wall for acoustic isolation, a good trick is to use wood studs and rip a saw kerf down the middle of the stud for most of its length. That way the new drywall floats on the front half of the stud and you can put the liner wall up against the existing wall without the sound being coupled mechanically to the existing wall through the stud. With 2x4 studs + drywall, this sucks up only 4 inches of space; with 2x6 studs (better for stability), only 6 inches.
 
#12
steve66 said:
The only way I was able to soundproof a room was to build a room inside a room. The key is to leave about 6" of air space between rooms. I Used 2x6 wood studding, fiberglass insulation, 1/2" drywall taped all joints. Solid core door and commerical carpet on the floor, walls and ceiling. I also added new circuit breakers, wiring and outlets. I converted a 21'x20' 2 car garage. The room ended up 16'x16'. And we could jam all through the night without any fuss from the neighbors. Just make sure you have a self contained air conditioning unit in the room, it gets hot in there pretty fast. I was able to build the room for under $1,000.00 in materials. I did all the labor.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... I'd be REALLY concerned about mold with all that carpet attached to wallboard in there since it doens't seem that you have any real type of ventilation and knowing FL's humidity.
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c
 
#14
I agree that egg-cartons will do basically nothing to sound-proof a room. On the sound-treatment side however, I'm wondering if you hardened them up with something, if they wouldn't make decent diffusers... :eyebrow: Probably too regular to be full-frequency diffusers though.
 
#16
chrisp2u said:
Hmmm... I'd be REALLY concerned about mold with all that carpet attached to wallboard in there since it doens't seem that you have any real type of ventilation and knowing FL's humidity.
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c
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Good Point!.
I never had a problem with that. The garage stays dry. I guess a dehumidifier would be a good idea when the room is not in use.

I moved and no longer live there. I had to knock the down when it was sold. I ended up buying a set of Roland V drums.
 
#17
msquared said:
I've found that fully loaded bookcases make great sound diffusers.
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That works for me....
 

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#18
Egg cartons? As stated, these are for sound "diffusion". I have these in my jam space and it seems to me they help with recording.

Sound proof? I hung the drywall from "resilient channels" to physically separate the drywall from the studs, so the vibration in the drywall is not transferred. These are basically an 8 or 10 foot length of tin or aluminum with a "J" crossection.

Not cheap. Sorry!
 

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#19
Eggcrates = :spit: (:D)

For sound proofing, look at Soundstop panels. MUCH better than sheetrock. If I recall correctly they are exactly cheap, but very effective. Home Depot or Lowe's will have it.

For sound treatment, Foambymail is a less expensive alternative to Auralex. You can order a single big sheet of foam and cut it yourself, save a bundle. And I do believe it is fire retardant.

Good luck!
 
#20
Don't try to cheaply "soundproof" your practice room. It is dangerous and often does nothing to actually soundproof. Most of the time it just makes the noise sound "dead."

If you can't afford to soundproof, than just practice early, practice low, or get a lockout/rehearsal room. We share a lockout with another band for 150.00 each a month, in Southern California. We get a PA, backline, couch, fridge, pro shop, and have recordings and film of every practice. I'm not sure how expensive stuff is in North Carolina, but things are usually more expensive in California than the south from what I've heard.
 

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