Sound Absorbing Acoustic Paint Experiences

[Greenstreet]

i’m going to but in here and than you for this advice. I’m having a house built. Several weeks ago when they completed the drywall in the room which I plan on using for musical pursuits, TV and such, I clapped my hands and boy did it ring. I’m glad you mentioned about furniture and carpeting can help tame it. I still think I’ll need some traps as well as partitions. I’ve never heard of a gobo. Guess I’ll have to google it.

You'll want to look at acoustic diffusion, not absorption. Those foam eggcrate panels are next to useless, and in many (most) cases, do more harm than good (only absorb sound frequencies in a narrow band, which actually emphasizes the frequencies you're trying to control).

If you really want to use sound absorption, go with Rockwool panels, at least three inches thick (seven inches thick would be better), in combination with diffusion.


.

 

[MynameisMe]

Most of the sound panels I have installed were 1" -2" thickness fiberglass panels with a fabric covering spray glued to the surface. They have two types of hangers. One is a impaling pin that you attach to the wall and push the panel onto.
The other is a pre-attached to the panel swivel hanger where you install the panel like you would a picture and gravity holds it in place.
I like the second option because the first one tends to be somewhat unreliable.

 

[MynameisMe]

The point as mentioned earlier here is to break up the surface and not have a many long smooth areas for sound to bounce off of. Sound panels help to dampen this but breaking up the walls with hung items helps also.
I think even knock down texture helps a little. Popcorn ceilings are so 1980's.

 

[1958Bassman]

i’m going to but in here and than you for this advice. I’m having a house built. Several weeks ago when they completed the drywall in the room which I plan on using for musical pursuits, TV and such, I clapped my hands and boy did it ring. I’m glad you mentioned about furniture and carpeting can help tame it. I still think I’ll need some traps as well as partitions. I’ve never heard of a gobo. Guess I’ll have to google it.

A gobo is a partition. Think of it as a portable low wall between cubicles in an office.

 

[MVE]

I bought a bunch of furnace filters and a roll of pretty fabric and hot glued it on to make cheap panels.
They worked great (to my ears) for bringing down the liveliness of the space. It cost about $20 to make 5 or 6 of them and they looked just as good as the expensive panels.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Thinking back to my acoustics of music class, absorption coefficient is what determines frequency and amount of reduction.
I can see high end reflections maybe, but that's reflection and not absorption.

And this quote from the quoted Gearspace article:
Directly from a manufacturer of acoustic paint...
Quote:
Q: Can You Guarantee a 30% reduction of sound? ANS: NO: As we cannot control the application, and due to a wide variety of wall configurations, the amount of sound reduction will vary tremendously from one application to the next. Considering that most conventional sound deadening products available are 3" thick or greater, one can only expect so much from an application that is 30-40 thousands of an inch thick.
Source...[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[NKBassman]

even after we are done accumulating furniture and curtains and all of that, I think it will still be a problem.

You might be surprised how big a difference this will make. Wait and see, I'd say.
At any rate, I don't think special paint is the answer.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

So I moved into this new house that is much bigger than my old house, with high ceilings, and an open concept thing. The echo/reverb is really bad in the house, and even after we are done accumulating furniture and curtains and all of that, I think it will still be a problem. We have to paint the interior of the house at some point soon anyway, so I am thinking that acoustic paint may help. My expectations are realistic, but if the cumulative effect is a 25% reduction in echo and reverb in the main areas of the house, that will be "worth it" for my goals.

Anyone have any experience with this stuff? Suggestions, brands, application methods, opinions?

Yes, it will help. It will dampen you walls, and trap some sound. Yes, sound proofing will yield much better results. But, every little bit helps.

Do four coats or more.

 

[scott sinner]

Most of the sound panels I have installed were 1" -2" thickness fiberglass panels with a fabric covering spray glued to the surface. They have two types of hangers. One is a impaling pin that you attach to the wall and push the panel onto.
The other is a pre-attached to the panel swivel hanger where you install the panel like you would a picture and gravity holds it in place.
I like the second option because the first one tends to be somewhat unreliable.

I did 6 2 inch thick by 2 x 4 foot DIY insulation panels in my home studio. Just comparing the empty room to it with those in it, it was a noticeable difference in reverb diffusion when you were close to the panels. It was the difference in sound between something more like a very short delay line and a room reverb.

Don't know about acoustic paint. I had heard about it, but was too skeptical based on my passing understanding of physics to ever actually research it.

I did do double drywall with Green Glue in the middle and 'Quietrock' (if I recall the brand) that was basically sheet rock with an extra layer of aluminum. I was skeptical those would make a big difference, but at least it was plausible from a standpoint of stacking different densities of materials. And it didn't cost much in the scheme of things. But it is actually a noticeable difference. We have one upstairs room that crosses the treated studio and the untreated room next to it and we get 30- 35% lower decibel readings from the same source upstairs.

 

[BassFalcon]

I'm sure your wife will be hip to a lot of hanging foam baffles

she may be if he were to go this route:

Acoustic Art Panels - GIK Acoustics - Canvas Art that Reduces Noise

decorate and treat at the same time. Get you a panel that can do both.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

You'll want to look at acoustic diffusion, not absorption. Those foam eggcrate panels are next to useless, and in many (most) cases, do more harm than good (only absorb sound frequencies in a narrow band, which actually emphasizes the frequencies you're trying to control).

If you really want to use sound absorption, go with Rockwool panels, at least three inches thick (seven inches thick would be better), in combination with diffusion.


.

Thanks for your response I’ll check out some ways to diffuse

I understand the principle about sound absorption from research on why foam ear plugs do a lousy job of protecting your ears. I was thinking more like the technology of ear filters if there even is such a thing.

Thanks again for your post.

DB

 

[BarfanyShart]

she may be if he were to go this route:

Acoustic Art Panels - GIK Acoustics - Canvas Art that Reduces Noise

decorate and treat at the same time. Get you a panel that can do both.

I am actually getting a big one of those made for my music room / office. My hope is that my wife sees how attractive and effective it is and gets on board. It's actually equivalent price to or cheaper than printing and framing a big picture.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I bought a bunch of furnace filters and a roll of pretty fabric and hot glued it on to make cheap panels.
They worked great (to my ears) for bringing down the liveliness of the space. It cost about $20 to make 5 or 6 of them and they looked just as good as the expensive panels.

Thanks. One heck of an idea, although my skills for making crafts is not good. In this room, ceiling is somewhat low and there is a fair amount of long wall space (16’x 24th) that needs (ahem) decorated.

Thanks again.

DB

 

[Dirk Diggler]

@JeezyMcNuggles, how exactly does paint "trap" or dampen anything?
And somehow the magic number is 4 coats????

I couldn't find the absorption coefficient of the paint, plenty of acoustic panels specifically use that as a standard.

Good luck to the OP.

 

[MynameisMe]

I did do double drywall with Green Glue in the middle and 'Quietrock' (if I recall the brand) that was basically sheet rock with an extra layer of aluminum.

Quietrock is made for isolating one room from another. It doesn't necessarily absorb any sound in a room.
Green glue made to go between gypsum panels does help. All these would be good if you had a practice room or another noisy room you wanted to make quieter between rooms. Insulating walls also helps to deaden the sound between rooms or adding a second layer of gypsum (drywall, sheetrock for the layman).
The green glue acts as a buffer and air space to absorb sound.
Another way to isolate one room from another is use resilient channel applied horizontally on wood or steel framing. Resilient channel is a steel channel typically Z shaped with a small lip on one end which is attached to the framing and a larger lip which you attach the drywall on. I think the theory here is the lip which the drywall is attached to is not directly on the framing (studs) and it buffers the vibration, hence the sound being lessened.
I am bidding a "Boot Camp Gym" currently and they have steel studs with resilient channel plus a layer of 1/8" elastomeric polymer to buffer the sound with their neighbor. My vendor recommends a layer of acoustical caulk over the resilient panels which meets their STC rating.
Like I said, all these are good to buffer noise between rooms but if you want sound absorbency in a room you have to break up the bare walls or you will just have an echo chamber.
I am not an expert on acoustical treatment or STC ratings (although I have dealt with this quite a bit), however I am an expert at drywall/ framing /acoustical ceilings. That I can write novels about.

 

[scott sinner]

Quietrock is made for isolating one room from another. It doesn't necessarily absorb any sound in a room.
Green glue made to go between gypsum panels does help. All these would be good if you had a practice room or another noisy room you wanted to make quieter between rooms. Insulating walls also helps to deaden the sound between rooms or adding a second layer of gypsum (drywall, sheetrock for the layman).
The green glue acts as a buffer and air space to absorb sound.

Yep. That's exactly what I (probably poorly in my haste) was trying to describe above. I was trying to continue my harmonious marriage while still playing loud.

Another way to isolate one room from another is use resilient channel applied horizontally on wood or steel framing. Resilient channel is a steel channel typically Z shaped with a small lip on one end which is attached to the framing and a larger lip which you attach the drywall on. I think the theory here is the lip which the drywall is attached to is not directly on the framing (studs) and it buffers the vibration, hence the sound being lessened.

Ya. I actually had the architect draft an option for that, but I live in an old, hundred year old house in a large city, so it is relatively tight space to work with. Decided I had a minimum viable size to serve as recording and band practice space and that option seems a little too cramped and killed the option for a second bathroom.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

@JeezyMcNuggles, how exactly does paint "trap" or dampen anything?
And somehow the magic number is 4 coats????

I couldn't find the absorption coefficient of the paint, plenty of acoustic panels specifically use that as a standard.

Good luck to the OP.

Soft absorbant rubber. A lot of coats.

How does paint stop rust? How does paint reflect sunlight? How does paint level out asphalt? How does paint patch steel enough to machine through it?

It's paint dude. There's a coating for everything

 

[MynameisMe]

Yep. That's exactly what I (probably poorly in my haste) was trying to describe above. I was trying to continue my harmonious marriage while still playing loud.



Ya. I actually had the architect draft an option for that, but I live in an old, hundred year old house in a large city, so it is relatively tight space to work with. Decided I had a minimum viable size to serve as recording and band practice space and that option seems a little too cramped and killed the option for a second bathroom.

I was waxing poetic about my knowledge of drywall related products. I don't get to do that often.
The wife tires of product descriptions, ways/means after a while.
I think she sometimes listens to my bass guitar rants also.

We did use the green glue one time on a project. I bought it online because no one local carried it and I had a whole case go hard on me.
We didn't use it again and it was only time I've ever used it.
We do install a good bit of acoustical caulk, filling gaps at top of walls.
Fire caulk also seems to go hard if you don't use it fast enough also. Especially here in the Florida heat. My mini storage where all our stuff is kept gets to be about 130-140 degrees in the summer when I pull it open.

 

[MrLenny1]

Egg cartons painted black took care of sound issues in an old apartment once.

 

[1958Bassman]

I am actually getting a big one of those made for my music room / office. My hope is that my wife sees how attractive and effective it is and gets on board. It's actually equivalent price to or cheaper than printing and framing a big picture.

Acoustical panels need to be as big as the room requires- if they're too large, they eliminate or reduce reflections and aren't actually harmful to the sound quality and make the sound too 'dry'. They need to be placed where they're needed, too- this means, if you're able to a the reflection of the speaker in a mirror placed on the wall from your location, that's a 'first reflection' and it needs to be reduced because it will reflect from there and hit other surfaces. At high SPL, a good visual representation would be hitting a cue ball on a pool table because like light, the angle of incidence for sound (the angle at which the sound reaches the surface) equals the angle of reflection (the angle at which the sound leaves the surface). You can make a drawing of the room and with a ruler & protractor, find the problem areas- hitting a cue ball will eventually be effected by friction and the ball's path will change because of top, side or back spin- the concept is the important thing.

Randomly placing acoustic panels helps to a point, but placing them where they're actually needed results in fewer panels required. Also, don't forget that large rugs, furniture and other objects like book cases help a lot.