The Organ Forum

Unfortunately my prefered volume level for practicing in my basement studio is just about the spot where my wife starts complaining that she can' t hear the TV upstairs! I play mostly Rock, which just does not feel right at muted volume levels! I'll play with earphones on my clonewheel at night but crank up the M3 & Leslie when everyone is away. Someday I'm going to soundproof the ceiling. Has anyone had success doing this  an whsat worked? I have heard that bubble wrap makes good soundproofing and that fiberglass insulation has not worked all that well.

Bob 

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Yamaha S08
Yamaha DGX 500
Casio WK 3800
1959 Hammond M-3
1975 Leslie 130 with DIY tube-driven top rotor
1961 Hammond A-101

Sorry, not a solution, just a comment ...

It seems unlikely that bubble wrap would do much good.  That sounds rather like the old myth that egg boxes are good for sound treatment.

As you probably realise, there's a big difference between treating a room (a) to improve the sound inside it (eg reducing standing waves by careful position of non-refective materials) and (b) to stop the sound escaping.  The latter is harder.

As I understand it, to stop the sound escaping, you have to put something heavy in its way, and it can be good to create false walls/ceilings, etc, where there's an air gap between the new barrier that you create and the original wall/ceiling.  The lower the frequencies that you want to block, the heavier and thicker the materials must be.  IIRC, I read that to really block frequencies well, the obstacle had to be something like a quarter of the wavelength - if you do that, there'll probably only be enough room left to crawl on the floor of your basement.

I expect you'll have to do something like create a false ceiling, with several layers of plasterboard.

You'll probably find it impossible to stop the low frequencies escaping - think of the times you've been in buildings and heard the bass of music being played in a room some distance away.  And when cars go by with the radio on loud but the windows closed, you tend to hear the bass, even if the higher frequencies have been substantially attenuated.

Here's a general intro:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul00/articles/faqacoustic.htm

che:

.....

You'll probably find it impossible to stop the low frequencies escaping - think of the times you've been in buildings and heard the bass of music being played in a room some distance away.  And when cars go by with the radio on loud but the windows closed, you tend to hear the bass, even if the higher frequencies have been substantially attenuated.

That reminds me...

Michael Barone of Pipedreams was in town to record a bunch of recitals for broadcast on NPR. Christ Church has an excellent organ but is in a not-so-divine neighborhood. There's a bar next door, and a few blocks away an outdoor ice rink complete with music. The audience in the church was perfectly quiet, waiting for the next piece, and this BIG bass beat enters the stone-enclosed walls of the church. 

Michael was not happy...

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Philip Fillion
HOME: 1985 Allen ADC 420 with custom audio
CHURCH: 1977 Allen MOS-301b + 2 HC10s
AT LESSONS: Almost everything! Flentrop, Aeolian-Skinner, Fritts, Holtkamp, Dobson, Andover.

Thanks Che and Phillip!

That soundonsound site is quite useful. I do realize the low frequencies are impossible to stop but I think they can live with that upstairs. Its the rest of the sounds that need to be stopped. All that is there now is dreadful cardboard tile ceiling squares stapled to firing strips attached across the floor joists  and empty space in between that and the subfloor for the first level. I was thinking of installing a sheet rock or plaster ceiling with insulation or something similar above it anyway leaving about a 2" dead air space between the subfloor and insulation. That has to be an improvement over the current situation. I cannot come down any lower with the ceiling.

BBB 

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Yamaha S08
Yamaha DGX 500
Casio WK 3800
1959 Hammond M-3
1975 Leslie 130 with DIY tube-driven top rotor
1961 Hammond A-101

Two additional suggestions based on practical experience:

1. If fire resistant material isn't required (depends on the code), use 3/4" MDF screwed to the furring strips instead of sheetrock on the ceiling.  This is an acoustically dead material commonly used for speaker cabinets, whereas sheetrock tends to readily transmit sound.  It's easily painted as well.
   
2. Several insulation manufacturers make fiberglass insulation that's specially fabricated for sound deadening vs. a thermal barrier.  It's commonly used in commercial construction for interior walls around conference rooms and offices, and I've used it in home bedroom walls and basement ceilings.  It's not always available at the big box home improvement stores, but they should be able to order it; our large local lumber yard has it in stock.
   

The combination of these two materials should significantly cut down on the transmitted sound levels at a reasonable cost and with simple installation.

-- Tom

 

Excellent suggestions Tom,

If code does not permit 3/4 MDF, I wonder if covering it with sheetrock would be OK?

Bob 

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Yamaha S08
Yamaha DGX 500
Casio WK 3800
1959 Hammond M-3
1975 Leslie 130 with DIY tube-driven top rotor
1961 Hammond A-101

Should be.  The primary requirement with most building codes is a fire barrier that will last for some minimum time.  If code does require sheetrock, it typically needs to be what's referred to as 5/8" fireshield.  It's readily available at most home centers.

I know up here in NH that residential basements don't require barriers on the ceilings, except in the immediate vicinity of a gas or oil furnace or water heater.

-- Tom

 

Thanks Tom,

Probably the same here as I had to have that sheetrock installed over our oil furnance when installed a few years ago. I'll call the building inspector before I'll attempt this.

 

Bob 

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Yamaha S08
Yamaha DGX 500
Casio WK 3800
1959 Hammond M-3
1975 Leslie 130 with DIY tube-driven top rotor
1961 Hammond A-101