sound insulation

[markf]

I moved into a new house in October. I have a nice area in the basement, about 300 sq ft, being used as my shop. This is great compared to sharing the garage, it is warm, dry and I don't have to put everything on wheels to get it out of the way. And no mice leaving presents among my tools. The disadvantage is the noise. The table saw, planer, compressor sound like they are right in the living room when they get turned on and that is not very popular with the rest of the family. Any ideas on how to insulate for sound. I thought about fiberglass between the joists, but there are alot of ducts, plumbing and electrical I would have to work around. I would also have to make it somewhat accessible to allow for repairs, changes etc so I couldn't finish the ceiling off completely. Of course $$$ are also a consideration. Any suggestions?

Mark F

[TDHofstetter]

A suspended ceiling, if you have the headroom for it, can be a godsend for situations like that. Instead of suspension wires, though, it needs to be hung from springs... which can be a PITA to set up right so the ceiling stays flat. Wires will transmit the noise picked up by the ceiling right up to the floor again & radiate it into the room above.

Fiberglass batts laid on the suspended ceiling will help a LOT, and with heavy fiberglass batting you may even be able to use conventional wire suspension for the ceiling.

[Gecko]

Not sure if it is an option but fiberglass insulation on top of perforated metal kills sound really well.

[markf]

I wonder how spray foam would work? I see they offer DIY kts now online. about $1 per square foot at 1" thick.

Mark F

[fredbelknap]

Apr 22, 2010 10:31:03 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

A suspended ceiling, if you have the headroom for it, can be a godsend for situations like that. Instead of suspension wires, though, it needs to be hung from springs... which can be a PITA to set up right so the ceiling stays flat. Wires will transmit the noise picked up by the ceiling right up to the floor again & radiate it into the room above.

Fiberglass batts laid on the suspended ceiling will help a LOT, and with heavy fiberglass batting you may even be able to use conventional wire suspension for the ceiling.

Tim I wonder if small rubber grommets would work instead of springs. I'm thinking the castration bands I use on bull calves to make them steers. They are pretty strong and cheap.

[brent]

I have the exact same situation. I think a lot of the sound is coming from the big square HVAC vents picking up vibrations and running up into the rest of the house. I notice that I can hear my son across the house through the vents.
I have thought about building a frame around them and putting insulation around them and then drywall to see if that would dampen the sound being picked up.
What do you guys think?

[TDHofstetter]

The vents can be sound-insulated with a spray foam; I've seen quite a lot of that done, and with good results. I'm not sure what kind of foam works best, though - GreatStuff seems difficult to control.

Fred - castration bands might just work Da Nutz.

[Stretch]

Apr 30, 2010 19:05:30 GMT -6 brent said:

I have the exact same situation. I think a lot of the sound is coming from the big square HVAC vents picking up vibrations and running up into the rest of the house. I notice that I can hear my son across the house through the vents.
I have thought about building a frame around them and putting insulation around them and then drywall to see if that would dampen the sound being picked up.
What do you guys think?

The best way is to install a break in the duct. It looks like an accordion and basically serves as a soft material to break up the reverb in the duct.