soundproofing

[Dan Nelson]

From: Dan Nelson <dprimary@x??????xxxxx.xxxx
Date: Sun Oct 31, 1999 5:12 am
Subject: soundproofing

I would like to compile some soundproofing guidelines for the site. The
big question everyone asks is "how much do I need?"

SO I would like to do a survey of the people on the list.

What type of building are you in? and its construction? I.E.: free
standing concrete block
Construction details of the studio? I.E.: floating room, cut slab
What type of wall construction did you use for soundproofing I.E.:
single wall, double wall, staggered studs, RC and so on.
Please list the number of layers I.E.: single wall 3 layers of 5/8
drywall then resilient channel and two more layer of 5/8 drywall.
List all the types of walls if you have different walls in different
area. I.E. : the wall between the recording room and the control room is
a double wall 3 layers ....
The same for doors and windows.
Are you satisfied with the amount of soundproofing you have? what would
you have done different?

When I get enough replies I will compile this info into some guidelines
that people can use to decide how much they soundproofing they need.

Thanks,
Dan Nelson

[Dan Nelson]

From: "Patrick D. Olguin" <drpat@x????xxx.xxxx
Date: Mon Aug 27, 1956 10:38 pm
Subject: Re: soundproofing

Dan Nelson wrote:
>
> From: Dan Nelson <dprimary@e...>
>
> I would like to compile some soundproofing guidelines for the site. The
> big question everyone asks is "how much do I need?"
>

Although I'm not an expert at this by any stretch of the imagination,
it's always been my experience that a noise survey of the exterior of
the structure is the first place to start. I've seen this done several
ways, most involving periodic level checks (say, every minute or so)
over a 24 hour period at various frequencies. Once the maximum levels of
ambient noise are determined, it is then a question of your target noise
level that you desire internally. I've seen figures such as below 20dbA
as being acceptable. This will usually give you a good idea of
transmission loss that you will need. In other words, if the ambient
noise level measures 70dbA and you're going for a preferred noise
criteria of 15dbA, a target transmission loss of 55dbA is required.
Like I said, I'm not an expert. Am I on target...anybody???

> SO I would like to do a survey of the people on the list.
>
> What type of building are you in? and its construction? I.E.: free
> standing concrete block

We are about to build into a structure with 8" concrete exterior walls
with a slab floor. We intend to float the control room floor and build
the interior walls on top of the floating floor. We also have tons of
ceiling height that we intend to use to our advantage for soundproofing
and duct work. We're still in the planning stages, so we're not quite
sure about internal wall construction yet, although we'll probably
design a machine room between one of the exterior walls and one side of
the control room to help with the isolation. We may also build a storage
room between the back of the control room and the other exterior wall to
help on that end. I've learned the hard way that there is no such thing
as too much storage space. These are just early ideas that we may or may
not use. Any comments are welcome.

> Construction details of the studio? I.E.: floating room, cut slab
> What type of wall construction did you use for soundproofing I.E.:
> single wall, double wall, staggered studs, RC and so on.
> Please list the number of layers I.E.: single wall 3 layers of 5/8
> drywall then resilient channel and two more layer of 5/8 drywall.
> List all the types of walls if you have different walls in different
> area. I.E. : the wall between the recording room and the control room is
> a double wall 3 layers ....
> The same for doors and windows.
> Are you satisfied with the amount of soundproofing you have? what would
> you have done different?
>
> When I get enough replies I will compile this info into some guidelines
> that people can use to decide how much they soundproofing they need.

I'd be interested in seeing feedback posted on sources for materials
such as felt or rubber for floating floors. I'm also curious about
trough construction in floating floors. More specifically, we want to
build "lay in" style troughs (as opposed to pull style) in the control
room floor to make it easier to change cable configurations in the
future. Also, good trough sizes (we're building a room with two 24-track
machines and about 76 channels of outboard gear) and trough routing. Any
feedback is appreciated.

Pat Olguin

[archive]

From: Dan Nelson <dprimary@x??????xxxxx.xxxx
Date: Sun Oct 31, 1999 7:30 am
Subject: Re: soundproofing

"Patrick D. Olguin" wrote:

>
>
> Although I'm not an expert at this by any stretch of the imagination,
> it's always been my experience that a noise survey of the exterior of
> the structure is the first place to start. I've seen this done several
> ways, most involving periodic level checks (say, every minute or so)
> over a 24 hour period at various frequencies. Once the maximum levels of
> ambient noise are determined, it is then a question of your target noise
> level that you desire internally. I've seen figures such as below 20dbA
> as being acceptable. This will usually give you a good idea of
> transmission loss that you will need. In other words, if the ambient
> noise level measures 70dbA and you're going for a preferred noise
> criteria of 15dbA, a target transmission loss of 55dbA is required.
> Like I said, I'm not an expert. Am I on target...anybody???

Yes, that is the the way to do for the noise coming into the studio, and for
voice over and foley work it is the most important. But if you record rock
bands its the noise leaving the studio that your neighbors care about. It
sounds like you are building a free standing building which is the best
situation too build a studio. But many people lease space in corporate parks
and share at least one wall with a neighbor it can be very difficult to get
enough soundproofing to keep them happy.

>
>
> We are about to build into a structure with 8" concrete exterior walls
> with a slab floor. We intend to float the control room floor and build
> the interior walls on top of the floating floor. We also have tons of

Pouring the exterior wall foundation and slab as separate pieces may be
something to look into, it will help to decouple the inside floor from the
walls.

> ceiling height that we intend to use to our advantage for soundproofing
> and duct work. We're still in the planning stages, so we're not quite
> sure about internal wall construction yet, although we'll probably
>

>
> I'd be interested in seeing feedback posted on sources for materials
> such as felt or rubber for floating floors. I'm also curious about
> trough construction in floating floors. More specifically, we want to
> build "lay in" style troughs (as opposed to pull style) in the control
> room floor to make it easier to change cable configurations in the
> future. Also, good trough sizes (we're building a room with two 24-track
> machines and about 76 channels of outboard gear) and trough routing. Any
> feedback is appreciated.
>
> Pat Olguin

>

To float my last control room I ordered the rubber from McMaster Carr
industrial supply,. I calculated the weight of the walls to give a psi load
and then picked a rubber density that would give me about a 20% deflection at
the load.
I might have some old drawings for a trough, I think we let each section of
floor float independent it was about 14" wide and 6" deep. It was bigger than
it need to be. 12" wide by 3" should be enough. How thick will your floor be?

We decided the routing by tape outlines on the floor of the console and
outboard racks.

Dan Nelson
studiotips.com

[archive]

From: "Patrick D. Olguin" <drpat@p...>
Date: Tue Aug 28, 1956 12:20 pm
Subject: Re: soundproofing

Dan Nelson wrote:
>
> From: Dan Nelson <dprimary@e...>
>
> "Patrick D. Olguin" wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Although I'm not an expert at this by any stretch of the imagination,
> > it's always been my experience that a noise survey of the exterior of
> > the structure is the first place to start. I've seen this done several
> > ways, most involving periodic level checks (say, every minute or so)
> > over a 24 hour period at various frequencies. Once the maximum levels of
> > ambient noise are determined, it is then a question of your target noise
> > level that you desire internally. I've seen figures such as below 20dbA
> > as being acceptable. This will usually give you a good idea of
> > transmission loss that you will need. In other words, if the ambient
> > noise level measures 70dbA and you're going for a preferred noise
> > criteria of 15dbA, a target transmission loss of 55dbA is required.
> > Like I said, I'm not an expert. Am I on target...anybody???
>
> Yes, that is the the way to do for the noise coming into the studio, and for
> voice over and foley work it is the most important. But if you record rock
> bands its the noise leaving the studio that your neighbors care about. It
> sounds like you are building a free standing building which is the best
> situation too build a studio. But many people lease space in corporate parks
> and share at least one wall with a neighbor it can be very difficult to get
> enough soundproofing to keep them happy.

Yes, we will be recording live music...exclusively, and I'm actually
buying a commercial condo with only 1 common wall. It's 4100sf w/ 20'
high cielings. We're putting the studio and the control room opposite
the common wall with offices, rooms and a long hallway between them.

>
> >
> >
> > We are about to build into a structure with 8" concrete exterior walls
> > with a slab floor. We intend to float the control room floor and build
> > the interior walls on top of the floating floor. We also have tons of
>
> Pouring the exterior wall foundation and slab as separate pieces may be
> something to look into, it will help to decouple the inside floor from the
> walls.

Maybe I could have worded that better. The existing structure has 8"
concrete exterior walls and we will be floating a wood structure inside
of that.

> >
> > I'd be interested in seeing feedback posted on sources for materials
> > such as felt or rubber for floating floors. I'm also curious about
> > trough construction in floating floors. More specifically, we want to
> > build "lay in" style troughs (as opposed to pull style) in the control
> > room floor to make it easier to change cable configurations in the
> > future. Also, good trough sizes (we're building a room with two 24-track
> > machines and about 76 channels of outboard gear) and trough routing. Any
> > feedback is appreciated.
> >
> > Pat Olguin
>
> To float my last control room I ordered the rubber from McMaster Carr
> industrial supply,. I calculated the weight of the walls to give a psi load
> and then picked a rubber density that would give me about a 20% deflection at
> the load.

Did you lay a continuous sheet across the whole area of the floor, or
did you only treat particular sections? How much did this cost you?

> I might have some old drawings for a trough, I think we let each section of
> floor float independent it was about 14" wide and 6" deep. It was bigger than
> it need to be. 12" wide by 3" should be enough.

If you can post that on your site that would be helpful.

> How thick will your floor be?

We plan on building it with 3/4" plywood subfloor over 2x4 joists (kiln
dried sand filled) on top of a rubber or felt isolator. I haven't heard
of any good reasons to build it any thicker. Are there any advatages to
building a thicker floor???

>
> We decided the routing by tape outlines on the floor of the console and
> outboard racks.

Good idea, thanks.

>
> Dan Nelson
> studiotips.com

[Dan Nelson]

From: "Alan Day" <alanjday@i...>
Date: Sun Oct 31, 1999 8:31 pm
Subject: US quantities

Brian Cassell wrote:
So can we agree to use US quantities, for the most part, since 80% are
in the US, and let those of us in the minority convert using the table?
There may be an existing conversion table at the Nat'l Institute of
Standards page, or at the BOCA page.

Is this an American attitude? Is the USA 80% of the world?
Alan Day
Africa

[archive]

From: Dan Nelson <dprimary@e...>
Date: Sun Oct 31, 1999 9:42 pm
Subject: Re: US quantities

Feel free to use either system on the list If someone needs to convert
for their own use or to help with calculation they can refer to the
conversion table. I feel most of the time we will be using US measurement
just because 80 % of the list lives in the US but that could change over
time. The conversion table I am creating is to convert to/from common US
sizes to common metric sizes it is not an exact mathematical conversion. So
if I talk about 1/2" plywood the people in metric countries know i'm
talking about 12 mm plywood.

Dan Nelson
www.studiotips.com