Insulating/Soundproofing on the cheap

[makgreens]

This isnt exactly my garage but part of it! I play in a band and just recently bought my first house. The block walls apparently stop no sound and the two framed walls dont seem to do much of anything either! Seeing as this is my first home and I'm pretty broke I have enough money for this idea I've been shooting around with some friends

sandwich these two materials and screw them to the walls!
1/2" drywall
3/4" poly insulation board


also my budget is only $400

Will this be a good cheap fix for insulation and soundproofing until I can afford to truly frame out the walls and so on? I know I need to finish the ceiling but as we all know drop ceiling is not cheap

 

[SSAAHemiFan]

30 years as a metal drummer here - the best thing to do is to have a dead space in between the walls - think room within a room

Some cheap ideas - hang moving blankets (the thick quilted ones) - carpet with multiple layers of padding on the walls and even egg cartons on the walls (lots of them)

 

[makgreens]

ive heard that about a room within a room concept

I was kind of thinking about doing the drywall/insulation plan but also hanging up the moving blankets as well.

this is to only get us through for a few months until I can come up with something better. dont wanna piss off the new neighbors just yet

 

[jjpp]

You need isolation to stop the sound transfer.
The cheapest option that I can think of would be to curtain off the area with heavy blankets such as moving blankets as noted by HemiFan. In essence creating a temporary room within a room.
I think your money would be better spent on more blankets than lumber and insulation for a temporary thing. Just keep the blankets a few inches off of the walls and you can always re purpose or sell them when you can do things properly.

 

[jjpp]

Or you could go garbage picking for old carpet, just never know what you are bringing into your house...

 

[bczygan]

Blankets as mentioned above, for temporary. But that will cost money.

I've got an overall cheaper idea.

Buy the kraft faced batt insulation that you will eventually need and hang it a couple inches away from the block as a temporary sound curtain. Hang it with the paper toward the block.

When you are ready to build your walls, just get the framing lumber and drywall and reuse the insulation you already have.

But even more importantly, build your new wall as a sound wall. Leave a space between the new framing and the existing block. Use decoupling clips for the drywall so sound isn't transmitted to the framing. There might even be ways to keep the framing separated from the rest of the structure. Do some Google searches. And the surface of the drywall might also help. A sound absorbing covering for that would also add benefit.
Does the block have loose fill insulation? Can you get access to add some?

Also consider windows and doors. Maybe insulated inside shutters or curtains for the windows and a sound absorbing material for the inside face of doors. Are doors insulated?

Insulate and sound treat interior partition walls as well.

When you pick your lay-in ceiling tiles, choose ones with a rough surface texture as that soaks up sound better.

A Race Deck type flooring will soak up more sound than concrete or tile.

Any cars parked long term can be protected from dust, and also contribute to sound attenuation by covering with a car cover. Same is true of any hard surface items like toolboxes.

Just some ideas.

 

[70C-10]

I haven't tried Quiet Rock
http://www.quietrock.com/

google search
http://soundproofing.org/infopages/basement.htm

 

[makgreens]

well this is what i have so far...not sure how good its gonna do but its better than nothing...

 

[1955Jim]

When I was in college my room mate and I both had our drums set up in the coal room of the house we rented. We used to go out on trash night and scrounge carpet. It works great! Standing on the front porch directly above the coal room you could barely hear anything. The secret is to hang the carpet, not mount it to the wall.

Recently at work I have bought some sound deadening blankets from Audimute. It is very loud in the lab where I work so I have been working with Mitch (also a drummer) for some acoustic improvements.

http://www.audimutesoundproofing.com/

I don't have any stake in the company, just a happy customer.

 

[frank_c]

Carpet works great but it's a huge fire hazard.

Join a couple of the home recording forums and one thing you will find is that "soundproofing" and "cheap" do not go together.

 

[Zeke]

Just google "sound attenuation." What's on the ceiling? I'm surprised block construction is letting sound through. Block has a high sound suppression rating.

Used carpet IS cheap (read free). Wash it and rinse it with boric acid solution. Nearly fireproof.