Sound Proofing..ideas?

[Bulldog13]

Looking to quiet down the noise in the garage that emminates into the house.The compressor and powertool noises are kinda getting on the nerves of the inlaw who is occupying the apartment over the garage.I'd like to say "tuff cookies" but in order to maintain world peace I was looking for suggestions...I'd like to also use the same principal in my furnace room which houses my well pump...that has to be my least favorite noise.Do they make a insulation that has noise reduction properties or and I better off with a sound proofing foam etc....

 

[BHR4CE1]

Can you sit the compressor on thick rubber mats? Vibrations are a HUGE cause of noise.

 

[Bulldog13]

That might help..I was hoping there was a insulation that had some soundproofing properties also...I dont mind the noise, except for the pump...its right under my living room and I swear I hear the thing even when its not running.

 

[BMEP]

You can do it, but it's a lot of work.

Soundproofing is a well defined science - the folks that build recording studios have it all figured out. I was designing a home studio for my previous house so I did a bunch of research and read a couple books. I'm far from an expert but I did learn a lot. There are some good books and web forums out there - I'm travelling now so I don't have It gets pretty complicated but the main ideas are:

Make sure there are no direct air paths between the spaces to be separated. If there are air vents, leaks, etc between the attic apartment and your garage, you need to get rid of them. If there is necessary duct work, there are solutions (mostly buildign labryinth type devices)

Since it's likely much of the sound is being transmitted between the garage and the apartment above is through the ceiling, you can help some of that by insulating and isolating. Insulate the space between the garage ceiling and the apartment floor. The type of insulation matters - Rockwool is the preferred type for this sort of thing. It's not cheap and will be hard (impossible?) to install if the ceiling is already drywalled.

Assuming the garage ceiling is already drywalled, you can isolate by adding another layer of drywall to the ceiling and using "isolation" channel. There are a number of types:

"Resiliant Channel is popular: http://www.markertek.com/Acoustic-M...truction-Products/Auralex-Acoustics/RC8.xhtml

Another more complicated system:
http://www.soundproofingcompany.com...s/furring-channel-with-resilient-sound-clips/

You're basically putting a spring between the new drywall and the existing drywall. The idea is to create a membrane that's not rigidly connected to the existing ceiling. You screw the channel to the existing ceiling and then screw the new drywall to the channel. The channel is thin and flexes which is exactly the point. Also, the new drywall cannot touch at the walls so you need to leave an 1/8" gap all around the edges. You need to fill the gap with special "acoustic" caulk to seal it against the walls (no air leaks allowed). The acoustic caulk remains flexible. The idea here is that the "membrane" drywall layer will absorb the sound by moving, reducing the amount of energy in the sound pressure waves so not as much energy is transmitted into the floor above. You might need to do this to the walls, too since some sound could be transmitted via the walls into the ceiling/floor above. That's probably getting into waaaay more than you want to do!

There is a ton of good information out there on the web. Here's a good forum: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php Lots of good info, quite a few experienced people that are willing to help.

Here's a place where you can learn some of the basic about the mechanics of sound transmisstion and isolation: http://www.acoustics101.com/ Chapter 3 has some info about ceilings.

Hope that helps!

 

[norcaljr]

We did the rock wool between the utility room and our family room and I'd say it cut the noise level by 50%.

 

[onthefence777]

I simply put up two layers of drywall on all exterior walls of one room. The room overall isn't soundproof, leaky door seal, wall HVAC unit...but it sure did help! I have to turn the music up REAL loud before you start to hear it outside beyond like 5 ft from the wall.

 

[BMEP]

A 2nd layer of drywall (preferably 5/8") will help - especially if you offset the seams from the bottom layer and caulk all the edges with acoustic caulk. It won't be as effective as the isolation channel but it'll make a difference. Still, it's almost as much work to hang a 2nd layer of drywall is it is to hang one with the isolation channel.

 

[Nowater]

Mass helps reduce sound transmission, hence the second layer of drywall advice. You may also look into blowing in some insulation into the ceiling. Even if it is not rock wool, it will help.

If you have room, you may consider a suspended ceiling too. Some can be installed in only a few inches, or consider other ceiling tile to absorb some noise.

Pads under equipment can help. How about carpet and pad upstairs?

Is there anyway to baffle any of the noise at the source? Think of sound waves as a pool ball, and you want to deflect as many shots as you can. Hope this helps.