The master bedroom in my house is a wing from the main house. It has a basement room underneath it which is part of the main basement. There is no second floor on the master bedroom, basically it’s a little room all by itself with a cathedral ceiling.
Floor system is open web trusses, 3/4″ Advantech and hardwood, may or may not be a rug on the floor above. The basement room was intended to be a storage/craft room since the house has no attic, but we are leaning heavily toward making it a home theater/media room and closing it off from the rest of the basement.
Problem is that it will be right below the MBR, and home theaters are usually not quiet….. I need a soundproofing solution that will cut down most (if not all) of the sound from the home theater. Obviously there will be some limits on usage (i.e. no action movies at 3 am while Mom & Dad sleep) but it would be nice to allow reasonable TV/music while someone is asleep right above. I’d like to be able to let the kids practice band instruments in there as well. The walls aren’t much of an issue, I’ll use a double staggered stud with resilient channel and sound batts, but the ceiling may be a problem.
Any web resources, or thoughts on the issue?
Replies
There are sound-deadening mats that you can place under the drywall, which work pretty well. I believe one company name is "Acoustimat" or something along that line. Or, you can use batt insulation, resilient channels, and multiple layers of drywall.
Bob
I'd like to be able to let the kids practice band instruments in there as well.
Any web resources, or thoughts on the issue?
Pick a different part of the basement?
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Did one of these a while back......I`ll try and dig up the plans if I still have them.
We basically built a room inside of the room. Floor,walls, and ceiling of music room only made contact with the rest of the house at strategic points. Trying to remember what vibration minimizer we used at contact points.
If I get anything.....I`ll get back to ya.
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http://www.quietsolution.com/Construction_Solutions/construction_solutions.html
The above link shows a good comparison of some of the wall and floor design choices and how they compare by giving the comparative STC rating (higher STC is quieter). As a base of reference, note that a standard 2x4 uninsulated wall with 1 layer gypsum on each side has an STC of about 34. Their Quietrock seems to be an effective but perhaps costly solution that may work particulary well in a retrofit situation by limiting labor. I say "may" because this is their marketing information (though they provide what they say are independent test results) and I have no actual experience with their product. Still, their site is very good at showing how various common sound control construction methods (standard stud wall, staggered stud wall, double demising wall, resilient channel, sound clips ) compare.
Another less expensive product is Homosote board http://www.homasote.com/products.html which when used with resilent metal channel can yield some pretty good results.
Good luck
You have to combine materials and methods.
Absorb some of the sound with mass
reflect the noise with smooth surfaces that will also help the accoustics within that TV room
buffer some of the sounds with softer surfaces between.
isolate the denser hard materials that will carry the vibrations through.
So here is what I would do from top to bottom
use carpet with thick pad in the master BR
under the subfl;oor, spray foam insulation in place, or use a dense celulose blowen in or the sound deadeneing FB batts that make a claim of sound insulation
Place strapping at right angles to the bottom of the flolor trusses at 16" oc to isolate the materials top and bottom. You could also buffer at this level with a layer of homasote.
Finish the cieling below with two plies of 5/8" rock for sound absorbing mass and density. Smooth finish to reflect back down.
use heavy draperies on walls occasioanlly and carpet on the floor. This breaks the waves and buffers it.
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Jon,
The best sound deadening I've heard is sprayed in foam.. it keeps joists from developing sympathtic vibrations, dampens sound and stiffens the floor enough that what once could be heard from below no longer is.. Don't worry about "R" value, you aren't trying to keeo heat in justy sound out.. Use EPS. (the stuff coffee cups are made of)..