soundproofing basement music studio ?

[Grant]

I'm building a music studio in my basement, and my goal is to isolate it as much as possible (at reasonable cost) acoustically, both to keep sound from leaking in during recording, and (more importantly) to keep loud instruments (like drums) from seriously bothering the rest of the house.

I already have a rough idea of how to deal with the walls: staggered

2x4 studs on a 2x6 baseplate, so that the outer and inner drywall aren't acoustically coupled via the studs, cavities filled with a heavy insulating material of some kind (suggestions?)

The ceiling is another story -- I could imagine suspending some kind of false ceiling slightly below the joists and packing some kind of loose and relatively dense material above that, but what? And how should the false ceiling be constructed and suspended in order to give me the best bang for the buck? Things I ideally want to avoid, by the way, are insulating materials that are flammable or that contain nasty rock or glass fibers. Maybe some kind of flame-retardant cellulose pulp?

Also, there are heater ducts all over the basement ceiling, and it would be nice to figure out a way to keep these from piping sound between the studio and the rest of the house, without actually having to relocate them. I'm guessing that if there is no actual opening from a duct into the studio itself, then packing insulation around a duct will help keep it from transmitting much sound out of the studio. Comments?

Last but not least, cost *is* an object -- I'd rather have 90% sound reduction for $1000 extra than 99% for $5K extra.

thanks,

Grant

[Angelo Campanella]

A separate stud wall is even better, but it depends on what is on the other side of each wall.

Good thinking.

Resilient channel (RC-1 works well provided it is properly installed. Many here will give you advice on that!

Recent rest results show that blown-in cellulose provides very good sound absorption there, BUT the horizontal orientation makes it difficult to implement. I usually recommend R-11 or R-19 fiberglass placed in ALL cavities.

Perhaps the best way here is to leave them as-is in the cavity behind the drywall ceiling. Only, for the ducts that feed the basement studio, make those of flexible material so that breakout reduces the amount of sound they will feed to the house duct system.

That's about right.

You may do the math!

Angelo Campanella

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"I have simply studied carefully whatever I've undertaken, and tried to hold a reserve that would carry me through." - Charles A. Lindbergh.

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[Joseph Meehan]

Check out

for some ideas.

I agree with most of what you are planning. I suggest using acoustical insulation (available at most home centers) and the isolation channels for mounting the ceiling.

You are wise to consider the furnace pipes, I would guess they are going to be a big problem. I suggest a two part job. Isolate them as much as possible. Also consider adding a non rigid section and a section with a sound absorbing interior, to reduce the sound on the problem runs.

['nuther Bob]

Better yet, look into a soundproofing product made by Celotex. It comes in 4x8x1/2" sheets. They have little pamphlets along side it in the store that provide plans for various wall designs right down to the nail size and give d/b ratings so you can compare.

Your general plan is good. If you have the room, build an inner and outer wall that don't even touch. If not, use the staggered plan.

Bob

[ido]

For anyone into the studio/home studio acoustics:

Suitable isolation & absorption are discussed in depth, Endless valuable data in links & files sections, and much more.

Ido

[candeh]

You definitely don't want another Great White episode, that's for sure.