Soundproofing America

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Soundproofing a drop ceiling

Soundproofing a T-Bar or drop ceiling in a office or medical facility can appear to
be quite a challenging task, but the reality is that soundproofing a drop
ceiling is not as difficult as you might think.
There are products such as Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV for short) that can be
placed atop of an acoustical drop ceiling. It is always a good idea to first
lay down a soft absorbent material on top of the ceiling tiler to add
absorbency to the ceiling, but most importantly to decouple the MLV barrier
from the ceiling tiles themselves. One great product for absorption and
decoupling is called Echoless roll material. The Echoless roll is a bonded
cottom product that comes in rolls. This material comes in 2 thicknesses, the
1in and the 2in. Either thickness will sufficiently decouple the MLV from the
ceiling tiles and the grid assembly.
There are two ways to install this method of soundproofing. One would be to
get up on a ladder over looking to top of the ceiling tile grid. You would
then roll out the Echoless bonded cotton roll all the way across the top
surface of the ceiling tiles. You will need to carefully cut the Echoless
roll material so that it will fit around the ceiling grid suspension wires.
This will take a bit of skill because you will not be able toi stand on top
of a t=bar ceiling for obvious reasons.
Once The Echoless roll mat is laid out flat ontop of all of the ceiling tiles,
you will need to perform the same operation using the MLV. The MLV will cut
with scissors as will the Echoless roll so that the MLV will fit around the
grid suspension wires. If you can reach the cuts that surround the suspension
wires, it is a good idea to caulk these areas to seal them as best as you can.
Now the second method will take a little more time, but it would be easier
due to the fact that you would not need to deal with the Grid suspension
wirea at all. This method would require that you remove all of the ceiling
tiles and then cut the Echoless roll material to fit the back of the tiles.
It is a good idea to spot glue the Echoless toll material to the ceiling tile.
There are 2 sides to the echoless roll material, one is a denim cotton and
the other is a black scrim facing. When you glue the Echoless roll to the
ceiling tile, the black facing should be facing upwards, in other words you
will be looking at the black facing material. Now that the Echoless roll
material is adhered to the tile, you will cut the mass loaded vinyl to fit
directly on top of the Echoless mat. It is recommended that you cut the MLV a
little bit bigger that the perimeter of the ceiling tile, that way the MLV
will over lap once the ceiling tile is re-installed into the ceiling grid.
At this point you will place each ceiling tile back into the Grid. Using
this method you will be adding at least 1 Lb per sq ft to your ceiling, but
the weight will be evenly distributed across the entire surface of the grid.
You may need additional suspension wires, but unless the ceiling is over 500
sq ft the additional wires are probably not necessary.
There you have it, and easy and effective way to soundproof your T-Bar grid
ceiling.
For more information about these products or any of our soundproofing or
acoustical treatment products, talk to the professionals at Soundproofing
America, Inc, your #1 Soundproofing Resource. This is Bob O. adios!

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com
PH (877) 530-0139

Soundproofing, soundproof, mass loaded vinyl, sound absorption, soundproof foam, acoustical treatment, Green Glue, noise control, Soundproof doors, recording studio windows, recording studio doors, sound isolation, home theater soundproofing, industrial soundproofing, home soundproofing, Ultra touch insulation, sound barrier, wall soundproofing, floor soundproofing, soundproof ceiling soundproofing a fence, soundproofing and aircraft, RV soundproofing, acoustical caulk

Commercial Soundproofing

Commercial and industrial soundproofing offers many unique challenges. As a
general rule the areas to be soundproofed are larger and more open. For
example, if you are soundproofing a metal crushing machine in a factory
setting, you need to deal with the high ceilings and open spaces. If you plan
to construct an enclosure around the machine, many times that enclosure will
be free standing on at least 2 legs. Also you will want to construct walls
that are a minimum of 8' tall, the higher the walls of the enclosure the
better the soundproofing will be. The enclosure will need a gateway or a door
where workers will be able to work with the machine as well as maintain it.
If the machine is in a corner, that makes building the enclosure much easier
because you would only need to construct 2 soundproof walls for an enclosure.
It is always best to construct an enclosure much the same as building a room
around the machine. In other words using metal studs and constructing solid
walls that will contain soundproofing agents such as American mass loaded
vinyl or the America Mat closed cell foam ma, maybe a combination of both
materials.
The mass loaded vinyl (MLB for short would be screwed to the stud structure
using self taping drywall screws with washers on them. It is recommended that
the MLV be installed horizontally across the studs and that the seams be over
lapped by at least 1 inch. You will need to caulk all of the seams as well as
the over lap and around the entire perimeter of the vinyl membrane.
Once the MLV is installed and sealed with the caulk, you have the option of
gluing a layer of the 1/2" or the 1" closed cell foam mat directly to the
back of the MLV membrane.
Now the America mat will help, but is not essential to obtain good
soundproofing from this system.
Once the MLV and the closed cell foam are installed onto the stud framework
it is time to drywall both sides of the wall assembly. I would recommend
using 5/8" drywall on both sides of the wall to add additional mass and
therefore additional soundproofing to the enclosure.
Finally, when you install your door, you will want to install a solid core
door which will help to block the noise from escaping through the door.
Well that's about it for soundproofing machinery in an Industrial
application. I will be writing more on other commercial soundproofing
projects in later articles. This is Dr. Bob...Adios!

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com

Mass Loaded Vinyl for great soundproofing

I have written a lot of articles on Mass loaded Vinyl because it is a very
versatile and effective soundproofing agent. Mass Loaded Vinyl, or (MLV for
short) is a high grade vinyl that is impregnated with Barium salts and silica
(sand) to give it the consistency and the mass of lead sheeting, however MLV
contains absolutely no lead at all.
Mass Loaded vinyl perform best when it able to move or resonate with the
sound. In other words, when sound hits a MLV membrane, it vibrates the vinyl
which in turn prevents the sound from passing through the vinyl. With that in
mind, it is always best to install mass loaded vinly directly to bare studs
or joists, that way the MLV is able to resonate with the sound that is trying
to pass through a wall or ceiling assembly.
It is always a good idea to install mass loaded vinyl during the
construction phase of a new home, office or room addition. By installing the
MLV directly to the new structure you are insuring great room to room
soundproofing for the life of your home.
Most contractors don't think about soundproofing until it is too late and
they are being sued by new owners who are experiencing noise issues in their
new house, condo or co-op.
The uses for mass loaded vinyl are endless, it has been used to soundproof
homes, and offices as well as automobiles and aircraft. It is also used
extensively to soundproof fences from noisy neighbors or loud traffic noise.
With new city sound ordinances being enacted almost daily, soundproofing is
becoming a very big issue.
Many people are now living in smaller multi family units such as condos,
duplexes and apartments where sound can hit you from above, below and all
around you. Soundproofing is becoming an essential part of any new
construction or new renovation project.
Mass Loaded Vinyl has been an industry standard for over 20 years and it is
one of the best and most economical soundproofing agents on the market today.
The American mass loaded vinyl is used in many recording studio and home
theater applications to prevent the unwanted sounds from migrating to other
parts of the house or industrial space.
Again I would like to say that the uses for this material are nearly
endless. Mass loaded vinyl has been used in large concert and theater venues
as well as indoor and outdoor sports areas.
Many nite clubs and bars have used mass loaded vinyl to keep the noise of
live bands or live DJ's from leaving the club and reaching the ears of nearby
neighbors.
Mass Loaded vinyl has been used in wood fence construction and has proven to
be quite effective at blocking unwanted neighbor noise as well as loud and
annoying traffic sounds.
To learn more about this or any of our other SDoundproofing or Acoustical
treatment products, please feel free to contact one of the Soundproofingl
pros at Soundproofing America, Inc, you'll be glad you did. This is Bob O.Adios!

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com

Soundproofing a pool pump or filter

Soundproofing a pool pump or a pool filter is one of the most common problems
we face in the soundproofing business. If the Pool pump is outdoors and is
not in a pool equipment room, then the best way to soundproof the pump or
loud filter is to construct a fence ttype enclosue around the pool equipment.
This enclosure would be made of wood and would be very similar to a redwood o
cedar type fence. It would be best to build the fence to at least the 8'
level.
You would first build the fence structure. You would sink the 4' X 4' posts into concete footers
around the pool equipment and then attach the fence cross members to the
posts. One side of the enclosure will need to be a hinged gate so you will be
able to get to the pump and filter to service them.
Once you have the posts and cross members installed, you would then staple a
layer of the 1# or 2# mass loaded vinyl directly to the fence structure. It
is recommended that you staple the MLV to the fence using a plastic cap
stapler or a nail gun that shoots the roofing nails with the large plastic
heads. We also recommend that you over lap the MLV membrane by at least 1 ".
You would then caulk the over lapped area as well as around the perimeter of
the MLV material. It is also a good idea to tape the over lap using a seam
sealer tape or even a good strong duct tape.
Now that the MLV membrane is attached to the fence and sealed properly, it
is time to install the vertical "dogeared" slats. I highly recommend that you
add slats to both sides of the fence enclosure in order to protect the mass
loaded vinyl from the elements. That being said, the MLV is a weatherproof
barrier material and will last for years if exposed to the elements, it will
last even longer if it is protected on both sides. We do recommend applying
the mass loaded vinyl to the gate as well.
Once your enclosure is completed you should notice a remarkable drop in the
noise transmission from the pump motor and the pool filter unit.
There are other methods for soundproofing an outdoor pool pump unit but we
will discuss those in subsequent articles. For now, this is Bob O., Adios.

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com

Soundproofing an indoor shooting range

Generally a shooting range is constructed of hard concrete walls or cinder
block filled with concrete. These ranges are soundproofed to the outdoors,
but on the inside, the noise from muzzle blasts can be unbearable to the
shooters even with ear protection.
The problem is that the noise from the firing weapons is confined and has
no where to go within this space.
There are ways to reduce this noise by up to 15 dB, which doesn't sound like
a much, but it would actually make the range much more tollerable and would
keep the muffle the noise and prevent it from reflecting endlessly off of the
walls, ceiling and the floor of the range.
There is a panels that is called Silent panel that is a propylene bead board
panel that is extremely effective and reducting the reverb and reflective
noise from the interior of the range.
Obviously the more area you cover the better the reduction would be.
The method for reducing the reflective noise is relatively easy. On the
concrete walls as well as the ceiling you would attach 1" furring strips
attached with masonry screws. The furring strips would be placed 2 ft apart
to allow for a bonded acoustical cottom backing to be fitted between these
strips. The bonded acoustical cotton helps to absorb the reflective noise in
conjunction with the Silent panels which we will discuss more in this article.
Once the walls and the ceiling are fitted with the 1" furring strips you
would then glue in sections of the 1 " bonded acoustical cotton strips. The
acoustical cotton material is called Echoless Roll matand it comes in rolls
that are 4' wide by 50' long (200 sq ft per roll) These rolls would need to
be cut in half down the middle so they would fit tightly between the 1"
furring strips. it is best to glue the Echoless material drectly to the
concrete walls between the furring strips. Once you have the Echoless roll
material adhered to the walls between the furring strip you come to the last
step in this process.
At this point you would adhere the Silent panels directly attached to the 1"
wood furring strips. You can actually hard fasten these panels to the furring
strios using decking screws. The Silent panels are not heavy and so they
could easily be screwed directly to the furring strips. The fact that the
Silent panels are simply screwed to the furring strips makes it easy to
replace the Silent panels should it become damaged by a stray round.
As stated before, the more area you cover with the system the better the
noise reduction will be.
These materials are relatively inexpensive and can make a remarkable
difference in the internal acoustics of your firing range.
this system has a two fold purpose and is able to absorb the noise from both
sides. The bonded cotton is one of the most absorbent materials on the market
today and in conjunction with the Silent panels which block and diffuse the
sound, you would have a very effective sound reduction system and your range
would be much more appealing to your shooting customers.
This sound absorbing system works for all indoor shooting ranges whether
public or private.
For more information on reducting the reverb and reflective noise in your
firing range, please contact the professionals at Soundproofing America, Inc.
Thanks for reading and learning about Gun range soundproofing.

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com

Soundproofing

There is so much misleading information on the Internet regarding
Soundproofing. I am going to try to clear up the myths and the misconceptions
that are out there.
As a general rule, adding mass to any structure such as a wall or a ceiling
will add greatly to the soundproofing and blocking ability of these
assemblies.
One of the state of the art materials for blocking noise through a wall for
example is a product called Mass Loaded Vinyl, or (MLV) for short.
MLV is a high grade vinyl material the is impregnated with barium salts and
silica (sand) to give it mass similar to the mass of lead sheeting.
The MLV avoids all of the hazards that are attributed to lead sheets and is
much easier to apply to walls and ceilings.
Mass Loaded Vinyl comes in rolls that are generally 4' wide X 25' long and
has an STC value of the 27 STC. STC stands for Sound Transmission Class and
is a rating system for the effectiveness of sound blocking materials. In
essence a 27 STC equates to a decibel reduction of 27 dB. This is quite
signifigant considering what is in a standard drywall assembly.
It is best to attach the MLV directly to the stud structure of a wall. If
the studs are wood studs the MLV can be stapled up using a standard air drive
stapler or even a plastic cap stapler. You can also use a nail gun the shoots
the roofing nails with the large plastic heads, keep in mind that as a
grneral rule, MLV is not a re-inforced product so by it's sheer weight it
could rip through a common nail.
Now if you are attaching the MLV to steel studs, it will be necessary to use
self tapping drywall screws with large washers on them.
You want the MLV to be stretched across the stud assembly much like a
soundproof membrane. Once the MLV is attached to your studs, you would then
caulk all of the seams as wells as around the entire perimeter using and
acoustical caulking compound. The better you seal this product, the better it
will block the unwanted migrating sounds that would usually pass through and
common drywall wall assembly.
MLV can also be weaved through a stud assembly, but weaving makes it more
difficult to seal the seams. weaving however does change the resonant
frequency of the MLV and therefore does help with the soundproofing effort.
Here at soundproofing America, Inc, we have had great luck both weaving and
also attaching the MLV directly to the stud structure itself like a membrane.
Once the MLV membrane is attached to the studs and sealed properly with
acoustical caulk and seam sealer tape, it is time for the drywall. We always
recommend using the best quality 5/8" thick drywall you can find. You would
simply screw up a new layer of 5/8" drywall directly over top of the MLV.
Always try to hit the studs with the screws to prevent puncturing the MLV
product.
That's it in a nutshell. This wall assembly with the 1# MLV and the 5/8"
drywall will add nearly 40 STC points to cany common wall.
For more information on soundproofing with mass Loaded Vinyl or for any
soundproofing project, please contact the professionals at Soundproofing
America, Inc. They will be happy to help you with all of your soundproofing
needs. Thanks for reading, Bob O.

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com

Soundproofing a Recording Studio

Soundproofing a studio can actually be a fun task once you know how to
approach this project.
The first order of business is to find a space that will be dedicated to the
studio project. Oft times home studios are constructed in a basement of the
home, however this is not always the case, especially in places like
California, where there are no basements.
Once you have picked out just the right area for your studio, the next step
is to take measurements of the space and to begin gathering your building
materials. If you are planning on framing the walls with 2' X 4' studs, then
it is always a good idea to stagger the studs. In other words to have one set
of studs that stick out further than the adjoining stud. Basically this would
make it so the the drywall would attach to every other stud and thus the
walls would have less contact points with the structure that would reduce the
sound transmitted through the walls.
Now a full tilt studio would consist of 6" staggered studs and the wall
cavities would be filled with a rock wool material or the bonded acoustical
cotton batts. The next step would be to apply a layer of 1# mass loaded vinyl
directly to the face of the studs. The MLV is a lead substitute that contains
no lead whatsoever. The MLV would be stapled or nailed to the studs, provided
the studs are wood. If you're utilizing steel studs, then you would need to
use self tapping sheet metal screws.
Tha MLV would act as a soundproof barrier that would act as a membrane
across the face of the studs. You would over lap all of the seams of the MLV
where ever possible and then caulk the over lap as well as around the
perimeter of the membrane.
Once the MLV is applied to the studs and sealed, we come to a crossroad. You
have a choice here. Your first option would be to use sound clips and furring
channels in order to float the walls of the studio. The Sound clips and
furring channels is a very effective method of floating the walls so that
they are resilient and also so they are conpletely independent from the
ceiling, the floor and the adjoining walls.
It would take me a longer time than I have here to campletely explain the
Sound clips system, but suffice it to say, that floating the walls and the
ceiling in your studio is the most effective method from stopping sound from
going in or out of your studio.
The last step in building your studio walls is to add the drywall to eather
the studs or to the furring channels if you are floating your walls. I always
recommend 5/8:" drywall from US Gypsum or other reputable drywall
manufacturer. You can also use quiet rock in this application, but that will
add dramatically to the cost of your studio. I generally recommend adding 2
layers of 5/8" drywall to your studio walls using a product called Green Glue
the would be sandwiched between the 2 layer of drywall to give the drywall
extra damping capabilities.
This article covers the basicas of building and soundproofing the walls in
your studio. The same methods work for the ceiling as well. In other articles
we will be talking about floating the floor in your studio, but until then,
thanks for reading about how to build a soundproof recording studio. As
Always, Bob O.

www.soundproofingamerica.com
www.soundproofingamerica.us
e-mail bob@soundproofingamerica.com