Canvas decor as acoustic treatments?

[timmay8612]

I have a squarish, very live room that I'm working with. So far my wife is doing something with curtains and weird wall art, but I kinda want to know if canvas, as in canvas oil paintings will work to deaden the room a bit? Anybody tried it?

The WAF wouldn't allow for big blocks of carpet on the walls or studio foam, after all it is the living room

 

[oppman99]

Not sure canvas will do a whole lot unless you have absorbing material behind it. Depending on your budget, you can get custom acoustic panels. Tell the wife they are art and that justifies the higer price. Check out GIK or acousticmac.

 

[timmay8612]

Ouch, looks like those are WAY out of my budget. My wife was also talking about some kind of canvas covered in strips of fabric, think textile art. Will that work? Can I stuff the empty space behind the canvas with foam? It sounds like an enclosed staircase in my living room!

 

[highfigh]

Ouch, looks like those are WAY out of my budget. My wife was also talking about some kind of canvas covered in strips of fabric, think textile art. Will that work? Can I stuff the empty space behind the canvas with foam? It sounds like an enclosed staircase in my living room!

Look through the other acoustical treatment threads- there are a lot of ideas. The cloth does very little, other than make it pretty. Hopefully. The fiberglass or rock wool is doing all of the work. Heavy drapes will make a difference but you need to place them properly in order for them to do what is needed.

 

[oppman99]

Ouch, looks like those are WAY out of my budget. My wife was also talking about some kind of canvas covered in strips of fabric, think textile art. Will that work? Can I stuff the empty space behind the canvas with foam? It sounds like an enclosed staircase in my living room!

Making your own panels really isn't that difficult and will be significantly less expensive than buying pre-made. I built some a couple months back and I'm definately not a carpenter. As highfih said, it's the fiberglass or rock wool that is absorbing the sound. I used this link which I think was posted in one of the DIY threads. Take the wife to a local fabric shop and let her pick the material. That should help with the approval factor. Be creative and hopefully you will come up with a solution that will make you both happy.

 

[sholling]

Ouch, looks like those are WAY out of my budget. My wife was also talking about some kind of canvas covered in strips of fabric, think textile art. Will that work? Can I stuff the empty space behind the canvas with foam? It sounds like an enclosed staircase in my living room!

Try ATS. They sell both complete panels and DIY kits. I bought these from them. The small panels were $30 each and the larger around $50 each. Or you can just buy the acoustic bats and make your own. They even have a room calculator to figure out how many you need.

Photo modified to respect the family nature of this site.​

 

[TjMV3]

I have a question about these fiberglass and rock wool panels.

These are materials that if not manufactored and isolated safely, they can cause a health problems when the fibers are breathed in.

So how are these panels manufactored and designed, to eliminate the health risks?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Not really but breathing the air outside is likely just as bad for you....

... are these panels manufactored and designed, to eliminate the health risks?

 

[timmay8612]

Try ATS. They sell both complete panels and DIY kits. I bought these from them. The small panels were $30 each and the larger around $50 each. Or you can just buy the acoustic bats and make your own. They even have a room calculator to figure out how many you need.

Photo modified to respect the family nature of this site.​

Thats a really sharp looking room! Is it yours?

 

[TjMV3]

Not really but breathing the air outside is likely just as bad for you....

I know you're making a joke out of it.

But shouldn't people be aware of what their exposing themselves to, when they buy such things?

Are there other options for acoustic treatments that don't present health risks?

 

[just-some-guy]

I know you're making a joke out of it.

But shouldn't people be aware of what their exposing themselves to, wehn they buy such things?

Are there other options for acoustic treatments that don't present health risks?

i agree.

there is cotton insolation. you could sleep on the stuff. but it is expensive.

 

[sholling]

Thats a really sharp looking room! Is it yours?

That's the back wall of my family room. The amazing part is how well it works and how reasonable the cost was.

I know you're making a joke out of it.

But shouldn't people be aware of what their exposing themselves to, when they buy such things?

Are there other options for acoustic treatments that don't present health risks?

My understanding is that a lot depends on the material used to cover the bats. The material has to be as sonically transparent as possible so that the bats can do their job and absorb sound instead of reflecting it. In my case I chose a micro suede material and there shouldn't be any problem with fibers escaping. But micro suede is slightly more expensive than burlap and the lower acoustic transparency means using more panels.

With burlap ATS suggested using scotchguard as a sort of glue to hold down fiber shedding. It's not like (beyond dusting) panels get handled once in place. I have a lot more misgivings about rockwool or fiberglass as speaker stuffing in a ported speaker. That's an environment with a lot of vibration and is basically an air pump.

 

[its phillip]

Photo modified to respect the family nature of this site.

Anyway, how do you know where you are supposed to put the panels? Do you get a consultation first, or just put em on whatever walls you feel like?

 

[jostenmeat]

Anyway, how do you know where you are supposed to put the panels? Do you get a consultation first, or just put em on whatever walls you feel like?

Either way. Well, not so much "feels" like, but you can experiment, and add to taste. OTOH, you may perceive little to no difference if you only put in a small handful of panels, and/or because the panels aren't very thick/effective enough for the application.

The easiest way, I think, is to post pics, attach them. Better yet, you can directly ask companies like GIK or Real Traps. Their advice is free. Pics will still be very helpful.

My guess as to where it's hardest to go wrong in treating are front wall corners for bass, and perhaps directly behind speakers to reduce SBIR, but even the latter may not matter hugely; it's dependent on how close your speakers are to front wall. Or, for people who are up against the back wall, then that wall becomes a prime candidate. As for sidewalls, it depends on who you ask, as well as specifically the offaxis performance of your speakers. (If they are superb in that manner, then the sidewall reflection still is very close to the same response as the onaxis response; but, I've read that this may be more pertinent to stereo, and less the case with mch, but not exactly sure . . .)

 

[fredk]

I have a question about these fiberglass and rock wool panels.

These are materials that if not manufactored and isolated safely, they can cause a health problems when the fibers are breathed in.

So how are these panels manufactored and designed, to eliminate the health risks?

If you were working in a factory making fiberglasss or installing it all the time, I would agree, but for something that just sits there, it is not going to release a lot of fibers.

If you are really worried, you can always buy cotton batting at a fabric store and wrap it around the fiberglass.

 

[timmay8612]

Can anybody direct me to a resource to tell me where to put treatments?

 

[sholling]

Can anybody direct me to a resource to tell me where to put treatments?

In my case the choice was easy. I had a 14' wall at the back of an alcove giving me a reflecting megaphone. But I also checked with the folks from ATS and confirmed with them what I was trying to accomplish. I would send drawing and a list of what you want to fix to ATS, and post the same in the treatment room.