Soundproof HT room without tearing down anything..ideas

H

huskie

Enthusiast
I have a bonus room(15x18x9) on the second floor above living room. I all the bedrooms around the bonus room, I was looking for solution to sound proof the room with out major tear down.
I have seen some options as
1. Adding acoustic panels
2. Adding something like Shaggy rugs to damp sound
3. Placing Subwoofers on styrofoam or rubber mats.

Any other ideas?

Much appreciated
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Sound proofing and sound deadening really are two separate things. Sound proofing is MUCH more difficult in my experience than sound deadening.

I will say, that one of the nicer solutions to sound deadening was in a home where they put carpet on all the walls. Yes, ALL the walls. Even wrapped a couple of columns in the room with the carpet. It was a low-profile carpet, similar to what is in some offices, but the design on it was nice and complimented the room very well.

I would not say that it did a great job of sound proofing the space though. Deadening, yes, but not proofing. To keep audio from really escaping the room seems to be all about the separation and thickness between adjoining spaces. There are tons of videos and discussions online about this, but it is definitely a case of you get what you pay for with sound proofing. Raised floors, double drywall, staggered stud designs, asphalt sound proofing materials, Green Glue, etc. Even the door to the room needs serious consideration when listening for best results.
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Acoustic panels and heavy drapes may help to keep higher frequencies from travelling through the walls as much. Bass is an entirely different beast. Putting your sub on a platform may help prevent some vibrations from going directly to the floor, but it is still going to go right through the walls into the bedrooms.
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai
I have seen some options as
1. Adding acoustic panels
2. Adding something like Shaggy rugs to damp sound
3. Placing Subwoofers on styrofoam or rubber mats.
Everything you listed there is acoustical treatments, which are intended to make the room less “live” and “echoy.” None of it will keep sound from leaking from one room to another. Any effective soundproofing will require “major tear down,” or at least major additional tactical construction, as mentioned by BMXTRIX.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
H

huskie

Enthusiast
I think instead of soundproofing , I should just focus on sound deadening or sound reduction. I am sure most of it because of the thin double door and the gap at the bottom.
 
O

Ollie_2003

Audiophyte
Mount thick blankets to the wall, it should do the trick.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I think instead of soundproofing , I should just focus on sound deadening or sound reduction. I am sure most of it because of the thin double door and the gap at the bottom.
For the gap at the bottom, a door sweep should help!
 
Hamid Khan

Hamid Khan

Junior Audioholic
I think instead of soundproofing , I should just focus on sound deadening or sound reduction. I am sure most of it because of the thin double door and the gap at the bottom.
Everyone has posted very good information about both situations, sound proofing and sound deadening. Just giving my two cents. Sound proofing is typically reducing the transference of reverberations from adjacent rooms or outdoors, which mean containing the sound within the room. Sound dampening or sound deadening is having the room treated for sound reflections etc, think of it like acoustic treatment. Sound proofing is major work to it have done correctly. It would mean doubling up of all surfaces areas of the desired room, including wrapping deadening materials on heater vents if any is located in that room among other things. However, having said that, there are a number of treatments you can do to filter sound from that particular room. Personally, I would start treating windows, doors, vents, ceiling and flooring if you have a suspended floor, which can be treated to muffle the sound which may exert from the room. Also, coupling of the walls, meaning, instead of tearing down walls, build parallel walls with thicker drywall and no less than an inch away, adjacent to the existing walls. Within the cavities of the existing walls and proposed walls, dampening material can be used, to fill the gap between both walls and help in deteriorating the sound transfer to other rooms. Hope the information helps in your decision. My recommendation would be to do a little more research before starting your project, because not all situations are the same, the information I have provided is general information. Good luck.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I looked into this when I had a full drum kit set up in a spare room and determined that it would be too expensive and require a fair amount of work to sound proof a room.
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top