# Soundproofing workshop project...



## goldeneyedmonkey (21 Jan 2011)

Hello folks,

Right, very chuffed that I've just bought a house and the ground floor is basically all garage (my new workshop) it's about 5m square, and when I move the garage door to the front of the property, rather than being set in 3 metres (don't ask, ridiculous design) it will be even bigger. It's semi-detached so I only have to worry about pleasing 1 set of neighbours that I'm attached to. Their ground floor is also garage, with their front door leading onto some stairs that are attached on the adjoining wall.

Now I don't really want the neighbours knowing that anything is going on in the garage at all if possible, so I'll be working when they're at work only to start with to gauge, A: What they are actually like as neighbours, and B: How effective my proposed soundproofing is. If the neighbours do object/ hear anything and comment then I'll ask them if they want any furniture making FOC. But if it's not viable then I'll just have to rent a workshop, which won't be the end of the world as I can work at any time of day. 

So I've found out that a small air gap is required, then a stud wall with 100mm deep battens and 100mm thick Acoustic Mineral Wool. To cover the adjoining wall and garage door and ceiling will cost approx £200-£250. It will take away a bit of the space, but definitely worth it in regards to saving massive amount on rent and business rates etc. 

So has anyone done any soundproofing? What do you think to this plan and have you got any pointers?

Cheers _Dan.


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## goldeneyedmonkey (21 Jan 2011)

-Forgot to say, I'll be building cabinets for the Router Table & Dust Extraction units to eliminate more of the sound from them.

Cheers _Dan


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## Joe Shmoe (22 Jan 2011)

don't forget that sound will also transmit via floor, ceiling joints and flanking walls. less through the floor as I imagine its a concrete slab and therefore quite dense. I have experience in sound isolation, while building a false wall along the party wall will help to a certain extent, don't expect miracles. it will only be as good as the weakest link, so beefing up the party wall while ignoring the flanking is pointless. trouble is, it starts getting seriously complicated and expensive when you start taking it to that level. if I were you, I would do some series research into this. Wall might be worth it if you had lots of airborne sound, but I imagine, if you are using machines, that most will be mechanically transmitted and its unlikely that your false wall will do much good. sorry for spelling, sent via phone. good luck. oh, and a 100mm gap will be overkill unless your doing all walls, see weakest link etc. 25mm gap will be plenty, and fill the cavity with the cheapest insulation you can find as its just to deadening the cavity. that should save some money. wicked have 3 for 1 at the mo.


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## goldeneyedmonkey (22 Jan 2011)

Hi Joe Shmoe,

Yeah I have read up on a few aspects of it, the 100mm deep battens were in the false/ stud wall that I'll be building, I didn't mention the dimensions of the gap behind it, I was thinking 20mm so that's good. Sorry I wasn't clear on that point.

I've understood about flanking walls from a few articles that I've seen, the back wall is underground as the houses are dug into a hill, so I don't think there'll be much noise translated through this, but I will consider a thin layer of sound deadening/ and or proofing on here. The ceiling will have soundproofing on it, as will the front wall/ garage door that opens onto the street. I am considering putting rubber matting underneath machines, is this a good idea? It will be quite dense stuff so shouldn't affect the preformance of the machines, or is this not necessary?

Thanks for the reply  _Dan.


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## bubbabear (23 Jan 2011)

I think that rubber matting will help, I have some under my planer and the the thicknesser and it does dull the noise down a fair bit. I also laid anti fatigue matting down on the rest of the floor, as well as making it more comfortable to stand on and warmer anything soft like that will absorb sound whereas it will just bounce off hard surfaces like concrete etc.


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## Joe Shmoe (24 Jan 2011)

yeah, Neoprene sheets will help.


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## goldeneyedmonkey (24 Jan 2011)

Cheers chaps,

Couple of things, so Joe, will any type of insulation material do then? As I was looking at that mineral wool that a soundproofing/ soundeadening company was selling, and that's £7 for 2" square slabs. Could I just use the cheapest insulation that Wickes etc. sell then, and would it matter which type of insulation I use? i.e. the foam polystyrene boards that are foil backed or the rock wool/ fibreglass loose stuff.

BB and Joe, the neoprene sheeting is very expensive, would these anti-fatigue mats here be doing the same job, or are they not the right material? They would work out massively cheaper than the neoprene that I've found.

Cheers _Dan.


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## Joe Shmoe (24 Jan 2011)

yeah, cheapest insulation you can find. You are trying to deaden the cavilty, that is all. The sound isolation is coming from the dense plasterboard. I would use a second layer of 15mm plasterboard before paying out for such slabs as Rockwool, Isoflex etc for this application. I would use 100mm Wickes, and loosly pack it in the cavity, don't overfill.

I'm not familure with those mats, so would hesitate to give an answer. Bubbabear seems to have had success in his experience though? If you're trying to keep costs down, then give the mats a go, I would say.

Also - never buy from these so-called sound places, You can get same stuff from places like Travis Perkins etc, much cheaper!


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## goldeneyedmonkey (24 Jan 2011)

Cheers Joe, much appreciated.

I'll be doing a W.I.P for the workshop kit-out and sound deadening so will post a link on here to show the progress and how effective everything was.

Ta, _Dan.


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## Joe Shmoe (24 Jan 2011)

sweet, look forward to it. make sure you use acoustic caulk and backer rod around perimeter of wall, to prevent micro cracks allowing sound through. they look small but will add up to a fist size hole in the middle of your wall when they start to appear.


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## bubbabear (24 Jan 2011)

They look similar to what I have. Smaller quantity here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/32SQFT-ANTI-F...UK_Flooring&hash=item4cf0464f9d#ht_4723wt_844
You could always try this little pack to see if its what you want, if its not then im sure it would be great to make a small mat for in front of your bench just to stand on.


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## Eric The Viking (25 Jan 2011)

Use 'search' for previous discussions on this.

In quick order of what gives best ROI:

1. seal air gaps between the noisy and quiet places. You have to be very thorough about this for best effect, and sometimes it's impossible. This gives by far the biggest return on effort expended (but you still need to breathe!).

Having done (1), there are two other generic aspects:

2. absorb the sound vibrations from the air. Rockwool or fibreglass is best for this in a non-specialist environment. Anything with a flat surface (board of any sort) WILL reflect sound. It can be used as part of (3), but it needs to be faced with absorber.

3. isolate the sources of sound from the structure, and reduce sound transmission through solid objects. This is very hard and expensive to do well. Rubber matting etc. will help with higher frequencies (planers, saws), but won't make any difference to low frequency rumbles, etc. Having said that, LF is less intrusive anyway.

4. double-glazing and/or laminated glass help to reduce sound transmission through windows. Don't expect miracles with commercial units though. Really good acoustic windows are about 9" deep and have three panes, with the middle one at an odd angle, and with absorbency around the perimeter..

I think we need a sticky on this...

E.


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## jeffinfrance (26 Jan 2011)

another thing to remember, different material densities absorb different sound wavelengths. i'm going with cavity fill, medium fibre board like multiplex, osb and fermacell. on a bridged stud construction for the walls. havn't worked out the ceiling yet.

jeff


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## Joe Shmoe (26 Jan 2011)

yes, but mass is king, and seeing as plasterboard has more and is cheaper etc, I would be using at least 2 or 3 layers of that before anything else. edited to say that isolation is only as good as weakest link, therefore figure out the ceiling as that is harder from a weight point of view, then do walls to a similar standard.


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## oddsocks (26 Jan 2011)

I watched an episode of DIY SOS recently (one of their 'big builds') where they insulated the garage so well that the guitar music practice with amp on full volume could only just be heard in the bedroom above it. They used what looked like a specialist rubber mat. Unfortunately I haven't got any other details but maybe this will jog someone's memory ?

The other demo they did during the program was to have a small box lined with the material that then then used to cover a loud radio and completely kill the sound

Dave


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