exposed insulation... am i crazy?

[neonaudio]

I have a partly finished, detached garage that I use as my mixing studio, and thinking now about the next phase of completion. I have bass traps in the corners and a cloud on the ceiling, which seem to tame the low end pretty well. The remaining problem is some high end reflections.

Right now the two side walls are unfinished with exposed studs. I had a crazy thought to install insulation but rather than cover it with drywall, just staple some kind of cloth over it. The point of this would be to let the insulation act as absorption (and it would also be easier to take down if I sell the house later). My main concern though is not adequately sealing off the insulation, allowing fibers and particles to get into the air around me that I like to breath occasionally.

Acoustic panels are just covered with cloth, so couldn't this work in theory? Is this just a stupid idea? Maybe there's a better way to make it work?

[ashcat_lt]

Most acoustic panels are made with rigid fiberglass, which theoretically has the fibers trapped in whatever adhesive crap they use to make it rigid - more than the pink fluffy stuff anyway. Theoretically, if the cloth covering was tight enough, but then they always say that you should use cloth that you can breath through, like speaker cloth.

Which leads to a question I haven't gotten around to asking: What about the kraft-paper facing? Maybe you weren't talking about stapling in kraft-faced bats, but how else would you do it? And how much/what frequencies are going to bounce back off that paper rather than getting absorbed? And will the cloth covering help that?

[GIK Acoustics]

It would definitely work as you think it would, but would also have the same downfalls you predict (isolation losses, perhaps loose fibers but this usually doesn't happen after the fabric would be installed). There are other things to consider too, though - fabric can typically light up in flames extremely quick so you'd probably want to get fire retardant fabric or use fire retardant sprays on the fabric before installing, which would add to the cost a bit. If you stuck with fabric like GOM 701 you'd have nice looking walls that were acoustically transparent and fire rated, but it's ~$16/yard.

John Sayer's has some ideas about this too - look up his "inside out" wall design. Again there are many downfalls to it but if none of them are a big deal to you then it can be a good way to get absorption in. Most people prefer panels since they're easy to move around for many different situations and easy to remove from walls, etc, and don't impinge on the STC ratings of the walls.

[drumsound]

If you're worried about the fibers from fiberglass, you can use the insulation that is made from old blue jeans. I've seen a mesh used instead of fabric as well.

[norton]

Works fine. Fabric will keep the fibers at bay.... Unless you get some crazy loose weave fabric.

[neonaudio]

Thanks everyone. Great stuff here and good to know this is doable. Really the main impetus is to cover the studs and get a somewhat finished look, but if I can get that needed absorption and not have to mess with drywall, all the better. I realize the STC rating won't be as good as with drywall, but it's bound to be better than what I have now with zero insulation on the walls.

drumsound, I just found out about the denim stuff (UltraTouch). I was originally thinking Roxul so as to avoid fiberglass, but denim seems even better. Anyone have experience with UltraTouch?

Likewise, if anyone has recommendations for fabric, I'm all ears. GOM 701 is a bit pricey for me right now. I do have a bunch of white tablecloths that might work...

[agershon]

I used this speaker cloth for my panels: http://www.parts-express.com/cat/speake ... fabric/651

The stuff for $7.25/yd. Looks nice.

[digitaldrummer]

I've used the ultratouch (or an equivalent) for some bass traps before and it worked just fine. MUCH MUCH MUCH nicer to work with than fiberglass...

Mike

[nobody, really]

I install ultra-touch all the time, it is great stuff. Lowes sells it.

[Marc Alan Goodman]

I've used the ultratouch (or an equivalent) for some bass traps before and it worked just fine. MUCH MUCH MUCH nicer to work with than fiberglass...

You'll still have a week of blue snot though if you don't wear a mask. Old people's sweaty jeans snot.

Just getting over a rash of it myself actually...

[Snarl 12/8]

I think I like Roxul Mineral Wool better than Ultratouch sonically. I've used 703, Ultratouch and Roxul. Roxul is my favorite.

It seems denser and it's more rigid which can help with hanging, etc. It is just a tiny bit itchy, way, way better than fiberglass in terms of handling problems, but pretty fiberglassy in terms of performance. Plus, it don't burn. Although the ultratouch and 703 is supposed to be not burnable as well, but they market the Roxul as a fire barrier (IIRC).

[Gregg Juke]

We actually did that in a garage rehearsal space/studio once. Chicken wire stapled in over the insulation, some areas covered with fabric material; most areas covered with hospital foam in place of expensive treatment foam. Worked great, but GIK's point re: flammability is a very good one...

GJ

[digitaldrummer]

You'll still have a week of blue snot though if you don't wear a mask.

very true!

[JWL]

I've used Ultratouch before, but its gas flow properties are not as good as fiberglass or possibly rockwool (I don't have much experience with rockwool personally). There was extensive testing on it done in another forum and it definitely doesn't perform as well.

I was disappointed, because I love the idea of using the stuff....

[chorga1]

JWL - thanks for your post. I've used ultratouch quite a bit. Bummed to learn about its problems at higher densitites...