Soundstop

Sculli · Post by **Sculli** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:32 pm

Hello,
I'm about to finish the walls and ceiling in my room.I have a concrete floor and I've heard I need a soft(absorbitive) ceiling. I was initially going to go with a layer of soundstop and then a layer of drywall on the ceiling.This is the basement of my home and I have 3 kids so i need to keep the sound in AND out of the room.My question is,Would the Soundstop(fiber board)be considered a soft enough surface and should I
double it up for soundproofing purposes?I thought I'd cover it with some fabric or should I go with my original plan and just treat the hell out of the ceiling with
traps and such.Any and all suggestions are much appreciated!The room is 35'L x 23'W
x 8'H.Thanks again.
Peace,
Kevin

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:42 am

In my little experience Soundstop and homosote are not good sounding when exposed. They, as far as I know, work best as a transmission loss material.
Exposed, they absorb highs and mids far more than lows, and to my ear not in a smooth way either, resulting in a honky sounding space.
We are using homosote as one layer of three in the main playing spaces to help keep the sounds of the passing gravel trucks out of the spaces, and to a lesser degree, to avoid bugging the neighbors. The sandwich is drywall, homosote, drywall. The only solution we had that was economical enough, and so far, it sounds really great in there... but when one room had exposed homosote everywhere man did it sound bad.

I'm sure I'm hacking this all up, but that's my little experience. Others here are definietely more experienced and qualified in these matters.

BenLoftis · Post by **BenLoftis** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:11 am

Your first goal is to isolate the room. It's going to be tough to do this within an 8' height. If you have no ceiling yet, you should consider adding a new set of joists, in between the existing joists and an inch lower, and attach the ceiling to that. This will reduce (but not eliminate) the structural-borne noise into the room from upstairs. (the joists will still have to attach at the walls of course, so you will still get some structural noise) Lightly stuff the intervening gaps with Roxul or similar. Then put 2 layers of soundstop and/or drywall.

After that you'll have to deal with the flutter echoes from floor to ceiling. I'm not familiar with Soundstop, but it appears to be made for isolation rather than sound treatment, so it won't absorb across a wide range of frequencies in the air. You could probably get by with a cloth-covered fiberglass panel with the face 3-4" from the ceiling. This will achieve good broadband absorption. The trend these days is to use diffusion rather than absorption, though.

Unless you have the measurement gear and the patience to achieve truly good performance, you'll have the best results with a ready-made product.

Good luck!

-Ben Loftis
http://www.studiooutfitters.com

goldstar · Post by **goldstar** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:24 pm

Kevin

I would agree with Ben that isolation is your 1st concern, but would avoid the Celotex simply for the fact that it isn't massive enough to help isolate; mass is the most effective isolator, and drywall is the cheapest way to add mass.

The limiting factor becomes the weight-bearing capacity of your ceiling joists; find out the sizes of the framing (and spacing), then determine how much drywall you can hang from it. If the ceiling joists won't carry more than one layer of rock, resilient channel might gain you a tiny bit more iso, if installed properly, but it's a hassle, and not usually cheap. Maybe you can use 5/8 for a smidge more isolation.

The Soundstop name is kinda bogus, in my opinion; it will do something, just not near as much as an additional layer of DW, if your framing can carry it. Go to the Depot and pick up a sheet of each; you can pretty easily feel the weight difference.

Frank[/b]

Sculli · Post by **Sculli** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:24 pm

Thanks for all the replies.My builder said no more than 1" of DW on ceiling.I should of specified I am more interested in isolation than absorption.So far nobody has said
anything good about Soundstop.So I'm thinking of going with RC and a layer of 5/8
DW on the ceiling and 2 layers of 5/8 DW on the walls.Any opinions or suggestions
still very much appreciated!
Peace,
Kevin

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:30 pm

I didn't say soundstop was bad per se, just not good sounding in the room when it is the exposed surface. When layered with other masses, it's good at increasing transmission loss. (Sound energy is dissipated as heat every time it has to transfer from one density/mass to another. Like from drywall to homosote to drywall like in a couple of my new rooms. Nice transmission loss happenin'.

goldstar · Post by **goldstar** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 2:01 pm

Kevin

If iso is what you're after, you'll get more w/ 2 layers of 1/2" instead of the RC and 5/8.

Frank

Sculli · Post by **Sculli** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 3:42 pm

Thanks for all your replies.I went with the 2 layers of 1/2".It is much quieter.Now I
have to deal with the echo chamber i've created.I'm considering covering one long wall with 2" of semi rigid 703 and cover it with some nice material and leaving the other long wall alone.Will this just kill the room?I just want to tame it not kill it.I'll
also be using a boat load of bass traps.Any help is much appreciated.
Peace,
Kevin

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:49 am

I'd do half of the 703 on one wall and half on the others, or in other words, distribute it around the room.
And that that much 703, bass trapping will be absolutely needed..! Glad you are planning on it.

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