Fiberglass snowfall

[Don Shumai]

Hi everyone,
So I got a bunch of Owens-Corning 703, and this weekend we mounted it to the ceiling beams in the basement. It really helps with the sound in the basement, and the drums aren't nearly as loud outside as they used to be (though the kids next door asked if we were having a concert). The problem we're facing though, is that the place only had the unfaced stuff (no foil side), which seems a little dusty. Like it seemed like it was snowing invisible itchy snow while we were playing. Anybody have this happen? Anybody have ideas of how to deal with this? We were thinking of putting cloth over all of it somehow, or possibly spraying it with spray mount, or both. This has sort of killed the excitement of the whole project.

[lsn110]

Oh...sheesh. I thought you were getting the foil faced 705. Doh. Definitely cover it somehow. Ideally you should get a fire retardant fabric. How much area do you need to cover?

703 itches like a thousand tiny satans. I'll email you.

paul

[Don Shumai]

All they had in stock was the unfaced 703, and it would have taken weeks to get 705 (or so they told me). So we got what they had, not knowing about the tiny satan factor. Apparently they are going to stop carrying 703 now too. At least that's what they told Frank when he picked up what they told him was the last carton.

I think we'll need to cover a 20' x 20' area or so. You seem to be able to get a spray for fabrics to render them fire retardant, so maybe we'll get some half-decent looking fabric and spray it down.

[norton]

you'll need to get some pretty tightly woven fabric to keep the fibres out of your hair.


on the super cheap is muslin (sp?) really tight thin fabric that you can roll paint on... should work pretty good and look decent with some color.

[cgarges]

on the super cheap is muslin (sp?) really tight thin fabric that you can roll paint on... should work pretty good and look decent with some color.

If you paint it, the fabric will become reflective at higher frequencies and just about nullify the use of the 703.

Guildford fabric is really great stuff. It's not all that cheap, but it comes in a bunch of different colors, is fire-retardent, and is probably the easiest and best method you can use to cover rigid fiberglass.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[kayagum]

Cheap options:

Landscape fabric - the kind you use to block weeds. $15-$20 per 100 feet.

Speaker fabric - you can usually find them at fabric stores. Almost as cheap as burlap, obviously acoustically designed. $5 / yd when I priced them out.

[smojo]

the studio that i've come to somehow be employed at has for the last 20some years been using regular ordinary bargain bin cotton. I've always been uncomfortable with the lack of flame-retardance and I make sure that there are several fire extinguishers in the rooms at all times... I'm really curious about this fabric spray... does anyone know what it's called or if it makes the fabric stiffer and thus more reflective?

[Don Shumai]

Here's the spray:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1693-AA.shtml

I don't think it makes it any stiffer. I have a feeling I'm going to be the guinea pig.

[Red Rockets Glare]

I used the tar-paper they use to lay on top of the roof before the shingles to cover my insulated ceiling. It's cheap and dark and looks pretty cool.

[Don Shumai]

thanks for all the suggestions!

I work at an art school (RISD) where muslin is cheap and plentiful, so I may go that route and test out the "flametard" on it. Or maybe I'll just save money and itch like the dickens.

[spankenstein]

Won't the fiberglass get in your lungs and cause problems? I know it's recommended when you're working with it to wear a respirator I would think since it's exposed and falling out that you would want the same protection.

[awolski]

I always thought fallout was only an issue if you moved or disturbed the material, but if you left it alone and didn't touch it that there wouldn't be the issue of the fiberglass getting in the air.

But if Don's getting the "tiny satan factor" maybe I'd better rethink my plans to suspend a fiberglass cloud wrapped in burlap a few feet above my mix position. Hmmmm.

[colinandrew12]

well, this maybe totally out of line, but here's an idea.....first a couple questions.....
1. how high are your ceilings?
2. is your intention to keep the sound from bleeding out of the room, or to make things quieter in the room itself?

well, if your ceilings aren't SUPER-low and you're only trying to keep the sound from being so loud upstairs or outside, then i would put some sort of plywood or other wood over it....that way it's completely sealed in there, it's further preventing sound leakage, and potentially livening up your room a bit.....it might get a little expensive....depends on your intentions and budget....but it's just an idea.....i'm going to be doing something somewhat similar in my basement very soon....

colin

[googacky]

putting plywood in front of the 703 would nulify it's use an acoustic treatment. this stuff is really meant to improve the acoustics of your room, not to cut down sound transmission. you'd want sheetblock for that.

[Don Shumai]

the ceilings are low, like 8 feet at most. We wanted to absorb the sound up there. It has also helped a little with hearing the drums outside the house, but that wasn't the main intent.

It isn't like a shower of itchiness, but the drums are definitely causing some fibers to fall. I'll get some muslin and flameproofer and report my findings.