Sound proofing

[SVanderkolff]

I have my shop in the basement, as I imagine many others do. I also have a 1 yr old who is a soft sleeper. What is the best way to insulate the basement sound wise from the rest of the house.
My shop is 13 X 30. Thanks for the help.
Steve

[Jamey Saunders]

My understanding is that spray-in foam insulation is a good soundproofer.

You can check it out (and find a contractor) at http://www.icynene.com.

My cousin was a homebuilder for several years, and we looked at going into the spray-in insulation business. The start up cost was pretty high, though, but it would have been a great business to be in. The energy savings during the summer would far outweigh the cost of having it put in.

But that's not what you asked about...

[GANNMADE]

SOME HARDWARE STORES SELL SOME SOUNDPROOFING IN SHEETS.

[Geno]

I thought a good stereo systym would take care of ANY noise problem, just turn it up some more.
It may be easier to put a small radio in with the baby so it/he/she can't hear the noise.
If your shop is dug in, the sound can ONLY go up.
Everything would have to be mounted to the floor to stop vibrations in the walls too.

[C.M. Arrington]

Just keep in mind the Great White concert before you put anything on your walls. I'd try to find something fire resistant. Just a thought.

[Bob Warner]

Sound does not travel through walls. The sound moves the wall and makes vibrations, the vibrations travel through the walls and recreate the sound on the other side.

The secrete to soundproofing is to stop the vibrations from transferring the sould through the wall. I was part of a team of people working on a house once and the owners wanted a completely soundproof room for his music equipment. Having no experience in this area I thought about it a for a while and came up with a way that worked very well.

We built a wall for the room like you would normally build. Then we built another wall 2" away from the first one. The walls did not touch anywhere. We than insulated them but ran the insulation horizontally instead of vertically, weaving it between the studs on the walls. Then covered the walls with sheetrock.

There was no noise heard through the walls unless he really cranked up the volume of the stereo REALLY loud. The you just heard a little muffled base. But nothing during normal stereo or or the playing of guitars, etc......

If it were me, I would try to figure out a way to install a false ceiling, supporting it by the walls and not from the original ceiling and fill it with fiberglass insulation.

Just something to think about.

[george tichbour]

I would go with blue or pink expanded foam, not styrofoam. easy to cut and fit and dense enough to do a good job at dampening noise. Then cover it with gyprock sheeting for added barrier.

Most noise control barriers are made very dense for sound dampening.