# Corner bass traps?



## jayph (Feb 1, 2014)

Hello everybody. I found this site linked from another site and it looks like a great place to do some reading. I plan on doing some searching and reading but thought I would post this to get some new and more recent help.

I plan on tackling DIY floor to ceiling corner bass traps and have read many different opinions on what insulation to use. So I have three quick questions. Iam not 100% sure of the term used, but I plan on building the stacked triangle chunk style.

1- I have Roxull available locally (home depot) Is there any other insulation that I should try to find that would work better than that with a similar price point? I haven't phoned any specialty places yet.

2- Fluffy or rigid? They stock safe and sound fluffy aswell as rigid comfort board IS.

3- Should I support the insulation with shelves every few feet or just stack and let it compress (adding as needed to be full or just replace when needed)?

Thanks in advance

Jason


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Welcome to the Shack. I am sure someone will post up and help you soon.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Welcome to the shack first off, glad to have you on board.

Ridgid will be the way to go for the corner traps. Many people prefer Owens-Corning. In your research you can read their coefficient of absorbtion. Tells you about how good they are. If you can get them in 4" sheets it will cut down on the number of cuts (that stuff can get itchy). The best way to cut it is with an electric knife with a straight edge. You don't need shelves. Start a build thread & post some pics!


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Many of our members prefer Owens Corning (703, I think). You want as much and as thick as you can; floor to ceiling is the way to go. A little air space in the back is OK. Is Roxul like pink house insulation? If so, that is not dense enough to do much good. Also, is the rigid you are looking at the thin lightweight sheets? If so, again, not enough mass.

bpape is our resident expert here and I am sure he will chime in to help. He was a big help to me, although I preferred pre-made traps and bought GIK Monster Traps, which worked very well.


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## jdhatfield (Jan 2, 2014)

Jason, Welcome to the Shack!

I took on a similar project three weeks ago that you are presently contemplating. I ordered the Roxul safe n sound (47"Lx23"wx3"D) product from Lowes and I found that to be a great deal. 8 panels for $58 shipped to the store. I built the frames and after braving the fabric store (and enduring childhood flashbacks of my mom dragging me through that store) I had linen to cover the frames. As you've probably have already seen, there are some good youtube videos that give you the step by step instructions. They are simple to make and I found that I could crank out a full size panel in about 30-45min and I would consider myself being unnecessarily meticulous and slow. Your mileage will vary with the triangular bass trap you are contemplating. 

I noticed a big difference with the panels installed and was pleased to get such a result from a DIY project. I still have some other spots that I may try to address and may consider going with a GIK product. 

As far as the other insulation products you are considering, I've also seen varying opinions. The Owens Corning seemed to be the preferred brand but after shipping it was going to be about 50% more and from what I read, the performance wasn't vastly better over the Safe n Sound. There may be others that disagree and have the numbers behind it to prove - I won't pretend that I have the definitive answer to that question. Like others have said and from what I've read, the rigid stuff isn't what you want for this application.

Some words of advice if you go the DIY route. Wear long sleeves, eye gear, a mask, and gloves when handling the insulation material. Make sure you have a couple of boxes of staples for stapling the fabric to the frame as you will use more than you think. 

Good luck!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Roxul in approximately 3lb/cu ft density will work fine at a reasonable cost.


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## Java (Jun 10, 2007)

Hey Jason,

I just finished my corner super chunk traps with Roxul. It's much messier than than OC703, but far cheaper. And much easier to find. I got mine at my local Lowes. Just order online and it'll come in a few days. I opted to pick it up versus having it delivered. It took two trips in the wife's crossover...

As reference, I used Chas' plan as the frame for mine, but used Roxul instead of the OC703 he used.

_Lot's of Roxul from Lowes._


_Cut Plans. (I did the 34" cut)_
 

_Frame_
 

_Cutting the chunks (use a cheap electric carving knife)_
 

_All stacked up (very wobbly. Def needs frame)_
 

_Frame for the panel_
 

_All done (except cleaning up the mess)_
 

Good luck with your build...


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## jayph (Feb 1, 2014)

ellisr63 said:


> Welcome to the Shack. I am sure someone will post up and help you soon.


Thanks



Tonto said:


> Welcome to the shack first off, glad to have you on board.
> 
> Ridgid will be the way to go for the corner traps. Many people prefer Owens-Corning. In your research you can read their coefficient of absorbtion. Tells you about how good they are. If you can get them in 4" sheets it will cut down on the number of cuts (that stuff can get itchy). The best way to cut it is with an electric knife with a straight edge. You don't need shelves. Start a build thread & post some pics!


Thanks for the thoughts. Yes I already insulated my floor joists and regretted not wearing a long sleeve shirt quickly.



hjones4841 said:


> Many of our members prefer Owens Corning (703, I think). You want as much and as thick as you can; floor to ceiling is the way to go. A little air space in the back is OK. Is Roxul like pink house insulation? If so, that is not dense enough to do much good. Also, is the rigid you are looking at the thin lightweight sheets? If so, again, not enough mass.
> 
> bpape is our resident expert here and I am sure he will chime in to help. He was a big help to me, although I preferred pre-made traps and bought GIK Monster Traps, which worked very well.



Roxul would be like your rock wool I believe. Not like the pink stuff. Did you install your monster traps flat on the wall or across the corner.

Thanks.



jdhatfield said:


> Jason, Welcome to the Shack!
> 
> I took on a similar project three weeks ago that you are presently contemplating. I ordered the Roxul safe n sound (47"Lx23"wx3"D) product from Lowes and I found that to be a great deal. 8 panels for $58 shipped to the store. I built the frames and after braving the fabric store (and enduring childhood flashbacks of my mom dragging me through that store) I had linen to cover the frames. As you've probably have already seen, there are some good youtube videos that give you the step by step instructions. They are simple to make and I found that I could crank out a full size panel in about 30-45min and I would consider myself being unnecessarily meticulous and slow. Your mileage will vary with the triangular bass trap you are contemplating.
> 
> ...


Apreciate your imput thanks.



bpape said:


> Roxul in approximately 3lb/cu ft density will work fine at a reasonable cost.


as simple as going into the insulation store and asking for 3lb/cuft ? any thoughts on rigid vs fluffy? I see lots of rigid on google and recommended above but then also two people above used the fluffy. Does it make a difference along as it's 3lb/cuft?

I have this for rigid - Roxul r6 comfort board IS

and this for fluffy - Roxul safe and sound
wanted to post links but I don't have enough posts yet.

I can also try to phone around and try to find owens corning 703 rigid.

Thanks.



Java said:


> Hey Jason,
> 
> I just finished my corner super chunk traps with Roxul. It's much messier than than OC703, but far cheaper. And much easier to find. I got mine at my local Lowes. Just and it'll come in a few days. I opted to pick it up versus having it delivered. It took two trips in the wife's crossover...
> 
> ...


Thanks for the post. I plan a very similar version of that but using eye hooks and wire to keep it pressed against the corner.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

The fluffy won't be anywhere near 3lb/cu ft - more like 1/2 lb/cu ft.

Safe n sound will work well.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

jayph said:


> Did you install your monster traps flat on the wall or across the corner.


I ended up with 5 Monster Traps in the room; two are in corners, the other 3 are in front of a fireplace on the back wall, almost floor to ceiling (two vertically, side by side on the GIK stands and one horizontally on top of those two.)

I also put R30 above a suspended tile ceiling which helped, but only because of the sheer amount - above the whole ceiling, which is 12x20ft. By far, the Monster Traps helped the most. I put the R30 in after I installed the GIK traps just to see if I could get a little more control of ringing, which I did.


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## jayph (Feb 1, 2014)

bpape said:


> The fluffy won't be anywhere near 3lb/cu ft - more like 1/2 lb/cu ft.
> 
> Safe n sound will work well.



This confuses me (sorry Iam an acoustic dummy) safe and sound is the fluffy. (quite possible that i have confused the meaning of fluffy and rigid with insulation)



hjones4841 said:


> I ended up with 5 Monster Traps in the room; two are in corners, the other 3 are in front of a fireplace on the back wall, almost floor to ceiling (two vertically, side by side on the GIK stands and one horizontally on top of those two.)
> 
> I also put R30 above a suspended tile ceiling which helped, but only because of the sheer amount - above the whole ceiling, which is 12x20ft. By far, the Monster Traps helped the most. I put the R30 in after I installed the GIK traps just to see if I could get a little more control of ringing, which I did.



Thanks for the answer much appreciated.

Jason


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

According to their tech sheet - Safe N Sound is 2.5lb/cu ft density.


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