# advice on treating room



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Basically, I'm looking at some diy acoustic treatment in my living room/ht. It is not a lively room with the carpeted floor and open layout, but I figure there's always room for improvement. I realize that I need to increase the space between the projector and ceiling as there is quite a bit of light reflection between the projector and screen, and was wondering if thin (2-3") dark acoustical panel(s) flush-mounted to the ceiling between the drop-down screen and projector would be beneficial acoustically for reflections. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestions on treating the room in a manner that might meet WAF. As you can tell, my wife is very tolerant, however, at some point she has this crazy idea that this is a living room :whistling:
I have the GIK art panels, which are unbelievably cool, displayed/mounted in one corner. While they may not be optimally placed, I will consider suggestions to move them. I don't have many options with the open wall (entire right side of room), doorways (three), stairway, and back wall of windows/shutters, but I'll keep an open mind.


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Can you post a top view sketch of the room?

The panels on the ceiling certainly won't hurt taming the ceiling reflections and sound like they'll be thick enough to be more broadband in nature.

The biggest thing in your case will be getting a cloth that sucks up as much light as possible.

Bryan


----------



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Hope the pics help Bryan- forgot to attach. The screen to main couch in back is 15'

I read that Owens Corning 703 is typically framed, with a thin back for free standing, however if I ceiling mount will I be need to have a backer for the properties desired? The other question I have is if I use OC 703 or the like, are those light and stiff enough to enable 'free mounting', by that, I would wrap the 703 with cloth material and attach to the ceiling frame-less/back-less, or more likely with 1"x2"s along the long edges, so I could use only four screws into the overhead joists.


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

With the one open side, the other side would be the best place to try to balance the room left to right.

You can do ceiling panels in a frame (703 is hard to get to look right with just cloth due to density). Just make the interior of the frame a tad smaller than the 2'x4' of the 703 and friction fit it. If you're still unsure, some window screen will do the job.

705 can be done framelessly if you resin harden the edges first. Use spray adhesive to attach the cloth. 

No backer needed. Wrap with cloth and staple to the back.

Bryan


----------



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

bpape said:


> No backer needed. Wrap with cloth and staple to the back.
> 
> Bryan


Thanks for all the excellent advice! That blasted thermostat is exactly where I don't want it...regarding 'staple to the back', I suppose 705 is lined on the backside with heavy foil or the like?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

There is no foil unless you order the FRK or FSK faced version (double the cost for no reason unless you're wanting to build broadband bass only absorbers that reflect mids and highs.

My thought was to have an open backed frame and staple the cloth to the inner perimeter of the frame (assuming you leave a small air gap in the rear. Otherwise, you can staple to the rear of the frame itself

Bryan


----------



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Thanks for the clarification Bryan. I mounted the projector much too close to the ceiling, so that is my priority, but the bright ceiling will still be a factor. I can't paint the ceiling dark, but I have approval for these :T


----------



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

bpape said:


> Can you post a top view sketch of the room?
> 
> The panels on the ceiling certainly won't hurt taming the ceiling reflections and sound like they'll be thick enough to be more broadband in nature.
> 
> ...


I've found a local distributor with Knauff EI800 in 1.5"x4'x8' sheets. I'm thinking about one big 4'x8' flush mounted in front of the projector, or possibly one 4'x8' flanked by two 2'x4' pieces. As far as the cloth, I found black burlap and black muslin: there is a huge difference between the two, with burlap being quite coarse while the muslin is quite smooth. Any recommendations?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Either cloth will work fine for treatment covering. Personal preference.

Neither is really acceptable to put in front of speakers though.

Bryan


----------



## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Update on the material which I'll source for the panels: Knauf EI800, which is their Eclipse air duct board, is stated as having "black, non-woven, all-glass mat facing on airstream surface" and "FSK vapor retarder" on the backside. Sound absorption coefficients on the site look good for mid-bass and highs in the 1.5" thickness, as I interpret them. I suppose it could be used for bass traps if tripled or quadrupled in thickness if the FSK facing can be removed.

Wife says she would prefer texture, and the material is mostly black, so will likely use burlap- we'll see.


----------

