# Soundproofing via Fabric Covered Panels



## gury76

Hello Everyone,

I have a 11 by 12 room in my basement which I'm planning on using as my studio where I'm going to be doing vocal recording, mixing, creating beats, etc. the way that i envisioned the room is I will have a L shape desk with my back towards the 12' wall and the desk against the 11' wall, the monitors will be firing at me and towards the 12' wall. So I'm thinking about getting quietrock 545 drywall, putting some sort of insulation (lowes suggested homasote), covering the drywall and the insulation in some sort of fabric, give a tufted effect and screw/nail it on the existing 12' drywall behind me. 

My questions are:

1. Is this soundproofing adequate for the application that I need it for.
2. Should I cover the entire wall or make three panels and center them evenly on that wall, leaving spaces around and in-between
3. What else can I use besides homasote so that the wall has a spongy feel to it.
4. What type of fabric can I use. 

Thanks for all the help.


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Hey gury,

First, welcome to the Forum! 

Judging from your post it seems like you might be confusing _soundproofing_ and _acoustical treatment_. The former is for blocking the transference of sound from one room to another (or fully containing it in the room). The latter (loosely defined) is to reduce reverberation or echo in a room.

Which if these are you trying to accomplish?

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## gury76

Hey Wayne,

Yes you are right. I was confused but after doing some searching online and reading your post, I'm straight. 

So first I need to do soundproofing and then I'll work on the acoustical angle. 

For the soundproofing, I'm thinking to tear down the drywalls, insert homasote panels and install drywall back. I might even use quiet putty and quiet glue. 

I was thinking of using quietrock drywall but it's double the price of homasote. 

I'm just trying to bring the levels of my studio to half of what they are currently. 

Any suggestions?


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

From what I know about soundproofing, two of the key elements are mass and isolation. 

For the latter, the best option where walls are shared with other rooms is “room within a room” construction, or at least staggered-stud construction. Making the room air-tight is also effective but that will require special HVAC considerations. 

For the mass requirement, double layers of sheetrock on the walls is very effective. You might inquire at our Acoustics Forum for more and better-informed advice. One of our moderators there, Ted White, adamantly claims that standard sheetrock is just as effective as Quietrock – good news if you’re on a budget. :T

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## jackfish

Just 3.5" of fiberglass insulation between the studs and double sheetrock will go a long ways towards what you want and won't cost a bundle.


----------



## gury76

I actually just went with green glue on the ceiling and two walls (the other two walls are exterior walls with concrete on the other side), with 5/8 drywall and rolux safe and sound insulation. The contractor is still finishing up the room, so let's see how it goes.


----------



## pharoah

some sound absorbing drywall would be best.

Sound-Absorbent Drywall


----------



## rokus666

owens corning would help you block out low frequencies in the room and it will help you a little with the sound proof as well. make sure you make the panels 4" thick and hang them on the wall...


----------



## josepaul21

If you want real soundproof covered panels,visit here: acoustic absorption materials. In an untreated sound control room, the RT60 value can carry 10 seconds or more. The problem is that the human ear can tolerate only 1.5 to 2.0 seconds of sound reverb. Beyond this level, sound reflection becomes blurred, competing with new sound signals, and provides unhealthy levels of so-called “background noise”.


----------



## NBPk402

If i was to build a new room... i would do the room within a room like we did on my last theater, and use Roxul sound board. Then I would do 1 layer of OSB, followed by green glue, and sheetrock.


----------

