# I need a flexible/removable sound blocking "door". Advice?



## Daniel Grenier (Jun 24, 2008)

It's like this: I have my guitar space in the basement which is wide open to the upstairs. When I "make noise", it carries right on upstairs and bothers my wife (but she won't say anything cause she's too nice... but I want to cut the sound down anyway.

My space is accessed thru an opening that's 7x3.5 feet but there is no way to install a real door due to design etc.

I need something like a heavy curtain, foam, or movable panel of some kind to block the sound. Something I can quickly hang over that opening as I need it. My "noise" is not very loud (all mildly amped acoustic) so I don't need a drastic solution.

So, what do you suggest would work and where can I get that in the Ottawa area (or on line)?

My wife will thank you, (I'm sure).


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## mr trick (Sep 21, 2013)

a rigid 2" piece of foam insulation could be cut to size and slide it back and forth across the opening, they come in 4x8 sheets


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

I like the foam idea. Even styrofoam. Cheap.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

High density insulation foam.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Foam glued between two pieces of 1/4" mahogany ply .... if you use a 7/8" strip between them on the edge and across the middle it will fit a regular door knob .. viola door any size you need


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I was in a home studio where the owner used that heavy clear plastic in strips, like you'd see in a warehouse or meat packing plant or whatever. You could walk through it, but it was heavy and dense enough to block/absorb most of the sound.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

keto said:


> I was in a home studio where the owner used that heavy clear plastic in strips, like you'd see in a warehouse or meat packing plant or whatever. You could walk through it, but it was heavy and dense enough to block/absorb most of the sound.


Really ? I wouldn't have thought so. Interesting solution.


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## Daniel Grenier (Jun 24, 2008)

keto said:


> I was in a home studio where the owner used that heavy clear plastic in strips, like you'd see in a warehouse or meat packing plant or whatever. You could walk through it, but it was heavy and dense enough to block/absorb most of the sound.


Interesting indeed.... I will look into this one for sure. Easy to get in/out, transparent, no need to remove etc... Sounds like a real good option. Thanks eh!


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I'm in the same position. I have a wide open basement that's finished, but the only rooms are the furnace and bathroom. Stairway leading upstairs has like a 1/4 wall on the Amplifier side, the other 3/4's going down is open with a railing and metal bars. The ceiling itself is well insulated with Roxul safe and sound, which I just put up recently. The fiberglass insulation that was there, is still there, so it's packed pretty tight. Drop ceiling BTW, so decoupling is there as well. If I play the guitar and walk up the stairs while playing, it acts like a Phonograph or volume boost. Just at the top between the walls at the door it's quite a bit louder than down in the main area. Ill post some photos in a little bit to show you what's up.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Daniel Grenier said:


> Interesting indeed.... I will look into this one for sure. Easy to get in/out, transparent, no need to remove etc... Sounds like a real good option. Thanks eh!


Maybe take this a little farther for better absorption and use a heavy blanket material like a a moving blanket cut into strips.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Pocket doors could work in some cases, but they have a void that may be a problem.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Here are the pics I mentioned. @Daniel Grenier , I don't want to hijack your thread, so I'll just post these pics and see if anyone can come up with other possibilities. Hopefully something that will benefit yourself as well.

The first thing I thought of was foam on the walls along with doing something on the door. It's a standard door but it's hollow. I do know that mass is quite the weapon when it comes to sound blocking, as well as the other suggestions that happen to include mass or rigid Styrofoam. If there are any other ideas I'd like to hear some. Cost also comes into play here for myself guys. We're tapped due to other renos, so this is a very low priority according to the Boss Woman.

Oh yeah, there is a storage closet under the stairs involved as well, as seen in the picture. And it's directly under the stairs going to the 2nd floor of the house (3 stories basement included).


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I thought that was a bassoon for a minute.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I can't imagine a giant curtain or rolling blind would offer enough attenuation, but it could double as a projection screen.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

How do those stairs work?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Dorian2 said:


> Here are the pics I mentioned. @Daniel Grenier , I don't want to hijack your thread, so I'll just post these pics and see if anyone can come up with other possibilities. Hopefully something that will benefit yourself as well.
> 
> The first thing I thought of was foam on the walls along with doing something on the door. It's a standard door but it's hollow. I do know that mass is quite the weapon when it comes to sound blocking, as well as the other suggestions that happen to include mass or rigid Styrofoam. If there are any other ideas I'd like to hear some. Cost also comes into play here for myself guys. We're tapped due to other renos, so this is a very low priority according to the Boss Woman.
> 
> Oh yeah, there is a storage closet under the stairs involved as well, as seen in the picture. And it's directly under the stairs going to the 2nd floor of the house (3 stories basement included).


Uncanny similarity to our basement. We have the same alcove and the far door leads to a washroom in our case. My wife has no problem telling me to turn it down/off


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

1SweetRide said:


> Uncanny similarity to our basement. We have the same alcove and the far door leads to a washroom in our case. My wife has no problem telling me to turn it down/off


Interesting. If you rip the wall parallel to the door under the stairs down, that's where my buddy built the washroom. It's just separated by a wall. 

Another thing I didn't mention here was that the door at the top of the stairs is 2 1/2 feet from an exterior wall, sharp left for 2 feet to another half wall where the laundry room is, and left down a short hallway that splits left and right. That's the area where all the sound from both up and down stairs basically gets trapped. It's friggin loud at the top of those stairs. I'd put foam up at that point, but it might not be aesthetically pleasing to my wife's eye, which is a rather important point.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

I’ve been looking at a sliding door. Same concept as the pocket door but it sits outside the wall. Some of them are pretty nice.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

1SweetRide said:


> I’ve been looking at a sliding door. Same concept as the pocket door but it sits outside the wall. Some of them are pretty nice.


I know a guy that did this. It was really is only option to maximize the space. A pocket door would have been best, but they are really something that should be done during the construction of the house, or a massive reno. Very hard to retrofit these. So, he got hardware similar to a sliding barn door, and mounted it on one side. Does the job.


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