# Any tips on soundproofing a basement?



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

We"re moving into a new home in the winter with a partially finished basement, and I've been given the green light to use some of the space for a jamspot/recording studio. Any advice or suggestions on how to sound isolate the room from those especially above it?

Its currently rough framed, no drywall, concrete floor to be covered, prob with engineered hardwood. Approx 13x15.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Isolation (to keep direct radiation of energy from one area travelling to another, eg. floating floor, double wall with insulation (room within a room) and air gap), and mass (to absorb sound radiation, eg. double drywall, leaded mats) are the two most needed areas of treatment. It is not cheap, and it is not the same as treating a room to sound "nice"....

The required engineering and construction will rely on the use of the room. Are you trying to isolate a singer/songwriter with a ukulele, or are you trying to isolate a mega death stack and heavy hitting drummer?


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

What Ron said.

Start here http://johnlsayers.com/Recmanual/index.htm there is a lot of info to digest, but it is interesting (or I have a weird sense of what is entertaining, which I don't deny)

You cannot just isolate a ceiling, you have to do the room as a whole. Anywhere sound can "leak" out, it will. Again, as Ron said, it depends on what level of sound you are trying to quell. I will also repeat that an isolated room will sound bad (all the sound that once leaked out is now bouncing around inside the room to start) so it will need treatment to sound good. That is the difference between isolation and treatment.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

I can't stress enough how you should read as much as you can (and ask lots of questions) about the subject of isolation and treatment before you do anything. My experience in trying to completely isolate a room, unless you are in a large building that can accommodate building a floating room within a room and have lots of cash, is hopeless. 

Although it can be boring and mind numbing to some, especially us "gotta get it done now while the inspiration is there" types, spending time understanding the math and science will get you the best results for the least outlay. Simply determining the optimum dimensions of a room will be critical to how it needs to be treated to "sound nice". 

For my current studio I decided to only do very rudimentary isolation tweaks and concentrated on how to treat the space to be the best listening and recording space (not always the same thing) it could be. I achieved that goal, but I am at the mercy of the outside world (and the outside world is going to be at my mercy from time to time) and need to adjust my recording/listening schedule at times. Luckily I am in a commercial building that has few other tenants and I don't have many people working or living close by. 

So, unless you have a big budget and a tame architect on retainer, don't expect perfection. With a little study and a small budget you can get some pretty decent results.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Thanks for the rarher sobering info, guys, lol
I have to admit I may have been naive, in thinking I could just get a particular type of insulation or something that might quell some (50%?) of the noise travelling through to the bedrooms 2 floors above.
I dont expect it to be perfect.



> The required engineering and construction will rely on the use of the room. Are you trying to isolate a singer/songwriter with a ukulele, or are you trying to isolate a mega death stack and heavy hitting drummer?


Somewhere in between.  Think Pete Townshend after he realized he was losing some of his hearing. 
Im definitely not in a position to rebuild a whole new room, but am pretty handy, and the room is only roughed in now, so might be an opportunity to at least improve upon what would be a normal basement rec room.

Good point about sound isolation battling sound quality. I think Id be willing to settle for "rented jam spot" degrees of isolation and quality.


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## Vox71 (Mar 25, 2008)

Hey Diablo,

I couldn't agree more with ronmac. Acoustically treating a room can be endless, both in effort and money. I was just recently in the same position. You also have to think about how long you are going to be at your current residence. It would be a shame to dump so much money into a place, and, then, have to move. 

I am a one-man recording guy, and my basement is set up as a recording area. The most important thing i had to do was eliminate the room noise. Especially, the bad "boomy" vocals caused by the sound of the room. For my specific needs I only had to consider sources that would be mic'd: guitars (acoustic &amp; electric), mandolins and banjos vocals, hand percussion etc. I didn't have to worry about a drum kit as I use a roland v-drum kit to trigger high-quality drum samples I use within my DAW. 

Anyway, I came across this video on youtube: http://youtu.be/x65he5FbbAU

I built two of them last weekend, and they work amazingly well (and dead easy to do). I really can't believe the excellent results. I didn't use the Corning insulation that he recommends. I used the Roxul "Safe &amp; Sound" acoustic insulation. I believe a better product for sonic, and health, reasons. As well as being 3" thick. The entire cost (including Felt from Fabricland, and all the rest from Home Depot) was something like $180! To save a ton of time you can get Home Depot to pre-cut all the wood &amp; backer board... then its quick assembly at home. Literally, only a 2-3 beer (or beverage of your choice) job. 

Cheers,
Alfie


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