Major Problem!

[Addact4G]

I got my studio done and and was very excited to get to record the first band a couple of days ago. Everything was running smooth until about 830 when my neighbor came over and complained about the noise. It was an extreme buzz kill on things and really couldnt believe it. So what I need is anyones help that looks at this thread is what can I do to go about sound proofing my studio(such as material or ideas) so that the noise levels are reduced and I wont bother him to much. This is a big issue and any help would be great.

[avare]

What is your current sound isolation, meaning construction. Walls, floor, ceiling, roof if applicable. Where is the neighbour, upstairs, downstairs, next apartment, next door house, how far away? How loud are playing? Style of music are you playing? At what time of day or night was this?

Andre

[Addact4G]

Originally Posted by avare

What is your current sound isolation, meaning construction. Walls, floor, ceiling, roof if applicable. Where is the neighbour, upstairs, downstairs, next apartment, next door house, how far away? How loud are playing? Style of music are you playing? At what time of day or night was this?

Andre

My current sound isolation is basically just the house for now. I have sound panels to treat the room but i realize this does not proof it. The control room and the guitar/vocal room are closest to his house and both have windows. The playing is very loud with all types of rock or metal. Drum room is very loud with hardwood floor and a big room sound. I am not going to make loud noise past 9pm. His house right next to mine id say a rough estimate of about 20 feet away. I really dont have a clue on what the best material would be to buy to Seal the windows and prevent sound from leaking out(I assume that would be the first step). Basically any input would be great. Of course budget is a factor also. SO basically the best bang for the buck would be another factor in treating this problem.

[Disjointed]

your best option, is a floated room within a room.. sealing the existing windows will probably have only a minimum affect on sound transmission,

2nd best = new windows, dbl up drywall, with some sort of decoupler inbetween

or take the jackass battle path: if you dont like your neighbor, and want to be a dick, you might be able to only record before 10pm (or whenever your local noise ordinance kicks in) .. he wouldn't be able to legally do anything..

note: this option varies depending on local laws and ordinances, also he can equally make your life hell in other ways


gl

[bpape]

The windows are the weakest, though not the only weak link.

I'd start by building a 'plug' for the windows with insulation inside and drywall or MDF facing the room. Make it a little bigger than the window so you can seal the edges agains the wall.

After that, it's a matter of adding mass if you don't want to do major construction. Another layer of drywall with Green Glue between will help. Don't forget to also address the floor so sound doesn't just flank through it and out via the basement and any windows there.

Bryan

[avare]

Of course budget is a factor also.

What is the budget? If we know that, we will not suggest things that you can not afford, or choose to spend that much money on.

Andre

[Addact4G]

Im really start to grasp the idea a little bit better with all the great input. My budget would be defiantly under 500 for now. I thank you everybody so far for the advice.

[666666]

Originally Posted by Addact4G

Im really start to grasp the idea a little bit better with all the great input. My budget would be defiantly under 500 for now. I thank you everybody so far for the advice.

Your budget for soundproofing is under $500?

Without pretty serious alterations inside the house, you're never going to keep the neighbors happy, at least from live heavy-metal drums. $500 is nowhere near enough to do what would need to be done... plus you would likely not want to rip your house apart anyway.

However, how is your basement????? This might be your saving grace. Basements have some major advantages in terms of soundproofing. First, and perhaps most importantly, you're on a concrete slab. Secondly, you're likely at least 3/4 under the earth surrounded by 8" of concrete. These factors alone already put you way ahead. You'd still need to soundproof because a ton of sound will still leak out the basement windows and through the floor above, but it will cost you way less to deal with these issues than trying to build a soundproofed room on the first or second floor of the house.

If you really want to do it once and do it right, build a room within room structure inside your basement... if you and your buds can handle the work itself, the materials you'll need should cost under $500. Sheetrock is pretty cheap... like about $10 a sheet (4X8). Depends on how large the room is going to be etc, and depends on how "fancy" you want to make it, but just a bare-bones "box" made of common lumber and sheetrock shouldn't cost TOO much. For electrical, drill a small hole in the wall and run an extension cord through. For heat, a small electric heater, but you will likely not need heat ever. For air conditioning... you could try one of those floor-standing units, they've come way down in price. No windows of course.

The doors will be your biggest problem.... but you might be able to get common cheap exterior doors and screw / bolt some heavy stuff to them.

I have a room in my house... first floor... it's about 40 or 50 feet away from the neighboring house. Before I knew anything about soundproofing, I had lined all walls, floor and ceiling of this room with 3/4" plywood, 3/4" homosote and 5/8" sheetrock... a lot of stuff and a lot of work. Also had custom heavy-duty laminated windows put in (just two windows total)... 3/8" thickness. I automatically assumed that the room was ultra soundproof at this point.

I did one rehearsal in the room, at pretty low volume actually, thinking "this is great, I can rehearse in my house now and not bother the neighbors!"... well, we finished rehearsal, I walk outside and there is a crowd of people in the neighboring yard clapping! WTF? All these kids were like, "wow, you guys sounded great!"... I was like... "uh, thanks...???... you could hear us playing????"... and they were like, "yeah, it was blasting down the block, the whole neighborhood heard it". So much for my layers of plywood and sheetrock etc. But that's what I get for trying to soundproof on the first floor of a wood framed house, especially without a room within room... you pretty much can't do it UNLESS you really go nuts, major alterations.

I'm now building a drum room in my basement, full room within room, 100% air-tight, really trying to do it right... and it's a LOT of work. And even with this, I am HOPING it will do the job and keep the neighbors happy. It is really HARD to stop sound, man.

Or.... another option... just don't make noise... get one of those electronic drum kits, and record EVERYTHING direct.... direct guitar through a POD or whatever, direct bass though a DI and direct electronic drums... the neighbors won't hear anything.... you won't hear anything either except through your monitors. At the very least you could make demos this way, then once the tunes were fully worked out in demo form, then rent a studio space to track the final live "loud" instruments.

[Addact4G]

Thanks for all the input 666666. Unfortunetly I record bands in my studio so the second option is not a go. But I know that I need to do the room inside a room now. For now I put carpet padding with Sheetroc to cover it to seal the windows.