Sand for Insulation

tswiph · 8th July 2009

I'm in the process of putting my new facility together and I want to know if anyone has had any experience with using sand in between the walls as a form of soundproofing. If so, can you please tell me the Pros & Cons of using it?

thanks

spm_gl · 8th July 2009

Sand will settle over time, becoming hard as concrete. Plus, it soaks up moisture, so you'll have mold growing in your wall.

Rick Sutton · 8th July 2009

Another issue is that sand that hasn't been kiln dried starts out with a lot of moisture that will rot the walls it is put in. A practice space that a friend built used sand in plastic bags to keep the moisture from getting to the wood. Worked OK, but the space was only used for a couple of years, so I don't know about long term. In my studio I have used sand in the floating drum booth floor and in the walls of an iso cabinet successfully for many years, but I dried the sand thoroughly and chose the materials around the sand carefully.

Weasel9992 · 8th July 2009

Listen to both of these guys on the moisture issue. Sand-filled walls used to be all the rage, but mold has been an issue in all three of the builds I've known about. There are other solutions...I'd skip the sand and go on to something else.

Frank

jwl · 9th July 2009

Benefit of sand is its mass, but as stated there are plenty of problems.

tswiph · 10th July 2009

Okay cool!!
I most definitely appreciate all of the feedback regarding this situation. Im now in the process of looking at soundproof drapes & blankets, especially in the booth because we do track like instruments in there

8th July 2009	#1
tswiph Gear interested Joined: May 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3 Thread Starter	Sand for Insulation I'm in the process of putting my new facility together and I want to know if anyone has had any experience with using sand in between the walls as a form of soundproofing. If so, can you please tell me the Pros & Cons of using it? thanks

8th July 2009	#2
spm_gl Gear addict Joined: Apr 2009 Location: Spreewald, near Berlin / Germany Posts: 316	Sand will settle over time, becoming hard as concrete. Plus, it soaks up moisture, so you'll have mold growing in your wall. __________________ --- Spreemusik --- Jan Fuchsmann, Audio Engineer Our new Blog: http://blog.spreemusik.com

8th July 2009	#4
Weasel9992 Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 4,339	Listen to both of these guys on the moisture issue. Sand-filled walls used to be all the rage, but mold has been an issue in all three of the builds I've known about. There are other solutions...I'd skip the sand and go on to something else. Frank __________________ Frank

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8th July 2009	#3
Rick Sutton Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2003 Location: Atascadero, CA Posts: 4,058	Another issue is that sand that hasn't been kiln dried starts out with a lot of moisture that will rot the walls it is put in. A practice space that a friend built used sand in plastic bags to keep the moisture from getting to the wood. Worked OK, but the space was only used for a couple of years, so I don't know about long term. In my studio I have used sand in the floating drum booth floor and in the walls of an iso cabinet successfully for many years, but I dried the sand thoroughly and chose the materials around the sand carefully.

9th July 2009	#5
jwl Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2006 Location: southern Maine Posts: 1,316	Benefit of sand is its mass, but as stated there are plenty of problems.

10th July 2009	#6
tswiph Gear interested Joined: May 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3 Thread Starter	Okay cool!! I most definitely appreciate all of the feedback regarding this situation. Im now in the process of looking at soundproof drapes & blankets, especially in the booth because we do track like instruments in there