Air Conditioner Sound Leak

[Drywsef]

Hello everyone,
I may have a potential issue moving into a new place where I will set up my studio: it is a warehouse with an office area that I am treating and using as a control room. I am using the warehouse portion (into which the office are opens up) as a tracking room. My problem is this - I have noticed that the air conditioning unit is mounted into the wall of the office. The rear of the AC unit pokes out into the warehouse (tracking) area. Heat disperses quickly in the warehouse area, however, I am more concerned about sound leakage from the warehouse (tracking area) to the office (control room). I do not yet know how big of an issue it will turn out to be, because I have not taken my first client there yet. However, can anyone share with me some preemptive measure I can take to stop sound leakage (strengthen the seal on the perimeter, etc...)?
Thanks in advance. I am looking for any avenue of isolating this area as well as possible.

[Drywsef]

Please let me know if I can provide any more information!

[gcp]

Short of building an acoustically insulating box around the back/warehouse side of it and running some insulated ducting and bends to dampen the noise...find the remote our put it on a remote switch and turn it off during tracking.

Even with a box that isolates the airborne noise, a wall mount AC still might vibrate the entire wall enough to raise your noise floor to unusable levels.

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

[Drywsef]

Originally Posted by gcp

Short of building an acoustically insulating box around the back/warehouse side of it and running some insulated ducting and bends to dampen the noise...find the remote our put it on a remote switch and turn it off during tracking.

Even with a box that isolates the airborne noise, a wall mount AC still might vibrate the entire wall enough to raise your noise floor to unusable levels.

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

Thanks for the reply.
My main concern is not the noise caused by the AC, but that the ac is acting as a conduit for noise from the tracking area to pass through. Can anyone recommend anything to tighten the joint between the AC and wall to minimize sound transmission?

[ritelec]

The problem will not only be the joint, the joint is part of the gaping hole that the AC is sitting in.

Suggestion: Close the hole, look into ductless split system.

[95svtcobta]

be careful with Ductless splits - I know a lot of people like them, but you may need a fresh air / make-up air system as ductless splits are recycled room air...

[Drywsef]

Thanks for the replies. It seems split systems are the way to go. I will eventually invest in one when I have my own place. However, this is a rental, so I am very reluctant to spend that kind of money on it. I think I will end up taking tho unit out, sealing the hole in the wall, and putting the existing unit in the rear window so the rear of the unit is outside. Can anyone tell me anything I should be aware of while doing this? Also, can anyone tell me or link me to a resource that provides any precaution for filling and sealing the hole in the wall in a way that isolates the room?
Thanks again!

[Drywsef]

Anyone? before I seal the hole in the wall left by the AC, should I try to stuff more insulation in the wall for isolation? I'm just wondering what I can do to maximize isolation and close the leak left by removing the AC.