Soundproofing 101

[Kaos]

To address my concern relating to the bathroom floor issue noted in prior post, we installed some additional studs to allow for full installation of Rockwool insulation along with related sound clips and hat channel. We are going to stuff the openings with fiberglass and then use the Rockwool in between the studs. I had my doubts when imagining the additional studs, But, I think that jutted out section of the wall actually lends the wall a little character. Framer added one additional ceiling joist that will add additional mass above the studs. When combined with the R38 Rockwool in the ceiling, I should be good to go.

That is the idea!. I would hate to not be able to use the room without getting an earful every time from wife! Lol

[pwade3]

Thats great. Excellent choice. That should work out really well. Wife will be happy. Lol 😆

[Kaos]

To address my concern relating to the bathroom floor issue noted in prior post, we installed some additional studs to allow for full installation of Rockwool insulation along with related sound clips and hat channel. We are going to stuff the openings with fiberglass and then use the Rockwool in between the studs. I had my doubts when imagining the additional studs, But, I think that jutted out section of the wall actually lends the wall a little character. Framer added one additional ceiling joist that will add additional mass above the studs. When combined with the R38 Rockwool in the ceiling, I should be good to go.

[Kaos]

If that is the screen end, box out the upper area of the wall that is the tube area, as your screen won’t be that tall and even if it is, your screen will deflect maybe 14” and that will only be with a driver which has a lower launch angle and thus the deflection will be about 4 ft up. If you box out the upper tub section you would never see it and it will be sure to stop the sound travel. If its not the screen end, then ignore this. Lol 😆.

The screen is being put at the other end. So I am hitting opposite that wall. I am planning on placing the SIG12 screen (from shopindoorgolf) approximately 14" from the front wall where the sliding door is. I will have heavy sound dampening curtains between the screen and door for added soundproofing and protection of the door. I am thinking maybe adding an angle section there and maybe placing a couple of recessed lights there and really packing that area with insulation. Alternatively, I am considering adding some 2x4 studs straight up and leaving out the recessed lights from that area. He may even come up with another idea. Ideally, I would love to create enough space where he can go full R38, sound clips and hat channel in that area and I think that will do it.

[pwade3]

If that is the screen end, box out the upper area of the wall that is the tube area, as your screen won’t be that tall and even if it is, your screen will deflect maybe 14” and that will only be with a driver which has a lower launch angle and thus the deflection will be about 4 ft up. If you box out the upper tub section you would never see it and it will be sure to stop the sound travel. If its not the screen end, then ignore this. Lol 😆.

[Kaos]

You are going to have a tough time stopping the sound from not traveling to the bathroom, or even whatever is behind that wall. You only have one wall that is going to be an issue, and if it was me I would soundproof that wall and then build the wall out again, then insulate and drywall. I live in a house of concrete and insulation and since the sim is under the main floor it creates a fair bit of noise with the driver. Iron play is fine. The ball hitting the screen also creates a secondary noise. This is why I’m building an outbuilding for it. What your doing looks excellent, but that one wall is going to be your weak link. If you can overproof it I would do that. Thats going to be a excellent sim. You must live in a warmer climate then me. Lol 🥶 🇨🇦

Yea...I agree that may be a problem. That is the tub on the left, then a wall and closed in toilet and the far right is the start of the walk in closet. I think the idea is to add enough stud in that area to allow for the full Rockwall insulation to be installed. I don't want to add to the full wall as that will shorten the room length another 4". I am thinking there may be a way to add some studs covering that area while making the room appearance not look too bad. But, I agree, and I am going to work with him in the morning to come up with a way to add necessary studding while maintaining the room aesthetics. I'll post the solution we come up with.

[pwade3]

You are going to have a tough time stopping the sound from not traveling to the bathroom, or even whatever is behind that wall. You only have one wall that is going to be an issue, and if it was me I would soundproof that wall and then build the wall out again, then insulate and drywall. I live in a house of concrete and insulation and since the sim is under the main floor it creates a fair bit of noise with the driver. Iron play is fine. The ball hitting the screen also creates a secondary noise. This is why I’m building an outbuilding for it. What your doing looks excellent, but that one wall is going to be your weak link. If you can overproof it I would do that. Thats going to be a excellent sim. You must live in a warmer climate then me. Lol 🥶 🇨🇦

[Kaos]

Are you sound proofing interior walls? I have been looking into the offsetting of the wall studs but that won’t work in our climate as the R value is not sufficient to do that. As excellent as offset studs is, its just not an option for me, but thanks for the heads up on that. I am constructing an outdoor building so all walls are exterior. I will need the 2x6 wall studs for the insulation. I will use 5/8 Quietrock drywall, rockwool insulation and OSB on exterior as it is better at sound dampening then plywood. I will then have smart board siding over the obs so will have layers that will help with dampening the sound. Still working on windows. Apparently there is a sound damping glass that can be used, but I have no data on its effectiveness and what it costs.

The addition has no interior walls. It is 15x20 space attached to the back of the garage with entry from the living room. The window in the first pic (interior is going to be removed tomorrow or Thursday and an exterior insulated door is being installed). My main concern is the bathroom floor shown at the top of that photo. I am going to have stuff the space under the tub with insulation and add 1 5/8" Rockwool between the drywall and the floor edge. I hope that will be enough as that is the master bath floor and my wife will have a fit it that creates sound issues. It would not have been as issue if I had went with 10' ceiling like the rest of the downstairs, but since I went with 11' that is cause for concern. You plan and you plan and there is always something unforeseen that comes up! I am going to discuss that area with contractor in the morning to see if we can come up with any other solution for that issue. The ceiling will have R38 Rockwool and the walls with have R15 Rockwool. The windows you see just above the roof of the addition is the master bedroom.

[pwade3]

Are you sound proofing interior walls? I have been looking into the offsetting of the wall studs but that won’t work in our climate as the R value is not sufficient to do that. As excellent as offset studs is, its just not an option for me, but thanks for the heads up on that. I am constructing an outdoor building so all walls are exterior. I will need the 2x6 wall studs for the insulation. I will use 5/8 Quietrock drywall, rockwool insulation and OSB on exterior as it is better at sound dampening then plywood. I will then have smart board siding over the obs so will have layers that will help with dampening the sound. Still working on windows. Apparently there is a sound damping glass that can be used, but I have no data on its effectiveness and what it costs.

[Kaos]

Here are pics of the sound clips I am using and related hat channel that were just delivered to the job today. I will post further pictures as we progress.

[Kaos]

Once the addition gets to the point of doing electrical and soundproofing, I will be posting some pics of my setup so you guys can see what it entails. You can actually follow my project step by step here:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/323431-construction-begins-on-sim-room-addition

[pwade3]

Yes, you are correct. I watched some YouTub videos like you suggested. It did explain that, but now I will have to see if our building code will allow this. I hope they do as I see it also as a way to save a bit on lumber using 2x4 verses 2x6. Lumber prices in our area have skyrocketed.

[Kaos]

As the saying goes, you learn something new everyday. I have never heard of the offsetting studs. I will look that up. Very interesting.
As for the 2 x 6 walls, I would have thought the more insulation between the inside and outside would help with sound damping, especially if using drywall clips to help prevent the sound traveling through the 2 x 6 itself?

Well, it would if you are adding more insulation in the space creating more mass. Using standard insulation would not provide much benefit I do not believe. The staggered studs I think gets you the same 6 inch walls but there is a 2" air gap every other stud which allows the vibrations to more effectively dissipate before exiting the other side. You can still add the same insulation you planned.

[pwade3]

Instead of 2x6 studs, you may want to investigate using a staggered 2x4 wall design where every other stud is offset from the next stud. Staggered wall studding is very effective when combined with other soundproofing options. I just did not have the space to do it that way without incurring extra costs for the room addition (I had to add a foot as it is because of the soundproofing options I chose). You can find some videos on Youtube that discuss this type of wall design. I don't think the 2x6 framing, by itself will add much in the way of reduction as it just creates additional space for the sound to vibrate. I would consider sound dampening curtains for the windows as opposed to the blinds.

One other point I meant to mention is that you must take care when installing the drywall on the channel and appropriate lenght screws must be used. If the screws end up in the studs, you are defeating the purpose of the hat channel and clips.

Also, the windows choice I think is fine for the distance your build we be away from the house and neighbors. In other words, I don't think you need to go with sound glass as that can get quite pricey.

As the saying goes, you learn something new everyday. I have never heard of the offsetting studs. I will look that up. Very interesting.
As for the 2 x 6 walls, I would have thought the more insulation between the inside and outside would help with sound damping, especially if using drywall clips to help prevent the sound traveling through the 2 x 6 itself?

[Kaos]

Kaos Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience. I find this to be of great timing for me. I am in the planning stages of building an outbuilding specifically for sim use. I have a semi permanent sim in our 3 1/2 bay garage but get the complaint of noise from time to time. The garage is below our main floor of the house and the main floor is insulated and has 2” of concrete plus and slate on top of the concrete. I have never measured the db but I only get complaints of the driver and ball hitting the screen, which is loud enough to be annoying. So, an outside building it will be.
I plan on a 16’ x 30’ building in the back corner of the lot. Our lot is .80 of an acre and there is nothing on the back side of the lot other then green space. No houses within 100 ft of where the building will go, but I am still concerned about noise as I do not want to go to all this expense to have complaints so I am going to sound proof as much as possible and thus your information is very much appreciated.
We built our house 9 years ago and I added sound protection to my Den/office as a bedroom is next door to it. I used 2x6 studs. A type of rock based insulation but did not use drywall clips. We used sound proof board and drywall and the one thing we added was a type of primer to the drywall that adds protection and helps in sound transmission. I don’t have any data on it but the room is very well soundproofed. You can turn the TV up relatively loud and cannot hear it next door.

You bring up some excellent points that I have not given any thoughts to such as electrical outlets and switch’s. I will add those to the check list.
- I will be constructing using 2x6 framing
- I am going to go with drywall clips as I have allowed for the extra room needed
- I will use Rock based insulation
- I am looking into a metal siding (modern corrugated type) but have not been able to see if that would help verses a wood siding. Its possible metal might make it worse but very little of it touch’s the building.
- One door and I am looking either insulated metal or insulated fiberglass. I have a fiberglass side door in our house but no idea of its sound qualities so am looking into that. I do plan on adding the siding to the outside of the door as my wife does not like the look of doors so that will add to its qualities for sound dampening
- The building will have 4 tall narrow windows and this is where the trouble will be. I have been inquiring about 3 pane windows verses sound proof glass. I can add fiberglass blinds to them but this will be the weak link for sure. Still concerned about that.

Thanks again, and if you have any thoughts on mine, it would be much appreciated.

Instead of 2x6 studs, you may want to investigate using a staggered 2x4 wall design where every other stud is offset from the next stud. Staggered wall studding is very effective when combined with other soundproofing options. I just did not have the space to do it that way without incurring extra costs for the room addition (I had to add a foot as it is because of the soundproofing options I chose). You can find some videos on Youtube that discuss this type of wall design. I don't think the 2x6 framing, by itself will add much in the way of reduction as it just creates additional space for the sound to vibrate. I would consider sound dampening curtains for the windows as opposed to the blinds.

One other point I meant to mention is that you must take care when installing the drywall on the channel and appropriate lenght screws must be used. If the screws end up in the studs, you are defeating the purpose of the hat channel and clips.

Also, the windows choice I think is fine for the distance your build we be away from the house and neighbors. In other words, I don't think you need to go with sound glass as that can get quite pricey.