Soundproofing 101

[pwade3]

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.

[Kaos]

Here is the sound chart referred to above. I cannot figure out how to insert in on edit.

[Kaos]

Cavity absorption is a must for soundproofing. I went with the Rockwool (a rock based product) insulation. My research revealed that the typical Db reduction in sound transmission for the rock based insulation is ~10 Db whereas fiberglass is in the 4 -10 Db range. The thicker the fiberglass, the better (like R19) if you use fiberglass. The fiberglass insulation must be properly installed so that no slippage occurs. The Rockwool is more expensive of course (but not that much more as to make it cost prohibitive), but for the consistence in reduction in sound transmission, you can’t go wrong.

Here is a comparison chart for various setups (wall, drywall and sound clip products) that shows STC benefits.


Sound barrier (rubber lining between drywall and studs) is very effective. The downside to this option is that it is VERY expensive!

Other considerations:

1. Sound leaks are a huge problem. Untreated walls allow sound leaks. All walls and ceiling should be treated (unless basement walls are away from common use areas above). I would still recommend treating interior basement walls to prevent problems through the wall and up through adjoining floors.
2. Electrical outlets and fixtures need to be treated with putty pads.
3. Windows and sliding doors are a problem. I recommend using window treatments such as sound dampening curtains that can be pulled when sim is in use.
4. Doors are another problem. I recommend that you install external insulated door for entry into space. As an additional sound reducing option, install a sound dampening curtain that can be pulled across the door when shut.
5. Also, duct work in the ceiling needs to be insulated and treated as that is a big source for sound leaks!

[Kaos]

Increasing the mass of the partitions is a great option. However, the downside to this option is that you are reducing the available space. If for example, you have ½” drywall and you double that, you are reducing the space of the room 1” (measured from wall to wall across the room). That can be an issue, especially when dealing with limited space or sizing room additions. If you go this route, my recommendation is to use 5/8” (Type C) drywall, and if space allows, double that.

Sound board is a great(probably the best when combined with a rock based insulation) option, BUT, it is cost prohibitive if you are on a budget or trying to otherwise control the cost of the room. Soundboard can run $60+ per 4x8 sheet. So, you can see that that would get quite expensive real fast.

Breaking the path of vibration is one of the most cost effective ways of soundproofing. Sound vibrates in walls (with wood studs being worse than metal). Drywall installed against the studs allows sound to vibrate in and between the studs. The idea here is to break the connection between the drywall and the stud cavity. Hat channel (also called resilient channel) is thin metal channel installed across the studs to disconnect the drywall from the stud. The channel absorbs sound vibration and distributes it, thus, creating less vibration in and between the studs.

Quality sound clips installed between the stud and hat channel can further increase the benefit of using hat channel.

The benefit of using clips and hat channel allow for economical soundproofing (when compared to sound board). However, you must allow for the space reduction that will result. For example, I went CLARKDIETRICH SOUND CLIP and resilient channel. The added space, when combined with the 5/8” Type C drywall added 2.25” to each wall thickness. This reduces the room size by a whopping 6.25” (studs and, clips, channel and 5/8 drywall) per wall or 12.5” (as opposed to 9” for studs and ½” drywall) from wall to wall as measured from the edge of the foundation. So, if you wanted a 14’ width space, you need to have an outside dimension of ~15’. This of course adds costs.

[Kaos]

To give you a practical example, while watching TV in an ~11x10 room with a Vizio TV at 10 volume (volume scale 100 and measured approximately 7-8 ft away from TV) the typical Db generated in the room is in the range of 42-50 Db. In my house with TVs off standing on the stairs in the middle of the day (with perceived quite) the Db is in the low 30s or below 30. My research has shown that a titanium driver can produce sounds as loud as 100-110 Db. To date, I have not found the Db on the impact screen. The Db will vary though depending on the screen chosen. However, club impact noise is higher frequency (HF) noise and the ball impacting the screen is lower frequency (LF) noise. LF sound is much harder to block than HF sound.

As noted in the chart, the STC rating is the ability to block the sound being transmitted from the space.
There are several ways to achieve this reduction or blocking of the sound. These are:

1. Increase the mass of partitions
2. Break the path of vibration
3. Cavity absorption.

If you are building a space like a room addition or converting a basement, your options are better than if you are unable to open the walls or ceiling. I am not going to discuss spaces where you cannot open the walls or ceiling because, in my research, I did not find anything that was effective at soundproofing apart from using studio grade techniques. Research those if you are interested. The sound panels you buy on Amazon are not effective as a standalone item (your wife will not be pleased with the result)!

[Kaos]

This discussion will probably be in four posts because of the size of the information discussed.

Soundproofing golf sim room can be problematic. What works? The answer is it depends on your goals and the space you are dealing with. Sound proofing is measure by reducing the amount of sound that is transmitted from one space to another. Soundproofing is generally measured by STC (Sound Transmission Class).

I recommend that you shoot for and STC rating no less than 57. I planned on an STC of 60 with my setup. I figure if I get 58, I will be gold with the wife!

I did a lot of research on soundproofing for a golf room addition I am doing. Below is a layman’s discussion of some of the options. Hopefully, some of you guys may benefit from the below.

Here is a typical chart showing what type of noise and related STC rating.