Noise Control & Neighbors

[Doug Mason]

Awhile ago a couple of my nieghbors let me know very polietly that my machines were somewhat loud at night--when I like to use them after work. The combination of my clearvure (5HP?) and my planer/jointer (4HP) makes a lot of noise. To correct this, I have enclosed the cyclone in a closet and have added insulation in my large garage shop. Both of these have helped tremendously.

In addition, I tore down the garage door (it went up/down) and built two large doors (plywood doors) that open outward. This alone made my shop much more comfortable as I no longer have the garage door 10 inches above my head as had been the case when it was open.

But my new two outward opening plywood doors still have the same problem as the old garage door--ie alot of sound escapes in this area.
I initialy thought of adding insulation to the doors--but it was obvious this would make the doors way too heavy. Does anyone have recommendations that have worked on your end? I have thougt of hanging carpet on the inside front of the doors--much like drapes.

[David Duke]

I believe that I would use the expanding foam insulation (assuming the plywood doors have frames), this shouldn't add much weight at all. It definitely should be lighter that hanging carpet and be better sound proofing also.

[Brian Kent]

I used to teach drum lessons in my garage. I used an instulating foam rubber that looks like an egg-crate foam pad. I checked the sound insulation websites (like for recording studios) rather than woodworking sites.

[nic obie]

If you know somebody that owns or works at a restaurant, ask them to save their egg crates. Wholesale eggs use a foot square egg crate. You would be surprised how many of them a breakfast house uses.

[Bill Wyko]

There's a product called carpet jute. It's the stuff you find under automotive carpet. It's usually grey and looks like ground up upholstery. If you need some I can order you some and have it shipped to you. It's about 40 inches wide and comes in rolls. I believe it runs somewhere around 6 to 10 bucks a yardx 40" wide. You could also use a product called hushmat. It's a sound dampener used in car audio to stop a vehicle from rattling and it has a very strong adhesive back. Let me know if I can be of any help.:)

[Mike Goetzke]

There's a product called carpet jute. It's the stuff you find under automotive carpet. It's usually grey and looks like ground up upholstery.

Sounds like the underlayment you use for laminated floors???

[Jeff Considine]

you might also check out a product I used in my music store to insulate my retail neighbors from our "Stairway to Heaven" riff players - it was called sound board, or sound deadening board. I just did a google search for 'board noise insulation' and this is the stuff I bought.

Basically a 1/2" 4'x8' sheet of a fibrous compound, rigid enough to put up with screws with grommets and did a reasonably good job for us. If I recall it was about the same price as a sheet of plywood. I got mine from a local drywall supplier.

Not very heavy, might be able to hang it on the backs of your doors. It will definitely be a dust magnet if left uncovered in its natural state.

Good luck.

Jeff

[Josiah Bartlett]

Foam insulation board is surprisingly light.

Also, put weather stripping around the door, that will help a lot.

[Steve Mellott]

I bought some sound control panels that are used to divide office cubicles. Used 5' x 5' panels sell for about $5 each in the Atlanta area. You can either attach them to the walls or you can stand them on the floor.

[Al Killian]

There is a guy by the name john Lucas that has a website that show how he made his garage doors and used foam inslu board and expand a foam to fill in the gaps. I was told that aucstic ceiling tiles will make a major difference in the amount of sound being transmited thru walls and such.

[Brian Weick]

Awhile ago a couple of my nieghbors let me know very polietly that my machines were somewhat loud at night--when I like to use them after work. The combination of my clearvure (5HP?) and my planer/jointer (4HP) makes a lot of noise. To correct this, I have enclosed the cyclone in a closet and have added insulation in my large garage shop. Both of these have helped tremendously.

In addition, I tore down the garage door (it went up/down) and built two large doors (plywood doors) that open outward. This alone made my shop much more comfortable as I no longer have the garage door 10 inches above my head as had been the case when it was open.

But my new two outward opening plywood doors still have the same problem as the old garage door--ie alot of sound escapes in this area.
I initialy thought of adding insulation to the doors--but it was obvious this would make the doors way too heavy. Does anyone have recommendations that have worked on your end? I have thougt of hanging carpet on the inside front of the doors--much like drapes.


Doug,
Bose has a deal on those sound canceling headphones on the www ,print it out and hand it to your neighbors - see what kind of response you get from them, make sure you take a picture for us! Or - get them involved with working- problem solved :rolleyes: - I am just kidding - I couldn't resist :p
good luck with that problem - are your walls insulated? try some insulation panels on the garage door? Styrofoam insulation isn't that heavy and will do a great job on sound absorption- siding insulation- Dow- look into that - you could use adhesive to mount it to the panels on the door.

I hope you solve your noise problem
Brian

[Chuck Lenz]

If you do park cars in the shop they do make insulated garage doors. If you don't park cars in your shop a set of steel insulated double doors should work. Both options would probably be more burglar proof than what you have now also. If nothing works you may just have to close your shop up earlier at night. You should be able to find out when noise restrictions are.

[Michael Schwartz]

Insulate the doors. If the hinges operate smoothly they will open pretty easily regardless of what they weigh. Even a 2" ridged foam wont add that much weight. Add to that an acoustical treatment to absorb the sound and you are in buisness.

[Brian Weick]

Bingo- there you go- I concur!

[David DeCristoforo]

What with all of the advice about soundproofing, I think everyone's overlooking the "best" and most obvious fix. Invite the neighbors over for BBQ'd ribs and beer in the evening whilst you're working in the shop. It probably won't cost much more that what you will have to shell out to soundproof your shop.

[Peter Pedisich]

Doug,

Broadcast facilities often have Audio rooms (with LOUDspeakers!) adjacent to control rooms and sound isolation is essential.They construct the walls with 2 layers of 5/8" drywall on each side of the stud, and the reduction in the transfer of noise from one room to another is remarkable.
Now I know this is hard if not impossible for you to do but it may give you some clues as to the best approach to use.

Good Luck,

Pete

[Dan Lyman]

In my soundproofing experience, basement home theater, you will need to balance cost and amount of sound proofing. The quieter you make it the more it will cost, what ever method you use.

It will all be wasted money and time unless you seal the gaps around the doors. Even a smallish gap will neutralize the efforts. With that said, look into rock wool insulation. It is effective and reasonably priced if you can get it locally and you could install it on the doors. Otherwise, foam panels will help and are pretty durable.

The other thing to consider is how much noise is really getting out. You may already have it at acceptable levels. I mean it will never be silent. Check with the neighbors and get their opinion on it. If nothing else they'll be happy you listened to them and you're working on it. They might be ok with the current levels.

[Jake Helmboldt]

One thing to consider with things like the egg crate foam and such is flamability. While we all have lots of flamable items in our shops, give careful consideration to use, installation, and placement of such materials, especially if used around anything that can generate signficant heat in the shop.

Some foam is very flamable; remember the Great White concert a couple years ago in Rhode Island where 100+ died? It was egg crate foam used for sound deadening (illegaly). Went up like a torch. Similarly the furniture warehouse in SC in June where 9 (I think) firemen died was likely a result of all of the foam in the furniture.

Just a reminder to be careful.

[Matt Vallad]

I have a fair amount of sound proofing experience as I live on a very busy intersection. My home is about 30 feet from an expressway service access drive, of course this is a hospital route as well (sirens and such). To top it off, some hillbillies moved in next door with 3 hound dogs in a kennel about 30-40 feet from my bedroom window. Yeah, I'm no stranger to sound proofing.
There some good info on this post already, but there a couple things to add. Sheetrock/drywall is cheap and effective, but better yet is sound board. Sound board is usually used under a layer of drywall, but in your case I doubt you're looking for finished look anyhow. You can't get this stuff at Lowes or HD (not in MI at least), but it is a stocked item at every local drywall building supply. And get some sound proofing caulk while you're there (about $10 per contractor size tube) Homasote is the best known sound board but it is twice the price of generic($24 vs $10 per 4x8 sheet).
If weight is that much of an issue, look into Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV). This stuff is not cheap, but it is AWESOME... Just get some spray adhesive, a utility knife and a few staples in key areas. This stuff goes up fast. Better yet is lead sheeting but this poses obvious health issues as well as costing more than MLV.
Dan made a comment about the air gaps under and around doors (windows as well). This is EXTREMELY important. All the soundproofing in the world means nothing if it's not sealed well. If air can get through so can sound. PERIOD.

Here's some helpful links that I've found over the past year or two:

http://supersoundproofing.com/forum/index.php (forum on the subject)

http://soundproofing.org/ (TONS of info and soundproofing products)

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/ (same as above)

and

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/soundproofing_tips/soundproofing_tips.htm

Two decent alternatives to MLV is Volara and neoprene. Volara is cheaper than MLV but not as effective. I'm not sure about the neoprene, but I think it's somewhere between the other two in terms of price/performance. Also, you could try to find some old movie theater wall drapes for an inside "finish" treatment. These are very dense and absorb quite a bit of sound. I think soundproofing.org does sell them. Sometimes they have damaged/unsightly ones pretty cheap.

I've bought the Volara locally. They are very reasonable and they will ship anywhere in the US.

Volara: http://www.usafoam.com/closedcellfoam/volara.html
neoprene: http://www.usafoam.com/closedcellfoam/neoprene.html

Hope that helps!

-Matt-