Soundproofing/dampening on the cheap...

[The Wedge]

So, I've recently gutted most of the useless crap out of my garage and was surprised at how much room I had. I'm thinking of making it a practice space for music, but in order to not grossly offend the neighbors, I want to dampen/diffuse the sound.

My ideas at this point is to have some kind of absorbing buffer along the exposed beam walls and ceiling (like some sort of acoustical foam or egg shell stuff), leaving dead air between the beams and outer wall. Then in front of that, use thick curtains, duvets/comforters, and hang up similar stuff along the ceiling (again leaving dead air between that and the ceiling proper. Then use some spray foam sealant near the doors to fix some cracks and such, and then find some cheap carpet to deaden the sound along the floor.

Now, I ask you all humbly, do you have any suggestions? I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible (and on that note, any thick curtains/duvets/comforters you're never gonna use again I'd be intersted in), or else I could easily get a bunch of rated acoustic dampening materials.

My goal is not to completely kill the sound, but I only want the sound to be around 50-70 dB outside the garage, and therefore about 30-40 near the property lines, which I think is completely doable.

[olehippi]

So, I've recently gutted most of the useless crap out of my garage and was surprised at how much room I had. I'm thinking of making it a practice space for music, but in order to not grossly offend the neighbors, I want to dampen/diffuse the sound.

My ideas at this point is to have some kind of absorbing buffer along the exposed beam walls and ceiling (like some sort of acoustical foam or egg shell stuff), leaving dead air between the beams and outer wall. Then in front of that, use thick curtains, duvets/comforters, and hang up similar stuff along the ceiling (again leaving dead air between that and the ceiling proper. Then use some spray foam sealant near the doors to fix some cracks and such, and then find some cheap carpet to deaden the sound along the floor.

Now, I ask you all humbly, do you have any suggestions? I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible (and on that note, any thick curtains/duvets/comforters you're never gonna use again I'd be intersted in), or else I could easily get a bunch of rated acoustic dampening materials.

My goal is not to completely kill the sound, but I only want the sound to be around 50-70 dB outside the garage, and therefore about 30-40 near the property lines, which I think is completely doable.


Haven't checked here in a while and just saw your now month old post. If you haven't already gone forward, I would highly suggest using egg separators, the kind used for commercial shipping. Check below:

http://www.eggcartons.com/product-exec/product_id/221/nm/Recycled_Pulp_Egg_Tray_S_Lg_30_Egg_ETP_30

About 2 years ago, a friend used egg cartons to dampen sound in an 8' x 8' drum room in his basement recording studio. Cost him less than $100, and that included spray painting them various colors. It was very effective.