Soundproof Your Studio Within Your Budget

By Author: Kevin Richard
Total Articles: 244
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Building a soundproof studio not necessarily has to be a hefty amount. There are several new and creative products that can be used to get professional results. It is always best while building a studio to squeeze every point you can from the STC door and materials you are using.

Some of the things that will assist you towards that goal are an air duct noise silencer and staggered studs. Staggered studs are where the studs are offset so that there is less wallboard to organize contact. If we put it differently, the soundboard or drywall would only come in contact with every other stud on the wall assembly. Staggered studs are a pretty inexpensive way to start soundproofing your studio.

The next thing we want to look at is wall insulation for the wall cavities and the joist cavities for a ceiling. I always suggest an air duct noise silencer or sound batt insulation known as Roxul to be placed in wall cavities and up against ...
... the top of the ceiling cavities. Roxul is a rock wool insulation that absorbs sounds and assists to damp the structure in either a ceiling assembly or wall. Thus, the fiberglass insulation would be isolated in the cavity. Remember that regular fiberglass insulation is a not a very good sound proofer.

Once we have the insulation installed in both the ceiling and wall cavities we come to crossroads. For the best soundproofing you would want to float the ceiling and walls using metal furring materials and sound clips. Sound clips are sound isolating devices that are used to suspend a wall or ceiling. Metal furring channels are a channel that fits into the sound clips and then become the interface between the joist and drywall or the studs. The sound clips system is a suspension system that works to isolate the new ceiling from the stud or joist structure.

If you can’t do a floated ceiling or wall, don’t despair there are other damping and barrier materials that can be used to soundproof the ceiling and walls of your studio.

Mass Loaded Vinyl is a product that is extensively used as a soundproofing agent across United States. Mass Loaded Vinyl is a high quality vinyl material that is impregnated with silica and salts to impart it the same properties as lead sheeting, but without the risks associated with lead. MLV can be stapled directly to the open studs of a wall assembly or to the joist structure of a ceiling assembly. The MLV would be stapled or nailed to the structure using an industrial stapler or a nail gun that shoots the roofing nails with the plastic heads. You also have the choice of using the sound clips and furring channels along with the MLV to provide you even greater soundproofing.