How to soundproof a room with a drumset?
Question:I live on the bottom floor of an apartment complex. I have neighbors on all sides. I would like to move my drumset in and actually use it...but I don't want to annoy anyone. The room that I want to put it in has one window, and is about 10' x 10'. What would be a cheap way to soundproof it?
Answers:
The first answerer has the right idea and the egg crates should work; but if you want to create a true soundproof room then you must use polystyrene (the same material foam mattresses are made out of). What you want looks like the reverse side of some thin foam cushions..it has little cone shaped bumps all over it. The professionals use large cones to create almost 100% soundproofing to test speakers and the like. The foam contains thousands of little holes that trap any sound and the cone shapes cause the sound to beak up.This is the ultimate solution. But there is one problem, polystyrene (which is used in airline seats and in household chairs and sofas) is flamable and releases a poison gass if it catches fire. You can research on how to make a spray on fire retardant...borix acid and water sprayed on will slow a fire. If one is to completey cover a room in polystyrene one must take exteme precautions not to create a potenial fire hazard.
By the way the shock insulation (rigid polystyrene) used in many shipping and packaging boxes has the same properties...lots of little holes.
Well there you have it.Many egg cartons the plasticey looking ones are made of polystyrene (many are made of paper slurry dried).I wonder if the first answerer is aware of the potential danger created if having used polystyrene.
You can find good formulas for fire retardants that can be spayed on the polystyrene. I mentioned the borix acid. Do a google on home made fire retardants....
If you don't mind the cost you can buy 'Sound Board'-Homosote?
It is made to dampen sound and is not as potenually dangerous as the polystyrene..people use it behind Gypsum walls in places like basements to dampen the sound of boilers..etc when they put in rec rooms. If you line the wallls (comes in 4'x8' sheets) with sound boad then one could hide the ugly brown stuff with fire treated fabric..just an idea. If one coveres the sound board (also full of millions of holes) as with wall board then it is less effective especialy for high frequency sound..Unfortunaly Home Depot and Lowes (in my area anyway) do not carry it..It can be bought from speciality lumber yards..also used under wood floors to dampen sound! Google sound board (I believe Monsanto has it brand named Homosote?).
Good luck
What we did in my apartment, is we stapled egg crates to the walls. It worked great we even asked my neighbors if they had ever heard us and they didn't even know we had a drum set. Egg crates run about $7-10 and are a perfect way to soundproof. Now the only thing is when you move out you have to fill all the holes but if that's not a concern of yours than I think that will work fine.
egg crate peaces
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