Soundproof a room for drum practice.?

Question

I f I want to soundproof a room in the basement for my son to practice his drum set, what would be the best materials to use on the walls or should I just hang carpeting to absorb the noise.

Answer 1

Blue/Pink/ or Green construction grade foam panels are an inexpensive way to start. 2 inch thick, sold in 4 by 8 sheets, easily cut. They are primarily used for insulation, but certainly will be more effective than carpet or MDF, both of which would cost more. In a basement you can put carpet on the floor to aid in sound muffling.

With no offense at all, I suspect encouraging your son will be as rewarding as saving your hearing. You might get involved to in setting up some sort of schedule that accomodates both your son and the rest of the family.

Steven Wolf

Consider what practice did for Ginger Baker

Answer 2

Soundproof Drum Room

Answer 3

Accoustical materials within the room will improve the sound qualtiy within the room, but not that much to reduce the transmission of sound OUT of the room, which is what you are looking for. (And low frequency sound is harder to block than high frequency sound.)
To do that, there are three main considerations: The mass of the barrier, the thickness of the barrier and disconnecting the barrier from the rest of the structure.
There is no substitute for a dense, thick, airtight box that is essentially separate from the rest of the structure to stop transmission.

The walls against the outside of the basement are not as much of a factor as the interior walls and ceiling. The best solution for those walls is to frame up another wall inside the first one, without being connected to the original wall, fill the cavity with insulation and drywall the inside surface. The ceiling will transmit a lot of sound, so if it has a lay-in grid, replacing the tiles with drywall panels will help. Insulating the floor joists above that ceiling will help, too.

I suggest glueing lay-in accoustical ceiling panels on the walls. These panels are made to absorb sound, are fireproof and quite cheap. Gluing these panels on the ceiling drywall will add some absorbtion. Something to keep in mind is that an entire wall of soundproofing can be defeated by a small hole in that wall, so be sure to seal up any holes.

Earplugs or sound cancelling headphones would be a cheaper and more easier way to attenuate your son's drumming!

Answer 4

Use accustiseal(accoustical adhesive) and MDF. MDF is very good at deadening sound, use maybe 1\2 or 3\4 inch and hang it like drywall. Use the accustiseal between your wall and the MDF, it's kind of messy so it' not totally necessary but deffinatly helps.
Both items are relativly cheap and found at any building center.
I've seen(or heard) this done for a TV room and it worked awesome.

Answer 5

On an already plastered wall (Dot and Dab) drill 1 hole every 1ft, then fill with Expanding foam. Cover wall with MDF 1/2" -3/4" will be ok however the thicker the better, use silicone adhesive to stick the MDF to the existing wall, be sure to fill all the gaps with silicone. Then get some soundboard plasterboard and do the same to the MDF, skim and paint....Job Done!

Answer 6

Now you dont have to get too complicated like these other answers...You're not building a recording-studio..For my drumroom, I simply constructed alot of sound absorbing panels. Use 1x3 spruce lumber and construct 2ft.x4ft. "boxes" (stand the 1x3's on edge and nail them together). Fill the boxes with 'mineral fibre' or 'sound-block' insulation-(the green, wooley type). Third, get some cheap fabric and staple it on to the edges of the boxes and wrap them like you would a christmas present...now you have ready-made panels that you could hinge together to stand up accordion style, or with some eye-hooks and bungee-cords, you could hang them from the ceiling, which I did...Thats the best/cheapest way to deaden a room.

Answer 7

I just hung carpet. Yes, it's a fire hazard, so don't smoke inside. However, your house has carpet, which is a fire hazard. I've finally given up (I play piano, not drums) and gone with a digital piano, and one of the guys I gig with has electric drums. Headphones when the women are home and rage when they're not. We learned this from our bassist who doesn't get nagged when he plays at home because he's just using headphones.

Answer 8

I use those heavy moving blankets hung loosely across the ceiling directly above the kit, then hang 4 more from the ceiling to the floor along the perimeter of the blanket that's on the ceiling. There's no need to sound proof the whole basement or room. Great for you to encourage or accept his passion!

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Hang carpeting around the walls, or as a cheaper alternative, egg cartons face down. They absorb sound, and if it's in the basement close the door. Also, you can get something called a drum shield- I believe you can find them at Guitar Center, this also absorbs sound and is like one of those stand-up dressing screens.