How we soundproofed our home studio for 100 bucks
Above: Diagram I made of how we soundproofed the window in our studio. It’s not only a useful document, it’s sort of my current view on the world. (Image covered by Creative Commons. Feel free to share.)
So, Debra Jean and I soundproofed the one window in the 10 x 10 foot room that we dedicate to our recording endeavors, and also use as our office (with side-by-side matching laptops. And now that we’ve got the rack mount gear blinking between us, we feel like we’re piloting a jet plane!)
We call our little studio “Casa de Llama” and “The Inter-Nest”.
Our neighborhood is mostly quiet, WAY quieter than where I lived in Echo Park. And we live alone in the house - no roommates (except cats, and they’re pretty quiet). But the studio window faces out to the street and there are cars…also occasional barking dogs, kids playing, and other detritus of suburban life.
The window is the one weak link in the chain of us having a quiet room to record (and think) in.
Above: BEFORE pix
We did some research and found that, other than a foot of concrete, the best simple way to make soundproofing is dead air between layers of wood.
We went to Home Depot and bought two pieces of 1/2-inch plywood. We had it cut to be 1/16 of an inch smaller than the inside of the window frame. We also got one piece of plywood five inches larger in both directions than the inside of the window frame.
We started by stapling the window curtain to one side of one of a piece of plywood:
This is so that from the outside of the house it looks like normal window with curtains:
(rather than the meth lab / crack house look you get with raw plywood.)
Above: someone’s house, but not mine.
We left little pull tab pieces of fabric in case there’s ever a fire or earthquake and we have to get out fast.
It would be nearly impossible to get in from the outside (and we have an alarm, we left the contact inside the window and ran the wire in), but I could pull this thing apart from the inside out in less than a minute with the claw hammer I keep hanging on the wall. We had to razor the bottom side off the fabric so the board would fit. Man, did it fit tight. Had to push it in slowly, tapping all around it with a rubber mallet.
SO…then we put weatherstripping all the way around the inside of the window frame, touching the back (studio side) of the first piece of plywood.
This provides sound deadening, as well as being the thing that will hold the next layer of plywood in place.
Then we put in the second layer of plywood, and more weather stripping on the other side of that.
We put synthetic, fire-resistant pillow batting in between the last two layers of plywood. We don’t have pix of that actually getting done because it took four hands. But here it is before we put it in:
It looked like a sheep exploded.
(Don’t pack it TOO tight, or it will actually TRANSMIT sound, not block it.)
This was followed by taking the piece of plywood that was larger than the window frame and nailing it into the window frame and wall with three-inch nails.
And over that we nailed carpet.
Voilà!
Looks like hell, but keeps out about 98% of the noise. We love it.
(Note, it also keeps OUR um…noises…IN. Nice. We make some odd noises sometimes.)
TOTAL COST: 60 bucks.
I believe this technique could be applied, on a lager scale, to an entire wall or even a whole room. You would have to build some wood frames, but it should work.
——
We also laid carpet on the floor and nailed it to all the walls and the ceiling.
TOTAL COST: 40 bucks. (We dumpster dived clean carpet remnants from behind a carpet store, and only had to buy the carpet glue, some nails, and one blanket to cover the closet.)
What we did to the window is soundproofing. What we did to the walls inside the room isn’t really soundproofing (it’s quiet in the rest of the house, we don’t need soundproofing inside), it’s sound conditioning. That is, it cuts out reverberation, and makes a nice dead-sounding room….Which is nice for recording. You can always add reverb later, but you can’t take it away. You want the purest sound you can get, that gives you more control if you wanna mess with it.
And if you don’t wanna mess with it, it just gives you a good sound.
(Also check out our quick-n-dirty sound treatment of our bedroom with our H2 bedcast setup).
–Michael W. Dean
January 9th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Intense! I’d miss the natural light, though. I worked in a big L.A. recording studio for a year and a half and always felt a feeling of relief when I passed by the one window to the outside. Maybe a Sun Tunnel to the roof would do the trick. (I know you work mostly at night, but still.)
January 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Sweet!!
One thing I remember from somewhere is to think of sound as if it were water– you need to seal stuff up airtight so it doesn’t get in or out for soundproofing. You still need to breathe, so 100% airtight would be bad, lol. Looks like you did a great job. I like the curtain look from outside instead of crackhouse plywood. And yes– very good info– soundproofing and room treatment are two different things that are very often confused.
I work in a dark room without windows for 40 hours a week at my TV job. I cannot cover up my window at home for this reason!! I try to remember to take frequent trips outside for a few minutes. This 40 hr thing is getting old.
And sound treatment isn’t done very well at all in my TV audio booth– I have a better setup at home in that regard. They just don’t care. Lots of weird stuff going on in TV that doesn’t make sense.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
“Maybe a Sun Tunnel to the roof would do the trick. (I know you work mostly at night, but still.)”
Naw…that would involve a lot of money and/or devaluing the house. During the day I take breaks and step out onto the patio with the cat. It is important for me to get some sun to reset my clock. Cuts down on insomnia.
MWD
January 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
The job we did cuts out a lot of mids and highs (leaf blowers, barking dogs, etc.) but the bass when someone pulls into the driveway blasting hip hop with a bumping stereo still comes through the WALLS a little bit. Not much we can do about that, except work toward the day we can live on many acres away from all the humans in the world.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
THIS IS GREAT!!! Thank you!!
In my case, the plywood cost would be even cheaper since I’d use it to construct a box in which to place my neighbor’s screaming children… and those individuals who claim the wessside is quieter than echo parkay!
January 19th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Kelly….I agree.
Wasn’t it Jonathan Swift who said “Children should be made into soup and not heard!”? No? Maybe it was me.
Just finished shopping with the wife. Got some dirty looks from some shiny happy couple with kids because I said “Ew…children…” out loud, instead of just thinking it, and they heard me.
The world population has doubled in my life time. If people think encouraging everyone (especially Catholics) that “many children is a blessing”, as Jim Goad says “just stick around for 50 years.”
I think carjackers will become housejackers.
MWD
February 20th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Nice job. You might get a bit more transmission loss if you use thicker (5/8″) material and eliminate the middle piece of wood. That way you maximize the airspace and fill it with standard insulation.
You see this effect in lab tests of double pane windows that have a large (say 3″ to 4″) airspace that out-perform triple pane windows that have two smaller (1/2″ or 1″) airspaces. If the airspace is too small, you can get coupling between the layers of material on either side of the airspace, be they glass or wood or gypsum.
Using particle board, MDF or OSB, which has a bit more mass than plywood, is also a good idea.
All in all, you don’t need to go to great lengths — your window is probably out-performing your wall, so you get to a point of diminishing returns.
It’s tough to reduce low frequency noise. Double stud walls with multiple layers of 5/8″ gypsum, grout-filled concrete masonry units, or relocating all work well.
Todd in Portland, OR
April 8th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
[...] Article “How we soundproofed our home studio for 100 bucks” [...]
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:35 am
Hi there,
It’s very interesting to know how you eliminate noise this simple. I just have one question about noise cancellation, hope you don’t mind replying. I now live in flat that’s next to a Discotheque, every night my whole family can’t sleep because of the bass sound from it. Could you please suggest any efficient way to solve this. I’ve try double pane windows already but it doesn’t help. Moreover it’s low frequency noise, so it’s not only coming through the windows , i guess. Thank you very much if you can help or even any commercial equipment that you can find on the market.
Regards,
LUONG NGUYEN
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 am
You live next to a disco? what would I do? I’d move. That’s a lot more noise than I’m dealing with. I’m just dealing with occasional cars driving by playing hip hop, about 50 feet away. And the soundproofing I did cuts it down, but does not eliminate it 100%
If you own the house, adding a concrete wall with air between it and your wall might help, but moving would be easier.
MWD
August 7th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
very good effort. and in the circumstances most practical. As for sunlight, the most practical thing, is to take a stroll outside now and again, and this is the easiest thing to do, as you are your own Boss! Also it can be most refreshing. and..it is something which most people working in co-operate offices etc can’t afford! ( you can’t have your cake, and eat it too!).so a fantastic job indeed!
August 24th, 2008 at 1:13 am
I’m 15… Just got a job, and it’s excellent money.
So, I couldn’t resist planning on upgrading my sound situation ;). I’m searching around for a powerful sound system as we speak, actually…
In a moment of genuine altruism, I remembered how the effects of a giant booming sound system would really cause problems for my neighbors, the police, my parents, as well as myself and my home.
So, I decided to look around for a affordable way to soundproof my room from the outside world. My goal here is to ensure everyone OUTSIDE my room cannot hear my explicit death metal, Techno, Rock and roll, etc, while I can comfortably sit in a giant bean bag chair and listen to awesome music while I am high. Pretty straight forward.
Glad I found this, I will consider this into my plans ;).
October 12th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
ITS BETTER TO SOUNDPROOF THE OUTSIDE OF YOUR BOOTH WITH VERY THICK RAPED UP FOAM AND COVER YOUR INSIDE WITH CLEAN BROWN CARTONS….VERY GREAT FOR FRQUENCIES
October 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
i meant wraped
October 12th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
STOP YELLING AT ME!
December 5th, 2008 at 3:18 am
OLD YELLER! LOL
December 5th, 2008 at 3:24 am
MEW!
December 8th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Hi Michael,
Thanks for this excellent article.
Apologies for this long comment, but I will be obliged if someone can read the following and help me.
I am (desperately) looking for sound proofing my home, and I was searching on net for solutions. There are tons of articles on net, but most involve purchasing very very costly sound proofing products. Most of the time, these are not in budget.
My problem is due to the noise entering my rooms as I live on a traffic road. And its unaffordable for me to sell this house and purchase new.
My problem is that due to the disturbance of this noise, I and my family have started getting less and less sleep, and worst, we are getting interruptions in our sleep (due to noise) and this has started resulting in affecting our health and hence also my performance in my occupation. I completely fear this will also result in bad health of my kids and their performance in studies (and hence their future!).
Due to lack of sleep, my body is REMAINING tired. I am sure there must be a medical condition term associated with this, but I am yet to know what this is known as medically. Let me know if anyone knows what this is called medically.
With the solution that you have mentioned, can you please let me know the following:
1. If I literally shutoff all my windows with concrete wall, will THAT reduce more noise or your solution? I know my house will be a prison in that case, but I have less choices.
2. What I have started thinking is to use your solution (or completely shut all walls with concrete as you suggest) and then put 2 small low noise low speed inlet outlet fans in each room such that one fan will blow air out and the other will blow air in, in each room. Than use a timer (which are available cheap) which will start and stop these fans after each duration (say each 10 mins) (to save electricity expense and fan life). My question is if I do this, do you think even that small hole in the wall (for fans) will bring enough disturbing noise inside to create disturbance?
Also do you have any article with you which describe the effect of interrupting sleep due to noise on humans and especially kids.
Please help.
-Krishna Kapadia
December 8th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Krishna,
I’d recommend trying making thick flaps of several layers of carpet, attaching them at the top of the the windows, and rolling them down at night. Use fire-retardant carpeting, and make a way to hold the window coverings up in the day (roll ‘em up and tie them to nails, maybe). My bedroom window is boarded over, but if the whole house were, I’d go nuts.
Then go to the drugstore and buy a box or bottle of those cheap squishy foam earplugs. Wear ‘em when you sleep. These two things combined should be fairly inexpensive, and should probably get the Db level down to a sleep-inducing level.
Keep in mind if you’re wearing earplugs you can’t hear intruders as quickly. I live in a decent (for now) neighborhood, but have a LOUD alarm connected to all the windows and doors. And I own guns. I keep ‘em loaded. (I don’t have kids. If you have really young kids, you’ll need a lock box, but older kids, despite what the “gun grabbers” say, can be taught NOT to mess with them. Especially if you learn to shoot, and teach your kids to shoot, and teach them gun safety.)
MWD