Sound Proofing and insulating a workshop

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  • woodsy11
    Handtools only
    • Sep 2011
    • 2

    Sound Proofing and insulating a workshop

    G'Day Folks

    I'm in the process of converting a concrete slab, brick wall, tin skillion roof 2 car garage into a woodshop.
    We have already done some substantial work to this end, (construction of a 10 sm, mezzanine platform for timber storage, construction of working height perimeter benches on 2 walls, framing for an office/storeroom).
    My major concern now, is how best to insulate and possibly soundproof the building (only if necessary with the latter).
    I am a carpenter by trade, and so think i'm pretty useful at construction, (some of the time anyway, that is i know enough to avoid some trouble, sometimes).
    I have also read a few forums threads on this and other forums about soundproofing in particular, and been encouraged and engaged by the inventiveness, of some people in attempting to address these dual problems.
    However like most folks my wallet has rat traps set on them by my good wife, so getting a professional job done is not an option.
    If anybody has any suggestions that i might be able to have a crack at, especially those that might serve the dual purpose of insulation and soundproofing, it would be greatly appreciated.

    Cheers

    Woodsy11
  • pelligrini
    Veteran Member
    • Apr 2007
    • 4217
    • Fort Worth, TX
    • Craftsman 21829

    #2
    What sort of temperatures are you insulating the shop from? How extreme are the temps you are trying to slow down from getting in? It it going to be air conditioned?

    What sort of sound attenuation are you needing? Is this attached to a residence or stand alone, or are you just trying not to keep the neighbors up at night. Or are you trying to keep it quieter in your office?

    With the masonry walls I'd frame in a wood wall inside of that with a layer or maybe two (for sound) of sheathing in the inside face. It could be sheetrock, OSB, plywood, etc. Some of that may depend on what sort of code you're building to. It won't be structural so you could get away with wider spacing of the studs. Batt insulation in the stud cavity would probably be the cheapest, r13 for a 2x4 wall or maybe r19 and a 2x6 wall depending on how much you want to insulate. If you leave an airspace between the new wall and the brick it will help with both sound and thermal resistance.

    I don't have a lot of experience insulating metal framed roofs. The few we have done recently we specified spraying closed cell on the underside of the roof. It was also a LEED Silver building. Sounds like the foam isn't an option. You could do a drop ceiling and blow in insulation or use batts. What sort of construction is the roof? Bar joists, C channels, trusses? For the building to work your insulated spaces should be ventilated. There should be at least a 1" airspace between the roof insulation and the rood deck if it's a cathedral ceiling. I like doing a continuous ridge vent and continuous eve or soffit vents. Most of the stuff we design for has a lot more cooling days than heating days. Temps can really influence on how you need to insulate.

    Oh, and Welcome to BT3Central!
    Erik

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    • leehljp
      Just me
      • Dec 2002
      • 8429
      • Tunica, MS
      • BT3000/3100

      #3
      I lived in Japan for the past 25+ years until last December. My last 7 years was in Toyota City and our back yard was small. I had a 9 by 12 shed that I made. one side was 4 feet from a house with little children. The end was 6 feet from another house with small children that took naps in the day or went to sleep early.

      I had a small but loud dust collector in it that I used with my lathe for pen making. So, I had to come up with some sound dampening ideas.

      Because my shop was so small just about every inch of wall above the TS, lathe, BS, DP and router table were filled with shelves and those shelves had storage boxes on them. This killed a lot of noise from escaping. ON the bigger tools, except for the lathe and router table, I had to take them outside to the deck to use.

      I did not put any insulation in the walls but I did panel the wall with 1/4 in ply on the inside. The door was hand made by me and was thick and cut down on noise.

      For the loud DC, I put it in a box lined inside and out with stick on carpet squares. I wrapped the duct work with felt and tape. The exhaust went through a labyrinth lined with the carpet squares. INside, even if I needed to use my TS for a minute to make some small cuts, it was not too loud. The DC was VERY quiet with the setup that I made.

      Placement of table machinery near flat walls will cause much noise reflection. But if there are shelves on the wall near them, that will cut some direct reflection down.

      On the roof, I would put in some insulation if possible but I would at least tack in some 1/4 inch plywood under the rafters. That did fairly good for insulation for my work also. Of course the insulation will be even better. Insulation alone will help and I have seen many shop buildings with just fiber glass insulation up, but they also attract and hold shop dust. For this reason, I would make sure that paneling of some sort is used over the insulation.

      Not related to sound and insulation, but a BIG help - before adding all the tools and shelves and storage, PAINT the inside a light color first. It is surprising how much white or light colored paint brightens helps each light bulb. Dark and unpainted walls sure take more direct light to be able to see minute details; whereas light gray, light beige or white or off white paints reflect light around and make the lighting MUCH more efficient.
      Last edited by leehljp; 10-08-2011, 01:46 PM.
      Hank Lee

      Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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