Simple sound proofing ideas to help dramatically improve your home theater.
Here are several different sound proofing ideas and techniques you can use to sound proof your home theater, even if you're not starting from scratch.
Build a double-layer wall. A single sheet of drywall, on its own, isn't that good at stopping sound, but add a second layer of soundboard to it, and you can get impressively sound-deadening barrier. If you already have drywall up on your walls, you'll want to mount the second layer of soundboard so it covers the joints of the first layer of drywall. Even though the existing joints are already mudded, they may still be a weak point for sound to travel through if some of those joints are cracked.
You'll also have to use extra-long drywall screws and an RC channel. Most drywall screws are 1 to 1 ¼" long, so in this case, you'll want to use screws at least 1 ¾" inches long so they penetrate both wall sheets and the stud frame inside the wall. An RC channel is a steel channel that gets screwed to the studs or ceiling joists. The drywall then gets screwed to the RC channel to isolate it from the wall structure and reduce vibrations and sound transmission. You can also try using different thicknesses of drywall and soundboard also, as different thicknesses prevent the layers from having the same resonance frequency, helping to reduce the sound transmission from one to the other.
Use soundproofing insulation. Soundproofing insulation is a good way of using the empty space inside your studded wall to soak up some of that unwanted sound. It's similar to pink fiberglass insulation, except it's quite a bit denser. Each package contains lengths of insulation that are generally 3 ½ inches thick to fit inside a 2x4 studded wall. They're also usually available in two widths: 16 inches on center, and 24 inches on center. You can also use it in your ceiling or in your floor.
Don't use hollow doors. If you're building a dedicated home theater, or even if you're putting together a general-purpose family room, you'll probably want to close it off from the rest of the house to keep noise from movies and rambunctious kids at bay. Most homes are built with hollow wooden doors. These doors look good and are cheaper, but they also fail to prevent sound from traveling from one room to the other. Solid wood doors are much denser, are able to block out a lot of sound, and are one of the cheaper sound-proofing ideas you could use.
Resilient channels. Resilient channels are metal support strips used to hang drywall or any other wall covering. They create an air gap between the wall covering and the studded wall structure. This causes sound to lose more energy when crossing the air gap. Sound can easily travel through one object to another, so if you separate the two objects with an air gap, sound will have a harder time getting across.
Build a double-wall or a staggered stud wall. Many professional recording studios have been built with a double set of walls. They build a single wall with drywall on both sides. Then, they actually build a second wall about 6 inches away from the first wall. Borrowing an idea from the resilient channels, if the sound has to jump through an air gap, it looses much of its energy. Double walls are an extremely effective soundproofing technique.
If you can't spare the extra space of a second wall, you can simply build a staggered-stud wall. This is like a normal wall: the width of the wall is at least 6 inches thick, but the drywall studs remain at 4" in thickness.
You stud one side of the wall, and then stud the other side but you offset those studs about 8" from the first set. You can then drywall both sides. The advantage here is that the studs holding up one site of the drywall don't touch the other side of the wall, so sound has another air gap to cross.
Don't forget about insulating under elevated seating areas. If you've tiered your rows of seating on risers, you'll want to insulate inside the risers, as open cavities under each riser acts as a bass chamber and can throw off the sound elements of your home theater. Fixing this issue can be as simple as placing sandbags under each riser so that they come in contact with the sides of the joists. These will dampen the sound vibrations from the bass and improve your sound overall. You can also fill the rest of the empty space in each cavity with bats of insulation to further improve the sound quality in the room.
Many of these ideas are best implemented when you're ready to start the construction phase of your theater. That's really the best time to use your sound proofing ideas to get the most bang for your sound proofing buck. To speak with a specialist at J&K about engineering the right sound set up for your home theater, call 608-255-5799.
Article adapted from: http://www.diy-home-theater-design.com/sound-proofing-ideas.html
