Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Feb 05, 2010 12:02 pm Hi Everyone, I'm doing an extension (new 1'st floor) and thinking of sound proofing it to stop noise from entertainment system and grand piano. Also looking an stopping any thumping sounds on the floor from the new level from kids. I've seen multiple products, one looks like a simple underlay that would just go under a carpet and says it'll block 75%. I'm looking for something that is decent and at a great price. Don't need the latest and greatest but would like something decent and recommended and tried by people out there. Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material :Melb 2Feb 06, 2010 1:46 pm There are many threads on sound proofing available if you use the search function. Grand pianos produce high levels of sound at low frequencies. I'm afraid that there are no cheap solutions for low frequency sound as cheap insulation becomes useless at lower frequencies. The rule of thumb is that dense material is needed for low frequencies (think lead - which is heavy and expensive). Don't be mislead into thinking that material that reduces sound reflection will necessarily reduce sound transmission, or that a material will block sound by 75% (a meaningless statement). Always look at frequency graphs and use decibels as our ears do not work in a linear fashion. Simple underlay is just not able to match a grand piano! You could trade it for a harpsichord. No one complains about noise from my two manual francoflemish harpsichord! Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material :Melb 3Feb 08, 2010 9:13 am john_opwin Thick walls and heavy drapes, thick carpeting, cushioned furniture, lots of soft surfaces such as tapestries on the wall, etc....will make your room quieter. They (with the exception of the thick walls, but we need dense walls rather than thick) will reduce the reflection of high frequency sound within the room, and slightly reduce the transmission of higher frequencies but are transparent to mid to low frequency transmission. The question was about how to stop a grand piano's sound transmitting to another room, not about reducing sound reflection within a room. I studied acoustics at Sydney University in my undergraduate degree, and I was involved in the planning and purchase of a sound proof booth for a hearing research company. Many people do not understand the basics of acoustics so many people have some very strange ideas about how to reduce the transmission of sound. It takes dense material to reduce the transmission of lower frequencies appreciably. Drapes, tapestries, egg cartons, carpet, underlay, sound bats and such material only work with higher frequencies, if at all, as they are not dense. Let's put this all in perspective. In another thread, someone posted a link to: http://www.acoustica.com.au/acoustiflex.html which sells acoustic insulation material and includes a frequency verses attenuation graph. Notice how the attenuation drops as the frequency drops. Notice how the attenuation is greater the denser the material is. Now, a grand piano can produce sounds to around 105 dB. At 250 Hz, (that's a little below middle C, so not very low for a piano) this material reduces the transmission of sound by only 10 dB, giving a sound level of 95 dB. This is still at a level where sustained exposure can result in permanent hearing loss and is around the sound level of heavy trucks or a subway train at 60 metres. Now, bear in mind that this material has better attenuation characteristics than the acoustic bats at lower frequencies and much better than any underlay, and you start appreciating that reducing transmission of sound for a grand piano is not a task for the amateurs, no matter how well meaning. Dense material is expensive, which is why sound proof booths are expensive and are not constructed by using heavy drapes! Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material :Melb 4Feb 11, 2010 10:02 am Thanks guys. Looks like besides spending a fortune, I'm not going to stop the noise travelling through the house (or at least from 1 room to another). I guess I can live with that. My concerens were about sound through the ceiling, although there will be underlays, carpet and plaster inbetween the rooms, its should do a standard job of stopping sound, as for simple plaster walls, well, I think I'll have to live the sound. I'll put some soundproofing in between to help at least reduce noise going into the piano room (wife complains of noise whilst teaching). Whats the recommendation for a standard sound proofing material in walls (not bats as people say they are expensive). Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material :Melb 5Feb 12, 2010 8:14 am sslc, I don't know if this is an option for you, but we are converting our al fresco to be my music studio. That way, we will have brickwork between the piano (yes, despite the harpsichord, I do most of my technical work and lots of my organ practice on piano) and the bedrooms. (And, our wooden bifold doors will allow us to use the space in the living room for large ensemble rehearsals!) Would something like that be possible? How much freedom do you have with your plans at this stage? It will also allow me to rehearse with other musos without having to have the walk through the house. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material : 6Mar 16, 2010 2:41 pm sslc ... I've seen multiple products, one looks like a simple underlay that would just go under a carpet and says it'll block 75%. ... Hi sslc, Do you still have the actual name of this product? We are thinking about what is the best underlay for top floor for deadening the sound under timber floors ... My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material : 8Mar 16, 2010 6:45 pm Lex Hi Fiffaro, do you you have a build thread or blog ?? Sorry, Lex, no. My wife only begrudgingly doesn't get too upset with the time I already spend on this forum as it has been the source of so much information, but I'm struggling to do all I should be doing with the amount of time the house is soaking up. We are late with our BAS for the first time for many years! Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Whats a decent value for money sound proofing material : 9Jul 23, 2010 3:19 pm Lex sslc ... I've seen multiple products, one looks like a simple underlay that would just go under a carpet and says it'll block 75%. ... Hi sslc, Do you still have the actual name of this product? We are thinking about what is the best underlay for top floor for deadening the sound under timber floors ... Hi, It was angelstep. Its quite pricy. Check out their range of products. 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