Hi there! First off, I want to express my gratitude for all the informative videos you provide us with-they're incredibly helpful! I'm in the process of planning out my studio, which will feature separate control and live rooms within a warehouse setting. The warehouse sits on a thick industrial concrete slab, which is excellent for soundproofing walls. However, I have a slight concern: My neighbor is a bus mechanic who operates within the adjacent warehouse. While I'm confident about soundproofing the walls, I'm a bit apprehensive about the floor. I want to ensure that any vibrations caused by the buses next door are minimized to maintain optimal recording conditions. It's worth noting that both warehouses aren't directly connected via a single concrete slab; instead, they're linked by an isolation strip (I'm not entirely sure what it's called). This setup prevents some vibrations from traveling through the slabs, but I still want to be proactive in addressing any impact and vibration concerns from my neighbor's activities. Do you have any recommendations or insights on how I can effectively soundproof against these vibrations? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
You can float a new slab on top of mineral wool that will float the slab. However, since the slabs aren’t technically touching, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The key problem is if vibrations travel through the concrete, one thing you can do is put your ear to the concrete and see if you can hear the bus mechanic working if you can’t hear the vibrations coming through the concrete, then you should be good.
I have a commercial space with a shared concrete floor. So seeing as a kick drum could be on the floor, would it still transfer to my neighbours? Should I build a floating floor? I cannot find good information on this.
It could. The only way to know for sure would be to test it without a floating floor and see. If it is bothersome to your neighbors you could add in a floating floor but for low 20hz frequencies in the kick floating concrete is probably the way to go.
Thanks a lot for the great video. Would this help for inside a small vocal booth to reduce the noise for Neighbours below? As in building the floating floor just for the surface area of the birth itself rather than entire floor of the room. I get that sound could still travel down but would it help at all?
So sound always travels through everything. The idea that sound can be stopped completely is not entirely true. With soundproofing it is about reducing sound intensity to a level that is acceptable for recording. With a concrete slab surrounded by earth you really can't get a better method. Floating a floor is used in situations where you don't have earth. Pros will float a concrete slab, but that is technical and super costly and not what I recommend doing.
@@soundproofyourstudio Thank you. What would be an inexpensive way to add some mass for greater attenuation? Could they add 2-3 layers of 5/8 drywall (or cement board) sandwiched between the two layers of plywood?
This is great. Have you ever helped someone do this in a rental apt? Mine has wooden flooring with a laminate on top which I suppose I could put the fiberglass on. Using this method, what do you think the cost would be? It sounds like under 1k, no?
Hi! We are trying to soundproof a rehearsal studio located on the second floor. We want to isolate the noise so that the cafe below at ground floor will not be disturbed by the studio. Second floor is also a concrete slab and I'd like to ask if building a floating floor will make much of a difference? Thanks
To do it properly you need to float something very heavy like concrete. You can use iso pads or mineral wool to float the floor and then pour a concrete slab on top of the mineral wool. This is a complex job so ask for help if you go this route. If you do it right the concrete will have a resonant frequency below the threshold of hearing, so below 20hz.
@@soundproofyourstudio I wonder if this will help on my 2nd story timber framed home studio? I know it won't be 'soundproof', but hope it attenuates the sound enough to allow my band to rehearse without annoying the wife and daughter on the other side of the home. I know the 2" insulation will help with impact, but also airborne?