Does 2 inch thick insulating foam, (the pink stuff) work as sound insulation?
My friend wants to deaden sound in his basement and is wondering if that pink hard Foam Insulation will deaden sound enough to avoid noise calls from the neighbors. (Loud music!)
It will only deaden the high frequencies – like cymbal crashes – somewhat. Bass or kick drum sounds will still get through to their house by being conducted through the ground.
Cover the windows, if any, first and use more than one layer.
A softer insulation, like fiberglass, would do a much better job, because rigid insulation tends to transmit sound from one side to the other fairly easily. Ever tap your finger on a slab of styrofoam? – it behaves just like a sounding board! Rigid foam does the same thing.
To really do the job correctly, you’d need to build a room within a room, use real acoustic insulation (heavy barriers layered with soft material), and suspend it on vibration isolation devices, like air bladders. Very expensive.
How do you replace the foam insulation between your outside door and the door jam?
It will only deaden the high frequencies – like cymbal crashes – somewhat. Bass or kick drum sounds will still get through to their house by being conducted through the ground.
Cover the windows, if any, first and use more than one layer.
A softer insulation, like fiberglass, would do a much better job, because rigid insulation tends to transmit sound from one side to the other fairly easily. Ever tap your finger on a slab of styrofoam? – it behaves just like a sounding board! Rigid foam does the same thing.
To really do the job correctly, you’d need to build a room within a room, use real acoustic insulation (heavy barriers layered with soft material), and suspend it on vibration isolation devices, like air bladders. Very expensive.
References :
Here are a few links:
http://www.soundprooffoam.com/soundproofing.html?gclid=CPK57caphJYCFQObFQodFB_PDg&lcode=AA9
http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/basement.html
http://studioforums.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3756015614/m/5151084022
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,430682,00.html
Hope this helps……lots of reading but you’ll want to do it right.
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It will work, but not that great.
If you want details:
Because sound dosn’t travel as well through air the insulation will muffle sound. There are pockets of air in the insulation so the particles cant move around as much and sound needs particles to move around.
Double glazing would stop sound because it contains a vacume so obviously no particles to vibrate and make sound.
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It will attenuate some noise somewhat but the best way is to buy some products which are meant for that purpose like home theater rooms.
This company offers a wide range of products for that solution.
http://www.quietsolution.com/
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the best way to deaden sound is with cork boards. insulation boards have too many air passages thru the fibers to be used as a sound deadener
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I operate a youth hostel and have had to deal with lots of sounds and noises, and at the same time, handle it economically. One of the better sound deadener’s are what are called black out curtains in the hotel industry. In the sound industry they’re called something like sound deadening curtains and can be expensive. The curtains have a colored/design material that has a rubber coating on the back side of the material, then another layer of loose material that hangs loose in the back. I buy these curtains used and cheap through hotel liquidators, thrift stores, or sometimes directly from a motel/hotel that is replacing them. Most of the time, they are cheap or free because they are not the latest color or design. If you aren’t too picky about color/design, you might try putting up a couple of layers of these curtains (floor to ceiling) in your room. If you want proper curtains or sound deadening materials and have the money, check out the link below. You will be surprised at how quiet rubberized floor to ceiling curtains will make your room. Basically, you will be having the sound energy be absorbed by the rubber backing int he curtain. The rubber converts the sound energy to heat energy. (curtains don’t get warm but since you can’t destroy sound energy you need to convert it to some other kind of energy)
References :
I asked a lot of people before I discovered this place just outside of San Diego. See: http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/myths.htm They helped me a lot and really solved problems that I had had for years. They also sell a cheaply priced reprint of an EPA manual on sound that is great to have to really learn about sound and how it works. Sound doesn’t work like you would logically think it works.