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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 11, 2023 23:49:56 GMT -6
Quick hitter here. My mix room is in the upstairs of my house. I don't mix super loud but I do have a habit of working into the very early hours of the morning. So every bit of improvement helps. Do door seal kits like this one from Audimute actually work? And if they do, are they any different than weather stripping? This just looks like the stuff my parents used to do to keep our drafty old house from freezing us to death. www.audimute.com/acoustic-door-seal-kitAnd while we're at it. What kind of real impact does hanging acoustic blankets as window treatments make? Is this the type of thing that's worth doing? My room is pretty well treated except for a large window. With curtains drawn the REW is fairly clean. But a lot sound still gets in and out. I'm not so worried about the sound in, but minimizing the sound out would make me more popular in the neighborhood. Anyone do any of this?
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Post by javamad on Jan 12, 2023 5:02:45 GMT -6
Door seals certainly do something but I imagine in a house its the door mass and walls and floor transmission that would make the biggest gaind but acousticians have not managed to get their products into designer home magazines to make them desirable for significant others :-D
Now THAT would be an achievement!
EDIT: Adfing heavey curtains to a window would help with reflections inside but all mids and lows are still going pretty much straight through.
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Post by drbill on Jan 12, 2023 9:40:50 GMT -6
There are kits. That particular one doesn't look to be too effective IMO. The last door I had done cost me about $1500-2000 seven years ago to have fit and put in.
#1 - start with a solid core door and trim it to be very close to the floor - less than 1/4". Preferably an exterior door (thicker). And DEFINITELY solid core. This will probably require re-woring the jamb, which brings us to :
#2. - even if its pretty square, pull off the door jam anyway and make sure that the cavities surrounding the door are filled with insulation / sound deadening materials. (this alone can get into a lengthy discussion). This is also very important to the success of your project. The size and square of the door and jamb and critical to getting a good seal. The door has to be a super tight fit, and everything has to be perfectly parallel to make sure it is sealing all around. A good door hanging guy with all the right tools and knowledge should be employed for maximum efficiency. Making sure he/she understands the critical aspect of "tight" as it pertains to YOUR audio/acoustic standards - not general door hanging standards - or you might as well leave the door open.
#3 get a metal floor threshold and complete surrounding metal doorstop that is "adjustable" with similar but denser sealing foam to the above. The one I have has VERY dense foam. It's not the fluffy weatherstripping type of foam that you showed above. I don't know who makes these doorstop / thresholds, but you mount them with acoustic caulking behind / under them, then they have adjustment screws that allow the entire doorstop that actually contacts the door to push closer / further away from the actual door itself. And that's the secret key to success. That and a good close fit and solid core door and dealing with the integrity of the wall / jamb surrounding the door. There is also an acoustic membrane between the wood and the doorstop that fills in any irregularities in the wood jamb. #4. Then you mount and adjust the doorstop / threshold until the door is a tiny bit difficult to "close" - you can't just swing it and have it close. You have to make a concerted firm push to close it. Over time, as the foam may compress, you can adjust the doorstop "closer" to the door to insure the seal. Having everything squared up and parallel and well built is key. Sound will go right around the door otherwise and you'll be wasting your efforts and money.
Beyond getting SUPER anal about it, this is the best thing I have found. It pulled SPL down significantly. Enough to make it worth the cost for me.
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Post by svart on Jan 12, 2023 10:16:43 GMT -6
As for just trying to reduce noise out of the room into the house while mixing at a normal level, any kind of sealing will help. Any air leakage is a place for sound leakage. On that note though, if you leave any gaps, sound will get out at a relatively astonishing volume. The bottom of the door tends to be the hardest to seal. If you were really serious about sealing it, a strip of wood across the bottom with a seal is the only way to go but it creates a tripping hazard in a normal house situation..
The kit in the link looks like normal adhesive-backed door seals like the kind you can get at the hardware store.
If you go the hardware store route, find the softest seals you can get so that they conform to the door as best as possible.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Jan 12, 2023 10:34:45 GMT -6
I’m going to add a bit to what Bill said, but first conflict alert, over the years a bunch of family members have been involved with Marshfield doors. Trying to soundproof anything other than a solid core door is both a waste of time and money. Generic kits are hit and miss at best, the best solution is a kit designed for a specific door. In my last building on of my neighbors was a Tony award winning composer, and a few of their neighbors did not nether working from home, building management had tried a generic kit and it knock the leakage a dB or 2. Since my friend the building manager new my background I was asked if I could help. I had noticed the tag on the beautiful 10 ft solid core door indicated it was built by Marshfield, so I took a photo of the tag on the offending door and texted my cousin to see if they offered a kit for this specific model, they did. I was not involved in the purchase or installation, but we did a controlled experiment with a single quested at mesured level at 1m a calibrated C weighted SPL meter at 2 meters from the door with the generic kit, no kit and the Marshfield kit, generic -2dB Marshfield -10dB. The generic did nothing at 35HZ the Marshfield -5dB. Yeah I’m a geek who else other than the Guys at GIK or Ethan would measure a fing door.
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Post by drbill on Jan 12, 2023 10:49:49 GMT -6
Just a quick measurement to give a real world situation. I turned up some white noise, and did some measurements
1. In front of speakers / mix position : 80dB C weighted
2. With door open at doorway : 77dB. C weighted
3. With Door open 10 feet down the hall : 67dB C weighted
4. With Door closed 10 feet down the hall : 50dB C weighted
What I achieved is essentially a 30dB (huge IMO) reduction in SPL between sitting in front of the speakers and down the hallway with door closed. It's enough to stop MOST of the complaining by others. LOL
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Jan 12, 2023 11:28:19 GMT -6
Just a quick measurement to give a real world situation. I turned up some white noise, and did some measurements 1. In front of speakers / mix position : 80dB C weighted 2. With door open at doorway : 77dB. C weighted 3. With Door open 10 feet down the hall : 67dB C weighted 4. With Door closed 10 feet down the hall : 50dB C weighted What I achieved is essentially a 30dB (huge IMO) reduction in SPL between sitting in front of the speakers and down the hallway with door closed. It's enough to stop MOST of the complaining by others. LOL Yeah in the case of the apartment I think poor construction was just as big of an obstacle, on the other side of my unit the contractor had filled a 1/2in gap between a pillar and the drywall with silicone caulk, acoustical rope and Caulk solved that one. You always have to rember air like water takes the path of least resistance.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 12, 2023 15:10:27 GMT -6
I’m going to add a bit to what Bill said, but first conflict alert, over the years a bunch of family members have been involved with Marshfield doors. Trying to soundproof anything other than a solid core door is both a waste of time and money. Generic kits are hit and miss at best, the best solution is a kit designed for a specific door. In my last building on of my neighbors was a Tony award winning composer, and a few of their neighbors did not nether working from home, building management had tried a generic kit and it knock the leakage a dB or 2. Since my friend the building manager new my background I was asked if I could help. I had noticed the tag on the beautiful 10 ft solid core door indicated it was built by Marshfield, so I took a photo of the tag on the offending door and texted my cousin to see if they offered a kit for this specific model, they did. I was not involved in the purchase or installation, but we did a controlled experiment with a single quested at mesured level at 1m a calibrated C weighted SPL meter at 2 meters from the door with the generic kit, no kit and the Marshfield kit, generic -2dB Marshfield -10dB. The generic did nothing at 35HZ the Marshfield -5dB. Yeah I’m a geek who else other than the Guys at GIK or Ethan would measure a fing door. Wow, 10db would be an amazing result! I'd be open to anything that improves things even incrementally. Frankly, even just showing that I'm making an effort would buy me some time with the old lady. As for what Eric and DrBill are proposing, I'd be willing to spend but I'd need to know that I could move that door someplace else, you know? If I'm going to spend $2k on a super quiet door and sealing, I'd like to be able to reuse it when I build detached space.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 12, 2023 15:16:49 GMT -6
Door seals certainly do something but I imagine in a house its the door mass and walls and floor transmission that would make the biggest gaind but acousticians have not managed to get their products into designer home magazines to make them desirable for significant others :-D Now THAT would be an achievement! EDIT: Adfing heavey curtains to a window would help with reflections inside but all mids and lows are still going pretty much straight through. On the acoustic curtain front, it's also a matter of any incremental improvement. I actually like that the lows go straight through (sorry neighbors!). it's part of the reason my room measures well I think. But I'm kind of into the idea of getting acoustic curtains to open and close depending on my needs. I have fairly heavy curtains as it is along with a standard light blocking curtain liner. You think an off-the-shelf "acoustic" curtain would make a difference? Looks like these things are stuffed with recycled fibers to insulate them a bit. Definitely thicker and heavier than what I have.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Jan 12, 2023 16:32:22 GMT -6
I’m going to add a bit to what Bill said, but first conflict alert, over the years a bunch of family members have been involved with Marshfield doors. Trying to soundproof anything other than a solid core door is both a waste of time and money. Generic kits are hit and miss at best, the best solution is a kit designed for a specific door. In my last building on of my neighbors was a Tony award winning composer, and a few of their neighbors did not nether working from home, building management had tried a generic kit and it knock the leakage a dB or 2. Since my friend the building manager new my background I was asked if I could help. I had noticed the tag on the beautiful 10 ft solid core door indicated it was built by Marshfield, so I took a photo of the tag on the offending door and texted my cousin to see if they offered a kit for this specific model, they did. I was not involved in the purchase or installation, but we did a controlled experiment with a single quested at mesured level at 1m a calibrated C weighted SPL meter at 2 meters from the door with the generic kit, no kit and the Marshfield kit, generic -2dB Marshfield -10dB. The generic did nothing at 35HZ the Marshfield -5dB. Yeah I’m a geek who else other than the Guys at GIK or Ethan would measure a fing door. Wow, 10db would be an amazing result! I'd be open to anything that improves things even incrementally. Frankly, even just showing that I'm making an effort would buy me some time with the old lady. As for what Eric and DrBill are proposing, I'd be willing to spend but I'd need to know that I could move that door someplace else, you know? If I'm going to spend $2k on a super quiet door and sealing, I'd like to be able to reuse it when I build detached space. You can move an entire door and frame, it’s just a lot of work. My advice would be to measure your door frame and head to your local home center and see what they can get in terms of a solid core door with a sound proofing kit designed for that door and frame, then if you feel the installation is above your capabilities find a contractor with some experience dealing with sound proofing, but remember it’s only one leak in a sea of leaks, and those other leaks will effect the outcome as much as anything. I mean if it was easy it wouldn’t be any fun.
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Post by phdamage on Jan 14, 2023 22:50:31 GMT -6
Try this dumb thing first: www.peachloft.com/products/noise-pest-isolation-waterproof-door-bottom-seal-strip?_pos=1&_sid=da76d0992&_ss=rAnd pair it with some self adhesive door seal thing. Any gap around your door is going to let a lot of sound through. Yea, in a perfect world you could do all sorts of shit, but I’m guessing if you have house/roommates, this is prob gonna be more in your budget and the kind of investment you don’t have to sweat. I have a serious room built in the basement as my tracking room but you wouldn’t believe how much sound leaked out of the bottom of the door - super old and not so level concrete floor.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 15, 2023 1:32:26 GMT -6
Try this dumb thing first: www.peachloft.com/products/noise-pest-isolation-waterproof-door-bottom-seal-strip?_pos=1&_sid=da76d0992&_ss=rAnd pair it with some self adhesive door seal thing. Any gap around your door is going to let a lot of sound through. Yea, in a perfect world you could do all sorts of shit, but I’m guessing if you have house/roommates, this is prob gonna be more in your budget and the kind of investment you don’t have to sweat. I have a serious room built in the basement as my tracking room but you wouldn’t believe how much sound leaked out of the bottom of the door - super old and not so level concrete floor. First of all that website is awesome. I love the roaches and the dude wearing a shirt that says "sports". And yeah, older house here. Not as bad as the ones I grew up in (you could roll a marble across the floor just by placing it on the ground) but built in the 60's. The good part is the quality of construction is old school in a good way. Way quieter house than newer builds with paper thin walls. Bad news is you could slide a hockey stick under many of these doors, the studio door included. So yeah, I'll start with something cheap and see where it goes from there. Looks like a hardware store trip is in, umm... store?
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