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Post by Tbone81 on Mar 2, 2023 11:03:03 GMT -6
I could probably rip the slats and spray them with paint in half an hour. Wait till they're dry then roll contact cement on their backs and then use a piece of wood to set their gaps as I lay them down on the felt. All said and done, probably an hour of actual work in addition to the drying time. Even at my hourly rate, I'd still come out less than half the price with 2x-4x the amount of coverage. that’s awesome that you have those skills but an hour of work? Really? Add in an hour of time buying the plywood and felt, hauling it into your truck and getting it all home. And are you sanding the wood? Or leaving it rough cut? These panels are finished. If you’re going to sand add X amount of time, plus are you adding any type of clear coat? Add so more time. You already own a table saw? Great! A lot of us don’t. I’m sure some people, like yourself, are very talented and skilled at carpentry, but a lot of us don’t have the tools, space, or time for a project like that. You might be able to pull it off, but in that case you’re not the target customer for this product. Of coarse you’re paying for the convenience. It’s a fair price for someone like me who has more money than time (but not enough of either!). This is the same reason I rarely fix my own car anymore. Yes I can clean my fuel injectors, or replace my ball joints. But I can also work a day of overtime and pay some one else to do it better, quicker and more efficiently. Kind of like how we all advocate for musicians to hire actual professionals for recording/mixing rather than thinking they can get pro results diy (even though some of them can). |
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Post by svart on Mar 2, 2023 11:16:15 GMT -6
The price is super reasonable. Only reason I would DIY these if I were to use them in an audio room would be to alter the width of the slats to some acoustically beneficial pattern. You only get about 2ft per 250$.. how is that reasonable? A room would take thousands of dollars.. Also, these are not actual sound control panels and because all the slats are the same width, you'd get a very tight notch in any absorption the panels create. |
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Post by svart on Mar 2, 2023 12:15:06 GMT -6
I could probably rip the slats and spray them with paint in half an hour. Wait till they're dry then roll contact cement on their backs and then use a piece of wood to set their gaps as I lay them down on the felt. All said and done, probably an hour of actual work in addition to the drying time. Even at my hourly rate, I'd still come out less than half the price with 2x-4x the amount of coverage. that’s awesome that you have those skills but an hour of work? Really? Add in an hour of time buying the plywood and felt, hauling it into your truck and getting it all home. And are you sanding the wood? Or leaving it rough cut? These panels are finished. If you’re going to sand add X amount of time, plus are you adding any type of clear coat? Add so more time. You already own a table saw? Great! A lot of us don’t. I’m sure some people, like yourself, are very talented and skilled at carpentry, but a lot of us don’t have the tools, space, or time for a project like that. You might be able to pull it off, but in that case you’re not the target customer for this product. Of coarse you’re paying for the convenience. It’s a fair price for someone like me who has more money than time (but not enough of either!). This is the same reason I rarely fix my own car anymore. Yes I can clean my fuel injectors, or replace my ball joints. But I can also work a day of overtime and pay some one else to do it better, quicker and more efficiently. Kind of like how we all advocate for musicians to hire actual professionals for recording/mixing rather than thinking they can get pro results diy (even though some of them can). Yes, why not? It's a single handle to set the saw's cut width. I then run the boards through to get my slats. Probably 20 seconds per board for 8ft slats with a quality sawblade. I have an orbital sander that would get both the edges and the flats of each slat, probably a minute or so per slat with good sandpaper. I'd then use my power sprayer and mix up some paint (either clear or color) to spray. If I set out the slats I can get them all in one big pass, probably 10-15 minutes total. A foam roller with contact cement wouldn't take long to roll either, perhaps 15 minutes. I know that tools make this happen quickly, but aside from the tablesaw, the rest is pretty generic homeowner type tools. I fix my car. I've known too many mechanics who tell insane stories about their jobs to be trusting anymore. |
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Post by Quint on Mar 2, 2023 14:25:11 GMT -6
that’s awesome that you have those skills but an hour of work? Really? Add in an hour of time buying the plywood and felt, hauling it into your truck and getting it all home. And are you sanding the wood? Or leaving it rough cut? These panels are finished. If you’re going to sand add X amount of time, plus are you adding any type of clear coat? Add so more time. You already own a table saw? Great! A lot of us don’t. I’m sure some people, like yourself, are very talented and skilled at carpentry, but a lot of us don’t have the tools, space, or time for a project like that. You might be able to pull it off, but in that case you’re not the target customer for this product. Of coarse you’re paying for the convenience. It’s a fair price for someone like me who has more money than time (but not enough of either!). This is the same reason I rarely fix my own car anymore. Yes I can clean my fuel injectors, or replace my ball joints. But I can also work a day of overtime and pay some one else to do it better, quicker and more efficiently. Kind of like how we all advocate for musicians to hire actual professionals for recording/mixing rather than thinking they can get pro results diy (even though some of them can). Yes, why not? It's a single handle to set the saw's cut width. I then run the boards through to get my slats. Probably 20 seconds per board for 8ft slats with a quality sawblade. I have an orbital sander that would get both the edges and the flats of each slat, probably a minute or so per slat with good sandpaper. I'd then use my power sprayer and mix up some paint (either clear or color) to spray. If I set out the slats I can get them all in one big pass, probably 10-15 minutes total. A foam roller with contact cement wouldn't take long to roll either, perhaps 15 minutes. I know that tools make this happen quickly, but aside from the tablesaw, the rest is pretty generic homeowner type tools. I fix my car. I've known too many mechanics who tell insane stories about their jobs to be trusting anymore. I own all of these tools, including a table saw. I'm pretty well stocked, after all of these years of diy projects. I've done this kind of "assembly" work before. I even built all of my silencer boxes, lined with duct liner, for ventilation and AC in my studio. I think an hour is not nearly enough time for a project like this, especially when you consider that you have to spend time doing research on materials, you have to spend time getting the materials, you have to spend time cleaning up afterward, etc. Also, I just would prefer to not have to do this, if I can avoid it. All of those slats are tedious. Been there, done that. All of that said, I think I ultimately decided to not go this route, at least for any significant amount of wall treatment, due to them all having the same slat size throughout, which is not as good acoustically. Though I still might end up using these for a smaller area, say in front of a few bass traps I'm considering adding. FYI, bgrotto and I discussed cost comparisons in the thread (also linked below) that I linked to at the beginning of this thread. It's not as large of a difference in price as you might think. Wood has gotten expensive. Also, Svart, I know you were talking about using plywood, but I don't think that would look very good. You'd see those laminations on every single edge of every single slat. To buy hardwood, which is what is used in these manufactured panels, would, of course, cost more than using plywood. realgearonline.com/thread/15223/manufactured-slat-wall-panels |
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Post by svart on Mar 2, 2023 15:14:58 GMT -6
Yes, why not? It's a single handle to set the saw's cut width. I then run the boards through to get my slats. Probably 20 seconds per board for 8ft slats with a quality sawblade. I have an orbital sander that would get both the edges and the flats of each slat, probably a minute or so per slat with good sandpaper. I'd then use my power sprayer and mix up some paint (either clear or color) to spray. If I set out the slats I can get them all in one big pass, probably 10-15 minutes total. A foam roller with contact cement wouldn't take long to roll either, perhaps 15 minutes. I know that tools make this happen quickly, but aside from the tablesaw, the rest is pretty generic homeowner type tools. I fix my car. I've known too many mechanics who tell insane stories about their jobs to be trusting anymore. I own all of these tools, including a table saw. I'm pretty well stocked, after all of these years of diy projects. I've done this kind of "assembly" work before. I even built all of my silencer boxes, lined with duct liner, for ventilation and AC in my studio. I think an hour is not nearly enough time for a project like this, especially when you consider that you have to spend time doing research on materials, you have to spend time getting the materials, you have to spend time cleaning up afterward, etc. Also, I just would prefer to not have to do this, if I can avoid it. All of those slats are tedious. Been there, done that. All of that said, I think I ultimately decided to not go this route, at least for any significant amount of wall treatment, due to them all having the same slat size throughout, which is not as good acoustically. Though I still might end up using these for a smaller area, say in front of a few bass traps I'm considering adding. FYI, bgrotto and I discussed cost comparisons in the thread (also linked below) that I linked to at the beginning of this thread. It's not as large of a difference in price as you might think. Wood has gotten expensive. Also, Svart, I know you were talking about using plywood, but I don't think that would look very good. You'd see those laminations on every single edge of every single slat. To buy hardwood, which is what is used in these manufactured panels, would, of course, cost more than using plywood. realgearonline.com/thread/15223/manufactured-slat-wall-panelsI was actually talking about using real boards, not plywood, but the solution for plywood would be to angle the cuts so that you get a somewhat trapezoidal shape when looking edge-on so that the layers of the plywood are hidden if you glue them narrow side to the felt. |
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Post by drbill on Mar 2, 2023 15:54:19 GMT -6
Only reason I would DIY these if I were to use them in an audio room would be to alter the width of the slats to some acoustically beneficial pattern. And that ^^^ would be the real reason. There's a lot of math involved if you really want to do it right for any particularly sized room. That and they generally have a lot more absorption behind them. The stock layout looks nice and might perform fairly well, but it's not a substitute for someone like Hedback designing one specifically for your room. |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Mar 2, 2023 16:01:07 GMT -6
The price is super reasonable. Only reason I would DIY these if I were to use them in an audio room would be to alter the width of the slats to some acoustically beneficial pattern. You only get about 2ft per 250$.. how is that reasonable? A room would take thousands of dollars.. Also, these are not actual sound control panels and because all the slats are the same width, you'd get a very tight notch in any absorption the panels create. A sheet of walnut ply is over $100 these days, plus the felt and labor. They've got to turn a profit so IMHO, pretty reasonable asking price. I'd never use these for an audio room but would definitely consider them around the house. |
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Post by winetree on Mar 2, 2023 16:04:17 GMT -6
Some Can , Some Can't I'm with SVART, I do everything myself including DIY slatted rooms in the Studio. It's a lot of skill and work. But lately I'm slowing down and asking for help. But, The easiest thing to do is to just sign a check.    |
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Post by Quint on Mar 2, 2023 16:19:32 GMT -6
In that other thread, I worked it out that, for a given 4x8 section of wall, it would cost roughly $200 to do it yourself, compared to $300 to buy the panels. Now if you're paying someone to do the work for you, it's probably close to a wash.
From my perspective, I was only looking at using these for a relatively small area, to provide a cover for some deep bass traps, so the savings wasn't going to be that much for me if I go diy, which made the manufactured panels all that more attractive.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
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Post by ericn on Mar 2, 2023 16:26:29 GMT -6
Skill wise? Yeah pretty easy DIY, but it all depends on how you value your time, what’s available locally, the tools and work space available and we can’t forget the cleanup? Ripping 8 ft panels is going to be a hell of a lot of dust. Got decent dust collection.
Nothing ever goes as planned there is always something that takes more time.
I respect anyone who goes DIY, also respect those who write a check. The value equation is always a personal one. Example I just sent off a set of plans for a custom angle floor wedge for a guy, 1/2 hour later after he realizes the cost of any messed off bevel angles I’m asked to send it to a neighborhood cabinet builder. 45min after sending the plans to the cabinet builder I get a call asking why all the counter sink dimensions are 1mm larger than manufacturers spec. Don’t think this guy has too much experience with his CNC and manufacturers specs. But his quote for 4 wedges is the cost of 1 messed up wedge.
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Mar 2, 2023 16:35:31 GMT -6
I'm with SVART, I do everything myself including DIY slatted rooms in the Studio. Same here. I did the entirety of my room including the furniture. I'm not shitting on that in any way. |
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Post by Omicron9 on Mar 3, 2023 9:17:20 GMT -6
I get that something like this is more expensive than going with a more diy approach (cutting your own slats, etc.), but the fact that you could put up an entire wall of these in a few hours ain't worth nothing. I used to be diy for everything, but as time has worn on, the realization that life is short sets in more and more with every day that passes. Granted, you have to be able to afford the non-diy approach to even consider that as an option, but now that I can afford to at least consider some non-diy options sometimes, I increasingly choose that option. There's only so many hours in the day and I have spent a LOT of those doing diy projects over the years. These days, I may not want to take on another diy project that will eat up months of my life. The same goes for gear. I just want shit that works. The idea of vintage equipment that requires constant upkeep/mods/repairs or computer/digital/software that has a huge learning curve or requires you to practically be a programmer is something I'm interested in less and less these days. There's not a font large enough to express my " +1" for this post. Well-said, Quint. -09 |
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Post by Omicron9 on Mar 3, 2023 9:23:49 GMT -6
Bonehead question time from Mr. Obvious: I always see these slatted treatments running vertically. Why would you not want to mix them in both vertical and horizontal mounting? Would that not provide better dispersion? Or have I just not seen enough pics and folks actually do just that?
-09
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Post by mcirish on Mar 3, 2023 11:14:20 GMT -6
I think these look great but I'd worry about what odd filtering they are doing. With my raw 703 absorption panels, at least I know it is broadband. Once you put wood pieces running vertically at even intervals, what is that doing to the broadband absorption? That would be a math problem beyond my ability.
I do think they look great
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