Soundproofing the Cellar, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

Since I'm no good for regular blogging anymore, let's get back to house renovations. Actually, 'renovation' may be too strong a word for what we've been doing to this house. I always think of renovations in terms of totally ripping stuff out and putting in something totally new, like a bathroom or kitchen. In this case, I'm trying to soundproof a room in the cellar so the band can practice without making the neighbors throw bottles at our house (well, they already do that, so let's just say we'd like to limit the number of things flung houseward).

At some point in the past the basement was paneled and subdivided into a few small rooms. I took the two in the middle of the floor and removed the dividing wall (which, like all the paneled walls here were single-stud frames with paneling nailed to it). These walls will provide a base for the soundproofing to come, but it's the ceiling that has been taking up all my time lately.

Once upon a time, this ceiling was completely finished in acoustical tile. By the time we moved in, though, many of the tiles had fallen out, and those that had stayed put were water stained and hanging by a thread. There had been framing around the pipes running through the room, not to mention occasional framings that didn't seem to be concealing anything at all. This led to my theory that the whole cellar had been designed to thwart anybody over 5' 7", since as soon as you think you can stand up straight you inevitably smash your head on some box or something sticking meaninglessly out of the ceiling. In retrospect, the Fuck Tall People Party was kind to the long n' lanky set.

So I had to rip all this stuff out so I can put in a partially decoupled ceiling composed of a dual drywall layer separated by a visoelastic adhesive and sealed with acoustical caulk.* The walls will be simpler, just a dual layer comprised of plywood and drywall (plywood leftover from the floor refinishing). I had planned to rip the ceiling down to the joists to fill with insulation, but I just realized that above the tile level the topmost layer is already two layers of drywall nailed into the ceiling joists. In theory, this is a great start for sound isolation, but there's one big problem. Or, several big problems, it's full of holes.

Sound isolation (the more correct term for what I'm after) is all about sealing things off. No matter what materials are used, if things aren't securely separated, the soundproofing won't work. Two layers of drywall is great, but the gaping holes (from old light fixtures and BX cable) negate any good the drywall could do. At first I thought I'd just tear this stuff down, but upon reflection (too lazy) I've decided just to patch these holes really well and build onto them.

I patched all the small holes last night, and a few of the larger ones. Tonight I tackle the really big ones, for which I have to construct plugs to mount into the boards. The good thing about this work is that I don't have to be neat at all. As long as the seal is solid, it doesn't matter what it looks like since it'll be obscured by the next ceiling layers. When it's all done then, we'll have two discrete segments of doubled-up drywall and two distinct levels of trapped air as well (as long as it's contained, that air will actually help stop heavy bass tones from ruining someone else's enjoyment of Deal or No Deal upstairs).

*I'll explain this when I get the supplies in.