How To Have A Soundproof Garage

The most common question regarding soundproofing is how to have a soundproof garage or basement? It is no wonder why many people want to know how to insulate their garage space because most of the noise is amplified there or it produces major noises at home, from the sound of roaring engine to the clanking noises of miscellaneous mechanical and carpentry jobs done at your garage. Beside those reasons, your garage or basement is also the most strategic location or spot for a home studio or home theater which significantly needs soundproofing.

Like in any other comprehensive undertaking, you also need to consider a lot of important factors upon soundproofing your garage. If you’re going to build a rehearsal space in the garage, aspects like the type of amplifiers, drums, microphone and other instruments you’ll be using need to be taken into account. How do you plan to have your rehearsals? Will there be live recording? These questions among other issues that you can think of should be resolved before you actually begin the construction of your garage studio.

If you plan to have live recording and frequent rehearsals, then you should work on maximum soundproofing. The best way to do this is to build a room within a room which is a popular and highly effective soundproofing concept.

Building A Room Within A Room

This revolutionary soundproofing concept centers on trapping sound through the airspace between inner and outer walls. The easiest way is to first construct a frame for the walls. Drywalls are great for this work since they make framing of the outer walls easier. If there is enough space, that is if the garage isn’t too low on the roofing, you can joist up a new ceiling below the existing garage ceiling. If this is impossible, then you can use the actual ceiling provided you insulate it with proper soundproofing materials like vinyl or acoustical mats.

Don’t get me wrong, the cavities between the inner and outer walls are not to be left as they are—with only air in it. Decide on what material to mount on it before you install barriers and the wallboard. I recommend a vinyl nitrile foam mat like American mat which is sold in many soundproofing stores in your locale. You mount this mat inside the cavity walls, stud frames and the joists keeping in mind that you only need to line the hollow space between the walls and not to fill them up. If your instruments are highly sensitive and need to be kept in a cool temperature, then you may use rock or mineral wool, wool fibers or rock wool bat-type insulation such as the popular Roxul for thermal insulation. Roxul has excellent soundproofing characteristics as well as great for absorbing heat.

After you have worked on the walls and the ceiling, you can then use other soundproofing products such as acoustical curtains in the windows or soundproofing draperies on the door. The floor need not be soundproofed so much since it’s the garage anyway and there’s possibly no sound coming from below. With a little creativity and following this simple guide, you will have a soundproof garage.

Soundproofing