How to Sound Proof a Room?

[cheeseboy33]

I need help with this one desperately. In our haunt our first room is the rules room and this year we had a really cool video recording of them so it was more consistent etc. However on the far side of the next room over was the exit hallway where guests are being chased out with a chain saw. So with only the second room between the rules room and the final hallway the chainsaw was easily drowning out the audio in the rules room. No matter how hard I try I cannot find or figure out a good way to fix the problem aside from re-ordering the whole house. I really need your help with this one.

[Dreamreaper]

When I first started out in construction in the early 80's we built a excersize room and used a sound proof wall conecting to the home. We used 2x6 top and bottom plates with 2x4 studs offset and at both ends of each stud was a peice of rubber (not solid rubber) that had little comb like fingers on it ( my boss ordered those so im sure they can be found).So basically you have two seperate walls with no solid connection that any sound would travel through. Also there is a type of drywall called SOUND ROCK, but this is very expensive. Hope this helps.

[Allen H]

Egg crate foam, the more surface area to absorb the sound the better. Hang curtains in the chainsaw area, they will help absorb sound.
Or....buy a SCREAMCUBE from gore galore. They are perfect for your scenario.
http://www.gore-galore.com/scream_cube.php
I dont work for them, but their product impresses me.
Allen H

[cheeseboy33]

Great Idea Allan, I actually saw that awhile ago but I forgot about it, however I am still worried that the sound will carry into the rules room. Because the house in not up year round the walls are just plywood with black tarp/ garbage bag like ceilings above the rules and chainsaw areas, also the divider between the rules and next room are just thin strips of a thin black fabric.

[Jim Warfield]

In the old days they would nail a sheet of lead in the wall, which gave an extra added benefit of more privacy if Superman flew through the neighborhood.
I built a really deep wall and put batts of fiberglass in there held loosely in place with chicken wire across the studds, it worked too well, I could no longer hear the doorbell when in that part of the house.
The doorbell was a 1/2 horsepower electric motor banging a log chain on a big steel drum in the basement.
it loud

[bcghosthunters]

I'll chime in on this one, I think you are fighting a lost cause if you have chainsaws in the next room and only tarps for ceilings. I know in the past we had chainsaws inside a tented area and you could hear them before getting to them. (several rooms over) The only other option you may have is make sure the volume is high and surround them with speakers to muffle the chainsaws sorta speak.

[cheeseboy33]

It sounds like what I was thinking is the right way to go. Insulate the walls in the rules, between and chainsaw hallways. Add a solid insulated door maybe put carpet on both sides of the outside of the door. but that still leaves the ceiling. the only thing I can think of would be to run some boards across the top and put mattresses on top of them. maybe plexi-glass on the bottom side of the boards to get a better seal between the walls and the ceiling.

[Allen H]

Use insulating foam (the kind with foil on one side) not plexi. with plexi you would make a giant speaker. Use the foil side down so the sound inside of the room is reflected back down and the outside sound is somewhat absorbed.

[imax]

This is an interesting topic, and one that can generate a lot of discussion and ideas... but the first thing you have to understand is that you can NOT sound proof a room. You may have success in damping the surrounding noise or distracting the ear enough, but you can't soundproof a room and still have access to it (noise leaks around door gaps, windows, etc).

You can make valiant attempts, tho. The thicker the walls, the better. Especially if there are several mediums to travel through. I've seen walls built nearly 12" deep, with standard drywall and insulation layer, another layer of just air, a layer of concrete, and a 2nd drywall/insulation layer. The interior of the room was then coated with acoustic foam. Don't forget, the floor and ceiling must be done the same way to have any impact.

Achieving a "dead" room is often not ideal, though, which is why you see audio studios with hardwood floors, etc to keep some of the brightness of a room.

Another approach is to confuse the ears of the people you are targeting enough so they don't NOTICE the sounds next to them. There are 100s of ways to do this, the first being just pure volume. The adverse affect of this is that now the people being chased with the chainsaw can hear your first room ;-) I don't think that's what you are after.

So how do you confuse the listener enough? Background noise. Office buildings often use pink-noise to drown out conversations of nearby coworkers, etc. The same concept can be applied to your haunt. Create a "blanket" of pink noise (sounds like static but is rather full range) through your whole haunt. Then, make sure the sounds in any given room are more important (a dedicated speaker, decent volume). Your brain will tend to tune in the sound that is immediate and closest to you, and push everything else out. You will still hear the sound of the chainsaw the next room over if you listen for it, BUT, if you don't know it's there, the ear is much less likely to notice it.

Good luck with your project. Getting this right is a challenge!

-- I

[damon carson]

Ever think about this??? How about seperating your groups better. Allow more time. I dont know how fast you put them through but this could save you alot of money. Soundproofing a room? I mean comeon! There is a better solution!
Damon

[Dreamreaper]

May be easyer to move the chainsaw elsewhere.

[cheeseboy33]

Damon we have tried that but there is no way to control the groups in the last part of the house so timing it is extremely hard. Also every group is different and takes different amounts of time to get in the front door and get set in the rules room.

Ken I have thought about that but it wont work because of the size of the house the owner etc...

[poison]

Dream Reapers has a good point.....

Dream Reapers has a good point.....
When I first started out in construction in the early 80's we built a excersize room and used a sound proof wall conecting to the home. We used 2x6 top and bottom plates with 2x4 studs offset and at both ends of each stud was a peice of rubber (not solid rubber) that had little comb like fingers on it ( my boss ordered those so im sure they can be found).So basically you have two seperate walls with no solid connection that any sound would travel through. Also there is a type of drywall called SOUND ROCK, but this is very expensive. Hope this helps.

Now i will chime in ......

I have built 3 sound proof studios in the past and what i did cost a lot less.

2 x 6 walls insulate then 2 layers of 1/2 drywall changing the direction of the second layer so you don't have the same seems.
Next build another 2x4 wall in front of that insulate, then drywall with 5/8.
The ceiling has to be done as well with 2x6 insulate and 5/8 drywall. And i would put another layers on top of the ceiling.
Now your doors are very important as well. Both entrance and exit have to have good seal on them. You don't have to use SOUND ROCK drywall to fix this problem. But i would be better if you did. But you will be able to fix this will normal drywall.
The bottom line is its all about density!!!

[Nightmare_Trance]

As you get into this using something like Adam's or Ken's method you are going to want to start thinking about ventilation. If you have a saw running throughout the night its gonna cause fumes.

You may need to rethink the chain saw position or the rules room position.

[Jim Warfield]

3 Words of Advice

1) Nuclear 2) Powered 3)Chainsaw
No fumes, quiet, runs so cheap you never have to turn it off!
Have a big tree to cut? Just pull the cooling rod out alittle more.