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acoustical panels

The depth and dynamics of Acoustic Panels

The ability to perceive sound is a gift. Like all senses, it can produce immense pleasure and it can annoy you like crazy. There is a big difference between the volume produced by your favorite band in a classic venue and the volume produced by a house full of screaming family. It has less to […]

How Can I Be a Quieter Neighbor

Most of the time we hear about people trying to quiet down their neighbor or at least reduce the amount that can be heard. But, what if you are the noisy neighbor? Lifehacker, which describes itself as having “tips, tricks, and downloads for getting things done”, recently had a reader write in with a question […]

Residential Sound Problem – A Frame Construction

I would LOVE to own a place like this because of the warm, cabin like feel, and the last thing I want to do is to ruin that with some acoustical treatment so I’ve got a few ideas to throw at you. My goal is to “sneak” paneling into this room so that we can take the “edge off” of the echo/reverberation without changing the look of the room at all, or to make the treatment as inconspicuous as possible. It might be a challenge, but here goes […]

Noisy Air Conditioner Solutions to Stop the Noise

I do get quite a few inquiries about noisy AC units. As far as the distance between the AC unit and the wall that you are going to need to build, I would contact the manufacturer of the unit as well as possibly a local contractor who would service the unit if it were needed. It is extremely important to leave enough room around the condenser to allow it to breather and function properly. That is one question that I will not be able to help with and is definitely site specific […]

Noisy A/C Help

“The problem is, recently, our neighbors, who themselves, do not have any A/C or window units, keep their old windows open during the hot Boston summers. Our larger unit has 2 A/C units and the people in the 1st unit have one. According to our neighbors, whose bedroom window on the 2nd floor immediately faces all 3 A/C units, make a lot of noise which is bothersome at night when they are trying to sleep.” In order to reduce the noise that your neighbor is hearing you are gong to need to do two things. First would be to interrupt the line of sight path of sound transmission […]

Soundproofing vs. Sound Absorption

I have been getting a lot of calls lately where people are looking to soundproof a room. There are two sides of the acoustical coin, if you will. There are products that absorb echo within a room and there are products that will block or stop a sound […]

Soundproofing a Condo

“We have a beach condo that is an open floor plan – there’s a main space across the front that is all windows, wood floors and then drywall – when a movie is on the whole condo can hear is. If we’re in there talking, the kids’ pinball and pool games take over. Wondering about creating a track across the back with sound dampening curtains so that in those cases we can block off the room and otherwise it can be open for the views […]”