Latest Posts
Training Room Echo Problem
“We have a new training room that has the following dimensions: 8′ High, 40′ Long, & 18′ Wide. The walls are dry wall, the ceiling has the typical tiles, and the floor is concrete covered by thin vinyl tiles. Also, one 40′ long wall has a white board all the way across it. The echoes are quite awful in this room. What would you recommend doing to reduce the noise?” Taking care of the echo in the room is actually quite simple, but there are a few options […]
Attention Renovators: EPA Will Require Additional Training
An EPA protection order that goes into affect April 22, 2010, will require additional training for contractors that perform maintenance, renovation, or repair of child care establishments and homes built before1978. The order states: Beginning April 22, 2010, no paid job can disturb painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes or child care facilities unless (1) the […]
January Construction Employment Numbers Released
January employment numbers are released, showing construction related unemployment has soared to 25%. This is up from the same time a year ago at 18% and two years ago at 9%. Construction projects as a whole are down, but there has been a slight increase in residential project starts.
Soundproofing an Office Ceiling
“We just moved into a newly built-out office suite. We have a terrible problem in that we can all clearly hear conversations in adjoining offices. We also have a bad echo in the offices.” Before you begin to look for options for blocking the sound, you need to find where the sound is leaking out, or leaking out the most. Without doing this, It would be like trying to plug a leaky fish tank without knowing where it were leaking […]
Home Theater from Scratch – Design and Soundproofing Products
“My basement home theater will be constructed starting in April. What’s the most economical way of soundproofing my new home theater?” Sound proofing is something that has to be approached as a unique, construction and situation based situation and what may work in “Room A” might not work in “Room B”, there are simply too many variables […]
Condo Sound Problem – Common Wall Soundproofing
Common wall dwellings have to meet certain codes that are set in place by either the local building code or the national building council or code. There is a unit of measure called STC which is a rating of how “soundproof” a wall or ceiling is. The higher the STC number, the more soundproof […]
Church Gym Sound Problem
“We are looking for some help in recommending and pricing some panels that will help cut down on the echo in our Family Life Center. This room is used for contemporary worship on Sunday morning with live bands. The echo or “slap back” is challenging for the bands. The panels will also need to be able to withstand the occasional basketball hit.” The first thing that I noticed was the physical volume and size of this room. The place is massive […]
Mandatory Green Building Standards Codes Adopted in California
California’s Building Standards Commission unanimously adopted the first in the nation, mandatory Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN). They have offered a draft of the 2010 California Green Building Standards Code on their website – 2010 California Green Building Standars Code Draft. This code will go into effect on January 1, 2011. The code will require all buildings […]
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 […]
Sound in a Bar
“I have a particular sound issue that I hope you can help me with. I need to dampen the noise in a bar in New York City. The ceilings are 18′ high, but the floors are wood and tile, the ceilings are tin, and the walls are mostly brick.” Eliminating the echo and reverberation is going to be really quite easy, but blocking the sound is always a lot more involved and will require altering the floor/ceiling assembly […]
