Sound control when finnishing a basement?


I am about to finish the basement in our home which will become my new audio/video area and want to know how best to control the sound going through the ceiling. Some of the ceilung will be dry walled but most of it will be a drop ceiling with tiles. Are there tiles that you can use in a drop ceiling that will control sound better than the typical tiles that you can buy at Home Depot?
mchd1

Showing 1 response by ksales

I just completed a media room and work with people who had done recording studios. I found all of the professional acoustical companies to be grossly overpriced. PBB and others are essentially in line with my application. Double drywall with offsetting seams is a must. On the walls I would consider using a 1/4 to 1/2 inch exterior sheet insulating material from celotex in between the studs and glued in place. I would blow in your insulation with a mastic so that it provides solid coverage. On the floor consider two layers of subfloor with 1/2 to 1/2 cork in between the layers glued. Or cork on concret then subfloor.
Use a fibrous commercial pad under your carpet. I would go with a drywall ceiling the acoustic tiles aren't going to do what you want. I would run furing strips perpendicular to the joists about 8" apart and glue rubber strips to the furing strips. Put two layers of the drywall on this. The rubber strips will provide separation of the ceiling from the joists and floor above. Finally before doing all of the above get elastic concrete filler in the caulking tube and caulk everwhere wood meets wood or floor.