Through much deliberation on what type ceilings I should put in my basement, drywall (like but too much mess, and joints), drop (I truly hate), or tiles. I have finally decided on "plank type" tiles by armstrong. (6" x 48" with a tongue and groove). http://www.ceilings.com/resceilingsn...ing_planks.jsp
These will be stapled to furring strips and will give the look of a tongue and groove wood ceiling. As far as I can tell (reading the manufactures info) they give little sound damping qualities. Therefore, I'm looking to use some type of "sound deadening board"(a fiber type board) to nail to the joists, then furring, then the planks. . Is anyone familiar with this and where can I find it? (heard one by the name of "homosote") Resilient channels are out, too $$$$. Also, should I insulate between the joist with fiberglass insulation for additional sound control?

 

RMX,

With all that you are doing, the sound channels would be the best option, you are already spending alot of money with the rest of it. I have attached links for you to look at and make your own assessments of what you may want to do;

http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/soundwalls.html

http://www.soundproofing.org/

http://www.usg.com/Design_Solutions/..._construct.asp

Hope these help and Happy New Year!

 

Don't bother with the extra soundproofing. I have a finished basement and so much noise comes up the steps and thru the hvac that you wouldn't notice how quiet the ceiling is.

 

Sorry, BobF, but I disagree. My recently finished basement "media room" is directly below hardwood floors. The R-19 acoustic batt in the joists and sound channel holding the drywall helps immeasurably. I cannot hear someone walking on the floor above.

The room has a solid-core door separating it from the other basement rooms and the stairs. The heating duct is foil-backed insulation with two extra 90-degree bends to reduce sound transmission.

I also offset the ceiling and new interior walls to avoid 90 degree angles and parallel opposite walls. Opposite walls are angled 1" over 12 feet from square. The ceiling actually slopes by the same amount. This slight angle is not apparent when you're in the room.

I can listen to the surround system at a very loud level without taking over the upstairs rooms as well.

An added benefit of this design is reduced bass-frequency standing waves and less high-frequency reflection. The room sounds extremely "tight".

 

RickJ6956,

Great feed back but I was wondering, based on the links that I gave RMX, would you find that this information would be helpfull for his basement project?

Thanks

 

Doug,
I found the usg site to be more informative for background info, while the soundproofing.org site relates more to this discussion. Good stuff.

It helps to know that the ambient sound in the average living room is about 55dB. Conversation in that room is about 65dB. My surround sound's preferred listening level is roughly 90dB at its peaks.

Soundproofing.org confirms my own design: Studs, drywall, sound insulation = 39dB attenuation. The sound that reaches the room upstairs is at 46dB -- well under the ambient sound in that living room and certainly not enough to interfere with casual conversation. (On paper -- I haven't actually measured SPL.)

When I designed my media room I could have put every possible sound control method into use, but there is a point of diminishing returns -- and budget considerations. I wasn't trying to build an anechoic chamber; just a good-sounding room that kept as much sound as possible inside that room.

For the record, my background is in sound system design and installation. All I ever wanted out of life was a good stereo. But I didn't achieve it until I built a decent environment around it.