Super Soundproofing

Archive for the ‘How To Do It’ Category

AIR CONDITIONER SOUNDPROOFING

Things you will need:

1. Vibration pads
2. Noise barrier (MLV)
3. Soundboard – (from the hardwood store)
4. Soundproofing Mat

Things you need to know:

There are several types of air conditioners, each presents different problems regarding quieting, but generally most have some things in common.

1) Older units are more noisy than newer units, mostly because they are near the end of their lives, while newer units are likely inherently quieter.

2) Compressors make more noise than fans and when near worn out can be very difficult to quiet down. Replacement is the only option.

3) Fan blades can make a lot of noise if coated with dirt through long use and can become imbalanced, causing bearings to go bad, adding to noise. Cleaning them can not only reduce sound, but add years to their lives.

4)Sometimes it’s cheaper to replace a whole unit (even if it’s not yours!) than it is to try to remodel against the noise.

Window Units:

These are difficult to quiet and many times it’s not the noise of the unit that’s the problem, it’s the noise that comes in when it’s OFF, because the air flows right through it from outside in and so does the sound of traffic, etc.

If you removed the front vent panel and filter, you can see outside! Therefore, sound has an unimpeded path into the room. Such a condition can be helped by a shield fitted to the outside of the unit, thereby making the airflow and the sound take a right angle path into the air intake of the aircon. Lining the shield with sound absorbing closed cell foam will really help reduce sound coming in. Your local sheet metal shop can make one for you if you give them the dimensions of the unit it to which it is to be fitted.

Pad mounted (Outside) Units:

These types move a lot of air and are usually pretty noisy, even when new. They tend to be large, because they cool (and sometimes heat) large areas. Because the sounds from them are loud and varied, (A combination of compressor and integral fan noise, as well as vibration), trying to soundproof them directly with material on them is usually fruitless and some sort of barrier/fence must be set up.

If it is a roof mounted assembly, make sure there are adequate vibration pads under it to help reduce vibration transmitted into the roof. A noise barrier made of MLV can help reduce noise created and going down through the roof. If mounted on a concrete pad there will not be this kind of problem.

Determine direction of the soundpath that is causing the problem and plan a fence barrier between it and the target of the sound. (A bedroom window, for instance). Build a fence (no gaps in the slats!), at least 8′ high and 6′ wide that goes all the way to the ground as close to the unit as practical and line it with sound absorbent closed cell foam. 1″ thick is a good choice. If the soundpath is angling upwards, add a overhang to your fence to help block the path. If there is more than one soundpath, a fence in the shape of a “V” or even 3 sided like a “U” may be necessary. In some cases a boxed in area may be needed, complete with a roof to contain the sound. Access doors and ventilation will have to be planned for this type of solution. Some hints on how to baffle a noise source is here.

Attic Fans and Air Conditioners:

Some times it’s necessary to “Hang” these units from vibration mounts rather than set them on pads to reduce vibration to an acceptable level. When belts are used to drive the fans, problems can arise due to wear and aging of the assemblies and bearing blocks. Units that are comparatively quiet can become very annoying over time as loose parts begin to sound off. Usually it’s necessary to add sound barrier and vibration absorbing mat around the installation to reduce sound transfer into the structure of the building. This is best done at initial installation rather than later when it will be much more difficult.

Ducts/ducting and air vents.

Ducting needs to be covered with closed cell sound absorbing foam (not open cell foam), for sound and thermal insulation. Metal ducting needs to be physically isolated from the fan shroud or aircon unit with a flexible coupling. Otherwise is will re-radiate sound vibration along it’s length. Fiberglass or flexible ducting usually won’t have this problem, but will lose thermally if not insulated.

Liquid soundproofing can be painted/sprayed on or in the metal ducting for even more sound vibration reduction.

Vents are a problem if the design causes an air noise. To see if this is a problem, temporarily remove one to see if the sound level drops appreciably.

Watch for vents to rooms that have a single common feed up through the wall- (or down through the floor to the ceiling below), if you can peer though the vent into the other side, it means sounds in one room will transfer to the other room.

If you are buying an AirCon, don’t just take the sound ratings the dealer may give for quietness- find out where the different brands/models are installed and go check them out- you will definitely be glad you did!

From Dave and Suzy Gagniere  San Diego, Calif.
When you live downstairs from an obese insomniac with a really bad attitude, you should consider soundproofing your ceilings.
We turned to John Granahan to install the most effective possible soundproofing system in our ceilings: mass-loaded vinyl and super sound clips. John and his crew did fast, professional work and went the extra mile to accommodate our circumstances. Our condo is too small to empty two rooms at once, so he and his crew returned two extra times to complete the work on our bedroom ceilings. They demonstrated teamwork and experience in soundproofing our ceilings, and it was fascinating to watch.
This soundproofing system greatly muffles the sounds coming from the insomniac upstairs and lets us get to sleep.

From Eric Johnson  Escondido, CA
Well, let me get my 2 cents worth about John Granahan: He’s great!

I needed to soundproof a room built in my garage for a home theater. First it required figuring out what to do with the garage door, since the motor and related track were occupying space where I wanted the room to be. I thought this would be a big problem, but not for John. He solved the problem right away, and it was taken care of in two days. Next he had to learn a whole new construction technique using mass-loaded vinyl. He grasped the concepts right away and work moved forward without a hitch. Soundproofing the doors was another area that needed special, non-traditional treatment. Now I have my soundproof room and I’m a happy guy.

I’m currently working and saving money to buy the equipment I need to turn my room into a home theater, which thanks to John, should look and sound as good as a commercial theater. With the soundproofing, I will be able to listen to music and watch movies any time I want, day or night, without bothering the neighbors. And, I can pay cents on the dollar for my popcorn, and stop the movie while I go to the bathroom. How great is that!!
Thanks John!

Eric and Lisa  California
John Granahan enclosed a room and extended a sub floor at our home. We would highly recommend him for his workmanship and knowledge in his trade. He is thorough and offered meaningful aesthetic advice. He is conscientious with finishing on time and often updated us with the progress. Most important is his trustworthiness and honesty as we were comfortable allowing him to do the work while we were on vacation. We would certainly not hesitate to hire him again for other future construction projects.

From Mary E. West  Carlsbad, CA
Thank you so much for the beautiful work you did on my room addition. The completed room is just what I envisioned, and I thoroughly enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the room and the view it provides of the garden.
Before I hired you, I had interviewed other construction firms. You were highly recommended by professionals I respect, and I felt an instant rapport with you that you would do your very best to carry out my ideas. The contract was fair and completely clear regarding commitment. From the day you began construction, I knew the job was in good hands. You weren’t just a licensed contractor, you became a friend to me and to members of my family!
I appreciate your attention to detail and the conscientious way you conduct your business. It is a pleasure to recommend your company.

From Merry Neitlich of JM Associates  Irvine, CA
I have had the opportunity to work with Mr. John Granahan, principal of Granahan Construction Company on two significant projects in my home this summer.
The first project was a complete tear-down and re-build of our wood deck in our backyard. John was thorough, knowledgeable and detail-oriented during all stages of the projects from discussion through clean-up. (By the way, John is one of the few contractor’s I have worked with who cleans-up “broom clean” upon completion of each day’s work). What was particularly positive in my experience with John and the building of our deck was John’s attention to detail and spotting potential problems before they became problems. John completed the project on time and consistently showed up on time.
We engaged John for a second and more significant project–being the general contractor of the remodeling of our kitchen. John selected all of the appropriate artisans for the kitchen from the granite fabricator to cabinet installers. Everyone who worked on the project showed up on time each time. The artisans were all extraordiary professional and pleasant to work with. My entire kitchen was remodeled in 10 days from start to finish! (That has to be a world’s record!)

From Millie Warren  Long Beach, Calif.
This is a recommendation for the “Contractor from Heaven,” John Granahan of Granahan Construction Company. I have owned commercial property in Long Beach since 1976 and during that time have had the gamut of people who have worked for me and have not done the job according to the agreement and wanting more money to finish the job. At this time the contractor hired a year ago to build a balcony and change some windows has not yet got final inspection. I hired John to build a handicap bathroom from the ground up. He stayed on the job until it was finished and three weeks later we had the final inspection. After that he modified another bathroom to handicap specifications, in the same professional manner. He is honest and trustworthy, and offers suggestions to save money, time and energy. I wish I had this young man working for me a long time ago. He would have saved me a lot of lost time and money and worry.

From Patrick & Colleen Conner  Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
I thought I would take the time to write and say how much I appreciated your company’s work on our residence. There were some difficult circumstances, and I was quite impressed with the way your worked together with the various people and building officials to make things happen correctly. I alays made me feel good to know that the construction was being done right, so there would be no problems in the future. Everything was complete and approved on time. The price your quoted was the price I paid. Those two things are impressive enought by themselves. But you gave more. Advice when I needed it…and listening to what I wanted when I KNEW what I wanted. Together, we made my family’s home a much nicer place to live. I just wanted to say thanks.

From Nancy Davis, Captain in The Salvation Army  Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
I have had the priviledge to do a remodeling project for the Salvation Army with Mr. John Granahan. While I was transferred before completion of the project, I found him to be professional, conscientious, meticulous and definately committed to his projects. I have great confidence in his abilities and highly recommend him.

From Shirley Zeiner  Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
I am very pleased with the lanai extension (veranda) you and your crew did on my home. From the very begining of the project your suggestions and work with the draftsman was extremely helpful. I appreciated you always confirming with me on changes that needed to be made with building materials. Your crew worked in a professional way at all times, cleaning up at the end of each day. I would gladly refer your company to anyone I know planning a construction project.

From Chris Hashimoto of Pacific Machinery  Waipahu, Hawaii
John Granahan built a 2,400 sq. ft. of office space, conference room and tool room in an existing warehouse for Pacific Machinery. He did the rough drawing with input from myself and Don Andrews, manager. He then arranged all the necessary blueprints and permits through the proper channels from start to finish. Throughout the construction phase, there were many changes that complicated and slowed the construction, but with John’s willingness and cooperation to satisfy our needs, he completed the project in a very expeditious manner. I compliment John’s finished work. Although it has been well over a year since the completion, our customers as well as our out of state visitors have said many good things of John’s layout and finished work. I strongly recommend Granahan Construction Company to all prospective customers.

From Ken Jones, Resident Manager of Kona Islander Inn  Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
John Granahan of Granahan Construction was one of the bidders on a full restoration of a unit that burned totally last December and three lanais and part of the roof. He worked hand in hand with me and the insurance adjuster to come to an agreement on price which would satisfy everyone. He and his crew did a very professional job on the re-building of the unit, and even did extra work that was not included in his bid. Over the past few years, John has done many other jobs here at Kona Islander Inn, including roof repairs and recently build the frame work for our new mail boxes. I find John to be very conscientious about his work and his laborers. I have called him several different times to talk to him about the progress of the work and he responds very quickly.

Soundproofing Acoustical Curtains, Drapes & Strip Doors. Yes!

Our Noise Control Blackout Curtains and Clear Vinyl sheeting cuts sound and they are economical, too!

Home Theater Curtains? Yes!
Any room should have at least 40% of it’s total area covered with absorbent material to reduce annoying reverberation, which reduces speech intelligibility.
Acoustical Curtains (Acoustical Draperies), are useful for adding absorbency to a room that has many reflective surfaces, such as home theatres, etc.. Sound control through a doorway? Yes! Soundproofing (Blackout), drapes are a quick, effective and cheap way to improve room acoustics (hang on the walls), as well as to block sound from coming through walls, doorways, windows, patio doors, etc. Especially effective on thin walls, such as mobile homes.
A cheap way to get a good nights sleep!

We now have a good stock of used, (very good condition!), heavy-duty soundproofing pleated drapes removed from commercial soundproofing room installations. We have some various widths (Approx.) lengths to cover walls or windows in panels. They are made of a close woven vinyl or polyester/cotton blend satin fabric with a heavy plastic fabric-like backing of Therma-Foam (creating a sound trapping space). These sound control curtains normally cost many hundreds ($$$), when new. Condition is quite good, but on some, slight discolorations or spotting may be evident but some of it may be easily removed. We have some of different colors, your choice, out they go for peanut prices. Better get some before they are all gone! Lengths are a panel for covering a wall (including a window) and sold by the inch of width: (1″ = $1). We have some with more spotting/damage for cheaper prices – inquire! These spotted ones have been proven inexpensive for noisy bird rooms to reduce reverb. Pix below show darker than they really are on most browsers. All our pages are best viewed at 1024X768 on your display.

If the colors or design is not to your liking, use them as “backup” curtains behind your desired curtains.

These drapes work best if they are not stretched tight and completely extended flat to the wall Pick a width that will allow some accordion folding when fully pulled across. (Add at least a third to the width for this). For the best soundproofing effect, try to allow at least a foot of margin around the window/door opening.

Any kind of acoustical curtains can be “doubled up” where maximum soundproofing is wanted: ___—-___—-___—-___ (Top View). Hang the first layer on regular curtain rods, then the second layer on extended rods, creating another airspace between the first set of curtains and the second. Both sides of a opening can be covered this way. These are heavy curtains (12-25 Lbs Each!) and may require a pole rod. (Get rods at the hardware store! Ask for “15 year warranty” rods.)

Use double-sided tape to seal curtain edges to wall for improved results! Also to seal center overlap of two curtains where they join together. Use it left, right and center to seal vertical edges of curtains thus reducing sound migration around and through the curtain joints at the walls and center overlap. Magnetic tape can also be cut into strips and used for this purpose.

“WALK-THROUGH” VINYL CURTAIN DOORWAY BARRIERS

STRIP DOORS - Prefabricated, ready to install Vinyl Strip Doors have excellent optical clarity, permitting good visibility through doorways. Useful for dust control and noise reduction.

FLEXIBLE TEAR-RESISTANCE VINYL, AN EFFECTIVE NOISE BARRIER WITHOUT THE STIFFNESS

AND VIBRATION OF OTHER TYPES OF BARRIERS.

Mass Loaded curtains have lead-free barium metal powder or silicon in vinyl for added sound control!

See-Thru Vinyl curtains Meet California Fire Marshall Registration No F-561

Make these yourself by buying the material you need, cutting it and hanging it up. Save hundreds!

Mass Loaded Curtains (Black/Gray, can’t see through) in 4′ wide sheet

These are also used to increase noise reduction by placing over windows and doors.

See-Thru Vinyl Curtain Material (Clear) 4′ wide sheet.

Can be applied directly to clean glass to reduce sound coming through the window.  Use a solution of distilled water and a few drops of “No Tears” baby shampoo without conditioner.  Use a spray bottle to apply and a rubber squeegee to remove bubbles.  Use a lint free cloth or coffee filters to clean with the same solution you used to apply.  Do not use any cleaner with vinegar or ammonia or paper towels.

Also used for sound/dust control over openings as well as protective covering for tables, etc.

Select Mass Loaded Vinyl Opaque or Clear Vinyl material (or both!) from chart.

8″ X .080- $ 2.50 Ft  12″ X .120 – $4 Ft

Measure your doorway or window and order to the closest foot in length. For instance, if your doorway was 8′ 2″ high, you would need to order 9′ feet of material. Material can be grommeted (Get the tool at the hardware store!) or mount with some “sandwich” boards holding it at the top. The board is then mounted over the doorway using screws, nails or chain. (Or use the mounting kits at the bottom of this page).

Cut vinyl to length with snips. or sharp knife. Allow to brush against the floor for maximum sound reduction. Walk-through panels can easily be made from the 4′ wide sheet with vertical length-way slits. Or order strip material from us. Double-up or hang on both sides of the opening for maximum effectiveness.

Use the mass loaded vinyl (MLV) on walls as a backing for the noise control curtains above to increase effective sound blocking. As effective as lead sheeting!

“Clamp Type” Door mounting kits for Strip or Sheet

The bottom edges of the holding bar are rounded to reduce wear on your strips as they swing.

4′ Wide Kit……………………….$59.95

8′ Wide Kit………………………$109.95

We also have Lead! Inquire

MORE!

See-Thru Vinyl Curtain Material (Clear) 4€² wide sheet €“ Can be applied directly to clean glass to reduce sound coming through the window. Use a solution of distilled water and a few drops of €œNo Tears€ baby shampoo without conditioner. Use a spray bottle to apply and a rubber squeegee to remove bubbles. Use a lint free cloth or coffee filters to clean with the same solution you used to apply. Do not use any cleaner with vinegar or ammonia or paper towels.

Also used for sound/dust control over openings as well as protective covering for tables, etc.

Select Mass Loaded Vinyl Opaque or Clear Vinyl material (or both!) from above chart.

Measure your doorway or window and order to the closest foot in length. For instance, if your doorway was 8€² 2€³ high, you would need to order 9€² feet of material. Material can be grommeted (Get the tool at the hardware store!) or mount with some €œsandwich€ boards holding it at the top. The board is then mounted over the doorway using screws, nails or chain. (Or use the mounting kits shown).

Cut vinyl to length with snips or sharp knife. Allow to brush against the floor for maximum sound reduction. Walk-through panels can easily be made from the 4€² wide sheet with vertical length-way slits. Or order precut strip material from us. Double-up or hang on both sides of the opening for maximum effectiveness.

Use the mass loaded vinyl (MLV) on walls as a backing for the noise control curtains above to increase effective sound blocking. As effective as lead sheeting! MORE!

USE THESE SIMPLE PIN TYPE MOUNTS TO HOLD DOOR STRIPS FOR REAL QUICK ASSEMBLY

CEILING MOUNT
WALL MOUNT
STRIP INSTALLATION

The same strip mounts as a wall or ceiling mount.

CEILING MOUNT €” WALL MOUNT

TIPS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND HEAVY REMODELING For Contractors

SECRETS REVEALED THAT MANY PEOPLE WILL NEVER KNOW…

Carefully analyze your noise situation, before closing up walls and floors.

Consider using real sound control windows where needed.

Use low-cost special building techniques now to minimize the requirements for expensive soundproofing material later.

If you’re on a budget, at least use tape and inexpensive resilient channel for some kind of sound control. (Something is better than nothing). If real results are what you need, use soundclips and MLV barrier.

Some building materials are better than others for sound control. We carry the full line of Pinta Acoustics Products such as Illbruck PROSPEC Decibel Drop Viscoelastic Dampening Compound, the “Architects Choice”.

Lead lined drywall is available from us! Or we’ll show you how to make your own!

Give some thought to the attic and outside noise reduction.

Planning to use plants and trees for a sound fence? Don’t. It won’t work.

Take a walking tour of soundproofing a house!

A special note about having a home office.

Some words about putting in wood or tile floors! (You must have some resilience to the floor or the people underneath will hate you!)

What you need to know about insulation, such as cellulose and other types of “Blow-In’s” (Rock wool is the only common product we know of that has appreciable soundproofing qualities).

New! Cotton fiber insulation provides thermal and sound insulation and it’s a “Green” product!!

If you are a Homeowner:

Often, homeowners think about their basement remodel or
the extra space coming with their home addition, and
they overlook the companion projects that usually ride
shotgun with these improvements. So don’t just think
new windows or fixing the roof, but consider the other
areas of improvement that are likely to go hand-in-hand
with any home project, like sound control and air purification for the add-on, etc.

Books of knowledge that belong on any Builders bookshelf!

Working to Architectural Construction Specification ? Call us! We can help.  Also see:   HOUSE

Ask us about anything here!

The Ultimate in a Sound Damping Coating!Almost like a soundproofing sound deadening paint!  (See the Video!)

Use this acoustic treatment to block and dampen sound!

Super Soundproofing Co, (San Marcos, Ca.) master distributors, is introducing Noxudol 3101, a patented water-based soundproofing sound insulation and deadening compound. Along with being water-based, it absorbs noise and vibration, is sprayable, nontoxic, dries hard. It works really well for damping resonance in aluminum, steel, fiberglass, wood and poly-glass. It is nonabrasive, anti-corrosive, protects against condensation and is ideal for automotive, industrial and railway applications.  Plus – the flame-retardant properties are awesome!

While not a sound deadening paint, it’s pretty close!  (It’s thicker, but can be sprayed).

Sound deadening with Noxudol 3101Reference object – Djupviks Shipyard Before: Usually, they glued 1,5 mm aluminium plate with 1 mm glue on the inside of the hull. This required 1 working hour per sqm. All the aluminium plates had to be cut to the exactly right size. The weight per sqm was 5 kg. Today: All vertical places, which need sound damping, included the frame ribs, are treated with Noxudol 3101. Up to 5 kg/sqm can be applied without exceeding the cost for the material of the old system. However, Noxudol 3100€™s unique sound damping properties and the possibility to treat 100 % of all vertical surfaces and frame ribs, reduce the requirement of material to about 2 kg/sqm (about 3 litre/sqm wet material). They apply up to 3 kg/sqm on surfaces where extra sound damping is required. Result: - Less working hour to sound damping one sqm. Up to 80% reduction. - Reduced material cost. - Less weight. Up to 50% reduction. - Environmentally harmless product. - Contains no solvent or other dangerous materials. - Better sound damping results.

How to use Soundproofing Paint!

Use for autobody sound control and undercoating.  Pickup bed coating!  Computer side panels. Reduce noise in washing machines or dryers by painting the back sides.  Soundproofing built-in light or recessed  fixtures.

Noxudol 999:   Aircraft firewalls and engine mounts! (See this Video!  It increases the resistance to fire of in-flight conditions). Paint your plywood shear walls.

Technical data for noxudol 3101 More Videos on this Product! Buy Some!

How to select soundproofing suppliers!

When we put up this website in 1998, we were the only company specializing in sound control materials, even though there were several companies selling professional sound studio acoustical materials.

These established companies, observing our success over the years, began adding sound control sections to their websites to take advantage of the growing awareness of noise pollution by homeowners and the general public.  They began to actually talk sound control with customers, breaking their long standing rules of only dealing with noise control professionals.  Unfortunately, much of the info they give is couched in specialized, engineering terms and may not be very practical in the field. Do you really care about “Sabins”, “NRC” and “IIC” terms?

Recently, there has been a explosion of companies wishing to “cash in” on the soundproofing phenomenon and have studied ours and other websites and now try to “talk the talk” by selling the same or similar materials.  Some have copied the information from our website virtually word-for-word!  (Even with our spelling errors!).

Because they have very little in the way of costly overhead, (working from apartments, garages or cheap offices), they try to sell product for a few pennies cheaper than established reliable companies.  This article is to help the user try to differentiate between their hype and the real tested resources of practical sound control and reliable suppliers.

Points to consider before buying sound control materials from ANYONE! (This applies to dealing with contractors, too!)

• Are they established and reliable?  (Or just out for a quick profit?) You can tell if they don’t answer the phone and ask you to leave a call-back number.
• Do they just simply agree with your plan or idea and not offer constructive alternatives or criticism to make sure you get the proper materials and install it correctly?
• Will they just sell you whatever kind of material you want without any kind of comment as to whether it will do the job?
• Are their “Technical Experts” commission salesmen?
• Do they hype their material, offering glowing testimonials?
• Do they offer to guarantee results, but have onerous return policies? (Tell you anything to make the sale).
• Do they actually STOCK material or are they just “Drop Shippers”?
• Are they a VERIFIED member of the Better Business Bureau?  (BBS symbols must be clickable).
• Do they have a outstanding privacy policy?  (Some don’t even have one or a “canned” one forced on them by a web hosting service! Or don’t even know what it means!) Is it hidden? Is the type big enough to read?  Does it actually offer privacy?
• Do they have phony “Trust” and “Award” emblems on their site that do not work for verification?  (Not clickable, or send you around their own site).
• Do they wildly extol their own wonderful virtues of integrity and conscientiousness to allay your fears? (To make a sale, they’ll even tell you they are devout Christians and call you “Brother”!)
• Do they give themselves impressive meaningless titles, such as “Soundproofing Director” or “Sound Conditioning Expert”?
• Do they make ridiculous claims as to their qualifications?  (One of our former employees was asked some questions about sound control by a newspaper, who then mentioned our company and his name in a general article.  He quit and started his own business around the corner from us in competition with us, calling himself the “Doctor of Soundproofing, ADVISOR to the New York Times”! (And several other newspapers who carried the article about us).
• Do they knock their competitors with sincere sounding criticism of them or their products “for the protection of the public”?
• Do they offer products with characteristics that cannot meet specifications?  (For instance: “Rubber Expanded Foam”- FAA Approved for Aircraft). Or “Closed Cell Foam” (Just cheap ineffective neoprene).
• Do they offer cheap products that sound and seem the same as other sound control products but are not?  (Neoprene: “Same as mass loaded vinyl”).
• Do they offer products with low quoted prices on the site, but wildly differ when the order  is placed?
• Do they hit you with exorbitant shipping and handling charges?
• Do they offer low prices and then hit you with a “Order Processing Fee”?  (This fee is proportional to how bad you want it!).
• Do they try to add a charge for using a credit card instead of a money order?  Or give you a discount for cash. because they can’t qualify for a credit card merchant account and thusly a shopping cart?  (Or use some other persons merchants account).
• Will they  give you specifications of  their products and the Materials Safety Data sheets (MSDS)?
• Will they sell you flammable packing material or mattress foam as acoustic products?
• Do they give you copies of their own approvals and lab burn tests? Or “Computer Generated”?  (Or fake copies of ours?)
• Do they meet shipping deadlines or do you have to keep calling?
• Will they cheerfully accept back your unused product for credit?
• Will you have to worry that you’ll not even receive your order, nor your money back?  (Or the correct materials for the job).
• If you have problems will they help you or your installer or just blow you off?
• Will you have to contact us after buying from them to find out where you went wrong?

We offer free, informed, practical and impartial advice.  While some people have taken our time, information and detailed instructions and shopped elsewhere for materials, they are in the minority.  (Probably it was these competitors calling us for help!  We are the ones they turn to!)

If you like what we do and the way we do it, please patronize us and become one of our many loyal customers!  (You won’t be sorry!)

Some would say you’d have to be nuts to deal with anyone but us!

Dealing with someone else?  Make sure you haven’t been “Doctored”!  Call us for a second opinion!

Careful attention to certain details (not mentioned on the site), could mean the difference between success and failure of your sound reduction project!  (You’ll get these vital details when you become our customer!)

If you find a lower price somewhere else- Beware! There’s a reason!

Tip! Check their Delivered Price!

Since we ship in large volume, we get a far better shipping rate from our freight companies than others and pass that along to you!

We can ship from our bonded warehouses near you, saving you big money!

Sound Blocking EAR MUFFS, HEADSETS & HEARING PROTECTION

While noise keeping you awake may seem to be a simple problem, the solutions are not simple!

Sleeping with headsets? You bet! Want to block traffic noise or reduce your partners snoring?   Sound Blocking Totally Guaranteed!

Need help getting to sleep, or sleeping?

Some of this may be hard to believe:

Why don’t earplugs alone work well?  Earplugs don’t cover the mastoid bone behind your ear as well as headsets do.  That’s also why “Lightweight” or cheap smaller headsets don’t work well.  We’ve been asked: “What if I wear both”?  The answer is that while there will be some improvement over headsets alone, it will not be very great, but really well worth it.  We give you a free set of earplugs with each headset and you can get more from your local drugstore, if need be.

Most of these professional units we sell have a special liquid ear seal for maximum noise reduction and are made with premium components for long life.

Fitting Instructions:

1. Pull the cups outward and position so that the cushions fully enclose the ears and seal tightly against the head.
2. Adjust the height of each cup equally on both sides while holding headband on crown of head creating a snug and comfortable fit.
3. Proper Fit:  With ear muffs over both ears while in a noisy environment, place the palms of your hands on both cups and push cushions towards head.  If there is a perceptible difference in the noise level, ear muffs are probably not fitted properly.

The headband will take a set.  If proper fit is not obtained, repeat fitting instructions.  ie:  if they are too tight, spread them out – too loose, compress the headband.

Notice:  Noise reduction is adversely affected by anything that impairs the seal of the ear muff cushions,  like hair, glasses, earpiece cords, etc. Yes, soundblocking headsets (ear muffs),  really work and here’s what we’ve  learned about sleeping with them and some suggestions.

Use the type that’s adjustable, usually the headband that goes around the back of the neck or under the chin is best for sleeping. Then, find a quiet place to put on the headset and stay there a few minutes first to accustom your hearing level to the quiet, otherwise your body may “turn up your ear volume” trying to make up for the unaccustomed quietness.   The bathroom works good for this. Then put on the headset.

Two pillows may be needed to block your head/headset properly when lying in bed. Very soft “malleable” pillows, not rubberery are best. If you can find a “horseshoe” pillow, it may help to position the headset better.

Wearing headsets throughout the night may not work for some people.  Use them to get to get to sleep and pull them off later if they become uncomfortable.  Keep them handy (always put them in the same place to avoid searching in your bed for them!) if you need to put them back on.

TIPS:   If the headset headband is too tight, loosen by spreading out by hand.  If too loose, tighten by clamping head banding together. Make sure your hair doesn’t interfere with the earmuff seal.  If you wish to wear an earpiece to listen to the radio, etc, use a flat cord not a round one so as to not interfere with the seal. Wearing these at night takes some “getting used to”.  Give them the old college try.  If you can make them work (as hundreds here have done), you can save yourself untold aggravation, expense, etc!

We now have reusable earplugs on cords to help in not losing them at night Inquire!

Totally Guaranteed! Because not everyone may be able to use them, we waive our normal 25% restocking charge if you wish return them.  (Shipping not refundable). You’re not stuck!

But Wait!  There’s more: SPECIAL OFFER-  FREE EARPLUGS with EACH HEADSET!

Regular industrial hearing protection ear muffs don’t attenuate the voice range by much- because speech communication is important for safety in industrial conditions.  (Like- “Hey, BOB, WATCH OUT!)  For sleep and ordinary noise reduction, this is a real disadvantage.  Since we can’t modify them, we provide you with special noise reduction pads that fit inside the ear cups to increase the attenuation and widen the speech blocking range and a set of earplugs.

If you decide to return the earmuffs, the sound blocking earplugs are yours to keep. See all our headset/earmuffs with pictures.  Pix may change due to availability and product upgrades.

Comfort Rating: BEST! Low Profile and collapsible for travel. Ear cups are specially designed to fit each ear. The NRR in DB is 21, with specially enhanced pads and earplugs to perform even better. Lightweight- only 8 OZ. Blue only.
Only……….$19.95  Temporarily out-of-stock.

With FREE EARPLUGS!

Comfort Rating: Almost the BEST! Use these headband models for good hearing protection and noise reduction. The ear cups are specially designed to fit each ear.

The NRR in dB is 25, with specially enhanced pads to perform even better. Available in Gray with black headband.only……….$24.95

With FREE EARPLUGS!  In stock.

Comfort Level:  GOOD The headset in the photo is a specially enhanced version of the commercial ear muffs used in high noise areas of industrial construction and around aircraft.  There are special liquid-foam ear cushions for maximum sealing at the ears and added comfort. Three positions: Under, over and behind the head. Rotating ear cups for careful fitting.  Comfort Rating: Very Good. The NRR in dB is 28, about as high as you can go, but with enhanced ear-pad inserts (supplied) they will perform even better at voice frequencies. Available in red, orange colors: only……….$39.95
With FREE EARPLUGS!  In stock.

Comfort Rating: Good.  Live next to a train or truck station?  Special Low Frequency Ear Muffs block very loud, low frequency rumble sound such as emitted by engines, compressors, buses and heavy trucks. We took High Noise Reduction units and added Low Frequency noise enhancement.  Recommended for professionals exposed to such loud sounds that hearing damage could occur without serious protection. Liquid Filled – Black only.
Just $49.95 With FREE EARPLUGS! NRR: 29  In stock.

Pretty Comfortable- THE Ultimate Soundblocker! Civvy Version!   Built to Military Specifications, The same specs as those made to withstand duty on aircraft carrier flight decks – Civilian Version of Navy Mil Spec, Thick foam headband- low tension,  Individually adjustable ear cups with a NRR – 29 Average – Over Head -Wide frequency reduction up to 37.4
Highest average sound blocking. Just $59.95 With FREE EARPLUGS!  In stock.
Don’t know which to order?  Order them all and test for the best one for you.  Return in saleable condition – no restocking charge, (just pay the shipping).  Get RMA here.

Need a quiet room?  See our safe room description and our do-it-yourself sound booth.

Safe Rooms- the modern bomb shelter!
Forget about duct tape and plastic wrap  for your safe room!

What is a safe room?
A safe room is one which the goal is to rid the air of any biological contaminants such as mold, cat allergens and pollen, viruses, bacteria, noise pollution and other types of environmental pollution like biological gases from a terrorist attack. A safe room can be any room in the house which is toxin free.Such a room can also be modified so as to provide radiation protection from nuclear attack, depending on the distance from ground zero.

Who needs a safe room?
Most people most of the time can tolerate some toxicity; the time to provide protection is when…
People have weak immune systems such as the young, elderly or sick.  And/or allergies that don’t respond well to drugs.
The level of toxic pollution for any reason (such as an attack), could reach such a level as to be considered dangerous to the population at large.

Info regarding a nuclear attack: Data indicates that if the blast of such an attack is survived, the radiation drops to a low level in the first 2 hours, then to a very low (almost negligible) value in the next 2 days

Building a safe room:

For soundproofing the walls and ceilings, see “Party” Walls

To build a safe room, one must bring enough uncontaminated fresh air into that room so that people will have plenty of oxygen. The answer lies in positively pressurizing a room. In order to provide occupants with a completely toxin free room, a constant flow of air needs to be drawn into the room from the outside or adjacent room through extremely high grade Hepa and/or carbon filters, so only pure air enters the room. Using the inflow duct kit for these air purifiers, bring the fresh air in safely from the outside through a duct fitted into a window or wall. When new air enters in from the outside, it filter out large particulates, then a surplus of air fills the room to capacity thereby excess air is forced  out of the room through a one-way outlet duct, because the room must be airtight.  In addition, a air purifier that destroys virus’ and bacteria (such as the  Eco-Quest), is used in the room as a secondary unit and that will continue to function should the first fail.  (Portable battery operated units are available for this purpose, too).

A standalone air conditioner might be considered, where the ionizing air purifier would be built into the ducting.

The radiation barrier is provided by lining the walls, ceiling and if needed, the floor with lead sheeting.  This is easily accomplished by using adhesive to cement the sheeting the walls or to additional drywall sheets which are then applied to the walls, ceiling, etc.  Lead tape is added to finish the sealing job.  The more lead, the better the protection.  The government protects our leaders with several inches!  We ordinary citizens usually cannot afford the kind of  protection the government provides our politicians.

Call us for more info on this. 888-942-7723 8-5 Pacific time

See these links as a resource for your Safe Room.

http://urbansurvivalkit.com/
http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/safe-room.html?source=goto

How to soundproof your door with a acoustical door sweep.

All About Controlling Sound and Reducing Noise Passing through Doors.

After dealing with the window, sound control efforts in a room should go to the door: a typical interior style hollow core door will pass sound quite readily. (An STC of much less than 20- this means conversation can easily be heard). It should be replaced with a solid, exterior door, the thickest you can find. “MDF” (Medium Density Fiberboard) doors are cheap and have good sound blocking qualities. Make sure it’s well fitted to the frame, no gaps or crevices for sound to migrate through. If there is, use closed cell tape, (not from the hardware store). The door should be sealed off as if it was 40 degrees below zero on one side. If it has a gap over 1/4″ at the bottom, use a door sweep seal, (a metal strip with a rubber flap) mounted to it, available from us. (As shown here). Set it to just brush the floor.

Your new door may still need sound insulation. Use 1/8″ MLV with 1/4″ closed cell foam ($14.63 per lineal ft). bonded to it. Then cover with “Super Soundproofing acoustical mat”. Usually 1″ thick will suffice. Cut it a bit oversize to cover the seam of the door at the frame to help seal it. You can use the mat with the adhesive backing if you want to re-use it or remove it later.

A typical door 3′ X 8′ is 36 sq. ft. so 8′ of the 4′ 6″ wide MLV will cover it. 9′ of the 4′X1″ foam will be needed. If there’s a lot of sound still coming through, consider hanging a “Mass Loaded Curtain” (barrier) or a acoustical curtain over the door and frame.

You could use gaskets that are ordinary thermal sealing gasketing foam strips from the hardware store, but far better results can be had if you use our “Super Soundproofing 1/8″ Thick Self-Adhesive Tape” (Black), because it is a closed cell material, will seal better and is much more durable. We also have a better looking gray tape in widths of 1/4″, 3/8″ & 1/2″ for door sealing white frames. Apply strips on top of each other to build up and close wide gaps.

Think you can’t replace the door with your door, Landlord problem? You can always put his door aside and rehang it when you leave. Better, create an “Airlock door system” by leaving his door in place and adding another door to the frame, opening the opposite way. (Solid core, of course!)

TIP: Remove the molding from around (use care to not split it!), the door and check the gap between the frame of the door and the rough framing. Usually you’ll find there is nothing there! Many times this empty space of the door frame has no insulation at all, just covered by two pieces of wood molding. Pack the area with our Super Soundproofing Mat (you can order just a few feet, we have no minimums), or use our caulk, and cover the gap with our lead tape, then replace the molding. This tip applies to windows too! (Do not use expandable foam as for thermal insulation. It will be worse than the airgap).

Sliding doors have little or no acoustical qualities at all and are best replaced with one that has, or if not possible, covered with a hanging sound barrier such as curtains, etc. If it’s a glass patio door, you could cover part of it with soundproofing mat and make a holding panel with mat attached to it to cover the door that moves when it’s shut. Another option is to add another patio door with a new frame. This double door will block a lot of sound by trapping air between the door panels. Commercially available soundproofing sliding glass doors can be had here.

Open doorways? Curtains hung across open doorframes usually don’t perform well acoustically, but do some sound blocking if they are heavy and fitted well to the frame. If clear plastic and cut into strips for egress, the strips need to be overlapped about 50%. If using clear plastic, use the heaviest you can, we have it in up to .160 thicknesses. Acoustical curtains perform about the same. If possible, consider hanging curtains on BOTH sides of the doorway for greatly improved sound reduction. This is because the dead air trapped there works for you. Such curtain installations should touch the floor. Use double-sided tape to attach the curtains to the wall at the edges to help seal the curtain.

Garage doors are another problem, especially bad if they are segmented doors. (Panels that are hinged). Such doors may prove difficult to deal with because of the gaps created by the hinging. However, our “Super Soundproofing Mat” glued to the inside may flex enough to work O.K. Use as thick of material as you can. It will also help to use a barrier like “Super Soundproofing Flooring” (MLV) to cover the entire door area including the walls to outside. (More on this on the web page about soundproofing a garage).

Some notes about our “Door Sweep” (transom seal): (The part that should seal the door bottom against sound and that fits on the bottom of the door). A transom seal is usually available from the hardware store that fits on the floor across the doorway. Use this kind too, if you have a huge gap. Try to get one with a rubber flap. (Mechanical ones are expensive and will eventually fail).

We received a lot of questions about what kind to use and how to install them, so we now make available the correct type of seal that will not only help seal out sound but improve the doors thermal rating. A seal is essential to properly soundproof a door. Our soundproofing seal is a rubber loop, cut to your size, modified by us with sealed ends for added performance in creating a dead air space in the loop. We’ll cut this to an exact fit for the width of your door if you’ll give us the measurement of the width of the door. You will also receive the proper screws to mount it to your door, depending on whether it’s metal or wood. Only a screwdriver and a few minutes is needed to install this very much needed attachment to block sound from coming underneath your door.

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