Help with acoustics for home office/game room

[sound_noobie]

I just installed wood floors in my office and the sound is as expected much louder. I've always wanted to soundproof or at least reduce the amount of sound leaving the room as I enjoy gaming and tend to be louder than my wife would like. The office is over the garage so the concern is largely with the sound going through the walls and door. Ultimately he concern is largely two fold:

1.) looking to reduce echo in the office

2.) looking to reduce sound leaving the office

Any suggestions for dealing with these concerns that would not involve ripping up floors or drywall while at the same time looking aesthetically decent?

If you need pictures or more details let me know.  Thanks in advance for any help on this.

[Randy S]

ok first, soundproofing will require you to add mass to the existing wall for modest reduction or drywall removal and a decoupled system installed for maximum reduction.

As for the echo in the room, as you can see already by removing the carpet you have increased the problem so you would have to put in a fair amount of soft surface or absorption panels to reduce the echo of the room.

How would you like to proceed? 

Randy S.
760-752-3030
randy@soundproofing.org

[sound_noobie]

Thanks for the response. I'd be curious to learn more about the soundproofing by 'adding' to the walls.

In regards to the absorption panels if I went that route how many does it traditionally take to make a difference and should they be evenly dispersed around the room or put in a grid?

[Randy S]

direct apply system would be a layer of 1/8" mass loaded vinyl / green glue / 5/8" drywall.

what are the room dimensions LxWxH
so I can calculate how many panels need to go in.



Randy S.

[sound_noobie]

approx 13' x 14' and has a vaulted roofline ceiling. At its peak it is 9.5' tall but angles to almost 5'.

[Randy S]

you would need a minimum of 100 sqft coverage at .85 NRC or greater to make a noticeable change.
 
For RT60 you would need 429 sqft. this amount would make the room pretty dead so what I normally do is use my starting calculation and then add more panels accordingly to make the room clean.


Randy S.