Door between Control room and Live room

[::XeS::]

Hi
For who have a studio, which type of door (model, material, etc...) do you use between control and live room?
Of course it should be very insulated because drums and Guitar amps are very loud...
Unfortunatelly I think it's not so cheap

 

[Forceps]

Make sure it's heavy! Some guys I know made a door and filled it with sand. The door weighs about 100 kg! But it insulates very good!

 

[Joematthews]

Build the most massive one you can. Go for something like 2 layers of MDF, then something of a different density like sand or fibreglass, and then a further 2 layers of mdf. Sound doesnt travel well through changes in density so it works well. Make sure every little hole is sealed under the door, double seal it if possible, one on the front, the other on the back.

Joe

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Build the most massive one you can. Go for something like 2 layers of MDF, then something of a different density like sand or fibreglass, and then a further 2 layers of mdf. Sound doesnt travel well through changes in density so it works well. Make sure every little hole is sealed under the door, double seal it if possible, one on the front, the other on the back.

Joe

Wrong. You're better off putting all the mdf on one side of the door than on both. You've halfway grasped the concept, but gotten a few important facts wrong. Mdf is really not suitable for this purpose anyway.

I'm too lazy to write a detailed guide to how you should build a door if you want it actually isolate properly. Besides, a door will allways be your weak point in a room, so unless you've bothered to treat the room properly, the best door in the world won't make much of a difference.

Check this forum out. It's got a lot(!) of useful information: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

 

[::XeS::]

Thank you!
I've also noticed the Andy's studio doors. There are 2 parallel sliding doors with 10-15cm of empty space between (like the windows)

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Yes, this is according to the MAM (Mass air mass) or MSM (Mass spring mass) system. Yo will find a lot of info about it at the link I provided.

 

[::XeS::]

Thanks man!

 

[Joematthews]

Wrong. You're better off putting all the mdf on one side of the door than on both. You've halfway grasped the concept, but gotten a few important facts wrong. Mdf is really not suitable for this purpose anyway.

I'm too lazy to write a detailed guide to how you should build a door if you want it actually isolate properly. Besides, a door will allways be your weak point in a room, so unless you've bothered to treat the room properly, the best door in the world won't make much of a difference.

Check this forum out. It's got a lot(!) of useful information: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

I don't see how MDF is the wrong material. Its dense and that is the most important thing with sound isolation, density and mass, and having it airtight. Its also easy to work with and cheap, and it doesn't warp when its sealed for moisture.

Maybe my design is a bit off because the two layers don't really act as layers, it acts as a box (and therefore may resonate when not filled, but I don't see where I have gone badly wrong.

Care to explain?

Joe

 

[StefTD]

We had to isolate our rehearsal room, so we built something like a second door in front of the door.
The "normal" door is covered with foam and sits very tight, the second one is
like a big plate of mdf that is bigger than the actual door so it closes the little slots from the first door.
That way we reduced the level on the outside a lot (and it was really cheap, all the stuff was laying around).

 

[Jackal_Strain]

I don't see how MDF is the wrong material. Its dense and that is the most important thing with sound isolation, density and mass, and having it airtight. Its also easy to work with and cheap, and it doesn't warp when its sealed for moisture.

Maybe my design is a bit off because the two layers don't really act as layers, it acts as a box (and therefore may resonate when not filled, but I don't see where I have gone badly wrong.

Care to explain?

Joe

The MDF in itself wasn't the "worst" part of the design, but sticking all of it on one side because of the resonance like you said.

As I said, I'm too lazy to write a detailed guide on how to do it, but I will post a picture of how a typical door for the studio might look.

 

[Joematthews]

But its filled with insulation which damps it, so it doesn't resonate.

Joe

 

[Eduardo Apolonia]

You can check a thread I did about the construction of my studio.
Check my signature for the link.

I think I have info about the doors.


John Sayers forum is very helpful.
Although I had a construction plan, I head over there to learn and take care of some doubts I had.

Rob Gervais book is also very good.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

That's not the point. The insulation within does very little in terms of damping the resonance of the outside materials when it comes to bass (200hz and below).

Take a look at this picture:

The stc rating determines how much each construction reduces the amount of sound that travels through.
These are wall pictures, but the same principle applies to door construction.

If you want to know more about why this is, I strongly suggest you head over to the John Sayer forums (link in a previous post in this thread) and read up on this subject.

-Sigurd-

 

[Joematthews]

I have read a ton of stuff on John Sayers. All the Stc rating chart shows is that 2 leaf systems are better than 3 or 4 leaf systems, insulation is better than no insulation and that 2 layers of plasterboard is better than one.

By layers of MDF I mean 2 sheets stuck together with screws or adhesive to act as one leaf, not layers as in seperate chambers created by each sheet. Maybe that is the source of confusion.

Joe

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Ok, now I see what you meant originally.
I thought you meant two layers of mdf on each side of the door.
A little language barrier going on here

 

[Joematthews]

haha damn it now that would be a stupid plan if it was a 4 leaf with one layer of insulation haha

Joe

 

[Glenn Fricker]

If you've got 2 isolated walls separating your control & live rooms, you can go with a double sliding glass door... Works fucking amazing.

 

[::XeS::]

I don't know if Andy has 2 isolated walls. It seems he have a big rock wall in his studio. But rocks walls are way better than a normal wall