Installing absorbers without damagin the wall ?

[LeSedna]

Hello

I'm planning on buying a few auralex products in the future, to treat my future room which will still be the mighty classic "bedroom". So I will be treating an average sized bedroom in an average shape (a square or 10ftx10ft or something close to this).

So I was wondering : how can I install some treatment without having to glue it ? I don't wanna do any mark on the wall since I am buying with the help of my father my first appartment and I don't wanna start right away by destroying the paint cause in the future I may wanna rent the appartment when I'll move.

Pinning the absorbers ? Is it possible ? Did any of you installed some treatment without glueing ?

Also, what do you recommend for a little room like that ?
I'm planning on buying of course the mopads (haven't already and I'm starting to think I'm really stupid to not have bought a kit from the beginning...) and a kit but there are 2 little kits : the kit with the squares 60x60x5 http://www.musikia.com/fr/shop/home...-mousses-studiofoam-22-wedge-charcoal-60x60x5 or the http://www.musikia.com/fr/shop/home...stique/auralex-d36-dst-charcoal-burgundy-pack ?

I don't really represent to myself what space it takes on walls.

Also, is auralex worth it ?

 

[greyskull]

in a small room bass traps are far more important

 

[Soundlurker]

Superchunks (i.e. corner absorbers) in all of the corners, if possible.


Auralex isn't cheap and neither does it solve a lot of problems.

If looks aren't crucial you can get some large sheet of either gypsum board or OSB and lay it on some of the walls, then add rockwool wherever you please and cover with fabric stapled directly to the board. If you prefer Foam you can use glue and not care about the actual walls of the room since you're using some inexpensive board instead.

 

[Skinny Viking]

I just installed a shitload of this stuff all over my walls and such ... best solution for not doing any damage to the walls (I'm in an apartment) is I cut some cardboard sheets to the size and shape of the auralex pieces and then used double sized picture frame tape to stick the cardboard to the walls in the spots I wanted the foam. The I used some of the tubetak adhesives to attach the auralex to the cardboard = perfection. This way I can somewhat easily remove the cardboard sheets from the walls anytime without any real damage to the walls ... only thing is the auralex is pretty much gonna be permanently stuck to the cardboard itself, especially if you use the tubetak adhesive. The foamtak sucks from everything I heard about it so you'll want to go with the tubetak, I can post some pics but not until like tomorrow or something but I can say its worked great for me and has made a very noticeable improvement in my room

 

[LeSedna]

I would be interested yeah.

The carboard idea is seducing. Coupled with a way to attach the thing to the cardboard a non_glue way, like screwed or pinned, it could be a nice option. You can also pin the cardboard with only 1 or 2 pins on the top, to the walls. This would only cause a little hole in the wall, on some walls it's almost nothing.

Dunno how I could pose superchunks (excepted on the ground)

 

[Dollarosa]

I used a staple gun with some of my foam sheets

 

[Strachan of D]

try hanging some really old heavy cutrains from the walls

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

LeSedna tu es sur Montpellier ?

 

[exoslime]

you can glue the the foam onto a cardbord, make some small holes into the cardboard,
put some nails into the wall, and hang them up like picture frames.

and for doors, you can use a thin metal plate, bend it to a clamp and hang it up onto the door

 

[nwright]

Auralex makes some plastic tab dealios for this exact purpose. you glue the plastic tabs to the foam and then the tabs have velcro dots on them that secure the foam to the wall.

http://www.auralex.com/acoustic_adhesive_temptab/acoustic_adhesive_temptab.asp

They are pricey for what they are, so I just made my own. You can buy thin plastic sheets at specialty or home stores (homedepot, menard's, etc.) and cut those into 2" squares, and then buy some velcro dots. Glue the plastic to the back of the foam, stick on the velcro dots and stick on the wall. The only thing you will have to do when you remove the foam is remove the hook or loop side of the velcro dots off the wall, which is easy.

All of the foam in my room is put up this way. I was in the process of moving some foam around and you can see a white velcro dot on the back wall on the right side (actually a square dot).

 

[Skinny Viking]

I would be interested yeah.

The carboard idea is seducing. Coupled with a way to attach the thing to the cardboard a non_glue way, like screwed or pinned, it could be a nice option. You can also pin the cardboard with only 1 or 2 pins on the top, to the walls. This would only cause a little hole in the wall, on some walls it's almost nothing.

Dunno how I could pose superchunks (excepted on the ground)

I'll take a couple pics tonight and post them ... keep in mind, my room isn't done yet but its gettin there. The important thing being you'll see what I did and can decide if it'll work for you. The tubetak glue I used is pretty inexpensive and goes a long way. I think I used less than 3 tubes for a total of 12 of the 2' long lernd bass traps and 4 of the 1' X 1' corner cubes. I still have about 1/2 tube left for when I get some extra spot treatment shit and each tube was like 8 bucks or something

 

[LeSedna]

PM sent, Brett.

Thanks for all your inputs dudes. Even if it would be in a few months, it's still interesting to have your thoughts right now.

I think I may go the cardboard route. With a little painting or good cutting it can look not too terrible in a "normal" room.

Auralex makes some plastic tab dealios for this exact purpose. you glue the plastic tabs to the foam and then the tabs have velcro dots on them that secure the foam to the wall.

http://www.auralex.com/acoustic_adhesive_temptab/acoustic_adhesive_temptab.asp

They are pricey for what they are, so I just made my own. You can buy thin plastic sheets at specialty or home stores (homedepot, menard's, etc.) and cut those into 2" squares, and then buy some velcro dots. Glue the plastic to the back of the foam, stick on the velcro dots and stick on the wall. The only thing you will have to do when you remove the foam is remove the hook or loop side of the velcro dots off the wall, which is easy.

All of the foam in my room is put up this way. I was in the process of moving some foam around and you can see a white velcro dot on the back wall on the right side (actually a square dot).

This sounds like a cool solution too. I just didn't understand the interest of the plastic sheet, why not just glue the velcro ?

I think I would also go a ghetto way of making basstraps stick to the ceiling the way you did on your pictures. Just have them standing high, uppon some random things.

 

[jauernis]

I bought these to hang my DIY Ready Traps
http://www.monkeyhook.com/

 

[nwright]

PM sent, Brett.

Thanks for all your inputs dudes. Even if it would be in a few months, it's still interesting to have your thoughts right now.

I think I may go the cardboard route. With a little painting or good cutting it can look not too terrible in a "normal" room.



This sounds like a cool solution too. I just didn't understand the interest of the plastic sheet, why not just glue the velcro ?

I think I would also go a ghetto way of making basstraps stick to the ceiling the way you did on your pictures. Just have them standing high, uppon some random things.

Those bass traps in my pic are affixed to the wall with the same plastic back/velcro dots as the rest of the foam. the pieces of foam shoved in the corners underneath were simply put there because I had no room (and haven't got around to finishing putting bass traps in the corners).

the plastic tabs are glued to the foam to provide a solid place to stick the velcro. Maybe it's me, but I would imagine it would be hard to have adhesive backed velcro stick to studio foam for an extended period of time on it's own. Adhering the plastic pieces, however, keeps a long lasting hold on the foam as well as a solid foundation in which to stick the velcro dots.

 

[LeSedna]

Okay I understand now.

Didn't know monkeyhook. This seems a nice and easy idea. I will see if this will work where I'll be. This wouldn't work directly on a wall (I mean, the wall itself and not a dry wall added on it for isolation or other purpose).

 

[Skinny Viking]

ok as promised here's a couple pics

This one is a little fuzzy but I got up close so you could see how how tight to the wall it is

Basically I cut the cardboard to match the sides of the foam that would be up against the wall and then mounted it directly to the wall using this stuff
http://www.officedepot.com/a/produc...-EC81-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

took about 3 pieces per cardboard sheet, each about 4 inches long. The cardboard itself is only like 1/4" thick at the most so there is a very small gap at the edges of the foam to the wall. Other than that just squeezed some tubetak onto the cardboard (if you go that route you'll need a caulking gun - $5) and then pressed the foam right into place. Takes about 30 seconds to a minute for it to hold the foam in place

Cost me no more than the price of the auralex (obviously) and 3 tubes of adhesive, $8 each. The cardboard was actually from the boxes they shipped the auralex in I waste nothing

 

[LeSedna]

And did you tried removing it once to see how the double sided scotch reacts when trying to remove it ? If this one is easy to remove i'ts a really good option.

Thanks for the pics.

BTW I have always found auralex foam incredibly un-esthetic. arf

 

[Skinny Viking]

And did you tried removing it once to see how the double sided scotch reacts when trying to remove it ? If this one is easy to remove i'ts a really good option.

Thanks for the pics.

BTW I have always found auralex foam incredibly un-esthetic. arf

no problem

I've used the foam tape for holding large picture frames solid to a wall and other things ... it can be a little bit of a pain to remove from drywall in that sometimes it leaves a thin layer of adhesive and you have to keep rubbing it until it peels off but for the most part I've never taken a chunk out of my drywall when removing it

 

[LeSedna]

That sounds very nice ! And did you test it on any surface that was just wall + paint ? Cause some paints would stick more to the scotch than to the wall and will be altered when you remove the scotch.

if it just leaves layers of itself to the paint and not the contrary it's not a problem.

 

[Skinny Viking]

I've only ever tried it on standard painted, apartment type drywall surface. I can't speak for how it'll behave on multiple surfaces but since I usually have to paint when I move out of a place anyway, its not much of a concern and even if some little bits of drywall came off with the tape, its certainly no more damage than putting a nail in the wall for something. A little spackle, a little paint, good as new