Soundproofing with Dave: January 2007

1.11.2007

Soundproof Windows Reverses Silicon Valley Exodus Trend

Bucking the trend to leave the Silicon Valley, Soundproof Windows, nationally distributed manufacturer of specialty windows for noise abatement, expands its facilities to Fremont, California.

While many high-tech firms are leaving, Soundproof Windows is moving their facility that manufactures high-tech windows into the Silicon Valley. After three years on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, Soundproof Windows has quadrupled its facilities by relocating to Fremont, California.

The recent dot.com crash and other factors have created an exodus of many companies from the San Francisco Bay Area. With space now more affordable and a good labor pool available, Soundproof Windows is reversing the trend and moving into the heart of the Silicon Valley. "The central location will help us with our Bay Area business. Our national business will benefit from being closer to our freight and distribution points," said founder and President, Randy Brown.

Like HP and Apple, Soundproof Windows was also started in a garage in the Bay Area. This marks the third move for the 7 year old company. The new facility is 18,000 square feet and more equipment has been added to increase production capacities. "With the new equipment we can make four times as many windows with the same number of employees," said Brown. "Our sales have increased dramatically since the start of the year and we needed the extra capacity."

It is not surprising that the demand for soundproofing is on the rise, in commercial as well as residential buildings, since most new construction occurs near freeways, railroads and other noisy areas. The trend towards denser housing also contributes to the noise problem. Since the major noise leak in all homes are the windows and doors, the demand for a solution beyond just replacement windows has increased, and has also created a need for a new technology to reduce the noise levels. Rather than the 5-20% noise reduction available when changing from single pane to dual pane windows, Soundproof Windows' high-tech soundproofing products achieve noise reductions of over 75%.

With the new location Soundproof Windows has also been able to add a showroom that can demonstrate the noise reductions attained by adding their high-tech windows. "We urge interested persons to stop by our new location to see a live demonstration of our product," invites Brown.

Find out more about Soundproof Windows and soundproofing in general online at http://www.soundproofwindows.com . The site also includes sample installations and customer comments. Or contact them directly, toll-free at 877-GET-QUIET (438-7843), 47630 Kato Road, Fremont, California.

About Soundproof Windows:
Since 1998, Soundproof Windows has been a nationwide manufacturer of soundproofing windows for noise abatement, providing an alternative or enhancement to standard window replacement in residential as well as commercial applications. Their soundproofing products reduce noise levels by 75% or more and are fully functional with excellent insulation qualities.

For Information: http://www.soundproofwindows.com or
Contact: e-mail protected from spam bots
Phone: 877-GET-QUIET (438-7843)


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Post Holiday Noise Problem Blues?

Did your son or daughter receive a gift for the holidays that is giving you a headache? Did your spouse receive a home theater or stereo system that is disturbing your peace of mind? AMI can help your noise problem blues.

Chambersburg, PA (PRWEB) January 12, 2006 -- So you decided to buy a musical instrument, home theater or stereo system for the holidays. Now you need to soundproof the noise you have created or improve your in-room acoustics; American Micro Industries, Inc. is here to help.

If someone in your family received a musical instrument, home theater or stereo system over the holidays, chances are you have discovered a need for noise control. In order to effectively control noise, you first need to understand the two basic reasons for noise control – keeping sound from traveling from one space to another and improving acoustics within a space.

To keep sound from traveling from room to room, you will need to use a product such as QUIET BARRIER™. This product was designed to reduce noise transmission between walls, ceilings, and floors.

To improve the acoustics within a space, you can use a product such as SOFT SOUND™ Acoustic Panels. SOFT SOUND™ Acoustic Panel is a fabric covered panel designed to control echo and reverberation within a space or room. Standard and custom colors are available.

AMI stocks a complete line of soundproofing and acoustic improvement products for any application. Whether you are looking to stop unwanted noise from traveling from one room to another or maximize the sound quality within a room, AMI can provide engineered acoustical solutions for any situation. You can view the comprehensive product line of soundproofing and acoustic improvement products at www.soundprooffoam.com.

A professional staff of acoustic specialists is standing by to assist you in finding the proper solution for your problem. From sound blocking QUIET BARRIER™ to the acoustic improving SOFT SOUND™ Home Theater kits, AMI will help you regain your household peace after the holidays.

About AMI:
American Micro Industries, Inc. is a privately held, veteran owned business located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. AMI has been successfully developing and marketing specialty acoustical products since 1995. AMI maintains an extensive inventory and ships products throughout North America and Europe.

Contact:
Candy Joseph
American Micro Industries, Inc.
800-558-2058
www.soundprooffoam.com

Soundproofing a Ceiling with Green Glue by DR. BOB ORTHER

If you have done any research on how to soundproof a ceiling from impact noise (footfall) as well as airborne noise, you have most likely discovered that a floated ceiling using sound clips and furring channels is the best way to combat these noises from above. In essence floating a ceiling on the sound clips and furring channels will offer you the best impact protection provided you add a layer of mass loaded vinyl directly to the open joists. This method of soundproofing is quite effective, yet it can be very costly to install and there is a great margin for error when floating a ceiling. There is another method of soundproofing a ceiling from impact noise as well as airborne sound that is not quite as effective as the sound clip system, but it will offer you a cost effective solution to this problem by reducing the noise to a tolerable level. The system I am describing is the “Green Glue” system.

Read More via Amazines.com

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1.08.2007

DIY: Soundproofing Your Home Theater-Part Two

Thursday, December 07, 2006

By Alan Lofft-Axiom Audio

Last month's Part One on home theater soundproofing received an excellent response, including rather vociferous discussion on other sites (and in emails to me), encouraging the use of a substance called "Green Glue" in place of silicone caulk. Further research indicates there is a range of various soundproofing caulks and glues available from a variety of vendors at widely varying prices. To sum up, it's the sealing properties and elasto-viscous nature of these materials that all help, but do-it-yourselfers should be cautious about some extravagant claims made for some of these materials.

Specialty Materials

One reader sent along a link to www.quietsolution.com which markets a popular specialty soundproofing drywall called QuietRock, comprised of three layers of viscoelastic, ceramic and gypsum material. QuietRock's QR-525, which incorporates these layers, claims to be remarkably effective -- one 5/8-inch layer of it is said to be the equivalent of up to eight layers of standard drywall and achieve STC ratings of "up to 72". It's certainly worth exploring these and other options.

That said, there is still no substitute for the tried and true construction techniques outlined in Part One -- staggered-stud walls with double layers of drywall on each side, interior wall cavities loosely filled with sound-deadening insulation, solid-core doors (or double doors), weather-stripping, using dissimilar materials and/or air spaces and so on.


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1.05.2007

DIY: Soundproofing Your Home Theater-Part One



Wired@Home.blog: DIY: Soundproofing Your Home Theater-Part One

Tuesday, October 24, 2006
DIY: Soundproofing Your Home Theater-Part One

By Alan Lofft-Axiom Audio

As much as we all love home theater movie soundtracks and music at realistic playback levels (“realistic” does not necessarily mean extremely loud), most of us have to deal with other people in our lives—family, roommates, companions, younger children and/or older relatives in the house, or neighbors in nearby, adjacent or adjoining homes. Even if you live in the woods or on the plains, there is still the pervasive problem of preventing the sounds that you enjoy from traveling through your dwelling's structure to other rooms to annoy those who may not appreciate your late-evening movie or music tastes. An added benefit of soundproofing your home theater room will be that the soundproofed room will also keep annoying noise and outside sounds from entering the room. You'll have created a peaceful and quiet sanctuary in your home that shuts out the noise and clamor of daily life, be it car horns, coffee grinders, leaf blowers, or loud music on inferior playback systems (even those with wheels attached). Quiet spaces bring a measure of tranquility to our lives.

That said, soundproofing is a rather complex subject best treated in several articles.

Different approaches are required for new home construction or for soundproofing a room in an existing home. Soundproofing after the fact may involve building a room within a room, literally, depending on just how much sound you want to keep in and keep out of the room.



Wired@Home.blog: DIY: Soundproofing Your Home Theater-Part OneRead More

via Wired@Home.blog

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1.04.2007

New! soundproofing search engine BETA

Soundproofing with Dave introduces the World's First soundproofing search engine powered by Google. This custom search engine will help you find the information your looking for and focuses on sites that are related to soundproofing only. Plus, I invite readers to collaborate on building this search engine. You can start a search by either scrolling down to the bottom of the page or click the link below.

Soundproofing with Dave Search Engine

HGTV: QuietRock featured on I Want That!

This video provides a short explanation of the QuietRock product and shows how it is installed.

View the video here

Old school insulation replaced by Green Glue

Old School soundproofing still believes that batt insulation is a good soundproofing agent. There are some good sound batt insulations out there such as Roxul AFB and Bonded logic’s bonded cotton insulation and they work well for both soundproofing and thermal protection, however no batt insulation is strong enough to stand alone as the sole soundproofing material in a wall ceiling or floor assembly.

If you can afford a good batt insulation I always encourage it, but if you are soundproofing as ceiling and are not really concerned about the thermal aspects of the ceiling then I feel adding drywall pieces cut to fit perfectly into the joist cavities and screwed to the sub floor above would be much more effective than any batt insulation. Now to super charge this application I recommend that before you screw the pieces of drywall to the sub floor you apply Green Glue sound dampening compound to the back of the drywall pieces prior to screwing them to the bottom of the sub floor.

Green Glue is a visco elastic damping compound that is taking the soundproofing industry by storm. It comes in caulk tubes and is applied using a large quart size caulk gun. Basically you would cut the pieces of drywall to fit snuggly between the joist cavities. You would the liberally apply the Green Glue to the backside of the cut drywall and then screw it to the bottom of the sub floor. The Green Glue will be sandwiched between the drywall and the bottom of the sub floor. The tighter you screw the drywall down, the better the soundproofing will be. In essence, the pieces of drywall sporting the Green Glue in their backsides with become a most effective sound dampening system that will dampen the impact noise from above long before it is able to be transmitted into the joists and ultimately into the ceiling below. Now, is more better in this case? Absolutely, if you are able to double or triple the Green Glued layer of drywall you will indeed increase the dampening ability of the drywall and the sub floor and add greatly to the soundproofing endeavor., ,

Read More via Star Home Improvements: Green Glue Instead Of Insulation For Soundproofing

Gearwire: Sound Advice from Auralex--AES 2006

Adding drywall layers makes a quieter home

Thursday, November 16, 2006
Morris and James Carey
Associated Press

Privacy and quiet are becoming rarer and rarer around many homes.

Sometimes the disturbing noise is your teenager's music from the next bedroom. Other times, it's the teenager's music in the home attached to yours by a wall, ceiling or floor.

In the days when the interior walls of most homes were constructed of large studs and covered with wood lath and several layers of plaster, noise was less of an issue. Walls and floors prevent sound waves from moving from room to room. However, the interior walls in most modern homes consist of nothing more than a 2-inch-by-4-inch stud (the 4-inch side actually measures 3½ inches) covered with one layer of ½-inch drywall on either side.

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Soundproofing your home

News 8 :: KFMB Stations, San Diego, California Soundproofing Your Home

Last Updated:
11-07-06 at 5:00PM

Noisy neighbors, loud televisions, and even cars driving by – it’s the noise that drives us crazy when we’re at home. But there are things you can do to soundproof your home without having to move.

All appears quiet at the Kuehner house, but Michele Kuehner says things are not as they seem.

“The sound, it’s just constant, you can never just have peace and quiet. It drives me insane,” she said.

Loud neighbors, speeding cars and the sounds spreading from room to room are becoming too much for Michele to handle. So News 8 asked Alex Gomez with Super Soundproofing to help. Alex’s company specializes in solving noise problems.

He starts with one problem area: Michele’s home office.

“Sometimes we have the TV on in here and the noise out there from the cars -- even with the windows closed -- is making us turn up the TV,” Michele said.

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