What is Green Glue and How Does It Work for Soundproofing?

Green Glue is a revolutionary new soundproofing compound that approaches the issues of soundproofing from an entirely different angle. Green Glue is no a sound blocker or a sound absorber of a sound diffuser, but rather it is a sound deadener or damper. I know, I can hear the wheels in your head turning. What is a sound damper? Well, I?m glad you asked. A sound damper is and agent or material that actually stops the transmission of sound through two rigid hard surfaces such as drywall or soundboard.

Here?s how it works, when Green Glue is applied to a second sheet of drywall and then sandwiched in between the existing drywall and this new piece of drywall. The Green Glue will actually change the resonant frequencies of both layers of drywall and will stop their ability to transmit sound.

So are your confused yet. I have a very simply analogy of how the Green Glue actually works. I got this from a customer who was well attuned to the properties of Green Glue.

If you will, visualize your wall as being a drumhead. Now you have one of your kids beat the drum with a drumstick. The drum will resonate loud and clear, as there is nothing restricting the transmission of the sound as the drumstick strikes the drumhead. Now let take that same drumhead and as the child strikes the drum you place your finger on the drumhead. What happens now? The drum is now restricted and cannot transmit the sound or will only transmit a fraction of the sound that it did when the drumhead was unrestricted. I hope this little analogy has shown you how the Green Glue acts as a sound damper when applied between two layers of drywall or soundboard. I sure put Green Glue in perspective for me and I have been in the soundproofing industry for years.

Now knowing that the Green Glue is not a blocking agent or and absorber, it is now absolutely essential that is cover every square inch of the drywall layers. In other words, once you screw the second layer of drywall over top the first with the Green Glue sandwiched in between, it makes no difference that the screws are making a connection between the stud structure and the drywall layers. Why you ask? Because we are damping or deadening the drywall layers, he Green Glue is not a soundproof barrier.

Green Glue fills a very critical gap when soundproofing. It precludes you from having to remove your existing drywall. As far as I am concerned, the less demolition I have to do, the better.

Lastly, Green Glue also works remarkably well when applied to your ceiling. If you live in a condo, apartment or loft and have neighbors above you, you know exactly what I am talking about. Impact noise also known as Footfall noise is some of the hardest noise to deal with. Sure you could spend thousands on expensive hangers and clips and mass loaded vinyl not to mention the labor costs involved, and granted you will get some great soundproofing and impact protection if these materials are installed properly, but with if you use the Green Glue system on your ceiling you can experience a 60%?65% reduction in the amount of impact noise that is transmitted from the unit above. With the cost of housing ever climbing, Green Glue is becoming an essential part of building a home that gives you peace and solitude.

To learn more about Green Glue and how it can help you soundproof your home, go to www.greengluecompany.com there you will find independent test of the Green Glue against mass loaded vinyl, lead foil sheeting, suppress and Quiet rock as well as other damping agents. You will see that Green Glue is by far the most effective sound-damping agent on the market today. If you are in the market for this product or any of out quality soundproofing products, go to: www.soundproofingamerica.com, your #1 Soundproofing resource from coast to coast.

This is Dr. Bob?.Out!!!

Dr. Bob is the Senior Technical Advisor at Soundproofing America Inc, the leading authority in Soundproofing and Acoustical treatment technology.

Dr. Bob O.
Soundproofing America, Inc.
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing Expert to The New York Times, The San Francisco Herald Examiner, The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Charlotte Observer
Ph (877) 530-0139 Toll free Fax (347) 721-9079
E-mail: Dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
http://www.soundproofingamerica.com

Building and Soundproofing a Home Recording Studio

"How do I soundproof my garage, basement, or a bedroom in my single family house or condo so my 4 piece rock band can practice and record and not bother the neighbors?"

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question, I would be in the Bahamas right now, instead of writing this article. Many factors need to be considered prior to beginning your studio or practice room-soundproofing project. Some of the questions you should be asking yourself are: What type of amplification will the band be using, are the drums going to be acoustic and miked or are they digital. Are you going to be recording live late at night or are we going to be doing "line in" recording only? These questions and many more need to be considered before the actual construction begins. If live recording and rehearsal are the plan, then maximum soundproofing will be needed. The most effective way to soundproof a garage, basement, or bedroom is to actually construct a room within a room (go to www.auralex.com) and download the free booklet "Acoustics 101", this is a wonderful resource for the home studio builder.

Their ideas are solid and applicable to any studio-soundproofing project. The room within a room concept utilizes the sealed dead air space that is captured between the inner walls and the outer walls to help greatly with the soundproofing endeavor. It is probably easiest to frame the walls on the floor and then tilt them up into place thus making dry walling the outside of the walls much easier. It is also highly recommended that another ceiling be joisted out for the room within a room, however, this is often times not possible due to space constraints.

In this case, the existing ceiling and ceiling joists may be used as the ultimate ceiling for the studio, provided that it is adequately soundproofed with materials such as the mass loaded vinyl or a combination of closed cell foam mat and MLV. I will elaborate on these materials, as we get further into this article. Once the walls are framed out and the right amount of "Dead air space" is determined, then it is time to install the soundproofing. The first order of business is to consider what needs to be done to the wall cavities prior to installing a barrier and finally the wallboard. I like to line the inside cavities with a closed cell vinyl nitrile foam mat such as American Mat. This mat (generally 1/4" thickness) is adhered to the inside cavity walls as well as the studs and joists using a contact cement to adhere the mat. Keep in mind that the American Mat is used to line the cavities only, not to fill the cavity. If thermal insulation is needed, use products such as rock wool, mineral wool, cut wool fibers, or my favorite, Roxul. Roxul is a great thermal rock wool based batt type insulation that has great soundproofing qualities. If thermal insulation is a requirement for the practice room or studio, then Roxul is the way to go.

Now we come to a crossroads, it is time to determine if decoupling the walls using resilient channels or American Sound clips is a necessity. De coupling is used when impact transmission or low frequency noise is a factor. Impact would come primarily from the drums (acoustic type) or the bass amplifier. However, if the band is using Marshall high powered amps (50 watt amps with 4 X 12 cabinets for example) along with miked acoustic drums and an Ampeg bass system, then decoupling will most likely be necessary. These methods and procedures will be explained in later articles. If decoupling were determined to be unnecessary, then the next step would be to find a good barrier material such as American mass loaded vinyl (which is a high grade mass loaded vinyl barrier). This barrier could be stapled directly to the studwork on a wall assembly or directly to the joists. This is a method that is used if cost or space constraints are factors. If the barrier material is to be stapled directly to the stud or joist framing then it is best that the seams be over lapped, caulked (using OSI acoustical caulking compound) and then taped with either a lead tape or a heavy-duty PVC seam tape.

Once the Mass Loaded vinyl (MLV) is installed and sealed, it is time to install the final layer of drywall. I always recommend using 5/8? drywall as the final layer because of its mass and its sound blocking abilities. . It is always advisable to butter the edges of the last layer of drywall with acoustical caulk. You want to grab every STC (sound transmission class) point you can when trying to make your new studio as soundproof as possible. Finally you will tape mud and paint your final layer of drywall. Now you have a great soundproof home recording studio. We will discuss acoustical treatments for your studio in subsequent articles, but for now you are well on your way to having a professional grade-recording studio in your home.

Dr. Bob O.
Soundproofing America, Inc.
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing Expert to The New York Times, The San Francisco Herald Examiner, The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Charlotte Observer
Ph (877) 530-0139 Toll free Fax (347) 721-9079
E-mail: Dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Website: http://www.soundproofingamerica.com

Batt Insulations, are they a sound investment in Soundproofing?

"Which batt type insulation will give me the best soundproofing?" I hear this question a lot, or better still, "Do I need to add more soundproofing if I already have insulation in the walls and ceilings?" Keep in mind that any batt type insulation, though it may be a great thermal insulator, is generally not very good as a soundproofing agent. If batt insulations such as fiberglass insulation or Icynene were effective soundproofing products, the big boys like Johns Manville ? and Owens Corning ? would take over the soundproofing industry and leave the real professionals out in the cold. Luckily knowledge is still power and it will be a while before all the soundproofing companies are put out of business.

If you are serious about soundproofing always consider batt insulations as the proverbial "icing on the cake". They simply don't have the horsepower to be stand alone soundproofing agents such as lead, closed cell foam and mass loaded vinyl. There are some good sound batt insulations on the market today, one is Roxul AFB? (acoustic fire batt). Roxul? is a rock wool that is made up of mining slag Canada that is hit with high pressure air thus giving it the properties of a very dense fiberglass insulation and while it will provide the end user with an R-13 for the 3 ?" variety and an R-19 for the 5 ?" batts, it's main function in life is to provide superb sound absorption and structural dampening of wall and joist cavities. It is a know fact that damping a structure; especially a wooden structure helps to control the transmission and vibration of sound through said structure.

Bonded Logic?, a company in Arizona also provides a cotton sound batt insulation that is great for filling voids and cavities where sound control is essential. The cotton is an inert material that absorbs sound but does not transmit through its fibers like fiberglass insulation does.

Fiberglass insulation is one of the worst for soundproofing agents out these. It actually transmits sound through its very fibers thus causing the annoying noise to appear amplified. If you are forced to use fiberglass insulation make sure it is isolated from either the sub floor or the ceiling below. Never pack fiberglass into cavities or voids. By isolation the fiberglass insulation from the sub floor above or the ceiling below you will break the sound transmission circuit from the floor above to the ceiling below. The same applies to walls, if the fiberglass insulation is touching one side of your drywall, make certain that it does not come in contact with the other side of the drywall. This makes perfect sense once you know the nature of fiberglass insulation.

To sum this up, never count on any batt type insulation to be your stand-alone soundproofing agent. You will always need the horsepower of lead, mass loaded vinyl, closed cell foam, or of course my favorite, Green Glue?. You can read about these great soundproofing agents in subsequent articles throughout the Internet. For now, this is Dr. Bob, The Green Glue King, signing off and may all of your soundproofing journeys be smooth ones.

To learn more about Soundproofing and soundproofing materials visit our site http://www.soundproofingamerica.com/

To order Mass Loaded Vinyl see our site.

You can read more articles on soundproofing on our blog

"Which batt type insulation will give me the best soundproofing?" I hear this question a lot, or better still, "Do I need to add more soundproofing if I already have insulation in the walls and ceilings?" Keep in mind that any batt type insulation, though it may be a great thermal insulator, is generally not very good as a soundproofing agent

Basement Waterproofing - All You Need To Know!

You may not have already thought about waterproofing your basement. However, it might be a good idea to start thinking about it now. You may not find any problems during the hot summer months, but when the rainy season arrives, you will no doubt start to notice the problems an un-waterproofed basement can bring!

What is Basement Waterproofing and Why Should You Do It?

Basement Waterproofing is not usually needed in newer homes as they are generally pretty well waterproofed already. However, older homes, or homes that were built before the year 1970, tend to have a lot more problems due to the fact that construction in the old days was not as good as it is today!

However, it is not only the construction that could be at fault. Over the years, a water protection system of a house can break down and become less efficient. It is only natural that wear and tear happens over the years and that is why older houses are more at risk. This is when you will notice that your basement is quite wet. If you leave that wet problem alone, it will only become worse, so it is always better to get the problem fixed before a major problem arises.

Why exactly should you fix a wet basement problem? Well, at first the wet problem may just cause a slight odor that you may think is nothing really to worry about and generally it is it not. However, the problem then tends to progress into forming mildew and that quickly damages any furniture or other things that may be in the basement. A damp environment generally decays rather quickly!

Another thing to consider is that asthma sufferers will not be able to go into the affected damp room as it could cause breathing difficulties. Finally, a damp environment attracts pests, so you will not only have an extremely wet, smelly, damaged basement, but you will also have a pretty serious pest problem before long, too!

So it is always better to waterproof your basement and be sure that you eliminate any problems before they get too bad.

The Causes of Wet Basements and What Can Be Done About Them

It is only natural for foundations to leak over time, as no foundation stays waterproof forever. Houses move around over the years and that can cause various cracks and gaps that allow water to come in. Sooner or later, water does tend to find a way indoors and the basement is the first room to feel the effects!

So what are the different methods of basement waterproofing? Well the first thing that should be done, is to go around your basement and try to find any gaps or cracks that may be letting water in. If you find any, fill them in with a waterproof compound. You should be able to find something suitable in your local hardware store.

You can also waterproof the walls by using a waterproof mix, again, bought from a hardware store. However, be aware that the waterproof mixture will not work on painted walls, so any paint needs to be removed before the mixture is applied.

Overall, it all depends upon how bad the leak actually is and how much pressure it is applying to the wall to determine what protection it needs. You may need to call a professional to help you if your best efforts do not come to anything. Generally, though, if done early enough, waterproofing your basement should be fairly easy and it is always better to do it every couple of years in order to ensure that you prevent any further problems from occurring.

For more information on basement waterproofing here at my site Basement Waterproofing Information

Slate Roofing Tile for Classic Beauty

Slate roofing tile is a wonderful look for any home. Slate is natural stone, and it is one of the best roofing tile mediums available. The look of Slate roofing tile is exceptional and some of the most famous houses in America are adorned with Slate roofing tile. Many historical homes have Slate roofing tiles, and this makes it even more alluring to homeowners. For those who are investing in an old home, and want to remodel but keep its original look, slate roofing tiles are a must.

Slate Roofing Tiles: The Look of Elegance

Slate roofing tiles will give any home a look of elegance and a touch of class. Slate roofing tiles come in a variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and details. Choosing to add Slate roofing tiles to your roof should be a matter of serious thought and decision. You will want to browse the various styles and choose the color and texture slate that feels best for you. You should do your homework before deciding upon Slate roofing tile.

If you aren't that experienced with roofing materials, you should find a contractor who has great references and is a licensed contractor. By working with a professional, you can have all of your questions answered ahead of time, and feel more competent that you are making the best tiling decision for your roof. Don't hesitate to look up information for yourself either. Feel free to browse through the Internet or resources at your local library to help you decide which Slate roofing tile options are best for you. If you know someone who has had their roof redone, then ask them for recommendations.

The colors of Slate roofing tiles vary and they can be spectacular. The effect and enhancement that Slate roofing tiles will add to your house will not only make it more beautiful, but it will increase your home value as well. You should look for contractors who will offer you a free estimate before you make a final decision. Make sure that you verify with the contractor that the estimate will be free.

Carlo Morelli is a contributor to www.OnlineTips.Org, where you can read tips on how to install fiberglass insulation and basement dehumidifiers

Discovering Fiberglass Roofing Panels for Your Roofing Needs

 

Roofs are an integral part of the house. The design of a roof tells a lot about the structure. They can be stylish, grand, historical, modern, versatile and so much more. When designing a house, building or any structure, the roof cant be taken for granted, they must be complimenting the whole design and yet, will be very durable and resistant to nature’s elements. That is why; designers take into consideration a lot of things like the weather, the winds, the location of the structure and much more, all of them makes an influence on the design of the roof and what kind of roofing materials to use. There are many forms wherein roofs are designed and constructed. They could either be flat, pitched, vaulted, domed or combinations of those types. As stated, these designs are influenced by considerations regarding technical, regional and aesthetic factors.

Since time immemorial, man have found and used different materials to use as materials for the roofs of their houses. Some of the early roofing materials used where leaves, rocks, wood, stones then as time and man progresses more and more have been discovered. Roofing materials made out of asphalt, cement, wood, and synthetic materials like fiberglass and other innovative materials. These new roofing materials have proven to be durable, reliable and lightweight. They can be manufactured in any shape and in any color making them a good alternative if not the outright choice.

Fiberglass has gained quite a following in the past few decades, because of their malleability they can be formed into anything with relative ease. They can also be very tough and durable yet be lightweight and easy to handle. With those characteristics, fiberglass is a good material to be used for roofing. Fiberglass first was introduced in 1938, as the name implies, fiberglass is made from very fine fibers of glass. This revolutionary product then has long been developed and provided with fresh innovations to form other types of roofing panels, which caters to different needs. The flexibility and versatility of fiberglass roofing panel materials makes it a very popular choice.

Fiberglass roofing panels can be shaped as corrugated roofing panels, shingles roofing panels, tapered roofing panels and so much more. Being synthetically produced somewhat, they are easy to manipulate to form shapes, used as composite material, provided different colors and other designs and textures that the manufacturers or public desire. It doesn’t matter what type or form the design of your roof is, a fiberglass roofing panel will provide your roof with a tough and durable membrane, as well as provide it with great looking cover and protection.

Fiberglass roofing panels provide great waterproof sealing for the roof, especially when installed properly. Many fiberglass roofing panels producers provide longer warranties when their authorized roof installers do the project. Aside from their easy to install, durable and lightweight factors, Most fiberglass roofing panels are affordable than the alternative roofing panels, fiberglass roofing panels are about 65 to 70 percent cheaper than the others but gives the same great look and durability with an average of 25 to 30 years.

There are a plethora of choices when it comes to fiberglass roofing panels, each providing their pros and cons, but like any other building project, it is best to discuss this with your architect or contractor. Try to learn more and discuss this with people knowledgeable with all the factors that may influence the look and the lifespan of your roof. More and more new and innovative types, shapes and forms of fiberglass roofing panel are coming out so it’s best to keep yourself updated.

Online entrepreneur Sara Jenkins, is dedicated to helping others and their needs to succeed in life by offering free payroll tips everyday. To learn more about her free roofing tips, and to sign up for her FREE Roofing articles and FREE bonus how-to books and resources, visit http://www.RoofingUp.com