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[darrylportelli]

Hey
so when I bought the new house I made sure I have space for a studio,
I have a live room and a control room to work with.
This is on the 2nd floor (top floor) with no building above the studio and no building surrounding the rooms of the studio. I have attached a JPEG of the plan of it.

The question is regarding Door materials. Currently I have no doors in place (talking about door 1 and door 2 on the plan I drew) and thus the studio is "connected" to the whole house and it is acting as a natural reverb chamber - leading to at least 5 seconds of reverb

obviously before moving on to acoustic treatment, I need to put doors in place.
from what I looked around I found - PVC, Aluminum and wood as options. and also Single vs double glazed windows.
regarding construction - I need to check whether brick or stone was used. From what I understand, the door needs to be only as insulating as the materials of which the walls were built (example it is useless having a really thick insulating door if your doors are made of cardboard) .

any help regarding which would be the best option?
I was thinking single or double glazed aluminum and then attach a broadband absorbtion panel about 2" off the door to have another layer overhanging the door

[darrylportelli]

1

[James Perrett]

A good compromise between cost and effectiveness are 60 minute wood faced fire doors - especially if you can use 2 of them spaced apart.

[Wonks]

Don't forget that a good seal around all the door edges is also essential for soundproofing. so dropping hinges and a pull-tight handle are normally used. No point having a thick door if there's a nice gap all the way around the edges. And as James says, two doors (opening in opposite directions on each side of the wall) are a lot better than one.

[James Perrett]

Wonks is right about door seals - in my last studio which used professionally produced studio doors they used magnetic seals which are similar to fridge seals.

[ef37a]

My Everest front door is on a 'cam-back' system into the seals. You might be able to pick up a mildly damaged one and clad it with plasterboard to add some mass.

BTW, the hinges you need are called 'rising butts' if going for a conventional door.

Dave.

[darrylportelli]

Hey, Cheers for the replies

Regarding material, Which would be the best choice, aluminum or wood?
Im unlikely to find a company that produces studio doors where I live (malta) thus I have to make due with what I have. What I was thinking is that I get the thickest wood door I can find (and that I can afford) and possibly buy a seal kit I found online, or make one myself (they dont look overtly complicated)

regarding the rising butt hinges- so they raise the door slightly when opened and lower it on to a rubber seal when closing right? can they be installed on any wood door or does the door have to be specifically constructed for those types of hinges?

Thanks

[darrylportelli]

https://www.soundinsulation.ie/door-soundproofing/13-acoustic-door-seal.html

this seal looks interesting, and not very expensive either

[darrylportelli]

https://www.jgrima.com/en/products/products/72/fonturia-soundproof-fire-door-.htm

found this fire door / soundproof door locally ... don't have any idea on price yet

any feedback on it ?

[MarkPAman]

"withstands up to 35 decibels" is a strange expression - does if fall apart if it gets louder than that?

[ef37a]

"withstands up to 35 decibels" is a strange expression - does if fall apart if it gets louder than that?

Yes, I thought that a strange 'specc' as well Mark! They probably mean there is a 35dB difference either side of the door!

I know nothing of acoustic building speccs but I would think that a pretty good figure if true?

Dave.

[James Perrett]

From the specs that I've just Googled it would seem that 35dB is about right for attenuation for a 60 minute fire door. The main thing that they don't tell you is how that attenuation varies with frequency as the quoted figure is usually an average over a range of frequencies. I'd want to look at more detailed acoustic specs if they are available.

[darrylportelli]

So i've been looking round and found a company that gave me a quotation for an aluminum door with rubber sealing edges double glazed glass filled with argon for 360 eur ... im gonna keep looking and if i get a door i'll post db measurements....

My question is - what's better, argon filled or vacuum double glazed glass?? My guess is vacuum as sound needs matter to travel through

[ef37a]

I would have said vacuum.

But do you need a window? If so I have just 'invented' a gadget that could solve the problem.

Is there a very cheap, wireless screen (could just be B&W) with a camera in it? Hang one each side of a door and you have a totally sound sealed "window".

In fact does not even have to be wireless in many cases, ~6mm hole would take a two way RJ45 link.

Dave.

[Martin Walker]

But do you need a window? If so I have just 'invented' a gadget that could solve the problem.

Is there a very cheap, wireless screen (could just be B&W) with a camera in it? Hang one each side of a door and you have a totally sound sealed "window".

In fact does not even have to be wireless in many cases, ~6mm hole would take a two way RJ45 link.

Dave.

Now that is a CLASSIC example of lateral thinking Dave


Martin

[ef37a]

But do you need a window? If so I have just 'invented' a gadget that could solve the problem.

Is there a very cheap, wireless screen (could just be B&W) with a camera in it? Hang one each side of a door and you have a totally sound sealed "window".

In fact does not even have to be wireless in many cases, ~6mm hole would take a two way RJ45 link.

Dave.

Now that is a CLASSIC example of lateral thinking Dave


Martin

Thank you Martin. Was my job for many years, solving problems, cannot think why I ain't rich!

Dave.

[blinddrew]

Solving problems isn't how you get rich.
You get rich by persuading other people that they have a problem...

...for which you just so happen to have a solution.

[ef37a]

Solving problems isn't how you get rich.
You get rich by persuading other people that they have a problem...

...for which you just so happen to have a solution.

Ah! The Old Joke: "Who do you THINK created the chaos?"

Dave.

[darrylportelli]

Got the double glazed argon filled door .... it has rubber seals all around ... and i told them i want it with a "ledge" on the bottom as well so that it has a rubber seal all around and doest leave a gap beneath the door ....
As soon as it is installed i'll run pink noise on the monitors and take spl readings at a specific length interval on the inside and outside of the door to see the db difference and post the result

[PRTLA]

Hi Darryl

Some time ago asking myself about the door acoustic treatment I found this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2MTodSzfts meaby you can get some ideas from it.