2

I have a small phone room at the back of the office. It's around 5x6, has a ~10' ceiling, a large window, and a full-height glass wall and door on one side. The walls are brick on two of the other walls (exterior) and dry wall on one.

Now to get to the point: The room is extremely echo-y, understandably with the glass wall and hard surfaces. I'm looking for an aesthetically pleasing and relatively affordable way to deaden echoing.

I've considered wall-mountable foam like this, but I'm not sure that's the right solution or how I would most effectively mount them (where on the walls, how much to use, etc).

Pictures below. The boxes you can see are not normally there. The shelving is just to the left of the window.

enter image description here enter image description here

Any suggestions are appreciated!

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

Assuming curtains for the glass wall are out; acoustic ceiling tile, and a tapestry along as much of the brick as possibly should help considerably.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    +1 on the tapestry. Hit up the local coffee shops or art studios and pick up some local art. It's a sound deadener and bonus art!
    – DA01
    Commented May 13, 2012 at 23:16
  • I'm really considering the tapestry/fabric approach, as that minimizes damage to the wall and install time. I'll see what I can find.. assuming I can't find suitable art, do you think there's a particular arrangement or type of fabric that might do the job best along that right-hand brick wall?
    – Gavin
    Commented May 14, 2012 at 0:54
1

When we sound proofed a friends garage we used sound cancelling foam like you are looking at on Amazon there. There was the issue of affixing it. It looks similar to what we used in that on the back its still foam. What we found is that on un-even surfaces it did not stick so well as it says to stick it and not screw it. In the end we used underfloor mat its like a rubber material that we screwed to the walls and roof and then spread PVC wood glue across the surface and then affixed the foam. It worked great it was solid after that. Also make sure when your aligning the pieces together that you make the joints tight by almost over lapping the edges so its very snug. We just boarded up the windows and treated it like another wall although I suppose you could get dense drapes or make a temporary wooden board that you hang over it that has the foam mounted to it. Also lay down carpet its extremely good at noise cancelling.

Improve this answer
2
  • Very good points.. the foam is still a realistic option for me I think, and slapping it on a piece of material like you did and hanging it would likely work. How much did you use in that garage? Cover whole walls or just some strategically placed chunks to help?
    – Gavin
    Commented May 14, 2012 at 0:56
  • We coated the entire walls and roof and laid down a thick carpet. After trying a decibel meter afterwards the noise level that penetrated the wall dropped from 80dB to 15dB. I should point out that our research turned up that awkward shapes in the room actually help reduce the sound level also. So if you happen to have a "L" shape room or some other feature, It helps it distort the sound wave coupled with the foam/carpet it absorbs the patterns rather than amplifying them.
    – Ryan Walkowski
    Commented May 14, 2012 at 1:46

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.