Hy-Tech Acousti-Coat Interior Wall Paint: 5 Questions

[Thomas Maurice Booth]

http://www.hytechsales.com/sound_faq.html" target="_blank

It sounds like an interesting product. I think I will look into it further...

TMB

[tubatooter1940]

Accousti - Coat is new to me.
I would think a blown ceiling with the little kernels on it would diffuse sound waves better than a painted ceiling .
A famous ball room near here uses a series of arches in the ceiling to keep sound lively but under control.
I love to play a room packed with people if I have a P.A. with enough power.
Carpets, drapes, tablecloths and long - haired women in big dresses are a lot of help too.

[sungfw]

I don't know a thing about that paint but would worry it would not do enough to solve the problem.

It would be great if it performs as advertised, but as the Acousti-Coat FAQ states:

one can only expect so much from an application that is 30-40 thousands of an inch thick.

The architectural firm I work for often (almost always) specifies materials and finishes for the projects we do. We have looked at Acousti-Coat in the past, but have not specified it because we have yet to see any test results, whether provided from Hy-Tech or someone else, that suggests that it actually does reduce sound reflection and transmission.

[pulseczar]

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/studio-c ... acoustics/" target="_blank

I believe this would be a good start.

[Rick Denney]

You have two separate challenges: Soundproofing, and sound conditioning.

Soundproofing generally requires limp mass. One typical treatment is to stagger the studs so that the drywall on one side is not mechanically coupled to the drywall on the other side. Then, hang something heavy between the two surfaces in the resulting serpentine empty space. I have seen lead sheets used for engine compartment soundproofing, and one popular product uses mass-loaded vinyl sandwiched between layers of soft foam. The mass-loaded vinyl weight about a pound per square foot, so it has to be held up with something strong, but that also does not provide mechanical coupling.

You must eliminate resonating parallel surfaces, too. Radio studios that must have windows install two, and one leans into the room so that it is not parallel to the other one. The air space between them will be three or four inches at the top and maybe half an inch at the bottom. If your practice room has windows, hang heavy drapes over them--the heavier the better. If it's sound leaking to the outside that concerns you, hang those drapes across the entire exterior wall.

Seal all openings just as though you want to keep the weather out.

For conditioning the sound inside the room, the idea is that you want to preserve reverberation while eliminating echo. In a small room, the reverberation problem is usually that there isn't enough of it. So don't line all the wall surfaces with non-sound-reflective materials like those heavy drapes. That will just make the room dead, like most practice rooms. For example, you might go buy several of those three-section room dividers (hard surface only), and put a couple of them in front of those drapes on the exterior wall to restore some reflection. But keep them angled so that they can't set up a standing wave with the wall on the other side of the room. If you put those covering most of two walls, you might kill echo without also killing reflection. But you still have the ceiling. Lots of people again try to kill the reflection (such as with the use of egg-crate foam), but those sorts of materials are used to create anechoic chambers for broadcasting and recording where the reverberation will be added back in electronically. Instead of that, I would consider hanging ceiling sculptures of various shapes to disperse the reflection rather than absorbing it.

A rug on the floor will not absorb much tuba sound, but it will absorb the hiss of other noises and make the room sound warmer.

Another possibility for the exterior wall that adds both mass and dispersive reflection is a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookshelves. Fill it with books, even if you have to go the used bookstore and buy them by the yard. Fill them to the top of each shelf opening as densely as possible. It will weight a ton (good) and you can vary the projection of each book into the room so that it disperses reflection effectively. That would be even better than the drapes and room dividers. If you can live without the view, put the bookshelves right across the exterior window. That will also provide a barrier against intruders and potential thieves trying to case your house.

Remember mass and sealing openings for soundproofing, and hard, irregular surfaces for dispersion.

Rick "who has had to consider all these issues in various houses" Denney