Rockwool OR Fiberglass for DIY sound panels?
224,431
Published 2021-05-13
Link to my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/Belinda_Carr
Insulation4US sponsorship: insulation4us.com/
Vlike Sound level meter: amzn.to/33MCu0B
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:20 Sound versus Noise
1:33 Denim insulation
1:58 Rockwool insulation
2:20 My first sponsorship!
2:48 Acoustic foam
3:10 Fiberglass insulation
4:03 Panel dimensions
4:42 Conclusion
It's very important to make the distinction between sound like music and voice and noise. Acoustical engineering is an advanced branch of engineering that analyzes how sound behaves in a space and how sound waves bounce off walls, floors and ceilings. Sound or acoustic treatment is an art, whether in a music studio, concert hall or cinema. There are scientific principles behind the placement of panels and their shape or thickness. These DIY panels that we build are noise dampeners, not sound panels. They are primarily insulating materials for buildings, their noise dampening properties are secondary characteristics.
The first product we’re going to test is denim or cotton insulation. This is a very dense product and it’s actually used to make sound panels. It costs $1.14 per sq ft at Home Depot. 2 layers or 3 inches of denim brought the noise down to 75.5 db. Another 3 inches brought it down to 72 db. That’s a 5.3 db drop.
Rockwool Safe n Sound is out of stock at my local Home Depot and Lowe’s, so I bought some Thermafiber slag wool insulation which has very similar acoustic properties to Rockwool. It costs $0.94 per sq ft. Sandwiched between 3 inches of rockwool, the noise level dropped down to 69db. That’s an 8.3db difference.
This portion is brought to you by Insulation4US.com. Insulation4US.com is the largest US online retailer for insulation products. They ship nationwide across the US with over 800 locations to ship from via their vast distribution network. They are cheaper than big-box retailers and they offer a $60 flat shipping fee on 80% of all products.
The next product we’re going to test are these 12”x12” acoustic foam panels that I bought off Amazon. They arrive vacuum sealed and slowly expand over a couple of days. They cost $1.5 per sq ft. While they are very easy to install, they brought the noise level down to only 73.3db, a 4 db difference.
Lastly, fiberglass, the biggest surprise. I bought this roll for 2x4 walls at Home Depot for $0.5 per sq ft. Sandwiched between just 2 layers, the sound level dropped to 65 db, a 12.3db difference.
Fiberglass was by far, the winner. It was the cheapest and had the best sound dampening qualities. I built my 31 inch by 48.5” inch panels out of 1x4 pine studs, back when they were reasonably priced. I cut the studs down to 2 47” pieces and 2 31” pieces. The middle brace is 29.5” long. And the 4 angled corner braces are 8” long. I used glue and a nail gun to assemble the frame and then smoothened it with an orbital sander. Two pieces of Rockwool insulation friction fit into the frame pretty easily. I bought some felt fabric at Joann's and attached it to the studs with a crown stapler
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#rockwool #fiberglass #soundpanel #insulation #diy #soundinsulation #test #decibel #musicstudio #garagestudio
All Comments (21)
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Many people have commented on testing different frequencies (which I hadn't thought of!). I did some quick tests today and got the same results. Fiberglass was surprisingly the best. Check out John Brandt's explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mGbPHx_8X8
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What is amazing about rockwool, and why it is the preferred material in professional recording studio, is that it absorbs sound very evenly across the frequency range, even down to quite low frequencies.
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The fiberglass dropped the sound pressure level more than the other materials because of the Kraft paper backing. All you were testing was airflow. The panels you hang on the wall are meant to reduce the amplitude of sound waves reflecting back to the source from the walls. You’d need to put the SPL meter on the same side of the treatment as phone to see how the insulation works to dampen reflections. What you showed is that if you want to stop outside sounds getting in any improvement in airtightness will help. Get an airtight storage container from your kitchen and put the phone in there making the noise and check the sound pressure level. It should be better than any insulation.
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Glad you have a good sponsor. I will keep that in mind when I need various types of insulation. Best of luck and keep going 💪
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Congratulations on your sponsor! I'm glad you are beginning to get the recognition you deserve for your very informative and unbiased reporting.
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Congratulations on the sponsorship. Been watching your videos on storage units used as houses, glad to see you are growing more and more the potential of the channel, cheers :)
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Congrats on the sponsor! Your hard work and unbiased reviews paid off, and hope it continues.
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I have been studying home DIY sound panels for MONTHS! Thank you for this best video!!
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Simple, short and to the point… the best video I’ve seen so far about DIY sound dampening. Thanks.
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congrats on the sponsor you deserve it. I know this is two years old but just found it. Ive seen other videos of yours as well. Smart and pretty lady. Thank you for all you do and sharing these videos.
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AWESOME : ) love all your videos, your calm, respectful speech is exactly the language I need
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You're awesome! Thank you so much for doing all the hard work and documenting it for us. I'm on my way to the hardware store to get some fiberglass insulation.
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Hello Belinda, very interesting video on the sound panels. I was really surprised about the fiberglass material being the most effective. I would have thought something more dense would have been better. Congratulation on your sponsorship also. Take care. 🙂
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Congrats for the achievement! You deserve! Just found your channel and love your work!
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Honestly I’ve never been interested in these type of things , but you have such a nice voice and you come across as very educated and knowledgeable 😭 So glad I found this channel
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This was so helpful, thank you! We are just about to insulate a wall for thermal and noise issues, and now I am excited that fiberglass can do both well!!
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I enjoyed your video very much. I found yours more informative than others that I've watch. Dealing with DIY sound panels. Thanks!
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Somehow you take building items we don't give much consideration to and make a very cool, excellent and easy to understand class on the subject. On a side note, we are building a camping van and are now getting ready to insulate it. Thanks!
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Thank you, great video, and congratulations on your sponsorship.
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Fantastic work Belinda. It would be very interesting to share a graph of how each insulation did with various frequencies.
