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Post by ninworks on Mar 29, 2021 20:52:58 GMT -5
I have solved all the mysteries about hanging the panels. I actually got one mounted on the wall today. I did the one behind the entry door just in case I messed up it wouldn't be too visible. It went up without a hitch. I built a hole drilling jig so that all the panels will be equidistant from the ceiling and hang parallel to the walls. It took me awhile to build it because the hole spacing needed to be consistent and everything had to be square. The way this is made all I'll have to do is measure the distance between the panels then bump the jig up against the crown moulding set the drill in the hole, and poke the holes in the drywall. Put in the drywall anchors, screw in the hooks, and hang the panels. I even put some felt buttons on the back of the jig so it won't scratch or mar the paint on the wall. Now I have to move a bunch of stuff out of the way in the room so I can get a ladder up next to the walls. Hopefully I'll get some more hung tomorrow. i.postimg.cc/HsrJVjxy/Acoustic-15-Wall-Anchor-Jig.jpg
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Post by ninworks on Apr 1, 2021 21:37:03 GMT -5
I completed my room treatment project today. I have all 14 panels hung on the walls. It's weird how different it sounds in here after having bare walls for so long. I never really noticed the room ambience unless I had a live mic in the room and listening in headphones. It seems a lot quieter in here. It's not completely dead acoustically. I need to set me reference mic back up and record some more reference tracks of the room.
The main thing I have noticed is how any sounds in the room sound a lot more localized and focused. Even low level sounds. My computer keyboard seems to make less noise, my clock seems a lot quieter etc. The panels did nothing to keep the outside noise like traffic, lawnmowers etc. out and I didn't expect them to but the room just seems quieter. I got out my decibel meter and the room noise level is 35db to 36db. That's pretty quiet. If I could get my computer in another room it would be quieter still. That's the only resident noise source in the room other than me breathing and my stomach growling. Everything else is radiating through the walls and windows.
The one thing that is louder is my tinnitus. I notice that more in a very quiet setting. It is always there but I can tune it out most of the time.
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Grizbear-NJ
Wholenote
"I'll do the BEATING around here"
Posts: 217
Age: 71
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Post by Grizbear-NJ on Apr 2, 2021 12:00:14 GMT -5
My friend; from what I can see, you did a magnificent job from start to finish. I can only imagine the thought process, and the time you put into this project. Very impressive.
Starting from the last photo and working backwards: The finished room aesthetics are fantastic: From my experience; any attempt at sound baffling usually wound up with a visual disaster. I see what you did with the eyelets and spacer on the one panel by the door; great design for hanging. In particular; I like the over the door hangar system you came up with.
From my own "old school", hands on knowledge; From what I see, I have no doubt the "sound range" issues you wanted to control are addressed. Well done.
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Post by Ricketi on Apr 4, 2021 12:44:16 GMT -5
Nice job!
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Post by ninworks on Apr 4, 2021 20:46:00 GMT -5
Thanks. I did spend a lot of time planning how this was all going to play out. Did quite a bit of testing and research before I ever bought the materials. I drew a scale drawing of the panels so I would know how I would get the most efficient use of the materials with the least amount of waste to save money. I had to redraw them twice and kept making modifications as I made discoveries while making the drawings.
After I had made the panels I measured up everything in the room. Room width, depth, and height. Then I drew up all 4 walls to scale. Next I measured all the furnishings and equipment footprints and put them onto the drawings in their locations. Then I started figuring out where the panels could hang. Then I actually brought some panels into the room, put up a reference mic, recorded some handclaps, and then moved panels around until it sounded what I thought was the best. Then I went back to the drawing and put the panels as close as I could to the locations the test recordings dictated. Some of it was figuring out the acoustics and some was to make it look good. It was a compromise.
It took me about a month to do the entire project from start to finish. I actually spent more time in the design and drafting phase than it took me to make and hang the panels. About a week of that time was waiting for materials. There were a number of trips to the hardware store to get what I needed at different stages of the project. I worked on the drawings some more while I was waiting for materials to be delivered. I made all 14 panels all the way from cutting the boards to finishing the covering in about 4 days and it took me about a day to hang them all.
It was so nice to have a game plan. There were so many ways this could have gone sideways and ended up costing me more in both time, money, and frustration. The time was free but the materials, although not real expensive individually, could have been a lot more if I had made mistakes along the way in the construction phase just due to the number of units I built.
I'll guarantee you that there would have been mistakes without a regimented plan. On the day I was going to start hanging the panels I thought it would be a good idea to go back over the drawings and double-check all my dimensions. It's a good thing I did because there was a mistake on the lengths of the front and rear walls. I had to make adjustments to the drawings or the spacing of the panels would have been off. There were so many other things I changed at the drawing stage as well. If I hadn't made the mistakes when making the drawings I would have made a number of them which would have been expensive, troublesome to fix, and frustrated me to the point where the end product would not have turned out as well. I would have cut corners and left it as it was instead of taking the time to fix the problems. It's always better for me to make mistakes on paper than after the materials started being cut or the holes in the walls were being drilled.
Making the jigs involved took some time as well. I made a jig for assembling the panel frames. I made another jig to make holes in the back of the frames for the eyelets to hang them with. The hardest jig was the one made for locating the drywall anchor locations for putting the hooks in the drywall. That may not have all been necessary but once the assembly and hanging process began it was a no-brainer and it worked flawlessly. I wanted to make it idiot-proof because the idiot on the back end of the drill is quite capable of messing stuff up.
I'm just glad it's done.
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