Soundproofing

[urnesBeast]

I want to be a good neighbor, so I am looking to soundproof my new construction smithy.

The drywall is already up, so anything would have to be over that. My goal is to keep the sounds coming from the smithy under 10db above the ambient noise at my nearest neighbors, weighted for the "A" scale. They are 10 ft away with a stockade fence between us.

I may already be under that. I have no way to measure this currently.

The neighbor I am most concerned about does not seem to be open to talking directly with me, so my winning personality and a life-time suppy of s-hooks is not going to work here.

-Doug

[ThomasPowers]

Hard with the drywall already up unless you are willing to put up another offset layer.

Biggest thing I can think of would be to use a Fisher anvil and stay away from powerhammers!

[urnesBeast]

By state law, I am fine up until 9pm, but I want to be a good neighbor, and maybe buy some later evenings.

Right now, I have roughsawn, pink insulation between 2x4, drywall mudded and taped.

I am trying to find a decibel meter to better understand what the noise actually is coming out.

Quick fixes would be great though.

Doug

[phil shelton]

RADIO SHACK use to sell a db. metter you might try them us to be 19.99

[Frosty]

The dept of code enforcement loans out Db meters here, they may there too. I just wouldn't tell them why you want it, maybe tell them you want to make sure your lawn mower isn't too loud or something.

If you have glass insulation in the walls then your next biggest effect on leaking noise is close the doors. A solid wooden fence goes a long ways towards quietening things too and it doesn't have to completely surround your yard a little wider and higher than the sight line between you and the neighbor will make a big difference. It can be portable too so it isn't a permanent thing in the yard.

Best of luck, keeping on good terms with the neighbors is really important.

Frosty

[Early Cuyler]

A friend of mine plays drums and there for a while, had some complaints from the neighbors. He hung sheets of egg-crate mattress to sound-proof his little practice area. Might work for you, but I'm sure there's other options. Plain ol' Blue-board insulation might help some. Good luck with it and let us know how it pans out :)

[pkrankow]

Can you put some tall shrubs between the fence and the smithy?

Using fire resistant acoustical tile for the ceiling will help too. You can lay fiberglass bats or blow cellulose up top too if you have a closed ceiling. Your foam board insulated walls go a long way to quiet, but cellulose and fiberglass are more effective sound deadening.
If you are still needing more sound control, you can build out another 2x4 wall and use these materials, but your expense and loss of space is significant. Cellulose is better, and some people have equipment that can blow it "moistened" against open studs ready for drywall. I guess you will make up some costs for it on winter heating savings though...

Phil

[Muttt]

To xxxx with the neighbors. Maybe they will get sick of the noise and move. Problem solved ...... LOL.

Mutt

[Rich Hale]

Smithies need air flow. If you close it up you increase the chance of CO poisoning unless you are using an electric forge for heat. Openings are noise leaks. If you have a nice stack to exhaust gasses out the top of the building you must still have a way for air to enter the building. Unless you can get the neighbor to come around you may be at his mercy on when and how much noise you may make. Depending of course on local laws.

[Glenn]

You can hang material like carpet to absorb some of the sound, either inside or outside. Inside leave an air space between the carpet and the wall, not directly against the wall. Outside you can stretch lighter weight carpet on frames that can be put in front of an open door when needed, or on the outside of the building (neighbor's side).

While you have the db sound meter, measure the sound INSIDE the smithy. You may need to absorb (or eliminate) some of the sound in order to work safely in your own building.

[urnesBeast]

the carpet technique sounds really good. Low tech, on the back side between smithy and fence. Cheap, and I suspect, effective.

Thank you!

[JamesBBrauer]

From what I picked up researching a couple of (at home) sound reduction projects, the goal of soundproofing is to stop pushing air molecules. One way to do this is to make things as air tight as possible. That way the air pushed by a ringing anvil can't make its way to someones ear drums and push those.

Transmitting vibration is another thing. If the anvil is sitting on a wood floor, some of the sound goes into the air, and some vibrates the floor and walls, which in turn pushes air on the outside of the building towards your neighbors ears. Some of the sound from the anvil will also vibrate the walls, and transmit the sound outside. Hanging carpet/egg crate helps the walls vibrate less, and dampens the sound energy before it gets to the walls. Putting the anvil base on soft rubber feet might help keep some of the sound down as well. Some home theater and studio setups will use a room-in-a-room idea, where there is a second room framed in the first room, and connected with isolation bushings. But at some point it might so expensive, it would be cheaper to pay the occasional fine.

Sound Proofing Walls | Sound Isolation Company

[Fe-Wood]

I'm for the hanging carpet as well. Your smithy needs air flow...VERY important!!! If one layer of carpet hung outside under the eves doesn't do the trick, try two layers with a couple inch space between. Ask a carpet instalation company if you can have some that has been removed from a house....

[Randy C]

I just searched "sound proof" on ebay and a lot of affordable, sound absorbing blankets/curtains came up.

[ThomasPowers]

"airtight" + Forge = Coffin!

[cckemm]

Please also remember fire proof!! All that sound proofing will do you no good if your smithy is a smokey pile of rubble because it burned down.

Chris

[David Einhorn]

Please also remember fire proof!! All that sound proofing will do you no good if your smithy is a smokey pile of rubble because it burned down. Chris

Chris has a really good point. Rugs and foam furniture parts tend to catch fire and create high heat fires.

Also, if you are sensitive to mold, rugs and foam might not be a good idea since the mold content might get so high that you might need to tear down the building and start over, just to get rid of the mold. It took my lungs at least 7 years to fully recover from a few weekend stays in a moldy building.

[Dragons lair]

Something to remember with roughsawn. Has lots of gaps to let water in and soak your insulation. Built mine 7 yrs ago roughsawn waynesedge. From outside with lights on looked like the great pumpkin. Ended up using sprayfoam on walls and roof. No leaks and
keeps it warmer in winter.
Ken

[Gene Chapman]

I live in a neighborhood and stopped using the 50# Little giant years ago, my son has it now and I have a P6 fly press which is almost dead quiet. I'm mostly retired now but used the fly press mostly for products that could be forged with the press. Hand forging on the anvil was done when the neighbors were usually at work.

[Gene Chapman]

A dust collector is hooked up to two grinders and the drill press. It's the small harbor Freight one and is vented outside via flex tubing. The outlet on the side of the garage with a screen over it to keep varmets out. It was initally noisy outside, so I made a muffler from a 5 gallon plastic can with a plywood baffle with holes drilled in it. The holes area were much greater in size than the 4" flex tubing area, hey, it worked well, has great suction for grinding and buffing. The shop cat dosen't care for it so leaves when turned it on.

Only metal is ground in the shop, no knife handle material, wood dust and grinding sparks don't mix.

[Frosty]

Only metal is ground in the shop, no knife handle material, wood dust and grinding sparks don't mix.

Well. . . they do mix actually just not in a structure friendly manner.

My Uncle Fred Frost used to live in Kingston till a couple years ago. Like there's a chance you know him but . . . ?

Welcome aboard Gene, glad to have you.

I think you'll find plenty of good company from youngsters with eyes to making a sword before they learn there's difference in peins to old farts like me who just like playing with fire and beating things with hammers.

Frosty Edited September 15, 2009 by Frosty

[orgtwister]

i like the fisher anvil idea i had never used one till this weekend at the demo i did . it was quite wish i brought mine to make more ringing to bring more people in but it still has people around my town talking about the blacksmith that was there so maybe the town will get back to some of the roots of the town that time has forgoten

[irnsrgn]

I toured a large factory one time that did a lot of stamping of metal, I was amazed at how quiet it was not far from the machines, what they did was hang baffles from the ceiling about every 6 feet to control the concussion or vibrations. FWIW and the baffles were just cloth with a weighted bottom.

[Glenn]

The only method that works 100% is not to use the anvil, machinery, etc, or move out of hearing distance. If you (or the neighbor) can live with less than 100% (some level of noise), then use what works the best to kill the sound as the first effort, then add additional levels of deadening as needed. Use the cheapest methods first.

You can deaden the ring of the anvil rather easily by bedding it in a couple inches of sand, and a couple of loose wraps of chain around the waist. The impact of the hammer on the anvil may vibrate through the floor of the building and be perceived as sound, so put an insulating barrier under the anvil stand or machinery.

Be sure when you have the db sound meter to establish a base noise level that is acceptable to the neighbor and from which you can base your sound levels. This should include street noise, air planes overhead and ambient noise of all sorts. Measure the neighbors lawn mower when he cuts grass, or used a power saw to build the tree house for the kid, use his chain saw to cut some firewood, or other noise producing activities. This is HIS acceptable noise level from which you can base your efforts to deaden the sounds YOU produce.

[chrisfrick]

Exactly what Glenn said--the ambient noise throughout the day will change dramatically, and what your neighbor perceives as "acceptable" may be drastically different that what you're going for. One note on the sound meter--Use the "C" weighted scale, as this is a better translation of what the human ear actually hears with loud noise (A-weighting, and I may be wrong, does not take into account the frequency response of our ears--every frequency is "seen" as equal. That is if you have a frequency of 1 Khz with a sound pressure level of 80 dB and a frequency of 30 Hz with a sound pressure level of 80 dB, the A scale will see them as the same, whereas the C scale will take into account how your ears actually hear those frequencies). I don't know where you live, but in the U.S. we have Radio Shack (as mentioned earlier) that sells sound meters--they had several different models in past years and I picked mine up for approximately $25 US about 10 years ago.