Dust collection in the new shop

[blanning]

The new shop is finally coming together.  I had plans to build a separate 8x8 room for the dust collector and compressor, just to keep the noise down.  Then I realized that if I seal up this room, it will hinder the air movement unless I put a louvered door or exit vent on the room, which would seem to defeat the purpose of making it quieter.

Has anyone else done something like this?  How can I put the DC in a closet to keep it quiet while not hindering air movement?  Maybe a muffler of some type on a vent?

brian

[R Clark]

My shop has a loft above and there's a staircase that goes up there.  That staircase is in the middle of the shop, with the equivalent of two-car garages on either side.  I enclosed the sides under the staircase and left one end open and that's where my DC resides.  the open end is pointed away from the work area.  It probably cuts down on perceived noise by about 2/3rds.

In your case, I'd go ahead and make that closet.  A louvered door would be a large improvement, in my estimation.

[fixtureman]

You could also use and old blanket to cut down on the noise. Keep the top open also

[fredhargis]

If your closet is framed with 2x4s, I think I'd use one cavity between the stud as a chase. Put the inside vent on one side either at the top or bottom. Then the room side vent would be at the to of that same cavity, this baffling arrangement of sorts should mitigate the sound fairly well. one other thing, for the closet walls consider drywall...regardless of whatever else you used in the rest of the shop. Drywall really deadens sound, and using 5/8" drywall is even better though handling it sucks with a capital s.

[blanning]

If your closet is framed with 2x4s, I think I'd use one cavity between the stud as a chase. Put the inside vent on one side either at the top or bottom. Then the room side vent would be at the to of that same cavity, this baffling arrangement of sorts should mitigate the sound fairly well. one other thing, for the closet walls consider drywall...regardless of whatever else you used in the rest of the shop. Drywall really deadens sound, and using 5/8" drywall is even better though handling it sucks with a capital s.

I thought about framing the walls with 2x6 top and bottom plates, then alternate 2x4 studs to one side or the other so that sound can't transmit through the wall as easily.  That would make the wall one large cavity with a zigzag path like a car muffler.

I was planning to put 7/16 osb on the walls.  But we're drywalling other things and have a ton of mildly damaged drywall we got a killer deal on.  Maybe I could double up sheets of 1/2" drywall instead of 5/8".

[Bach1750]

If your closet is framed with 2x4s, I think I'd use one cavity between the stud as a chase. Put the inside vent on one side either at the top or bottom. Then the room side vent would be at the to of that same cavity, this baffling arrangement of sorts should mitigate the sound fairly well. one other thing, for the closet walls consider drywall...regardless of whatever else you used in the rest of the shop. Drywall really deadens sound, and using 5/8" drywall is even better though handling it sucks with a capital s.

What Fred said is dead on - sound doesn't turn corners very well and mass kills sound best.  You could add batt insulation to your wall, but that's better for high frequency sounds and probably won't do too much for a DC.  If it was me making a room for my dust collector (and I've been planning to for about ten years now) I'd put 5/8" GWB on both sides of a framed wall.  If you have the space, 2 x 6 is better than 2 x 4.  Make the door the same way you make the wall.

Also, if you're going to use a single cavity space with high/low vents, space the studs at the bottom at 16 1/2" and at the top space them at 15 1/2".  Keeping them out of parallel will help keep sound from propagating through the cavity, and it shouldn't take much to make a difference.  You could also decouple the inside face of the drywall from the studs with a thin layer of pink insulation.  Come to think of it, you could do the same with the top and bottom plates too.  I think you can get it 1/4" thick at HD and elsewhere. 

I'll be interested to hear what you do and how it works out.

Best of luck.

[Admiral]

. . . You could add batt insulation to your wall, but that's better for high frequency sounds and probably won't do too much for a DC.  

I have my shop in the basement, and the ceiling (well, floor of the first floor of the house) was not insulated.  I looked into it a bit and found out that insullation made from ground up denim (I had never heard of it before, special order from HD) was rated highly for both low and high frequency sound dampening.  I put in a whole bunch of it, and my bride is happy as the sounds from all the machines was cut considerably.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/R-19-Denim-I.../204622703

[GaryMc]

The new shop is finally coming together.  I had plans to build a separate 8x8 room for the dust collector and compressor, just to keep the noise down.  Then I realized that if I seal up this room, it will hinder the air movement unless I put a louvered door or exit vent on the room, which would seem to defeat the purpose of making it quieter.

Has anyone else done something like this?  How can I put the DC in a closet to keep it quiet while not hindering air movement?  Maybe a muffler of some type on a vent?

brian

May not work for you, but my DC is in the corner of the basement shop, d1rectly under the first floor living quarters with between-joists batting and 1/4" plywood ceiling.  I almost completely enclosed the thing with acoustic ceiling tile - double layer on top and the front removeable for emptying the lower bag, etc.  There is enough leakage at the joints and bottom to not interfere with air flow too much, I think.  LOML can hear when I turn it on, but the volume is less than most living-room sounds (and any from noisy tools like a table saw).

[Cabinet Monkey]

 You could also decouple the inside face of the drywall from the studs with a thin layer of pink insulation.  Come to think of it, you could do the same with the top and bottom plates too.  I think you can get it 1/4" thick at HD and elsewhere. 

This rube goldberg and there is no evidence that I'm aware of that this does anything for sound.   That sill gasket is made as an air barrier/thermal break.   If you have a link to any testing data that show it has sound attenuation properties, I'd be quite interested.



Your wall decoupling idea is a time tested and proven technique to deal with soundtransmision.  However, in order for it to be effectice the WHOLE STUDWALL needs to be covered - not just indiv. studs.   And the accepted materials are: lead or elastomeric sheeting.

Maybe I could double up sheets of 1/2" drywall instead of 5/8".

 

Yes, double drywall is another time tested and proven way to deal wih noise.  It is waaaay more effective than 5/8" drywall.  If you want to get into the weeds there are products you 'paint' in between the sheet that offer even more noise attenuation.  The "name brand" is Green Glue.  They even market double 4x8 sheets of dryall with the inner layer already applied.  It's expensive and crazy heavy though.   Installaton is much easier to install two individual layers, which also provides the benefit of having the seams staggered to offer a bit more nosie reduction.

[blanning]

Yes, double drywall is another time tested and proven way to deal wih noise.

What do you suggest for the door?  I've been installing sold core wood doors everywhere else in the shop.  So it would be nice for the door to match.  I guess I could attach a couple sheets of drywall to the back side of the door, and some kind of weather stripping under the door.