Church Personnel
Question: Pastor Dave K. / Church Building
Committee (Cedar Hill, MO)
We have a good-size multi-purpose room behind the sanctuary that
measures about 37 feet wide by 48 feet long and is just under 16 feet
high. The floor is carpet over wood floor over concrete slab. The walls
are painted masonry. There is no ceiling. You can see the ducts and
metal trusses in the pictures. We try to use the room for social
functions, bible study classes, ‘kid-play’ and meetings but the noise is
just terrible. Once there are more than ten or so people in there, it’s
just uncomfortably loud. It’s very hard to understand what people are
saying. We know we need sound panels on the walls but the manufacturers
we have called have provided varying and somewhat conflicting solutions.
I am uploading the quotes that we have gotten. Please provide some
divine guidance. We want to fix the problem, but we need to conserve our
funds as much as possible. God Bless.
Sound-Answers.com
The problems you are experiencing are due to a gross lack of sound
absorbing materials in the room. The walls are especially
sound-reflective. The underside of the metal roof deck is also
sound-reflective. As you are already aware, you need to add sound
absorbing materials to the room. Only one of the manufacturers you
obtained quotes from suggested adding sound absorption both overhead and
on the walls. Adding sound absorbing materials to only the walls will
not be nearly as successful. This is perhaps why the other manufacturers
that you talked to suggested so much wall treatment compared to the one
that suggested a combination of wall and overhead sound absorbing
materials. We definitely support the approach of adding some absorption
on the walls and some absorption overhead. The overall cost will be less
and the acoustic quality will be much better.
A lower cost option for treatment overhead would be to spray the entire underside of the existing roof deck with an acoustic spray-on such as Pyrok Acoustement Plaster 20 (www.pyrokinc.com) or Sonaspray FC (www.spray-on.com). The spray-on should be at least one inch thick. The spray-ons can be integrally colored (but not painted). Alternately, for a different aesthetic, you could use colorful, horizontal, banners such as Banner model BN provided by Golterman & Sabo (www.golterman.com) or Acousti-Banners by Acoustical Surfaces (www.acousticalsurfaces.com). If you choose the banner route, then purchase a total of 1,200 square feet of banners. We recommend eight banners, each 15 feet long by 10 feet wide. Two banners would be hung horizontally in each structural bay (between the main trusses) no more than 2 feet below the roof deck. The banners should be 1 inch thick and either the nylon or PVC finish is acceptable. Color is completely aesthetic.
We recommend 2 inch thick, fabric-wrapped, fiberglass panels for the
sound-absorptive treatment on the walls. Approximately 1,000 square feet
is required. We recommend you use 30 panels, each 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide (or
60 panels each 4 feet by 4 feet). Mount the panels with metal impaling
clips provided by the manufacturer. They should be mounted on the upper
portion of all four walls (above door head height) and spaced around the
room somewhat equally. (Exact placement is not critical as long as they
are spread out somewhat evenly on all four walls.) Many manufacturers
can provide these panels. You may want to consider Colorsonix Wall
Panels by MBI Products (www.mbiproducts.com)
or Sonora Panels by Acoustics First (www.acousticsfirst.com).
Beyond the question ~ While selecting the lowest cost
manufacturer might seem like a good idea initially for such a simple
product, we suggest you pick one that has reasonable quality and
experience and provides support. The fabric selection will be key to
cost and quality. The manufacturer should guide you towards a fabric
that is inexpensive, but won’t stretch and sag over time. Also, select a
mid to dark color fabric so the color of the fiberglass core won’t show
through. Ask the manufacturer which fabrics/colors are lower price and
select from those. The most deciding factor on overall cost will be the
fabric you select. Do not be afraid to call the fabric manufacturers
themselves (Guildford of Maine, Carnegie Fabrics, Maharam, etc.) and ask
which fabrics are in abundant supply (avoid backordered fabrics) and
which are ‘on sale’.
