Insulating (heat and sound) and Waterproofing Shed

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by CarlAltDel, Dec 16, 2018.

  1. CarlAltDel

    CarlAltDel New Member

    Hi,

    I have a cheap premade shed that we put up earlier in the year. I use it to record commentary and voice overs in.

    We did a pretty poor job of insulating and soundproofing it before and now with the winter more rain has been coming through. We had a carpet down but a lot of water was coming in from the bottom of the shed. We have pulled up the carpet and are drying it all out now.

    With this I am thinking how best to water proof and possible leaks and how to also better insulate and sound proof the whole structure. At the moment we have caprg pinned to the walls with a foil over them and plaster board over that. I didn't know if this was the best option (on a tight budget) though. Especially since 2 of the plaster boards need replacing I wanted to know if I should of maybe used something else instead.

    Sound proofing is more of an issue that heat but I'm very tight on money.

    Should I scrap all the plaster board and change it for something else? Should I continue with the plaster board but apply sound proofing foam or something else over it all (which I was planning)?
     
  2. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    Priority should be to make it water tight, as whatever you spend on sound proofing will be ruined.

    Ps, no such thing as sound proofing foam.
     
  3. CarlAltDel

    CarlAltDel New Member

    Yes my main priority is to get it water tight. Which I'm working on. I'm asking more about whether people think the plaster board is a good idea in general for heat and sound dissapation or if I should replace it with something sturdier and thinner like mdf that I could add soundproofing too, or a better material.

    Also I mean foam tiles, that are used for soundproofing, mainly for accustics, but also to reduce the sound leaking.
     
  4. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    Get it water tight and yes, a few layers of PB etc will help and is cheap.

    Foam tiles won't have any effect with regards to sound proofing, they're designed for sound treatment and help with creating a 'dead' environment by taming high frequencies.
     
  5. gingertimmins

    gingertimmins Member

    You’ll never soundproof a wooden shed. The best you can hope for really is to tame the sound inside to make it non reflective and deaden the sound in there.
    You can make up wooden frames filled with rock wool, buy foam diffusers and cover the walls in fabric which will give you a nice environment to record in but won’t really help with sound escaping and entering.
    Check out the sound on sound forum, loads of info to be found and at the moment there is an active topic about a studio in a wooden shed. The op of that thread wants to record live drums so measures to reduce sound leakage are extreme but as you’re only recording voice you should be able to do it yourself.

    But yeah, get that baby water tight first!
     
  6. CarlAltDel

    CarlAltDel New Member

    Thank you I'll have a look at that post. As you said it's only voice so when I say soundproofing I'm just looking to lessen a small amount of sound leaking and to make it sound better.

    While I didn't really write the thread clearly the water leaking isn't the focus and more the reason as to why I'm looking at it since I need to replace two panels of plaster board and wanted to see if I should be using something else instead.
     
  7. gingertimmins

    gingertimmins Member

    Is it a standard wooden shed?
    If so I would get rid of the plasterboard and fill the spaces between the wall joists/battens with acoustic mineral wool then over the top of that I’d cover the walls with cheap carpet. You’ve now effectively turned the whole shed into a sound absorber/bass trap and it should go some way to keeping the place warmer.
     

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