Sound control when finnishing a basement?

"Acoustic tiles" and drop ceilings are both pretty much useless when it comes to trying to make a good sounding / well isolated room. You really need to check out some books by F. Alton Everestt on the subject of acoustics and / or consult with a professional such as Rives Audio. As far as i know, Rives offers free consultation and evaluation but their "suggestions & solutions" are what will cost you : )

Since you are going into this from scratch, i would HIGHLY recommend doing as much research and planning NOW as it will only save you trouble and expenses further down the road. It is soooo much nicer dealing with everything up front and doing it right the first time. This allows you to kick back and relax without having to think about "what if i would have done that" or "should i do this"...

Don't overlook your AC requirements as it is a LOT easier to run wire / conduit prior to putting up drywall or ceilings. Here's a good "basic" run-down on AC and what to expect out of a dedicated AC line(s). Hope this helps and keep us posted as to what you end up doing and the results that you achieve. It is always interesting to read about the decisions facing each of us in our own individual installatons, the choices made, why we made them, the results and if we would have taken that same path if we had it to do all over again. Sharing this type of info can really cut down on lessons learned the hard way for those that are working on similar set-ups further down the road. Sean
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This is what I put up more than twenty years ago (yes time waits for no man). The space between the joists were filled with fiberglass insulation batts, resilient metal channels were installed, a first layer of gypsum board was installed to the resilient channels with drywall screws, the joints of this first layer were taped and filled with mud, a second layer of gypsum board was installed with the boards running opposite the first layer so that the joints would be overlapped, these joints were also taped and filled, I then put a rough textured stucco finish over the whole ceiling. The same was done for the wall dividing this room from the rest of the basement, save and except for the stucco finish. This works pretty well in that there is considerable mass, unlike a suspended ceiling, while it is also decoupled from the rest of the structure to a certain extent and there is some give owing to the resilient channels. Are there newer ways of doing it: maybe. Are there cheaper ways of doing it: surely. Are there much better ways accessible to a handyman: I don't think so. It worked for me.

Pbb, that sounds like a pretty solid design that you came up with. Did you think of that all by yourself or have some help ? At the time that you did that ( 20 years ago ), information like what you just posted was not commonly available or easily accessed. Sean
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Pbb's design IS very solid because it creates great density and to some degree "uncouples" the basement ceiling from the floor above. The biggest challenge in a basement scenario is (usually) very limited ceiling height - creating the need to balance out many de-coupling and insulating layers, with the need to keep 6 1/2 feet or so of usable room height.

Certainly professional guidance is always great. Two products that we have used somewhat successfully are "Fibrex" fiberglass insulating bats - probably the same product that Pbb was referring to - and also a product that's sold under the trade name "Sheet Block".

Sheet Block is an 1/8" thick roll of what's generically called Mass Vinyl. It has the density of lead at about 1/10th the weight. Although still heavy and must be put up carefully/safely - it really helps to preserve ceiling height while providing the isloation of around three layers of dry wall.

Sean - your suggestion about F. Alton Everett's book is an excellent one. I would also reccommend Jeff Cooper's book "Building a Recording Studio". While geared for bigger budget studio facilities, it has many tried-and-true ideas about un-coupling floors, walls and ceilings, plus step by step guidelines and cross-section views for isolation and even finished room treatments.

Pbb's response was/is an excellent one --should one have/decide on drywall finishing. Your dropped ceiling works like the resilient channels that Pbb spoke of; Use batt insulation (R-12) between the floor joists (along with the dropped ceiling tiles). This is the most economical and effective technique available. De-coupling, spacing and mass is the only way to acheive more effective acoustic isolation (between floors/rooms). Higher density/heavier ceiling tiles (the acoustic-type) is far better than the lighter variety. Although there is some contoversy regarding the density of the insulation (and its effect on sound absorbtion) I would suspect the denser type (Roxall or equivalent) would be the better/more effective insulation.
Bear in mind that duct-work or any other opening between adjacent floors/rooms is a conduit for noise to travel. Practically speaking, adding batt insulation along with denser ceiling tiles provides the best solution for minimizing noise transmission between floors.

peter jasz