Soundproofing a Gym
Acoustic Challenge
Gymnasiums are typically large, over-sized, shoe-box shaped rooms filled with hard reflective surfaces that can't absorb the reverberating sound waves reflecting around the room. When crowds of people gather for various sporting, musical or speaker-related events, their voice reflections spread throughout the cavity of the loud gym like a pebble wave in a pond. This generates an increase in background noise that drives decibel levels up to uncomfortable levels and poor gym acoustics. Our soundproofing goal is to control the reverberation in the noisy gym and drop the background gym noise. The noise reduction with this gym design will then deliver a more comfortable gymnasium sound for everyone in attendance.
Soundproofing Treatment
By installing a durable set of fire rated, decorative acoustic sound panels or ceiling baffles, the sound reflections in the room can be captured and converted to kinetic energy. Target their placement on the upper third of your walls around your gym's perimeter, or between exposed joists in the ceiling. The soundproofing products recommended for this gym sound system treatment are showcased in our Product Bin.
Acoustic Results
With your reverberation times now under control, there is less background noise in the gym. This triggers an overall drop in decibel level exposure to the crowd, and makes for a more comfortable experience attending sporting events, musicals and public speaking engagements. Simulated results for soundproofing a gymnasium are broadcast in our Sound Chamber.
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Most gymnasiums are large shoe box shaped rooms that host sporting events, musicals, social functions and lecturers. The surfaces in the room are purposely made of hard, reflective surfaces that bode well for sports, but not for acoustic control. The reflecting sound waves can carry for up to 10 seconds in the room, while human ear can tolerate 2 seconds or less. By installing a set of sound panels or baffles in the room, you can trigger the control you need over unwanted background noise.
Start with fiberglass, not foam, as your core material. Foams will either not be class A fire rated, or will not hold up well to balls banging against the material. Fiberglass based products will be fire rated approved, and wrapped in a variety of skins that will make the treatment more durable.
VET Baffle treatments from the ceiling will be less expensive than wall mounted panels. If you have a metal roof deck with exposed metal joists, and at least 20' height in the room, opt for the VET Baffles. Hang them in rows and columns throughout the ceiling, positioning them in a checkerboard or herringbone type pattern. Do not hang 100% of your baffles parallel to one another. This will create a "combing" effect that will allow some of the noise to reflect up and down without ever getting caught by the baffles. VET Baffles are less expensive than the alternative baffles listed in our Product Bin. They are available in 12 PVC colors.
If you have a finished ceiling with recessed lights, or in older schools or churches if your gym is less than 20' tall, baffle treatments are not practical. In this case, opt for the cloth wrapped Fabric Panel treatment around your room's perimeter. Stagger a series of these panels around the upper 1/3 of your wall surface, dividing the pieces out as you like. We will cut them to the size and color you like. Standard Fabric Panels are dipped in resin to make the edges crush proof and durable. If you have a concern about durability, upgrade to the Strike Panels which are designed for more high impact treatments. The ultimate for durability would be our NetMetal perforated panel system that is bolted to your walls around the room.
Our help desk at 1-800-638-9355 can help you determine quantities and cost. You can also completed a Room Analysis Worksheet and fax to us at 1-763-694-8909 for help. The Product Bin features your product options for the soundproofing treatment of your gymnasium.
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