post feeds post comments feeds rss email feeds twitter updates

Archive of 'Soundproofing Archives - The Art of Woodshop Design'

  • How to Make Your Own Workshop Garage Door Insulation

    Written By .
    In Shop Comfort

    “But my garage door is already insulated! It came that way!” Well, not like this! My workshop garage door came pre-insulated with some fiberboard with a plastic coating behind the metal panels, like only ¾”. But, during the summer, the heat comes right through in the afternoon since it’s facing west. The fiberboard is just not enough to stop the heat from the metal panels. It does help slightly with noise.

    In previous articles about your shop’s comfort, I emphasized the use of radiant barriers to keep your shop cool. You see, when your walls, roof, and doors heat up during the day, they give that heat back to you in the form of radiation. Not nuclear exactly, but heat. If you go into your attic, and put your hand near the roof sheathing during the summer, you’ll feel the radiant heat without even touching it. This radiation heats up all the objects around it, and thus your whole woodshop. That’s why you start sweating when you step into your hot garage in the summer.


  • How I’m Soundproofing My Shop Part II

    Written By .
    In Shop Comfort

    In the last post, How I’m Soundproofing My Shop Part I, I explained how I break down my sound abatement strategy to both limit the sound coming from my tools and limit the sound allowed to escape the shop to bother others.

    I just categorized the approach like this:


  • How I’m Soundproofing My Shop Part I

    Written By .
    In Shop Comfort

    I’m particularly sensitive to shop noise because I had several neighbors near my shop. Below me and next door to my apartment bedroom shop.

    For the most part, I restricted my woodworking to when my neighbors weren’t home, either during lunch or when they went out somewhere.

    I got creative with sound-attenuating strategies so if I made a few quick power-tool cuts, it wouldn’t be as bad. I swore that when I built my ultimate shop, I’d incorporate quite insane soundproofing so that I could do whatever I wanted in complete freedom.

    Soundproofing your woodshop is vital to maximizing your freedom. Imagine if you could do woodworking anytime–late night or early morning without fear!