[Jason Nugent]

hi, folks,

I've been doing some research into what I can do for the ceiling in my HT.  some background:

1.  It's in a basement, and the ceiling is currently unfinished, with exposed truss joists.  The area above the HT is full of pipes, and some shutoff valves.  The kitchen is directly above this room.  For this reason, I'd rather not drywall it.

2.  There is a small window in the room. Normally, not a big deal, but the top of the window is only 3 and a half inches from the bottom of the joists.  I'm worried that if I went with a traditional acoustic t-bar suspended ceiling, I wouldn't have enough room.  Besides, I'd like to perhaps come up with something that is both better looking, and better acoustically.

3.  Noise transmission to the rest of the house isn't a big deal, because it's just myself and my wife, but in room acoustics are.

For pictures of the room in its current state, visit http://malhavoc.homeunix.com/ht/

Ideally, I'd like to DIY some sort of acoustic coffered ceiling with removable panels, but I don't think I have enough room.  I've investigated the coffered ceiling "QuietZone" products from Owens Corning, as well as their Solserene fabric ceiling system, but they are not available in Canada, and would be way too expensive for one room.  The Solserene fabric ceiling would cost $2000 US, plus shipping to get it to me from Maine.  With currency conversion, shipping, and tax, I'd probably be looking at $3500 CDN.  I'm almost positive I could DIY something for much cheaper than that.

I don't mind ordering supplies.  It's hard to find any good products locally anyway. There is no local Home Depot, although one is being constructed and is supposed to open late in the summer, apparently.

I was thinking that I could build some sort of panel out of pine, with some fibreglass wrapped in fabric inside, and nail the panels directly to the ceiling joists.  The fibreglass inserts would be removable.  Does this seem reasonable?  Anyone have DIY plans for doing this sort of thing?

Thanks to all.

Jason

[Jason Nugent]

Just had an idea.  What if I strapped the ceiling with 1x3s and just wrapped acoustic panels in fabric and stuck them up there with rotofast clips?  That seems like a sane alternative.

[Red Dragon Audio]

Jason,

That sounds like a great idea.  Go for it!

Maybe use some crown moldings to put over over the seams to create your own coffered look.

[Jason Nugent]

Heavystarch,

Yeah, I think I'm going to go for it.  I just need to see if I can get OC 701 or something in town.  I might have to order it.  Boxes of 12, I'd probably need four boxes to do the room.

That's a great idea about the crown moulding!

Jason

[Red Dragon Audio]

If you can find a source of compressed mineral wool it will likely be less money.

I think 701 (1.5PCF) would be too soft for a panel of this kind.
Look for something around 4-6PCF because it is more rigid making it more suitable for ceiling panels.  Try around 2" thick if you have space.

Yes the crown molding if tacked back to back or with a wooden spacer would do very well.