It's a question that I posted on many news groups, but no one
is willing to answer my actual question. It is a simple question. There
are two different ceiling tiles to choose from. One is light, flexible
and made fiber glass insulation. The other choice is a heavy tile, that is
hard (made out of asbestos or dry wall type of material, not sure though).
Which is better for sound insulation? Simple question right!!

I have asked a slew hard ware store to ask this very question and every
one a ask says the exact opposite. I have always heard that you need
mass and air space to have good sound insulation. My thinking is that
yes, hard objects carry sound, but since this ceiling is free floating and
supported only by wire, the sound will not travel through the hard tile.
Those that make sense.


PREVIOUS POST:
I was just wondering if I replace my flexible 48" x 24" ceiling tiles with
the hard type (much heavier) will I notice the difference in sound
proofing?

I call all kinds of hardware stores to see which of the two is better for
sound. The opinions are split 50/50 between flexible and hard type. I
personally think the hard type are better, I wonder if replacing them with
this type will actually make a noticeable difference to be worth replacing
them?

Asking a hardware store isnt the best place, Find out the manufacturer
of the 2 , contact them and ask how much a reduction of sound in
Decibels you will acheive

lbbs,

You might want to ask this in the audio groups since recording and sound
isolation go hand in hand. I agree with Mr. Ransley that the clerk in a
hardware store is not likely to be any help. Be sure before you start
looking for solutions that you know what the problem is though. An insulated
room will not admit sounds from outside but may still be a "noisy" room if
it is highly reflective.
Sound can and will travel through hard tile

Good luck,
Dave M.

Let me simplify this issue. If the average Joe goes to the hardware store
and wants to buy a ceiling tile to reduce the sound coming from the floor
above, which tile should he choose. Without getting to complicated,
which should he choose? People are faced with this choose every
day, surely these is simple answer to this question. Surely the average
guy does not have time to do in-depth research to find out which of the
two is the preferred choice for sound proofing.


"lbbs" wrote in message
...
It's a question that I posted on many news groups, but no one
is willing to answer my actual question. It is a simple question. There
are two different ceiling tiles to choose from. One is light, flexible
and made fiber glass insulation. The other choice is a heavy tile, that
is
hard (made out of asbestos or dry wall type of material, not sure though).
Which is better for sound insulation? Simple question right!!

I have asked a slew hard ware store to ask this very question and every
one a ask says the exact opposite. I have always heard that you need
mass and air space to have good sound insulation. My thinking is that
yes, hard objects carry sound, but since this ceiling is free floating and
supported only by wire, the sound will not travel through the hard tile.
Those that make sense.


PREVIOUS POST:
I was just wondering if I replace my flexible 48" x 24" ceiling tiles with
the hard type (much heavier) will I notice the difference in sound
proofing?

I call all kinds of hardware stores to see which of the two is better for
sound. The opinions are split 50/50 between flexible and hard type.
I
personally think the hard type are better, I wonder if replacing them
with
this type will actually make a noticeable difference to be worth replacing
them?

lbbs wrote:
Let me simplify this issue. If the average Joe goes to the
hardware store and wants to buy a ceiling tile to reduce the sound
coming from the floor above, which tile should he choose.
Without getting to complicated, which should he choose? People
are faced with this choose every day, surely these is simple
answer to this question. Surely the average guy does not have
time to do in-depth research to find out which of the two is the
preferred choice for sound proofing.

Probably not, just accepts what he is told/sold wrong or not.

Best I can tell you is that any hard, smooth surface will bounce sound
around. Which is why "acoustic tiles" are soft (like celotex) and have
myriad holes.

However, that doesn't address your issue...that of sound coming from a floor
above. You said, "My thinking is that yes, hard objects carry sound, but
since this ceiling is free floating and
supported only by wire, the sound will not travel through the hard tile."
Now, sound is waves - vibration. If the air around the tiles - or the wires
themselves - are vibrating, hard tiles will too. Seems obvious that the
best choice is to use acoustic tiles...turned upside down for maximum
efficacy.


--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

Sounds like you really want the hard tile and are looking for justification
???

Perhaps the real answer is that no kind of suspended ceiling is going to
give
you the results you desire. In other words, is the suspended ceiling
concept
likely to give you an echo chamber similar to guitars, etc.?

Let's face it, sound waves are carried by air, and if your ceiling allows
air flow,
then the sound will go along with it.


"lbbs" wrote in message
...
Let me simplify this issue. If the average Joe goes to the hardware
store
and wants to buy a ceiling tile to reduce the sound coming from the floor
above, which tile should he choose. Without getting to complicated,
which should he choose? People are faced with this choose every
day, surely these is simple answer to this question. Surely the
average
guy does not have time to do in-depth research to find out which of the
two is the preferred choice for sound proofing.


"lbbs" wrote in message
...
It's a question that I posted on many news groups, but no one
is willing to answer my actual question. It is a simple question.
There
are two different ceiling tiles to choose from. One is light, flexible
and made fiber glass insulation. The other choice is a heavy tile,
that
is
hard (made out of asbestos or dry wall type of material, not sure
though).
Which is better for sound insulation? Simple question right!!

I have asked a slew hard ware store to ask this very question and every
one a ask says the exact opposite. I have always heard that you need
mass and air space to have good sound insulation. My thinking is that
yes, hard objects carry sound, but since this ceiling is free floating
and
supported only by wire, the sound will not travel through the hard tile.
Those that make sense.


PREVIOUS POST:
I was just wondering if I replace my flexible 48" x 24" ceiling tiles
with
the hard type (much heavier) will I notice the difference in sound
proofing?

I call all kinds of hardware stores to see which of the two is better
for
sound. The opinions are split 50/50 between flexible and hard type.
I
personally think the hard type are better, I wonder if replacing them
with
this type will actually make a noticeable difference to be worth
replacing
them?

The sound ratings (NRC) on mineral fiber & fiberglass ceiling tiles are
pretty close, just depends what model tile you buy. Armstrong's model #3201
has a NRC of .95 (one of the highest) & is fiberglass. This type of tile is
not the flexible stuff you see in the big box stores. Their model#2983 has a
rating of .70 & is flexible.
Most of the decent mineral fiber tiles have ratings between .50 - .75.
Take a look at the following for a little more info:

http://www.armstrong.com/commceiling..._acoustics.jsp


--
Dave Lavelle
D.E.L. Interiors, Inc.
Wilmington, DE
www.delinteriors.com