controlling the echo.

[Derek Voigt]

So the new house that I moved into has some additional basement space under the back porch. i have attached a picture for fun. My useable space is about 24' x12.5 feet. The current studded wall seen will get move back some, but I plan to wall off my electrical panel and sub pump.

There is no ducting in there so it seems a great place to keep some of my dustier tools. The ceiling are 103" tall and after much deliberation I have decided to convert my grizzly G441 and convert it to a G440 and only use a 30 gallon drum instead of the 55 gallon drum and put it in this area. Other wise I would have the stick the motor in between the floor joists in a different area of the basement to get the 109" height and I feel like that will be a headache... I plan to build a little room for it to help reduce the noise.

What is immediately noticeable is the lack of lighting and the echo of foot steps as you walk through. I have some t8 florescent fixture to install in there for the light. But what about the echo? Should I stud, insulate and drywall all the walls? I'm sure that will help, but is there a better thing to do since I'm not going for the "finished basement look"? I don't plan to recess boxes or anything like that. I just want it to be a functional shop.
basement nook.jpg

[Jamie Buxton]

I can't think of any reason that an echo would detract from a wood shop.

[Derek Voigt]

Well let's call it more or sound reverberation that makes everything very loud, even foot steps. I would like to dampen the sound as much as possible.

[Bill McNiel]

The hard surfaces that are producing the echo are the concrete walls. Either furr the walls with 2x2s or glue sound board directly to the concrete. This will also provide some modicum of insulation. If it were mine, I would glue sound board between 2x2s and then GWB the walls. You can use pancake boxes for power distribution or surface mount.

[Andy Fox]

Wait until you move your shop in there before doing anything since you want to avoid finishing the walls anyway. Having objects in the room will likely eliminate much of the echo. I have concrete walls in my basement shop, and echo/reverb isn't noticeable. It was when it was empty.

Consider sealing the floor and walls and then painting them a light color. It makes a big difference in lighting, and it's no fun to do that once you move stuff in.

[Dale Murray]

After building out the shop consider an acoustic ceiling tile and if possible purchase 2" thick roxul board insulation. It comes in 2'x4' sheets. Split those to 1'x4' or 8"x4' and install along the ceiling and wall. Absorbing sound in corners is extremely effective.

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Install it something like above.

[Judson Green]

Wait until you move your shop in there before doing anything since you want to avoid finishing the walls anyway. Having objects in the room will likely eliminate much of the echo. I have concrete walls in my basement shop, and echo/reverb isn't noticeable. It was when it was empty.

Consider sealing the floor and walls and then painting them a light color. It makes a big difference in lighting, and it's no fun to do that once you move stuff in.

+1 to all that.

Painting/sealing the floors walls with a light color, maybe gray or beige, will help out your lighting immensely. And with no tools or shop cabinets in there your gonna get more echo. Might want to get a cheep carpet or rug, that will help with echo and your feet and when it gets really dirty you can take it outside and give it a good cleaning.

[Derek Voigt]

So I'm thinking that I will frame out the basement with 2x4" and use insulation for temperature. I was looking at the UltraTouch+™ Denium insulation because it calls out thermal and acoustical benefits.

[Andy Fox]

I've found this to be a great resource:

http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...ctypes/digests

[Matt Day]

Most basement shops are exactly like yours and this is the first I've heard of the echo problem. I'm sure you've noticed that every room in your house echoes without furniture in it, right? Same goes for shops.

My shop is built the same as you're and same size, but I have an ACT ceiling.