My shop's in the basement and I know noise can be a problem on the first floor directly above. I know there is no way I can minimize sound enough in the basement that I can't be heard only a few feet above me.
My concern is dampening the noise so it is lower on the second floor of my house. I just recently noticed how loud it is when I was upstairs and someone was in the basement.
My thought is most of the noise is traveling throught the duct work. Is it worth putting in a drop ceiling? Does this dampen noise enough?
Would framing around the ducting in the basement (with insulation and 1/2" drywall) improve this enought to dampen noise on the second level better than a drop ceiling?
Come to think of it, I would have to cover all the branches coming off the main run as well. (not very visable in the pic below.)
duct.jpg