DIY Acoustic Panels
I
have found several pages with detailed instructions on how to create
acoustic panels:Ethan Winer's Site
Jon Risch's Site
Geisen's Site (very precise!)
Pat's Page
I chose to create 4 - 24" x 48" (x 4") panels. Two panels will be employed on side walls, left and right, to absorb early reflections from the main speakers. I haven't yet decided where the best place will be for the remaining two - I will have to do some experimenting. Here is my recipe:
4 24" x 48" (x 1/8") hardboard (pegboard w/out holes) $2.64ea
6 1" x 4" boards, 8' lengths (cut to 8 4' and 8 2') $2.98ea
8 pieces fiberglass insulation (24" x 96" x 6") $55.85
poultry netting (4' x 25') $14.47
polyester batting (110" x 110") $9.38
burlap (3' x 21') $11.67
32 1 1/2" screws $3.92
The fiberglass insulation was twice what I needed, but was the smallest quantity I could buy. The same is true for the poultry netting. Waste included, I spent about $125.00. An additional cost I didn't have to pay, would have been a staple gun and staples. Luckily, I was able to borrow one from my friend Adam Bachman. I'm hoping to pawn off my extra materials onto someone else who may be interested in such a project. Without the extra materials, I could have spent under $100.
Although time intensive, the process was fairly straightforward. First, I joined 2 2' boards with 2 4' boards 4 times to make 4 frames. Actually, this was one mistake in my planning. If I'd had the tools, I could have made 45 degree cuts at the joints, and everything would have been stellar. However, to fit the frame just inside the edge of the hardboard backing, I had to lop anoter 2" from each of the 4' boards to accomodate. After that, everything was easy. I simply pre-drilled two holes at each joint, then used screws to connect. Next, I used the staple gun to attach the hardboard to each frame, making a back for the panels.
The next process was to insert the fiberglass insulation, then compress it with the poultry netting. If I would have changed anything about my process, I would have added some kind of vertical supports on the front and back of the panel, possibly 2 1" x 1"s, dividing the height of the panel into thirds. Without these supports, my resulting panels have a noticeable bulge in the middle, both front and back, because of the compressed insulation.
Each piece of insulation was 96" long, so I chose to cut each peice in half, put one piece in paper side down, then the other half on top, paper side up. I then peeled off the top paper, and compressed it all with the poultry netting, stapled to the frame with Adam Bachman's staple gun.
Next, I wrapped each panel with the polyester batting, and attached it to the side of each frame with said staple gun. The batting serves as a barrier for the raw fiberglass, as well as an additional absorbant layer.
(it's getting late in the day...)
And finally, Each panel needed to be wrapped in burlap, a loose enough weave to allow the middle and high frequency (high energy) waves to penetrate, and be absorbed by the fiberglass insulation. The burlap was wrapped around the front and sides of the panels, and stapled to the back.
Now all I have to do is mount these on the walls (or several inches away from the walls, as I've read), get rid of my extra insulation and poultry netting, and clean everything up!
And finally, Each panel needed to be wrapped in burlap, a loose enough weave to allow the middle and high frequency (high energy) waves to penetrate, and be absorbed by the fiberglass insulation. The burlap was wrapped around the front and sides of the panels, and stapled to the back.
Now all I have to do is mount these on the walls (or several inches away from the walls, as I've read), get rid of my extra insulation and poultry netting, and clean everything up!