DIY Acoustic Foam

You can now find computer-based home recording studios in many homes across the world. These studios vary in size, technology and equipment. However, one important factor in a quality home studio is the use of acoustic foam to deaden the noise bouncing off the walls as you record live instruments or playback through your speakers. You can pay someone to install acoustic foam or you can make it a DIY project and install the foam yourself. The process is relatively straightforward.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Construction adhesive
• Scissors

Instructions

Foam for Monitors

1. Stand against the far wall away from your speaker monitors and hold a mirror up against the wall. Slide the mirror around. Every place you can see the speakers, you need to add foam. Mark every location on the wall with a marker. Do the same with the other three walls in the room. You can skip the ceiling since studio speakers are directional and will not send sound upward. If you plan to use microphones to record vocals, guitars or drums, skip this step.

2. Place construction adhesive on the back of a 12-by12-inch acoustic foam pad or onto the back of a 24-by24-inch acoustic foam pad and place the pad over one of the marks you placed on the wall. Hold the pad in place for a few seconds to give the adhesive enough time to create a bond. Add the adhesive along the outside perimeter of the pad and then place an X with the adhesive on the back of the pad extending from each corner.

3. Duplicate step two with an acoustic pad for each mark you placed on the wall.

Foaming an Entire Room

1. Place a bead of construction adhesive around the perimeter on the rear of a 12-by-12-inch or 24-by-24-inch acoustic foam pad and then place an X from each corner on the back of the pad with construction adhesive. Place the pad on the corner of the ceiling.

2. Place the remainder of the first row of pads next to the first pad until you reach the other side of the room. Use the same pattern for applying the adhesive as you did for the first tile.

3. Measure the distance between the last pad and the wall with a tape measure to determine the length of the final pad for the row. Cut the final pad to size with a pair of scissors or a utility knife and then glue the pad to the ceiling. Repeat the process until you cover the entire ceiling with acoustic pads.

4. Follow steps one two and three with each wall in the room. Do not forget to add acoustic foam to the backs of any doors in the room.

Tips & Warnings

• Determine the need for acoustic foam in your recording room. If you plan to record vocals or record guitars and drums via microphones, you need to add acoustic foam to the ceiling and all four walls. If you plan to record everything digitally and you will not use amplifiers or live drums, you only need to place the foam where your playback speakers will have a negative effect in the room.

• Do not add acoustic pads to any windows or to the floor. If you do not have carpet on the floor, cover the floor with throw rugs. Use vinyl blinds and keep them closed when recording. This will keep vibrations from bouncing off the windows.

References

• SweetWater: Placement of Acoustic Foam