Introduction: Coffee Cup Sound Proofing
Sound proofing is a foam material shaped with holes or waves in the exterior this absorbs or deflects sound waves.
This will show you how to do the same with old coffee cups.
Here's what you need, Coffee Cups A LOT of them about 16 per foot of wall.
But these are easily found where ever hot beverages are served. (or the garbage can next to that place). Or ask the owner if you can set up a box for recycling them.
Coffee cups are mostly made from polystyrene and in my opinion is a horrible compound and should be eliminated all together.
The only way to do this is to recycle it until the point that it is no longer possible to produce profit from it.
And a adhesive, you can use just about any kind, spray glue, hot glue, wallpaper adhesive but i find that great stuff spray in foam insulation works the best for this project. You'll need about 8 -10 for a whole room or basement.
Step 1: Step One: Remove Wall or Add a Second One
im just using a plywood board for example on how to lay the cups out.
But works well in empty wall spaces, or as i did for a friend a layer of foam cups and carpet covered plywood did a amazing job, he can now use his basement to practice with his very heavy metal band with out disturbing his neighbors.
Also filled ceiling in basement with cups the sound was reduced at least in half from the basement to the first floor.
P.S Your wall space may be thinner then the height of the cups , so you can just cut them down.
Step 2: Step Two: Gluing the Cups to the Wall
Now that you got your wall situation worked out time to glue the cups. Again i recommend Great stuff, a little around the edge or a small blob at the bottom are all you need.
Now the way you glue them to the wall is important! But very easy you just glue them to the wall
one bottom first the next top first then bottom ect ect see picture.
now do this for the whole wall. It goes a lot faster if you lay a line of great stuff then stick the cups on.
The key is to get them as close together as you can.
Step 3: Step Three: Replace Wall or Add to Interior Wall
Ok if you put the cups inside the wall you glued the cups to the interior of it. Close the wall back up.
If your gluing the cups to a board, take the board and mount it to the wall you would like sound proofed cups against the wall. For extra sound proofing add a layer of carpet on the other side of the board.
To attached it to the wall i just used some more wood and and wall anchors to secure it, as so not to crush the cups or fall from wall.
There you go Sound proofing with recycled foam cups, Now get out there and build that recording studio in your basement you've always wanted.
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32 Comments
7 years ago
- Old fashioned egg 'plates' ? (hold 48-60 each) are made from some recycled crushed 'cardboard' / paper ? - put a couple cotton balls in each 'cup' and paste them on the wall (seems it would be cheaper too - and CAN use the dozen ones if you need to) - we used these many years ago when building walls in a recording studio - cheap is you eat eggs (or have a friendly restaurant save some for you). This worked well. - Don't forget - IF you are also dealing with windows - make sure the two panes are NOT parallel - we offset ours by less than 1/4 inch - adds a lot as there is no secondary transmission of sound between the two.
9 years ago on Introduction
hi dear... tell me one thing that coffee cups should be covered by whole wall ? without any space?? and please u should explain well with diagram and take pic i am not getting your instructions bro
thanx
11 years ago on Introduction
I wrote an instructable about sound proofiung your room last year. Give it look, its easy and a little different method.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Soundproof-Your-Room-Poor-Mans-Anechoic-Cha/
12 years ago on Introduction
I don't know whether or not this would work for sound proofing or insulation; I'm more concerned about how flammable it would be. Seriously, this sounds like a conflagration waiting to happen!
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Ten points for the use of the word 'conflagration' in a legitimate sentence!
12 years ago on Introduction
For sound absorbion , middle tone ( not all ofcourse )
the best " cheap " solution is to use cardboard egg containers , !.
you need allot less of them, and behind them, stone whool
for bass you coud better use a flat surface , like wood or glass,
midd and bass, layers of cardboard, and carpet ,
Hang them onto wood free from the wall and floors so they can vibrate on there own.
but the easyest way is to use , heavy curtains ! ( all the way to the ground , )
think about the garage door ! there often flat and thin ,
so you need to combine the cheaper solutions ! ( als for professionals sound proofing you need diferent types of foam and forms! .)
12 years ago on Introduction
I built a music recording studio in a commercial location with neighbors so we had to ensure complete sound-proofing. We achieved it through the use of fiberglass insulated staggered-wall construction, two layers of carpet padding under the floating wood floors, wood floors that didn't touch the walls with the perimeter sealed with silicone and a drop ceiling with six inches of fiberglass insulation.
12 years ago on Introduction
One problem...styrofoam cups and great stuff make for some pretty toxic smoke in the case of a fire. Building codes state that styrofoam must be covered so inwall might be ok, but onwall is not. It's most likely against building codes to fill a wall with cups and expanding foam.
Filling wall cavity with anything will help with sound proofing. Using cups and great stuff might not be economical though as the great stuff gets expensive. Figure a batt of insulation might be $4 per wall cavity. To soundproof you need to do two things, add mass (lots of it) and seal up the room air tight. The great stuff will helf you accomplish #2 but not #1.
As for this as an acoustical treatment, closed cell foam is not very effective as an absorber and great-stuff is not very absorbant either. You need rigid mineral wool or fiberglass boards. Your construct would be more of a reflector.
12 years ago on Introduction
The truth of it all is that it doesn't matter what you use inside the wall. It's not what you use, it's what you don't use. By that I mean that the dead air space is the only thing that stops the transfer of sound through the wall.
12 years ago on Introduction
For all those who said i didn't do this or it does not work, please send me a foam coffee cup and i will make a video insulating my garage.
i will probably need about 40000
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
I'll call your bluff. Name and address please. Also, to be fair, you need to measure decibel levels pre-foam cup and then post-foam cup. Have Ipecec play a couple of songs (set to 11 on the amp) before and then after. Purchase a sound level meter (http://www.amazon.com/Extech-407730-130-Decibel-Digital-Sound/dp/B000EWY67W) and check.
It's not that I don't think that you did it, but that the sound insulating efficiency of foam cups is not enough to do what you say it did. Maybe the neighbors were freaked about the neighbor who had 40,000 hot chocolate encrusted foam cups that were piling up around the garage, and figured that earplugs might be the wiser option than upsetting the crazy next door. Not that you are crazy. No, I'm not saying that. There are other variables involved here, that's all I'm saying.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
IPECAC MYSPACE PAGE
http://www.myspace.com/theunbeheld
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
done send me your email i will give you my address i am currently saving them to do my garage, ANY ONE who wants to collect foam cups for me AWESOME! i need alot! jsut send me a message here and i will give you my address
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
yanksguy
seems like the people who are the most critical are people who haven't done anything to contribute.
Your a pro user why?
12 years ago on Introduction
MADMANINCINFO@GMAIL.COM
FOR ADDRESS REQUEST ON FOAM CUP RECYCLING SEND YOUR REQUESTS TO THIS EMAIL.
PLEASE ONLY RECYCLED CUPS AND PLEASE RINSE THEM OUT.
I NEED A LOT OF THEM! SO ANY AND ALL DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
HELP RECYCLE POLYSTYRENE FOAM PEANUTS PACKING MATERIAL WILL ALSO BE ACCEPTED!
THESE DONATIONS WILL BE ADDED TO MY GARAGE WALL, AND THIS INSTRUCTABLE WILL BE UPDATED WITH A PICTURE OF ME ADDING YOUR CUPS TO MY GARAGE WALL WITH A LITTLE THANK YOU
12 years ago on Introduction
Your suppossed to use drink carriers for soundproofing.
12 years ago on Introduction
... but clever and eye-catching it is!
12 years ago on Introduction
Sorry to say, anyone who know a few things about sound knows the difference between acoustic treatment (egg crate foam; this project; pyramid foam; etc) and soundproofing, which is meant to stop sound from entering or exiting a room or building. This one definitely should be called acoustic treatment rather than soundproofing.
And how anyone can stand to drink from those Styrofoam cups is beyond me...
12 years ago on Introduction
regardless if it works or not... if you read the instruction on the contest it says using "paper" coffee cup, but you are using foam here....
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
You could probably do both.