Isolating furnace

[Jeff Kleist]

I'm thinking about redoing the basement because I can't get a decent throw in any other place for a good size screen. The problem is that the furnace is very loud, and if I take out the paper thin wall I want to, there will be nothing to stop it

Is there some way that isn't ungodly expensive to isolate the furnace, or am I screwed?

[Jbald87]

There is a way to iso. the sound it makes, you can put it on rubber feat and make sure you have it serviced to make sure all loose parts tighten up. That would help with some of it, you could also suround it with a false wall and put in some insolation. That would help but to stop the sound the best I would say build a cinder block room for it.

But it that wouldnt work You should see about some of the H.E. furnace you might save money in the long run.

Just my 2 pennies.

[Beta Man]

Are you able to move the furnace? Is there a better spot for it? It'd be a lot of duct work (and I guess if you don't do that yourself, that falls into the "Un-godly Expensive" category. )

I would talk to a HVAC guy and ask him what can be done, and find out the clearance needed etc.... and surround it with walls.

A picture is worth a thousand words though, but in any case, this wall you say you need to take out..... can you leave part of the wall that blocks the furnace, and build around it from there, adding heavy sound proofing sheetrock?

[bhampton]

I had the same concern. (You can actually see the boiler in one of the pix in my gallery).

First thing I did was hang out near it when it was running and find out what was rattling so much. Some stuff needed to be tightened or reseated and the noise went way down.

Second thing I did was made the screen wall actually 2 walls. There was support posts there already. I made full walls on both sides of the posts and insulated them.

If I leave my HT door open (which I never do unless my kidz are watching alone) then I can hear it otherwise I never hear it.

We recently bought a big freezer for the basement and it's surprisingly loud too but again with the door closed I can't hear any of that.

=Brian

[Hammie]

And if you still heard noise through your door, you can always get this. You know it has to be good since it's THX certified.

[Jeff Kleist]

Are you able to move the furnace? Is there a better spot for it? It'd be a lot of duct work (and I guess if you don't do that yourself, that falls into the "Un-godly Expensive" category. )

I would talk to a HVAC guy and ask him what can be done, and find out the clearance needed etc.... and surround it with walls.

A picture is worth a thousand words though, but in any case, this wall you say you need to take out..... can you leave part of the wall that blocks the furnace, and build around it from there, adding heavy sound proofing sheetrock?

It's about 20 feet from one wall back to the other. The furnace cannot be moved.It's fairly new, and is serviced every fall. It's loud because what it does is loud When I say paper thin, we're talking very thin wood. essentially zero sound blockage, and the wall has to be moved out for the projector to work. Otherwise I can only get 8 feet or so of throw

Yeah, I was thinking of building walls around it filled with sound proofing, I'm just questioning whether or not it'll be enough to make it worth the effort

[Beta Man]

If you do build walls around, and use the proper materials..... it'll certainly take care of the problem. I would take the other suggestions too though, and make sure you can "Correct" any vibrations etc.... if it's just the sound of the gas kicking on, and the igniting, and air/fan noise..... you can block all of that out with proper walls up to the ceiling.

You could always add acoustic treatments to the exterior of this wall too....

It could help with the sound from the opposite side, and help with any echoes or standing waves in the room from the action HT setup.

EDIT:

off topic, but I don't know that I've seen what you're running etc.... What projector are using?

I would say, whether or not it's "worth it" depends on the size of the current room etc....

For me, I am thinking of going great lengths because I could get a larger image, better seating, and MOST importantly, I could isolate my theater from the rest of the house..... it's currently over 4 of the bedrooms, and that leads me to clutch the remote and constantly turn up/down the volume for fear of waking anyone up, and because I can't hear the dialogue!

[Jeff Kleist]

off topic, but I don't know that I've seen what you're running etc.... What projector are using?

I would say, whether or not it's "worth it" depends on the size of the current room etc....

For me, I am thinking of going great lengths because I could get a larger image, better seating, and MOST importantly, I could isolate my theater from the rest of the house..... it's currently over 4 of the bedrooms, and that leads me to clutch the remote and constantly turn up/down the volume for fear of waking anyone up, and because I can't hear the dialogue!

Nothing yet. I've taken measurements for the range of projectors that I'd be buying a few years down the line when I actually do this though. Basically I'm looking at having this in place in 3-5 years, depending on financial fortunes I'm happy with my current setup, I'll be happy-er with FP

I have figured out that I'm probably going to end up screen-gooing the wall. I've seen several setups with it and have been very impressed, plus it costs less than a third of a screen.

The furnace makes a lot of noise cause it's got a big-ass fan in it, plain and simple It's not deafening, but certainly annoying. I could hit the cutoff while watching stuff, but I don't really want to do that, especially during the summer (central air)

[mattym]

Hi Jeff

Easy to cure if you have the space, but does it need to get air to it? If it does, you may find it harder. If you can enclose it fully, use dense plasterboards and a damper, such as Green Glue, between the boards, ideally you would want to build a stud wall around it with insulation in it. As someone else said, you can line the outside with acoustic treatment to help your room, but dont stick foam on it thinking it will deaden it, cos it wont..

How much space do you have, and can you seal it in totally?

[SoundFreak]

I did this for my basement. I was not even considering moving the boiler. It would have been nice but instead I built around it. The two key points you need to be aware of is that your boiler needs air. Enclosing it and insulating it will cut off the air (combustion air) and force it to work harder. It will be very bad for it basically.

Also, leave enough room on all sides for maintenence. I have a good size area that is unfinished, the doors to the finished space are undercut about 1" from the floor. Realistically I would have needed return registers in the walls from the boiler room to the finished but that would have allowed sound to escape. Rather, I put a dummy door in further away from the boiler, and used louvered bi-fold door.

all walls are insulated. I do not even have drywall on the boiler side yet but it dampens the sound greatly. I am considering adding two layers of drywall also. I have a feeling though one layer will be enough.

edit:
I almost forgot, make the doorway large enough to get the unit OUT and a new one in. (aka, avoid a 24" door )

[Jbald87]

I had a random thought about this at work last night when I saw a worker use Dyno mat (car sound deadener) on it. I would ask at HVAC guy about this but there are alot of types of Dynomat type things out there, I think the best Ive heard was called second skin.

But try putting this on the furnace

It's just an idea.