Need help chosing the right sound proof door... (1 Viewer)

[John Prator]

I need some help from you guys out there. I am having a wall built to close off the gameroom(for new HT) and I need to choose a door. I went to Lowes yesterday and just ended up more confused. What is the best door, a solid pine door? A steel door filled with foam? I'm lost man. I liked the idea of an exteriour door because it has the molding with weather seal all the way around the door on the frame, seems that would really help seal in the sound but it seems most exteriour doors are metal/foam filled. Should I just buy a solid door and have the contractor build a frame all the way around the door, like an exteriour door? Lowes carrys a door called ProCore, has anyone heard of this door? I remember someone on here mentioned a door called "Safe and Sound" or something similar but can't find info on it. I sure could use some advice on this matter. Thanks for your advice.
Lost in a sea of doors,
John

 

[Ed O'Neill]

John,

Procore and safe and sound are virtually the same door, just made by diffrent manufactures. From what I understand the inside was developed in conjuction with owen's corning. Both doors supposedly have the same inside and are made of the same outside material, the outside material slips my mind at the moment.

I have the one from Lowes I think it does a good job. Only downfall is it didn't come in "pine look" only oak or white.

Signed
ED

 

[John Prator]

Hi Ed,
Thanks for the info. Did you buy the door prehung? My contractor says the problem If I buy a prehung door is that we are double sheetrocking and the frame will be too small because of the extra 5/8" sheetrock. Not sure what to do there, what did you do?
Thank you,
John

 

[DelRay]

The extra 5/8 shouldn't be a problem. Just rip some 5/8 jamb extensions and nail them on the jamb. Then just trim it out

 

[ChrisWiggles]

You need a heavy, sealed door.

F Alton Everest had a good DIY idea with a hollow core door filled with sand, with refrigerator magnets all the way around it to seal it shut. Not sure if you're going that far, but that would be a good way to go for a DIY cheap door instead of a very expensive sealed door structure from an acoustics company.

 

[Jason D.]

I purchased my door from 84 Lumber. They carry a door called "Permacore" and you can have it custom made with an exterior prehung door frame and I got a 6 5/8" jam since I am doing a staggered stud wall...this way you get a proper threshold to match the door. Looks great and was only $210 plus tax. You can search 84 Lumber's website and see if they are in your area. Good luck.

-Jason

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

You’re on the right track, John. A sealed door will significantly help soundproofing. However, you have to keep in mind that once you install a sealed door your A/C ventilation system will no longer work. You’ll have to have a second air duct in the ceiling for a return.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Ed O'Neill]

John

I am glad you mentioned you situation, because I had a similar situation. My situation was my house is old and the walls were actually TRUE 2x3 construction with lathe and horsehair plasters. It was a remodeled a bedroom into a hometheater and I used 5/8 blue board on the inside and 1/2 on the other room(lobby) .

Well after buying the pre-hung door I realized it was actually too wide (1/4 to 1/2)so I put it on a table saw and ripped it down.

The problem doesn't end there, after ripping it down I realized that the door frame was not solid wood it was venereed..... 1/8th" pine and behind the veneer which was now exposed was finger jointed pine and of course I was staining my wood work not painting. So I had to go buy new door jambs and I noticed that is exactly what they sold in the store.

To solve the problem I cut the excess out of the middle of the boards nailed it to the studs and covered the seem up with the door stop.

My suggestion... Don't buy it prehung !

Signed
ED

 

[Ian_J]

I used solid-core pre-hung doors in my basement HT. Total cost for three doors at Lowe's was just over $300.00 (36", 30", and 24"). My concern was not in completely eliminating sound (after all, my HT is in the basement). When you install the door be sure to use expandable foam insulation on the inside of the jam (to eliminate sound from escaping around the door). Finally, buy weather-stripping and a door sweep for next to nothing at Lowe's ($20. total). Make sure the door closes evenly and compresses the weather-stripping seal. You shouldn't have to shove on it to get it closed but it should be firm when closed. You can also custom order the depth of the door jam. I used staggered stud walls with 5/8 inch drywall on either side. A 6" jam worked perfectly.

So, consider just how soundproof you want the room before you spend lots of money on an insulated steel door.

Good Luck!
Ian

 

[DelRay]

Oops, sorry about my post. I thought you had to add 5/8" not rip 5/8". In order to save money, door manufactures really cut corners. You would think that the jamb would cost more to glue all the pieces together and then veneer it. I hate finger jointed material also Ed.

 

[John Prator]

Man, tons of great info guys!! Thank you. I had kind of decided to just buy an exterior door but then Wayne offered up a piece of advice that I hadn't even thought of.......if I used such a door my a/c will no longer work properly!!:frowning: Geez, if it's not one thing it's another. Thanks for tipping me off on that one before I made a painful mistake Wayne! So, now I'm still not sure what to do. If I just install a vent that vents into the attic will the a/c then work correctly? Once again, thank you all for your help!
Sincerely,
John

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

John,

What you mentioned in your PM to me – venting into the hallway – would indeed transfer a certain amount of sound. However, if you used that flexible, insulated duct material you see in houses this day, and made it a long, convoluted path (i.e., several of bends) you might be okay. I’m hesitant to say “probably okay” because I’ve never actually done this, but any sound passage should be significantly reduced. If it’s at least as low as what’s coming through the wall anyway (and you will have some, unless you’re going with a staggered-stud or double-walled room), then mission accomplished.

The best thing would be for the return duct to tie into the A/C unit’s main air return. But, this would be after the air filter, so there would have to be a separate filter for this run, either in the room or just in front of the unit (which will probably not be conveniently accessed.

This is really a job for an A/C guy. I can tell you what has to be done, but I have no idea how to actually do it. Sorry. :frowning:

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[John Prator]

Hi Wayne,
Thanks for all your help(and everyone else's also!). I am going to go ahead with the exterior door and then get an a/c guy to install a return a little while later on. I am going to check on the "vent into the hallway" thing though as I could do that myself. Hope this all works out. Thanks again!
John

 

[Eddie L]

Premdoor makes the "Safe & Sound" Door.
Orepac is the distributor for our local HD
my 2' 8" prehung was about $130.
$10 more to get here to Alaska
you can get wider jambs with the door
just tell them what you want
cost? don't know
or like said above, just add whatever thickness you already have to a standard size jamb.
No biggie, if staining just match the wood, if painting doesn't matter
I've done it both ways
Ed