Monday, July 28, 2014

Acoustic Treatment and Autism?

Let's talk acoustic treatment and safety around young kids. I'm in a different situation than most, in that I've got 16 year old twin girls in my home who have autism. They don't understand hazards in their environment, or what is not ok to put in their mouths. They require 24/7 supervision, which is why I run my remote mixing operation out of a spare bedroom. It enables me to work in my spare time while taking care of them.
When I had my separate recording facility, I had fiberglass panels on the walls. One day, one of my curious kiddos jabbed a drum stick through a bunch of them when my back was turned, which left fiberglass exposed for them to touch. This tells me that fiberglass on the walls in their home is a HUGE no-can-do.
So I started looking. I found a company called "Bonded Logic", who makes acoustical treatment out of recycled denim. It's safe to touch, which is good, and it's tough as nails. It's apparently 33% more absorbent than fiberglass, and they sell it at the hardware store down the street. They have regular bats of insulation that you can put in your walls, with R13 being 3.5" ad R19 being 5.5". They also sell boxes with 6 pre-cut single square foot panels that are 1" thick, which I found for about $20-box at Menards near me.
I got 8 boxes of the pre-cut panels, and they worked quite well. They are only 1" thick, but they are more absorbent than fiberglass so that makes up for it slightly. I'm planning on buying a bat of R19 to make some bass traps soon. This stuff is kinda hard to cut, so I have to find someone near me with a table saw, but for better absorption in a safer material it's more than worth it for me.
Anyway, I wanted to share. This stuff is comparable in price to other insulation products used for acoustic treatment, but safe to touch with zero itch factor. May be what you're looking for.

Learn more at http://bondedlogic.com - If you have a non-typical situation, like me, this may be exactly what you're looking for! Check the spec sheet below made by Torch Lucent to see how it stacks up against fiberglass. Click it to enlarge it.

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