ceiling tile help

**PrimeMover** · **05-31-09, 11:42 PM**

My dedicated HT has a drop ceiling (it is roughly 12 X 24 x 8) and I am looking for suitable materials for the ceiling tiles. I was looking at doing the whole ceiling in black Acoustaboard ( I paid a donation to the forum but I guess it hasn't gone through yet, it won't let my post the link to the Acoustaboard specs. - basically the same as OC 703 ) but am wondering if that will be too much absorption. I have Owens Corning Select Sound Black Acoustic Board half way up the side walls and full height behind the audio transparent screen. I also plan on adding corner bass traps in all 4 corners.

Thanks!

**hjones4841** · **06-01-09, 05:12 AM**

My thread "Klipschorns and Room Treatments" discusses what I did with my drop ceiling earlier this year. I ended up with ordinary "acoustic" tiles from Lowes, but covered them with black posterboard, then wrapped the tiles with black burlap (wanted a black out ceiling since I have a front projector).

The idea for putting the posterboard on top of the tiles came from Bryan Pape of GIK. It keeps the tiles from absorbing the high freqs. He said that heavy paper would work also - tried that but could not get it to glue to the tiles without a lot of bubbles.

Anyway, I put R30 insulation above all the tiles to enhance bass absorption, making the ceiling one big bass trap. I already had several bass traps in the room, but doing the ceiling this way made a big improvement in the REW waterfall plots.

**bpape** · **06-01-09, 07:02 AM**

Welcome Jon

You can post links after you have 5 posts.

Bryan

**PrimeMover** · **06-01-09, 01:17 PM**

HJones,

I enjoyed your other thread, pretty hardcore compared to me

Do you think painting the white tiles, filling in all the little holes, will have a similar effect to the posterboard? I too have a front projector.

**tonyvdb** · **06-01-09, 02:18 PM**

Quote:

PrimeMover wrote:

HJones,
Do you think painting the white tiles, filling in all the little holes, will have a similar effect to the posterboard?

By painting ceiling tiles you reduce substantially the amount of acoustic absorption the ceiling tile will do so I dont recommend it.

**bpape** · **06-01-09, 02:28 PM**

That's kind of the idea Tony. He wants to reduce the HF absorption. Bass absorption won't change.

That said, paint will not reach as far down into the midrange at stopping absorption as something like card stock.

Bryan

**tonyvdb** · **06-01-09, 02:40 PM**

Opps, sorry. I guess I should read more of the post before replying

**bpape** · **06-01-09, 05:04 PM**

LOL - I've done the same thing before.

99% of the time, your answer and warning are exactly correct.

Bryan

**hjones4841** · **06-02-09, 05:29 AM**

Quote:

PrimeMover wrote:

HJones,

I enjoyed your other thread, pretty hardcore compared to me

It was an adventure to be sure. I started trapping at the recommendation of a friend in town and especially after a phone call from bpape. Never would I have imagined the difference it made in the system's sound.

If you do the posterboard on the tiles, try something besides the spray-on adhesive. In addition to being expensive, the burlap is coming loose on a couple of my tiles already. The spray-on stuff is quick to use, but some type of roll-on contact adhesive likely would perform better long term.

Also note that wrapping the edges of the tiles with burlap makes it very hard to put the tiles in the grid (and, of course, taking them out in the future.)

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