A carpenter told me once that insulation is not the answer. I have my master bedroom downstairs insulated & don't notice much difference. He said that it's the way the 2 x 6's are stacked unevenly apart in the wall, is what deadens the sound.

You may want to call some carpentry schools or something & see if anyone tells you the same thing. He said that it's like you place one 2 x 6 (or 2 x 4 , whichever your builder uses) in the wall at 10" apart from the next one, the next at 16", the next one at 9" apart etc. This gives it some strange effect where you don't hear the noise from the room as readily as you do when all the 2 x 6 are the typical 16" on center apart from eachother in the walls.

dabunch, insteresting. I'll look into that theory, but I think it's too late to implement as the garage walls are already built.

I did a small amount of research on that some time ago. Intially (forget who I asked) a sheet of lead was the answer! A vacuum was another response :) Yeah.

Since that time, what I learned was that construction methods, as well as special materials intended for soundproofing (like channeled strips and staggering pieces), can be used -- spacing things unevenly, for lack of the proper terms, as noted above, so that the vibrations are interrupted and can't travel directly forward. They lose their force that way or something and diminish en route :) Owens Corning has some products around this. I think insulation can be included, although it was a special type and believe they discontinued it at some point. They then recommended one of their higher rating insulations instead, with lots of fluff/air (don't compress insulation or it will lose its intended properties).

Another product is a noncombustible product called Homosote. It comes in sheet form about the thickness of drywall and is made for soundproofing purposes. It's just a lumber yard product, maybe special order.

That's about all I can remember right now :)

HTH!

PS We did the floor too.

Floors are a good move. Was this a costly product, Rogue?

Well, the reason for the gut was to move the doorway from the dining room (who designs a floor plan with a doorway to a bathroom in the dining room? - we bought it that way) to around the corner off the mud room. We had to move plumbing and wiring, so that part was a bit spendy, but the insulation was NOT expensive. We paid under $100 (contractor prices)for all we needed. It'roughly an 7'x 7'bath.

Sounds very doable! Thanks :)

Duh - I read "was this a costly PROJECT" when what you asked about was the cost of the PRODUCT, sorry for the other boring details!

I worked at Boeing and we had a real sound-proof room in one of the labs. It had thick dark grey foam all over the walls that reminded me of tough large egg crate mattress pads. I suspect cats would have a heyday with something like that, though.

Generally to sound dampen, like in a home theater, you want lots of fabrics, like wall to wall on the floor (no not good for a garage) and hanging rugs or quilts on the walls, or bookcases filled with books. Think of soft surfaces that will absorb sound waves and "confuse" them rather than hard surfaces that bounce them around. They do make an interlocking rubber type flooring for garages. It's beautiful, but I think expensive. My dad put stick down vinyl tiles in his garage... with a "path" that my mom was to follow with her tires when parking the car. lol

Sound can be funny. I used to be an entertainer and I'd get my equipment all set up. Then I'd come in one night and turn on my amps and suddenly get feedback. Oops! I'd scramble to turn the amps off before they blew the speakers out, not to mention blowing the customers out. I learned to look around and sometimes it was something like they'd moved a jukebox or somehow rearranged something in the room that changed all the sound dynamics. Then I'd have to fiddle with the setup all over again.

Good luck and please let us know what you do and how it works for you!

I've read somewhere that shredded blue jean material is a great insulation to use. I have plenty of old blue jeans that don't fit me anymore and probably never will (and if they ever do they'll be out of style by then, given my recent holiday eating patterns!) and you're welcome to them, but I think it's actually sold shredded for this specific purpose :-)

Since my new powder room backs up to the living room and I'm also concerned about energy efficiency, I've prioritized insulation for my remodel. My contractor just told me the other day that he's installing plywood sheets over the 2x6 framing and insulation but under the drywall, and then uses 5/8" drywall, for better insulation.

brutuses
First you need to identify what type of sounds you are trying to deaden - and what the purpose of the room is
ie - Recording Studio, Woodworking shop, home theatre etc..

Differing types of sounds require different types of materials/applications - i.e. foot fall in an upstairs is one of the more difficult to deaden vs. voices

Not a pro here by any stretch but I did research this very issue during our remodel when we lost a plaster ceiling in the living room which is the largest room in the house. Also, we finished 1/2 the basement which has been spec'd for future home theatre use.

Bro in law is a master carpenter & he re-built many of the recording studios for SONY (I believe they are now defunct fr. recording) In that application - what works best is layers of sheetrock, in various thickness, staggering seams additionally inside the wall insulation -
Mineral Wool, brand name Roxul - is a product that has been used for yrs as a firestopping insulation - fairly recently avail in Bat form (just like the pink stuff) easy to apply

Mass loaded vinyl - is a 1/8" thick rolled vinyl -like the flooring and is good for floor application. It's heavy! - I had my carpenter use it on the ceiling of our basement, after applying Roxul btwn the joists - I thought he might walk off the job! heavy & difficult to use overhead - after the MLV he had to put up a grid & apply acoustical ceiling tile - which really is homosote (product mentioned above) -
Homosote is another good choice - but if cat potty area is an issue this would not be adviseable as it will wick in moisture -

Here's our application
LR ceiling - J- channel w/acoustical tape applied to joists- This step is critical as sheetrock direct to joists will allow/act as a sound traveler if you will, Roxul btwn the joists, 5/8" sheet rock applied to J-channel. There are other methods, green glues, acoustical sheetrock etc - We choose this route - because it is cost effective, products were readily available and easy to apply. IT has worked remarkably well

Basement
- as stated - Roxul, MLV, acoustical tile, Roxul is also on an interior wall btwn utility side of basement & finished side.
- A thick Exterior door is installed btwn utility/finished side - with rubber gasket around bottom -

Hope this has helped - I can't stress enough about determining 1st what you are trying to deaden - In a garage you will have doors, windows, ? ceiling or is it exposed rafters - so if you just do a little -it may be for naught as sound has too many other routes to travel -too many leaks - 1/2" sheetrocked homes are an acoustical nightmare -

Here is a sight that is extremely helpful - I purchased some products from them for our projects folks there will take the time to help find right product for your application
http://www.soundproofing.org/

This may help too
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33362&highlight=soundproofing

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for all your advice and information providied. You've given me lots of options to investigate.

I've investigated a few things and think I will consider the 1/8" vinyl material for the walls. I wrote a company that sells it and asked for a price quote. Along with the insulation we think this will help in the walls. The floor will be stained concrete so there are no options for it. We have to think more about the ceiling and I'm not sure how much we can do with it since it's a very pitched roof. Most probabably will just have thick insulation up there.

The noise we are trying to help muffle is that of a train. Unfortunately our new house is in close proximity to train tracks. We have sprayed insulation in the house and it has all but, done away with the train noise. We really can't afford to have the entire garage insulated with the spray foam so we were looking for less expensive alternatives.

All of you have given me tons of leads and I appreciate it. Like all the new things I'm discovering in my new house, you'll be a party to the outcome of this also!! Lucky you. LOL

We had a sound booth built for DH's studio last year and for true 'sound proofing' you need to do as jejvtr described. The booth required a double stud wall with j-channels used to attach drywall to studs, a layer of a rubber type material (similar to the vinyl jejvtr used) and heavy bats of insulation (what rogue suggested) in between the studs.

Anything blown into the walls will be good for insulation, and will help a little in noise, but it won't be enough to deaden the sound of a nearby train.
Adding another stud wall using some of the products mentioned would probably be the best route, but it probably won't cost less than using spray foam.