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How to Use a Lead Sheet for Soundproofing

Lead sheeting is an effective way to soundproof a home or professional recording studio. Although lead sheeting will not improve audio quality within your studio, it will soundproof a room. A very thin piece of lead sheeting soundproofs your studio as effectively as a far thicker sheet of plywood. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that although lead sheeting provides an impenetrable barrier that prevents sound waves from entering or leaving the room, you will also need a porous material on either side of the lead sheeting to absorb the blocked sound waves.

Things You'll Need

  • Lead sheeting
  • Foam
  • Plasterboard
  • Universal bonding compound
  • Tape measure
  • Paint roller
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a tape measure to measure the height and length of the walls in your studio. The most important walls to soundproof are any internal walls linking the studio to other rooms.

    • 2

      Buy enough lead sheeting and plasterboard to cover the walls you want to soundproof. For this purpose, 4mm-thick lead sheeting and 1/2-inch-thick plasterboard are ample. You will need to buy enough foam padding to cover twice the amount of wall space you intend to cover, as both sides of the lead sheeting need foam padding.

    • 3

      Use the universal bonding compound (UBC) to attach foam padding to both sides of the lead sheeting. Leave it to dry. You now have your soundproofing insulation.

    • 4

      Coat one side of your triple-layered insulation sheet in UBC, using a paint roller. Hold the insulation flat against the wall you are soundproofing until it begins to bind, then leave it to dry. Repeat this process for all the other walls in the studio you want to soundproof.

    • 5

      Roll UBC over the underside of a sheet of plasterboard and hold it flat against the exposed side of your insulation sheet. Again, press and hold the plasterboard until it begins to bind and then leave to dry. Repeat with further sheets of plasterboard along the entirety of your studio walls.

Recording Music

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