Can you tame my echo?

Early B.

I have a patio (23' x 11.5') that used to be screened in, until today. I had windows installed all the way around along with an exterior door. The problem is that there's a very strong echo in the room. The ceiling is slanted -- from about 7 feet to about 13 feet. The floor is made of slate and there's no furniture in the room yet. We are thinking of adding patio furniture at some point.

I'm looking for an inexpensive way to minimize the echo. Any ideas?

Thanks.

VR3

Heavy curtains on ALL of the windows is the first thing that comes to mind...

nadams

Furniture should take care of most of that. Maybe some nice carpet wall hangings for the house wall....

Frank Z

Take a look at pages 26 and 27 of the Polk Audio Home Theater Handbook. You might find some more info to help with the room.

scottnbnj

Originally posted by Frank Z
Take a look at pages 26 and 27 of the...

thanks for the link, it's a good one.

eb, beyond padded furniture and the rest that's already mentioned, how's your ceiling finished? you might think about some traps up there or up high on the wall it reflects towards. here's another good link:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

)

Early B.

eb, beyond padded furniture and the rest that's already mentioned, how's your ceiling finished?

It's not finished at all. It's a patio.
FWIW, there won't be any music or HT going on in that room.

The echo is quite significant, like talking in a canyon. Furniture and blinds will help a little, but the sloped ceiling, slate flooring, and lack of insulation may be the biggest contributing factors.

I was wondering if insulating the ceiling would make a tremendous difference. ???

Frank Z

Insulation alone will help, unless you cover it with another reflective surface(drywall, plywood, paneling, etc.). You might want to consider Acoustical Tiles like those used in drop ceilings.

You're going to have to add something or else your stuck with a bunch of highly reflective surfaces. The glass is the biggest problem. An empty patio is going to echo, same as an empty house with wood floors.

I don't want to seem rude, but if it's a porch and there's no plans for music.....Does it really matter that much?

Early B.

I don't want to seem rude, but if it's a porch and there's no plans for music.....Does it really matter that much?

Yeah, it matters. The room is to be used as a seating area for guests and a place for their children to run around without destroying the whole freakin' house. The patio adjoins the den, kitchen and breakfast area, so when people are talking in the patio room, even at moderate levels, the echo allows them to be heard in all of those rooms.

I'll order some blinds quickly. Damn, I'll need 40 feet of 'em. Can't do curtains 'cause of the WAF.

madmax

You could put Sonex foam panels on the ceiling. I wouldn't use everyday cheap foam because of the fire hazard.
madmax

Frank Z

I see.

scottnbnj

will damping rafters make a difference? yes. more than the loss of 3 walls of infinate baffle by adding windows? probably not. but if blinds, padded furniture and throw rugs aren't enough i doubt any other single method will do more to just dampen reflections in the patio area, though that's not your only problem.

the ceiling should give more bang for the buck for cutting the echo because the airspace behind the insulation will multiply the damping effect and work to a lower frequency than the same thickness of insulation applied directly to the wall that adjoins the house.

but, while it might dampen the reflections in the patio itself more than comparable damping on the adjoining wall, it still might not lower transmition into the house enough.

so, if you treated the adjoining wall (don't know if it's insulated) and used an insulated door (if it's not already), you might end up with lower transmition even if it did less to dampen the patio area itself.

if you're going to try fabric covered rigid fiberglass between the rafters mentioned in the ethan link, from a healthy building perspective, don't block airflow from the bottom to the top of the rafter bays between the insulation and roof sheathing.

this link will give you a quick and dirty idea of frequencies that given insulation thicknesses absorb down to:

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/Coefficient%20Chart.htm

but, keep in mind it doesn't address the multiplying effect of airspace behind, though i think the ethan link goes into that a bit.

)

Early B.

Thanks for all the suggestions, fellas. I'll do my homework by reading the links posted here and come up with some viable options.