How to Build Rolling Sound Baffle Walls for Acoustic Insulation

Hey guys, today we’re going to tackle a subject you wouldn’t normally even think about related to our show production. But that’s OK, because we think about it all the time! And that is, how to get the best sound possible to go along with our video.

Since we’ve got a lot of production space, that means a lot of tall, flat walls. And those things like to echo. Think – high school gym.

So, in order to cut down on the echo and give us a professional studio recording, we’re in the process of building several mobile sound baffle walls that we can put wherever we want, especially keeping them as close to our production as humanly possible!

So to start with, let me show you the finished prototype, and then we’re going to back into exactly how it was built so you can make them too if the need ever arises. This is a 4’ wide x 6.5’ high rolling wall, covered in sound proofing. But to better understand how and why we’re doing this, I’m going to give you a little demonstration using this $71 Monoprice sound isolation shield.

If you need to do some audio recording, even in a bedroom of a house, this little Monoprice shield is the bare minimum you should consider. So let’s take a listen.

Right now, I’m saying a bunch of stuff without the sound isolation shield in front of me, so we can get a feel for the baseline of how the audio sounds without any dampening.

And now, I’m saying a bunch of stuff with the sound isolation shield in front of me, so we can get a feel for how the audio sounds with dampening.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of why we essentially want to build giant versions of those shields. It’s all about improving the quality as much as possible. So let’s talk about how it’s actually done.

Now, as we go along, I’m going to be using various tools and materials, but here’s the complete list of exactly what you’ll need. The whole thing can be built for around $200 if you stick to my script here.

2×6 boards
¾” plywood sheet(s)
Portable router
Router table
¾” Square Router bit
Wood screws
Heavy duty non-marking wheels
Spray primer
Black spray paint
Soundtrax Sound Baffling
Sure-Stik Adhesive

First of all, we built a box frame out of 2×6’s which is designed to hold a nice, flat piece of plywood. There are several ways one might go about this, but I choose the simplest, sturdiest and most accurate method. Which also requires a little more expertise and hardware to pull off.

I started off by using a portable router, mounted on a router table, to create a ¾” groove right down the center of all of the 2×6’s. Once the boards were routed, I used a table saw to cut 45 degree angles for each of the corners in order to fit them together like a window frame.

I used the highest quality ¾” thick plywood sheet that Lowe’s stocked, which cost about $55 each. I did it because these are the straightest, strongest boards they have, which will ensure they aren’t warped while trying to fit them into a tightly routed straight line, and also make them sturdy for long term durability.

Now, we didn’t want the walls to be over 8’ high, because we need them to roll through doorways, so I had them ripped down to 6’ tall. You can either have the hardware store do that on their panel saw, which I highly suggest, OR you can get one of these special edge guides for under $100 that will allow you to convert a hand circular saw into a device that will easily cut a straight line for you across any piece of plywood.

Once the board was cut, I began test fitting all of the routed outer supports around it. In places you might need to use a rubber mallet or hammer to tap it onto the edge of the panel, but once it’s on there you can go ahead and use nice wood screws to anchor it in place.

After attaching all of the routed edges around the panel, I turned my attention to the feet. Essentially, I just needed to again pay attention to the width of a standard doorway so we could ensure it would roll from room to room, and that is how wide the feet became. A couple of 45 degree cuts rounded out the support, and with 3” wood screws the entire structure became extremely rigid.

Back to the story. After the legs were assembled you could stand it up and kind of see where this was going. But at this point it was so heavy you wouldn’t want to! So next I went to Northern Tool and bought a bunch of heavy duty non-marking wheels for about $10 each.

I placed the wheels where I wanted them on each of the support feet, and marked holes to drill all the way through the wood so I could bolt the wheels on. I used washers and lock nuts to make sure they never get loose.

When the stands were officially mobile I decided to paint them black. I mean, if you’re going to go to all this trouble to build them professionally, they might as well look nice! So at this point, I Dexterized the interior of our trailer and moved the wall in to spray paint it black with a specialty primer + paint so I would only need a couple of quick coats.

Now, I only painted the outside areas that were not going to be covered with foam! Because there was no reason to waste paint where the foam was going. Also, if you do this, remember to wrap the wheels so you don’t paint them, or especially the tires.

Once the frame was black it was time to adhere the special soundproofing. For this, I ordered SoundTrax sound baffling for about $70, and Sure-Stik wallcovering adhesive, because it takes a special thick glue to fill in the holes on the foam and make it permanently stick to a smooth surface.

At this point, I rolled on the glue nice and thick and began inserting the panels. As I got to the edges I had to hand trim them to get the last panels to fit, but it was just a couple inches off the top of each. Use a sharp pocket knife and just be careful.

So, that’s how I did it! The total cost was under $200 for all top of the line parts. Wheels, wood, glue and baffles.

So that’s it for today’s little project! If you’ve got another project in mind that you’d like to see me tackle and explain just drop a comment below or tweet me and I’ll add it to the list! And if you found this little tutorial helpful please give the video a thumbs up and share it around on the Interwebs.

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