Dumb question on covering holes + sound absorbing

[klinemj]

When I took down the projector screen that will be replaced Monday with a new 86" wall mount TV, I was reminded I'd cut a hole in the drywall to make it easy to run some wires down through the wall and around a pipe for various needs. While I could buy some drywall and patch the hole, it would be a lot of effort, and it's also nice having the opening in case I need to run more wires.

Also, I've been worried that I might have some added odd reflections from the back wall to the back of the TV that I've not had before.

So, I thought...what if I made some sound absorbing panels and hung them on the wall covering the hole. This would place 1 panel near each edge of the TV. If I make each one 2' wide by 6' tall, they will cover the hole and kind of "frame" the TV. I'm thinking of using these - mounted on some thin (~1/4" thick) material I can hang on the wall.

Thoughts on the approach and this material below as the panels?

-->CLICK HERE<--

Other options? Boomzilla

EDIT: I DO NOT WANT TO PATCH THE HOLE. I DON'T NEED ADVICE ON HOW TO PATCH A HOLE. READ ABOVE WHAT I WANT ADVICE FOR. IF YOU HAVE INPUT, PLEASE PROVIDE IT.

Mark

[klinemj]

FYI, here is a picture of the wall and hole. The tape on the wall is where the edge of the TV will be. The panels would extend about a foot to the right and the left of the tape from the ceiling down 6'.

Thoughts?



Mark

[daveczski65]

You can use blackout/sound absorbed curtains too.

Amazon has some great ones.

[Boomzilla]

You DO want to seal the hole before covering it. Just cut a sheetrock rectangle of the same size & hang it in place with some metal lath. Then mud over the whole thing. You need not paint if you're to cover it, but as is, it's a chimney to wick away heat.

[klinemj]

Nov 28, 2020 20:55:37 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

You DO want to seal the hole before covering it. Just cut a sheetrock rectangle of the same size & hang it in place with some metal lath. Then mud over the whole thing. You need not paint if you're to cover it, but as is, it's a chimney to wick away heat.

It won't be a problem with heat. This is in the basement, and above it is my living room. Behind the hole is ~10" of insulation and a 10" thick poured concrete wall. Beyond that 10" thick concrete is a ~20" thick bed of pea gravel on top of which a 10' * 13' mud room is built. (And the living room walls are 6" thick, fully insulated also.)

So...heat aside...thoughts on the types of panels I am thinking of using?

Mark

[widespreadpanic]

You will eventually have to patch that hole. The studs should be set at 16” on center. This means you will need to widen that hole so that the patch piece of sheet rock will break, line up in the middle, on each stud, This will be 16” wide, if the carpenters did not do a mediocre job. The sheet rock should be 5/8” thick so make sure you get the right stuff. You will need 1 1/4” sheet rock screws, a sheet rock bit, some sheet rock mud, a drywall trowel to fill the seams and cover the screws and a sanding block. The drywall bit puts a dimple into the drywall so that the screw is sitting just below the surface of the drywall. You will also need sandpaper once the drywall mud has dried to sand it all smooth with the depth of the rest of your wall. Finally you will have to paint the repair. Ha. Hope it is not a rental.

[klinemj]

Nov 28, 2020 21:44:58 GMT -5 widespreadpanic said:

You will eventually have to patch that hole. The studs should be set at 16” on center. This means you will need to widen that hole so that the patch piece of sheet rock will break, line up in the middle, on each stud, This will be 16” wide, if the carpenters did not do a mediocre job. The sheet rock should be 5/8” thick so make sure you get the right stuff. You will need 1 1/4” sheet rock screws, a sheet rock bit, some sheet rock mud, a drywall trowel to fill the seams and cover the screws and a sanding block. The drywall bit puts a dimple into the drywall so that the screw is sitting just below the surface of the drywall. You will also need sandpaper once the drywall mud has dried to sand it all smooth with the depth of the rest of your wall. Finally you will have to paint the repair. Ha. Hope it is not a rental.

So - thanks for the advice on the hole, but...I know how to fix holes in drywall. And, I know precisely where the studs are. The "carpenters" didn't do "a mediocre job". I framed the whole basement. I drywalled it. I wired it. I plumbed and tiled the bathroom that's just to the right of this. I built houses with my Dad and Grandfather and worked construction in the summers when I was in high school, and drywall work was one of my jobs. Not to brag, but I am so good at it - that no sanding is needed. I learned mudding from a master.

I know everything I need to know to fix the hole. I don't want to for the reasons I stated originally - I cut the hole for that purpose. And, I own the house.

So...I don't mean that to sound snarky, but I really don't need advice on how to patch the hole.

Any advice on what I asked advice for?

Mark

[widespreadpanic]

Nov 28, 2020 21:59:35 GMT -5 klinemj said:

Nov 28, 2020 21:44:58 GMT -5 widespreadpanic said:

You will eventually have to patch that hole. The studs should be set at 16” on center. This means you will need to widen that hole so that the patch piece of sheet rock will break, line up in the middle, on each stud, This will be 16” wide, if the carpenters did not do a mediocre job. The sheet rock should be 5/8” thick so make sure you get the right stuff. You will need 1 1/4” sheet rock screws, a sheet rock bit, some sheet rock mud, a drywall trowel to fill the seams and cover the screws and a sanding block. The drywall bit puts a dimple into the drywall so that the screw is sitting just below the surface of the drywall. You will also need sandpaper once the drywall mud has dried to sand it all smooth with the depth of the rest of your wall. Finally you will have to paint the repair. Ha. Hope it is not a rental.

So - thanks for the advice on the hole, but...I know how to fix holes in drywall. And, I know precisely where the studs are. The "carpenters" didn't do "a mediocre job". I framed the whole basement. I drywalled it. I wired it. I plumbed and tiled the bathroom that's just to the right of this. I built houses with my Dad and Grandfather and worked construction in the summers when I was in high school, and drywall work was one of my jobs. Not to brag, but I am so good at it - that no sanding is needed. I learned mudding from a master.

I know everything I need to know to fix the hole. I don't want to for the reasons I stated originally - I cut the hole for that purpose. And, I own the house.

So...I don't mean that to sound snarky, but I really don't need advice on how to patch the hole.

Any advice on what I asked advice for?

Mark

I do not mean to sound snarky but if I could read minds I would be playing poker for a living. Ha. I have no advice on panels.

[klinemj]

widespreadpanic - well, I just assumed since I asked for advice on panels and specifically said I wanted to leave the hole open, people would stick to the topic. But, thanks for trying.

If the day comes I do sell the house, I will inform the buyer of the hole and offer to fix it it they want. They can see examples of my work through the basement. When I sold my last house, I had remodeled the whole house. The inspector required a replacement of the incoming electrical line which required drywall work. The inspector had been admiring the great drywall work I had done (custom arched openings, a built-in china cabinet, etc.), and when I offered to do the drywall patch after the electrical work was done - the inspector told the buyer they should have me do it because they would not get someone else to do it better for any price. So, I am confident in that (and I do smile when people complain about "all that dust" from sanding drywall...true craftsmen don't need to sand. At least, that's what my Dad and Grandpa instilled in me.)

Mark

[dust770]

Will you be using the tv speakers? Do they aim out the back of the tv? If so I think it could help to put acoustic panels behind the tv, but it may also deaden (absorb) the sound enough that the tv speakers won't be able to go loud enough to hear well.

If your using separate speakers I don't expect they will give you enough of a result audio wise to justify putting them in. They look like they will be high enough on the wall that they will be well above the vocal area of the base layer. Most people tend to hang their panels way too high like they are a picture, but in reality they should be down around the tweeter of your speakers as that's the area we try to tame when hanging them. Also the front wall is really the last place to treat acoustically unless you have sbir issues with your front speakers and even then the panels go directly behind the affected speaker and not up high. If your concerned with reflections from your back wall adversely interacting with the tv, then you would treat them on the back wall. Which is the first place to treat really. Tame those reflections there so they have little to no energy once they hit your tv. Particularly if your seating position is 6 ft or less from your back wall.

Now as far as visually, I like what your suggesting and think it would look cool to have them framed around the tv. And its is a good way to hide the hole while leaving it accessible for the future.

[widespreadpanic]

Nov 28, 2020 22:21:46 GMT -5 klinemj said:

widespreadpanic - well, I just assumed since I asked for advice on panels and specifically said I wanted to leave the hole open, people would stick to the topic. But, thanks for trying.

If the day comes I do sell the house, I will inform the buyer of the hole and offer to fix it it they want. They can see examples of my work through the basement. When I sold my last house, I had remodeled the whole house. The inspector required a replacement of the incoming electrical line which required drywall work. The inspector had been admiring the great drywall work I had done (custom arched openings, a built-in china cabinet, etc.), and when I offered to do the drywall patch after the electrical work was done - the inspector told the buyer they should have me do it because they would not get someone else to do it better for any price. So, I am confident in that (and I do smile when people complain about "all that dust" from sanding drywall...true craftsmen don't need to sand. At least, that's what my Dad and Grandpa instilled in me.)

Mark

I was not no trying to get you worked up and you do not have to prove anything to me about what you are capable of, sir.

[klinemj]

One other thing I didn't mention in my OP...I want whatever I use to cover the hole to be fairly thin. It needs to be at least partially behind the TV to cover the hole, and with the wall-mount I have - I can't have it several inches thick.

That is one reason I like the panels I found in my link in the OP. They are 0.4" thick, and if I mount them on 1/4-1/2" thick material, they cover the hole but don't require the TV to be far from the wall.

And, to be clear - I am not needing a huge amount of sound results from this. Priority is covering the holes in an aesthetically nice way. My room is pretty dead from an echo point of view.

Mark

[klinemj]

Nov 28, 2020 22:49:07 GMT -5 dust770 said:

Will you be using the tv speakers? Do they aim out the back of the tv? If so I think it could help to put acoustic panels behind the tv, but it may also deaden (absorb) the sound enough that the tv speakers won't be able to go loud enough to hear well.

If your using separate speakers I don't expect they will give you enough of a result audio wise to justify putting them in. They look like they will be high enough on the wall that they will be well above the vocal area of the base layer. Most people tend to hang their panels way too high like they are a picture, but in reality they should be down around the tweeter of your speakers as that's the area we try to tame when hanging them. Also the front wall is really the last place to treat acoustically unless you have sbir issues with your front speakers and even then the panels go directly behind the affected speaker and not up high. If your concerned with reflections from your back wall adversely interacting with the tv, then you would treat them on the back wall. Which is the first place to treat really. Tame those reflections there so they have little to no energy once they hit your tv. Particularly if your seating position is 6 ft or less from your back wall.

Now as far as visually, I like what your suggesting and think it would look cool to have them framed around the tv. And its is a good way to hide the hole while leaving it accessible for the future.

I will not be using the TV speakers. And, per my most recent comment - less concerned with audio impact. More concerned with easy way to aesthetically cover the hole while leaving access where I might need it again in the future.

Mark

[klinemj]

Nov 28, 2020 22:51:02 GMT -5 widespreadpanic said:

Nov 28, 2020 22:21:46 GMT -5 klinemj said:

widespreadpanic - well, I just assumed since I asked for advice on panels and specifically said I wanted to leave the hole open, people would stick to the topic. But, thanks for trying.

If the day comes I do sell the house, I will inform the buyer of the hole and offer to fix it it they want. They can see examples of my work through the basement. When I sold my last house, I had remodeled the whole house. The inspector required a replacement of the incoming electrical line which required drywall work. The inspector had been admiring the great drywall work I had done (custom arched openings, a built-in china cabinet, etc.), and when I offered to do the drywall patch after the electrical work was done - the inspector told the buyer they should have me do it because they would not get someone else to do it better for any price. So, I am confident in that (and I do smile when people complain about "all that dust" from sanding drywall...true craftsmen don't need to sand. At least, that's what my Dad and Grandpa instilled in me.)

Mark

I was not no trying to get you worked up and you do not have to prove anything to me about what you are capable of, sir.

No harm no foul...just trying to keep people focused on the advice I need vs. the advice I don't need.

Mark

[ttocs]

I never thought about sound bouncing behind my panel tv before, I mean, I "thought" about it but didn't think it would be an issue. Now you've got me thinking about it.

The panels you linked to seem to be inexpensive enough to try. Can't hurt, right? Being so thin they aren't going to do much, but I really don't think much is needed behind the tv, so maybe it's perfect for your usage. And while you probably don't need to cover every square inch, you'll probably need a couple boxes, so why not?

I've got some of those multi-level foam "strips" that have squares with different thicknesses that I have yet to use anywhere. I'm now thinking about doing a little testing at some point.

[Boomzilla]

You may find this an odd suggestion, but... There are spray-on acoustic treatments that are both thin and that suppress reflections. They're normally sprayed on ceilings, but I've seen them on walls too.

[klinemj]

Nov 29, 2020 6:32:02 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

You may find this an odd suggestion, but... There are spray-on acoustic treatments that are both thin and that suppress reflections. They're normally sprayed on ceilings, but I've seen them on walls too.

That wouldn't cover the hole, though...still need to account for that (and recall - I want to leave the hole there for access).

Mark

[foggy1956]

Nov 28, 2020 22:53:35 GMT -5 klinemj said:

Nov 28, 2020 22:49:07 GMT -5 dust770 said:

Will you be using the tv speakers? Do they aim out the back of the tv? If so I think it could help to put acoustic panels behind the tv, but it may also deaden (absorb) the sound enough that the tv speakers won't be able to go loud enough to hear well.

If your using separate speakers I don't expect they will give you enough of a result audio wise to justify putting them in. They look like they will be high enough on the wall that they will be well above the vocal area of the base layer. Most people tend to hang their panels way too high like they are a picture, but in reality they should be down around the tweeter of your speakers as that's the area we try to tame when hanging them. Also the front wall is really the last place to treat acoustically unless you have sbir issues with your front speakers and even then the panels go directly behind the affected speaker and not up high. If your concerned with reflections from your back wall adversely interacting with the tv, then you would treat them on the back wall. Which is the first place to treat really. Tame those reflections there so they have little to no energy once they hit your tv. Particularly if your seating position is 6 ft or less from your back wall.

Now as far as visually, I like what your suggesting and think it would look cool to have them framed around the tv. And its is a good way to hide the hole while leaving it accessible for the future.

I will not be using the TV speakers. And, per my most recent comment - less concerned with audio impact. More concerned with easy way to aesthetically cover the hole while leaving access where I might need it again in the future.

Mark

Have you thought about putting an electrical gang box in the wall and punching out holes as you need them?

[klinemj]

Nov 29, 2020 1:28:56 GMT -5 ttocs said:

I never thought about sound bouncing behind my panel tv before, I mean, I "thought" about it but didn't think it would be an issue. Now you've got me thinking about it.

The panels you linked to seem to be inexpensive enough to try. Can't hurt, right? Being so thin they aren't going to do much, but I really don't think much is needed behind the tv, so maybe it's perfect for your usage. And while you probably don't need to cover every square inch, you'll probably need a couple boxes, so why not?

I've got some of those multi-level foam "strips" that have squares with different thicknesses that I have yet to use anywhere. I'm now thinking about doing a little testing at some point.

That's what I'm thinking - these are fairly inexpensive. I'm also thinking it will look kind of nice with one 2*6 stripe just beside the TV sort of framing it in. And, if there are reflections behind the TV - which there may or may not be - going in or coming out the sides will be tamed. And...my hole is covered.

Mark

[klinemj]

Nov 29, 2020 7:50:26 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

Nov 28, 2020 22:53:35 GMT -5 klinemj said:

I will not be using the TV speakers. And, per my most recent comment - less concerned with audio impact. More concerned with easy way to aesthetically cover the hole while leaving access where I might need it again in the future.

Mark

Have you thought about putting an electrical gang box in the wall and punching out holes as you need them?

Yes - and once again not interested in any solutions for filling in the hole.

Any input on the materials for the covering the hole with sound absorbing panel?

Mark