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Sound Proofing by Chuck Nichols |
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Sound Proofing by Chuck Nichols |
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Now let's get practical. What can you build that's cheap and easy? How about a plywood box with no top or bottom?
First, get four 3/4" (2cm) - thick sheets of exterior-grade plywood, each 48"x48" (122cm x 122cm) 
. (Just have Home Depot cut a couple sheets of CDX in half for you).
Then you'll need four 48" (122cm)-long 2x2s (5cm x 5cm). (You can also use 2x4s (5cm x 10cm) or 4x4s (10cm x 10cm)).
Build a 4'x4'x4' (122cm x 122cm x 122cm) cube with no top or bottom, by
fastening the plywood sheets together with 2x2s (5cm x 5cm)
at each corner. See diagram.
| 4 | 48" x 48" x ¾" (122cm x 122cm x 2cm) exterior-grade plywood sheet, 5-ply CDX preferred |
| 4 | 48" x 2" x 2" (122cm x 5cm x 5cm) (pine is cheapest, hardwood is stronger) |
| 48 | wood screws, 2" (5cm) long Philips (cross-head) preferred |
As fasteners, use screws (if you plan to ever take it apart) or nails (if you plan to burn it).
This makes a pretty simple but fairly effective sound baffle, and gets rid of about 98% of the sound energy.
The cost for materials (new) is about $50.
You don't need a power saw, because the wood yard will cut the wood for you, but a power drill with an 1/8" (4mm) drill (for pilot holes) and a screwdriver bit will save you time.
If you're cautious, you can stake your baffle to the playa so it won't blow away, but frankly, it's pretty darn heavy (about 100 pounds or 45kg), and the generator will keep it from sliding very far.
Don't be shy about using free wood, if you're on a tight budget. Solid wood (not hollow) doors should be effective walls for a baffle. The heavier and more rigid the walls are, the better. If you're using doors, they can even be nailed or screwed to each other without the 2x2s.
When you need to transport the baffle, remove some screws from two opposite corners. You now have two pieces that nest compactly in the corner of a truck, and use up very little space. Be gentle when moving the baffle, though, its corners can break because the 48" (122cm) plywood provides a lot of leverage on the joint.
How do you use such a contraption? Once the baffle is assembled, put your generator down on the playa, fuel it, start it up, then get some friends to help you lift the baffle and lower it down around the generator. (If you can add handles, two people can lift it easily.) Leave extra room near the generator's exhaust pipe, so you don't char the plywood.
You can make an effective sound baffle out of almost any rigid construction material. You could use a 4-foot (122cm) concrete sewer pipe if you had one, but it would be a bit awkward to transport. A better option is a 4-foot (122cm) corrugated steel sewer pipe, nearly as rigid and a lot lighter in weight. I have no idea where you could buy such a thing, but I know there are some very resourceful people reading this. (If you plan to steal it from a construction site, please don't take a copy of this article!)
It's still too noisy? There are limits to how much of the sound energy you can deflect upwards. Some of it will always leak through the plywood (or whatever), because nothing is perfectly rigid. Rather than trying to make cheap materials perfectly rigid, I recommend getting a quieter generator. The cheapest generators cost $500 and are very loud. For $1000 you can get a pretty quiet one. For $2000 you can get a very quiet one. If you can't afford a quiet generator, consider renting one for about $150 a week.
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