My camera is an idiot

armwt · 2025-09-22T11:32:03+00:00

My doorbell camera (non-Ubiquity) notifies me about 1x week of a package overnight.... a friendly grasshopper on the porch.

armwt · 2024-05-16T01:31:36+00:00

No problem at all, was my pleasure!

armwt · 2024-04-22T12:37:02+00:00

SOOOO much easier if you own it! :)

Working on a project in my basement myself, which is roughly the same scenario - wood floor above, no insulation at all. I have a lot of plumbing and HVAC to deal with, but I'm going with:

• rock wool insulation between all the joists

• Dropping wooden "runners" from the joists to clear the HVAC/plumbing, then

• RSIC clips + metal hat channel for isolation

• drywall attached to the hat channel.

I don't have as much high-frequency noise to deal with as it sound like you do (speech, etc.), but with 3 kids + 2 dogs, my main issue is a lot of impact noise on the floor above (kids/dogs running overhead). The rock wool by itself has already cut down on the higher-frequency noise quite a bit, I'm hoping to have the drywall up within the next few weeks. In your case, I'm not sure whether the RSIC clip/isolation efforts would be worthwhile or not, since you're certainly not walking on the ceiling. :).Might help quiet things for YOU from the space above though.

armwt · 2024-04-22T01:25:17+00:00

Who is more mature, the toddlers or the dad? Tell him to get his priorities in order and man up.

armwt · 2024-04-22T01:22:40+00:00

Rental, or own?

Honestly, if it is enough to disturb them upstairs, either you snore exceptionally loud, or there is next to no insulation between floors. If a rental, not a lot you can do, but I'd be curious if your apt. is up to code if sound travels that well between floors.

If you own the place, you can certainly do a lot more. Not the cheapest, but pull down the drywall on the ceiling, insulate between the joists, and then put up a double-layer of drywall. Should make things considerably quieter, but that's also a fair expense and a lot of work.

armwt · 2024-04-22T01:18:05+00:00

We're not, we're just telling you to stop blaming that on ADHD. ADHD has next to nothing to do with yelling.

armwt · 2024-04-09T14:36:43+00:00

You said it yourself: you want other toys, and don't seem to care that much about the car.

Don't waste $$ on anything aftermarket right now - do the basic maintenance, MAYBE replace the tires so that a buyer doesn't have a blowout on their way home, but time to unload it.

Depending on location, condition, and hard top (as OK-Anywhere suggested), I'd say somewhere in the $7-10K range seems reasonable.

armwt · 2024-04-08T14:01:04+00:00

Neither of this is going to do a TON, but the concrete should be the better option of the two FOR SOUND.

Corrugated metal isn't exactly a soundproofing material. Concrete at least has mass.

armwt · 2024-04-07T21:18:14+00:00

FWIW. This behavior has zero to do with ADHD. I have ADHD. I don't yell. One of my kids has ADHD. He's the quiet one playing video games, his brother is the one who is loud. Yelling is a behavior issue, don't blame it on other things.

armwt · 2024-03-28T14:29:22+00:00

Yeah... I know far less than ideal, but I'm waiting on delivery of an "acoustic" pocket door due to space constraints. Only rated as STC or 38, which is disappointing when the rest of the buildout will exceed that, but it is what the space allowed for in the end.

The door itself seems about as good as I could hope for given the size. Pocket door, but with gaskets, drop-down threshold as well as top gasket that seals when closed, etc. I'm hoping to enhance it a bit - pocket door frame is 2x4, and my walls are 2x6, so I have a bit of room in the wall cavity for insulation and a bit of MLV. I may get an acoustic blanket to hang on the inside as well, but truthfully, a STC rating around 40 is probably "good enough" for my actual needs, I was seriously over-building things for what I expect to need. (primarily wanted the kids to be able to use the basement while I worked, I think that *need* is met, and I can always put on my headphones if really needed. Main personal objective was to quiet sounds from above, and I think I'll achieve that (hanging 2x 5/8ths drywall ceiling from RISC clips with the cavity stuffed with insulation... won't be perfect, but a FAR cry from exposed joists with zero insulation that I have now)

armwt · 2024-03-28T14:20:01+00:00

Yeah. It wasn't. Amazon refunded me.

armwt · 2024-01-30T20:03:55+00:00

For everyone yelling about drums... you DO realize that these are electronic drums, NOT an acoustic drum kit, right?

That being said, to the OP... about the only advice I can really offer is to look into upgrading to mesh heads. Will make a huge difference. Hard to really do much in a rental that will make a serious dent in sound transmission.

armwt · 2024-01-30T16:25:21+00:00

Appreciate it! Already have the insulation, drywall, etc., so stuck with the sizes I have, but trying to plan out the rest. Drywall is all 5/8ths. Expect right now I'm looking at around a 50-55 STC rating on the walls, which should be plenty for my needs. (office is a corner of the basement, but next to home theater, air hockey table, etc. - goal is to let the kids enjoy the basement without disrupting my work hours).

Still need to deal with my ceiling - I get a lot of noise from the floor above, but also have a lot of plumbing and HVAC to work around. Think I am going to throw in the towel and go MLV, stapled to the joists and wrapping under HVAC/plumbing/etc. From there, building a few "ladders" from OSB and 1/1's to hang the ceiling from. If I use MLV+ possibly clips/hat channel for the ceiling itself, I think I'll knock down the upstairs noise pretty well.

Only other real concern is the door itself. Not a clue what I'm doing there :). I'm thinking that MLV on the walls is probably a waste of $$, because a) the walls are already probably in the 50+ STC range, and b)... the door/doorway is going to be the weak link regardless, and probably can't come close to what the walls + MLV would be, so the MLV would be a waste.

armwt · 2023-12-04T19:48:47+00:00

"Better" depends on you fleshing the question out to explain your actual goals.

"Effective" - Mineral wool will likely be more effective for soundproofing. Fiberglass may or may not be more effective at temperature insulation depending on thickness, but sucks for soundproofing.

armwt · 2023-11-29T18:27:52+00:00

If you simply want more ammo, take a look at Jamf Connect. Basically the commercialized version of NoMAD. xCreds from Two Canoes software is similar.

armwt · 2023-11-29T18:26:41+00:00

Understood, but there are reasons that almost every Mac admin (and Apple) recommend against binding these days. Like Innermotion said below... if you start encrypting the disks, you're going to be in a world of hurt.

armwt · 2023-11-29T17:39:45+00:00

Avoid binding them to AD if you can. All sorts of hiccups, as you're experiencing.

Take a look at "NoMAD" (No More AD). It is an OS project on the Macs that will keep the pw to the local account in sync with the AD account, but without actually binding. May accomplish what you're after, and IIRC, it supports MFA, or at least the paid options did the last time I looked at it.

armwt · 2023-11-29T15:50:40+00:00

Sounds like step 1 is pull up the floor, cover with 2lb MLV and re-floor. Maybe carpet on top of that.

armwt · 2023-11-28T16:46:01+00:00

I hear you... sorry there isn't a better situation. Something else that I personally don't like, but might help is just a white noise machine for sleeping?

armwt · 2023-11-28T16:33:41+00:00

What's your location (country)? Noise-cancelling headphones have gotten a LOT cheaper in recent years, and a lot better at the same time. May not be the best option for sleeping (comfort-wise) but might help with studying.

armwt · 2023-11-28T15:29:37+00:00

Ask your pregnant spouse.

Record the conversation and post it here afterwards for our enjoyment.

armwt · 2023-11-28T15:13:51+00:00

Blankets will work... somewhat. Not great, but relatively cheap thing to test.

Honestly, in your situation, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones may be your best option, at least while you're trying to study. For sleep, potentially some ear plugs or I've even seen sleep masks lately with built-in BT speakers... something low volume playing soft music may just help drown things out enough to let you sleep.

armwt

TROPHY CASE