Is it a bad idea to create a drum room on the 2nd floor?

A

averageguy

Junior Member
I'm looking into buying a home soon. Also still debating on which new kit to buy but that's another story. So at some point I may need to create a drum room, I don't currently have to have one, but it may become a reality at some point in the coming years. If you lived in a 2 story home say without an attached garage etc, would it be at all dangerous to create a drum room (isolation) on the 2nd floor in a bedroom? What I'm thinking about is the vibration and pressure on the 2nd floor (which is presumably the ceiling) of your downstairs whenever you would be playing.

I'm hoping to find a home with an attached garage and do a possible drum room/area that way, but I'm curious to know if I had to do it in the aforementioned way - is there any danger or possible damage to the structure of the home from repeated playing on a 2nd floor? I'm a heavy drummer so that's why I'm asking.

Any info you guys have would be appreciated. I'm clueless about structural things of this nature.
 
growing up, my drums were in the attic of our house. The house was built in 1902, so it was a tank with shingles. No worries about structural stuff. For me, the worst part was lugging gear up all of those stairs, and no AC, so it was brutal in the summer as far as heat goes

I vowed to never have a practice room on the 3rd floor of a space ever again...
 
averageguy said:
If you lived in a 2 story home say without an attached garage etc, would it be at all dangerous to create a drum room (isolation) on the 2nd floor in a bedroom?
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I currently live in a 2 story house. Have had 2 different drum rooms upstairs. Smaller room at first ...... then moved into a larger room. Home built in 1927. I've never had a problem. That said ...... you're not in your "said" home yet, so the speculation of "will your home get damaged or not" ...... kinda all depends on the build of the home you buy. A well built home should survive.
 
I've got my electric kit set up in my box room on the first floor (add a floor if you're not from Blighty) I store the rest of my kits there too. Wouldn't dream of playing an acoustic kit at home regardless of what floor it was on. It's a great way to fall out with your neighbours.

My house is interwar and survived the Luftwaffe so a couple of drum kits being kept upstairs doesn't even cross my mind.

The only time I'd worry about damaging the structural integrity of your home is if you have Carl Palmer's kit made by British Steel which used to go through stages. The shells were stainless steel 1/2" thick
 
There is little context here to provide insight.
Are you going to be moving them once in the room, to gigs, to practice? If Yes, second floor will eventually suck.
Do you have others living in the house? Then second floor might be a problem sonically (vibration throughout).
You say you're a 'heavy drummer'... like you are heavy? The Kit is heavy? You play heavy? Recent home builds I suspect might be iffy on quality of build. Some builders are great, some cut corners, so cracks in walls and such might develop. Older homes definitely has pros and cons... as some said, older homes might built like a tank. Others might need an inspection.
 
My drum room is on the second floor of a factory, above the break room.. unfortunately it is loud for the ppl below, so a 1st floor room would be better. I had a riser made but it didn’t make a significant difference.
 
averageguy said:
I'm looking into buying a home soon. Also still debating on which new kit to buy but that's another story. So at some point I may need to create a drum room, I don't currently have to have one, but it may become a reality at some point in the coming years. If you lived in a 2 story home say without an attached garage etc, would it be at all dangerous to create a drum room (isolation) on the 2nd floor in a bedroom? What I'm thinking about is the vibration and pressure on the 2nd floor (which is presumably the ceiling) of your downstairs whenever you would be playing.

I'm hoping to find a home with an attached garage and do a possible drum room/area that way, but I'm curious to know if I had to do it in the aforementioned way - is there any danger or possible damage to the structure of the home from repeated playing on a 2nd floor? I'm a heavy drummer so that's why I'm asking.

Any info you guys have would be appreciated. I'm clueless about structural things of this nature.
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There are no structural issues with this at all - if you can sleep in a bed in a room - you can play drums in it. Drums are louder than snot - but beyond that, present no dangers to anything.

I've had a recording/drum room on the 2nd floor. One problem was access - worked for me, as I wasn't moving gear in and out with any frequency. But when I needed to - it was a pain. And potentially murderous to wall finishes, trim work, etc.

The 800 lb. gorilla was noise - the sound transfer into the room below will be huge. And the lateral transference into lots of the 1st floor ceilings will be significant. And short of spending the big bucks to float a room in a room - and do it properly - there's no real way of fixing the problem. And here there could also be a structural question as that second story has to be capable of supporting the all of the extra weight of a room in a room. Plus that upstairs better be huge with very high ceilings - because an inner room sucks up a lot of space.

So ground floor - preferably on a concrete slab is the best starting place - shy of just building a separate structure.
 
Mine is on the second floor. House was built in 72. Zero issues. I had a king sized water bed in a different room for years. You’re not playing that heavy.

My wife is totally cool. She says, “ it’s not that loud”. I know better so I don’t push it. I play mostly while she is a work or cleaning house with ear buds in. I’m also cognizant of what my neighbors may experience, so I only play during the day. I also talk to them to make sure everything is good.
 
Clearsonic booth. Much less expensive, easier to move, break down, etc. This gave me what I need to keep the noise out of the neighbor's home, but you still get bleed into your own home.

The next home I buy will have an unfinished basement (with all water lines thoroughly checked by a plumber and the kits on homemade risers). Nothing blocks sound like concrete. I will then finish the basement with sound absorbing panels over the sheet rock for walls and ceiling. FAR less than $35K and much more room to work with, allowing the resonance to spread out naturally.
 
At my old property, the band room was in the upper floor of a small barn. We played there for many years without any sort of structural problem. I think you're gonna be OK.
 
Tamboreter said:
There are no structural issues...a drumset weighs less than you do.
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when i had my drum set in our extra room here - on the second floor - the only thing that felt the wrath were some pictures, and little knick knacks that were on shelves in the living room

we have 2 other drummers in the complex, so the neighborhood is used to the noise
 
I'm a fan of attics (third floor). Usually, they have nice architectures like stairwells dormers, slanted ceilings which act as bass traps. Sound tends to radiate in a way that isn't as loud as you might expect. The roof pitch sends the sound waves up and out. The roof tiles are heavier and denser, in general there are gaps between the walls and the roof, so it's kind of double walled to begin with.

Though, what PorkPieGuy said, it isn't good for gigging.
 
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