Say you just picked up a new guitar riff, and want to practice it so that you have it down to a T. However, the neighbors are complaining about the “noise”, which means you cannot use your amplifier inside the garage without causing trouble.
Practicing in peace being the overriding goal, you could go the way of most smart audiophiles and music lovers, and soundproof the place outright. This would hold the sound in while you played to heart’s content.
An Insulated Garage Door
Having one of these lets you keep out the cold during winter, reducing energy costs in your home. That is not the only thing it does, though; insulation technically blocks noise as well.
If you decide to soundproof your garage, getting your garage door insulated would be pretty much the first step. It works out even better if you think of this before the initial garage door installation, and maybe even get your bandmates to pitch in towards the costs.
Blockers
Effectively blocking noise from getting out requires installing the “room within a room” setup. Get in touch with a professional known for building quality soundproofing. What you need is basically a false wall inside the garage wall itself. There is the chance this may interfere with the garage door, so make sure that does not happen. Moreover, for the batting you add between the wall studs, prefer cotton to fiberglass because the former is seen to be much more effective in this respect.
Installation
The garage door opener, as well as the door tracks, need to be protected from damage before you start off the soundproofing project, which in this regard is similar to installing new garage door repair parts. If you have a roll-up garage door, drop ceilings are a bad idea. Instead, you can set up sound-deadening tiles at calculated points, after consulting with a sound engineer who can suggest how to space them. To make the sound level more comfortable for your band members, use carpeting, or throw down a rug. If deadening the sound is not what you want, add a rubber coating onto the garage floor.
You have probably gotten a good idea of how significant soundproofing can be, after you pick it up as a project. If you want to test your “room within a room” plan first, try keeping it to just one-half of the room, so that the rest can still be used for the car.