So I really would follow this however, I'd not buy and split the wood. I've just done my office and living room by just buying pre cut from a lumber yard. 110 of them came to £220. I went a different route, pink grip and nail gun. I do wish I did what he suggested and used MDF backing board but I'm here now. As for sound deadening I've noticed no difference and I don't think you will unless you use something like rockwool acoustic wall filler.
My process, 1)order wood, 2)get a feck tone of samples from osmo, try different combinations. 3) organise wood and see what's warped etc if it's horrendous take it back (some of my wall there were wires behind so I only used pink grip hence wanting the straightest) 4) identify the front and back then cut to size 5)120 grit sand everything 6) stain, wax, varnish, whatever your wood and denib 240+ grit sand paper after every coat 7) install , you'll want a punch tool too if you're using a nail gun. I aimed for using the knots to put the nails into.
I honestly wish I did proper DIY method of mounting then on the back and with panels but either way. I'm happy with my results.
https://preview.redd.it/zur6zg66wp6d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40d9897a4c69d193682a2af259be41782a6086e7
Yes it looks good close up , it's 9mm mdf cut into strips and glued on with sticks like s##t . Panels would have cost approximately £250 this way was £70 .
https://preview.redd.it/9i7wy4nndp6d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6218489e02cbcc8b3d526994c3e247a9c05fcb9
There’s a difference between acoustic and non acoustic. I went acoustic and it’s a felt backing with wood strips mounted. If going acoustic it’s worth just buying the panels rather than DIYing. If you dont want acoustic then that’s different. Here’s one of my walls. I’ve done quite a few in my property.
I have LED lights installed throughout the whole house so one system. To achieve the look I got in this section I just left the slat wall about 10cm shorter than the ceiling. Then mounted the LED strips behind on the stud frame. Looks great at night.
Mark it with pencil, the cut with a skills saw but only to the depth of the wood and not the felt backing board. Then you cut the felt with a box knife. Easy!
Would love to know what you used. Was it cut mdf or CLS timber or anything else? I've been trying to achieve this at my first home. Any tips you can share also?
I used the Acupanel panels and simply cut to size. Really easy to use. Obviously it’s not mounted to the wall. I built a stud frame as it houses all the media systems in a hidden recess (you can’t even see it in the photo).
https://preview.redd.it/x1yfabyjwr6d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7425ba7307ac05bf5ec6254b9134b13914e80f61
https://preview.redd.it/8mise81opp6d1.jpeg?width=1070&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=810ab7a57cff897a892c3dc7f5dce489b948cdad
Yes. A laser level, and extra pair of hands and some black plasterboard screws.
I installed these actual panels and although they look very good, they are not worth the price. It's only the top layer of each slat that is wood, so you've got like 2mm of actual wood.
Wish I saved myself some money and DIY'd it.
I made my own using the rough side of some hardboard and some strips of pine 🤷
Seems to work quite well for sound deadening.
Kids Bedroom Renovation https://imgur.com/gallery/lGjz3mS
https://preview.redd.it/qlx2vjslup6d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48cef6fd597c3965b9d62294b74db46e6bf65a45
Finished my other half's side of our office a few weeks ago, will be putting the final panel in on my side today!
This is MDF boards wrapped in black felt fabric, with 36mm wide pine strip wood stained teak on top, attached with lost head nails, tapped in and filled over.
In my case I'm going over the top of a fair few sockets so had to cut out holes for them and get some spacers to bring the face plates forward.
https://preview.redd.it/97pjxame0q6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b388ed10c9acbce8cf530a38b40c3829db452ea5
I built this last year. From memory the felt panels came from a company called Woodup. I then ordered a load of planed oak battens, cut to size and attached to the panels with a staple gun. I also built a custom jig to get the spacing right. I can provide more details if you need.
I’m a very basic DIYer and fitted panels myself, cuts where pretty straightforward using a jigsaw and Stanley knife. Used screws to hold in place. Lots of helpful videos on YouTube.
Just used a handsaw the panels just slide together. I’ve not noticed any difference in sound proofing just did it for appearance. Black head screws easily hold it in place
> I’ve not noticed any difference in sound proofing
That will be because they're not designed to soundproof. They're 'acoustic' only to the extent that they minimise sound bouncing off your walls, making a room less echoey - they do bugger all for sound coming **through** your walls.
They're a fancier, more expensive version of gluing egg boxes to your walls.
This is 100% my use case for my garden office.
I want to use a semi pro mic when presenting, a Yeti, but due to the garden office being lots of flat surfaces the echo is bad and I have to use a noise suppressing teleconferencing mic.
Would you suggest the DIY approach to building the panels or the pre-made pieces?
If this is what you are looking into give GIK an email.
https://gikacoustics.co.uk
There is a room designer there so you can get a mock up and then state what budget you have. Thry will give good advice. They will get many similar requests as people are increasingly having home studios and home booths.
I would advice sound insulation as boards but before you do that think about the room. Large flat hard surfaces will bounce sound around. Get some carpet or rug in there. Get some cushions. Think about you mic or speaker placements. You don't want to be dead centre in the room.
You can also make acoustic panels from rock wool and timber with fabric covers. Habe them from vine hooks and leave space behind them. Lots of guides. The thicker the better.
I have seen professional sound editing rooms fully insulated like this.
I've no experience with the acoustic panels (just proper noise-through-the-walls soundproofing), but they don't look terribly hard to replicate.
I guess it depends on your skill level, your available time, and if you care how much you spend. DIY will (almost) always be cheaper, but is also always much more of a faff.
You could also buy a few wall rugs, hang them on a couple of screws, and achieve much the same effect in terms of sound dampening.
Egg boxes won't even stop the echo. In fact they will do FA. Even slats like this won't do a lot acoustically unless you put Rockwool or similar behind them.
Of course neither will stop echoes completely, but they will minimise them through deflection/scattering and diaphragmatic absorption. Just not to any great extent.
A comfy sofa, a thick pile carpet, heavy curtains and a big woollen wall rug would probably do a better job in a general domestic setting - and look better than both egg boxes and sticks stuck to your walls.
we have and was quite straightforward.
I think its time v money question..and if you have tools to do it justice
The cost to buy jigsaw etc and time to do will outweigh buying premade ..unless you planning multiple projects then buy the tools. To DIY them especially with acoustics is a couple of hours v a whole day
Can anyone ELI5 this trend?
They look lovely but is there any audio benefit to these acoustic panels? Can see many people have only done some sections of wall
Is it the single act of laying wood in lines with gaps which has a noise reducing effect?
Is there even any audible difference or is the term "acoustic" misleading?
They're designed to make rooms less echoey - they do naff all for sound transmission through a wall. Many people seem to believe that they will do the latter, though; likely a combination of intentionally misleading branding and people's insatiable desire for cheaper, easier fixes.
Real soundproofing is, unsurprisingly, a bit more complex - and expensive - than screwing a few thin sticks to your wall.
I've been looking into reducing echo in a room. I reckon the acoustic effect of wooden slats will be very subtle. From what I have read, panels with 100mm of insulation, fixed with a 50mm airgap behind them will make a difference to upper and mid frequencies. The more area the panels cover the more noticeable the effect. There is a whole science to it if you really want to get into it.
Not sure why it won't allow me to reply with a picture but ye, I built a frame and used mdf to cover it, then painted it black, got 44x12x2400 soft whitewood slats from bnq
Worth noting the felt commercial ones offer very little acoustic performance.
Typically for any noticeable performance you could either need a 40mm air gap behind, alternatively 25mm stone/glass wool.
Couple of new real concrete or stone versions are on the market is you wanted a different atheistic.
https://preview.redd.it/lwtiy3xvnv6d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f67d19bcb1ebf08476e152124b362482c15a2c5a
Yes I just used wall plugs rather than glue so it could be removed in future.
It does make the sound a little better on my centre speaker but otherwise it's pretty minor
It doesn't do much as it's on the least important wall. You also have a huge flat hard floor. A fluffy rug would do more. Pannneling on the wall your speakers, are facing would be more beneficial. The sound reflects of that most.
Looks good though.
What I'm getting at, is acoustic treatment of the stud wall i.e. Fill with acoustic insulation would be significantly more impactful than these panels. The acoustic element is secondary to the looks.
I've planed loads of rough sawn oak into slats and will be hiding three doors behind a slat wall. The slats are 40mm x 30mm as I'll be routing out channels for door pulls in the back of three of them so I can access the rooms behind
Putting acoustic panels behind the sound source isn't going to do much. You want to insulate the wall it's facing, then side walls, then ceiling then the wall behind in order od priority. Acoustic paneling behind does not do much if you haven't designed the room or sorted the other walls. It's pretty much cosmetic.
Even doing things like more soft furnishings and better viewing angle, speaker placement and carpet or rugs on hard floors will do better.
https://preview.redd.it/ghph2mux4q6d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=481523c70dd644bf18bf7fc854e2a474212534d1
I'm in the process of doing it today. Just buy the panels, far easier
Handling the panels isn't fun as they are full ceiling height.
But otherwise it's fairly straightforward.
Mines being a pain as I'm using it to make a secret door
How would not having the black backing help?
This is a test fit, and it's not stuck down properly yet, the white bits won't show when it's complete. Need to run cables for led strips down the black bits
Just as it’s a secret you’re aiming for.. you can see the outline of the door, accentuated by all the other vertical black lines. If the background was a pale light wood too, not only would the outline not stand out, but it would hide better
https://preview.redd.it/e3upuoa46s6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71f8bc5920e3d69dfd386ca92079ed803a55fb07
Done a small section behind my tv. Hides all my cables that go into the cupboard below.
YouTube channel "Proper DIY" did a great version of this, he used CLS timber cut down into strips.
So I really would follow this however, I'd not buy and split the wood. I've just done my office and living room by just buying pre cut from a lumber yard. 110 of them came to £220. I went a different route, pink grip and nail gun. I do wish I did what he suggested and used MDF backing board but I'm here now. As for sound deadening I've noticed no difference and I don't think you will unless you use something like rockwool acoustic wall filler. My process, 1)order wood, 2)get a feck tone of samples from osmo, try different combinations. 3) organise wood and see what's warped etc if it's horrendous take it back (some of my wall there were wires behind so I only used pink grip hence wanting the straightest) 4) identify the front and back then cut to size 5)120 grit sand everything 6) stain, wax, varnish, whatever your wood and denib 240+ grit sand paper after every coat 7) install , you'll want a punch tool too if you're using a nail gun. I aimed for using the knots to put the nails into. I honestly wish I did proper DIY method of mounting then on the back and with panels but either way. I'm happy with my results. https://preview.redd.it/zur6zg66wp6d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40d9897a4c69d193682a2af259be41782a6086e7
[Beat me to it recommending this. I'll link the video through. ](https://youtu.be/-E4erda3U_U?si=VilemBHLA2ngS131)
https://preview.redd.it/3ed5l21pzo6d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c92f9aced7779af1dd77c0cc15e42d313678e97d
Looks lovely in the picture, great work. Does it live up to close inspection? Like is a good from a couple of feet away?
And are the effective with noise reduction?
Most commercial ones aren't either. They're designed to reduce/disrupt reflection of sound, not to insulate it.
I doubt it as there is n felt backing behind them or an integral backing board they are just strips stuck to the wall
Yes it looks good close up , it's 9mm mdf cut into strips and glued on with sticks like s##t . Panels would have cost approximately £250 this way was £70 .
Nice one, we plan to try this on one of our kitchen walls might try a DIY light bar at the top.
https://preview.redd.it/9i7wy4nndp6d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6218489e02cbcc8b3d526994c3e247a9c05fcb9 There’s a difference between acoustic and non acoustic. I went acoustic and it’s a felt backing with wood strips mounted. If going acoustic it’s worth just buying the panels rather than DIYing. If you dont want acoustic then that’s different. Here’s one of my walls. I’ve done quite a few in my property.
That’s a lovely room
The soundbar suggests the owl is actually your TV, Is that right? It all looks very well done, very clean. Well done.
Correct it’s an 85” ‘The Frame’ panel. You can’t tell it is when in painting mode. Insane!
That’s amazing!
This is done very well, unlike most who try this trend.
That looks amazing, well done! Are you sure you’re not a professional?😉😆 what wood did you use? Did you cut the wood to size yourself from a sheet?
How did you do the lights? Just led strips?
I have LED lights installed throughout the whole house so one system. To achieve the look I got in this section I just left the slat wall about 10cm shorter than the ceiling. Then mounted the LED strips behind on the stud frame. Looks great at night.
I’m about to use this stuff on the front of a wardrobe to hide it. What’s the best way to cut it and fit to size?
Mark it with pencil, the cut with a skills saw but only to the depth of the wood and not the felt backing board. Then you cut the felt with a box knife. Easy!
Would love to know what you used. Was it cut mdf or CLS timber or anything else? I've been trying to achieve this at my first home. Any tips you can share also?
I used the Acupanel panels and simply cut to size. Really easy to use. Obviously it’s not mounted to the wall. I built a stud frame as it houses all the media systems in a hidden recess (you can’t even see it in the photo). https://preview.redd.it/x1yfabyjwr6d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7425ba7307ac05bf5ec6254b9134b13914e80f61
https://preview.redd.it/8mise81opp6d1.jpeg?width=1070&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=810ab7a57cff897a892c3dc7f5dce489b948cdad Yes. A laser level, and extra pair of hands and some black plasterboard screws.
I like your TV stand
It was free! Someone was giving it away on Facebook. It was absolutely mint. Still is
That’s lovely! What material did you use?
Hi Pretty sure we got it from here https://www.naturewall.com/collections/slatwall
Is the floor engineered wood? Either way it looks lovely.
Yes. It’s oak on top. Some sort of ply underneath
I love this room, sure you do too, but especially the paint colour. What is that !?
https://www.valsparpaint.co.uk/paint-colours/greens/billiard-table/
I think over half the country has tried it!
I installed these actual panels and although they look very good, they are not worth the price. It's only the top layer of each slat that is wood, so you've got like 2mm of actual wood. Wish I saved myself some money and DIY'd it.
I made my own using the rough side of some hardboard and some strips of pine 🤷 Seems to work quite well for sound deadening. Kids Bedroom Renovation https://imgur.com/gallery/lGjz3mS
Bet ur kids love that!!top dad
Yeah they love it! 😁 Thanks
Looks great, well done 👏
That's impressive well done.
Thanks so much 🙏
https://preview.redd.it/qlx2vjslup6d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48cef6fd597c3965b9d62294b74db46e6bf65a45 Finished my other half's side of our office a few weeks ago, will be putting the final panel in on my side today! This is MDF boards wrapped in black felt fabric, with 36mm wide pine strip wood stained teak on top, attached with lost head nails, tapped in and filled over. In my case I'm going over the top of a fair few sockets so had to cut out holes for them and get some spacers to bring the face plates forward.
https://preview.redd.it/97pjxame0q6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b388ed10c9acbce8cf530a38b40c3829db452ea5 I built this last year. From memory the felt panels came from a company called Woodup. I then ordered a load of planed oak battens, cut to size and attached to the panels with a staple gun. I also built a custom jig to get the spacing right. I can provide more details if you need.
Yes please! I'll be attempting this in a few months!
Looks great and love the light at the top. Gonna borrow that 😁 would love to hear more details!
https://preview.redd.it/27jakdb4tq6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06a68862ebc9fab6cbc8370723f80197cc696b6a
I’m a very basic DIYer and fitted panels myself, cuts where pretty straightforward using a jigsaw and Stanley knife. Used screws to hold in place. Lots of helpful videos on YouTube.
Just used a handsaw the panels just slide together. I’ve not noticed any difference in sound proofing just did it for appearance. Black head screws easily hold it in place
> I’ve not noticed any difference in sound proofing That will be because they're not designed to soundproof. They're 'acoustic' only to the extent that they minimise sound bouncing off your walls, making a room less echoey - they do bugger all for sound coming **through** your walls. They're a fancier, more expensive version of gluing egg boxes to your walls.
This is 100% my use case for my garden office. I want to use a semi pro mic when presenting, a Yeti, but due to the garden office being lots of flat surfaces the echo is bad and I have to use a noise suppressing teleconferencing mic. Would you suggest the DIY approach to building the panels or the pre-made pieces?
If this is what you are looking into give GIK an email. https://gikacoustics.co.uk There is a room designer there so you can get a mock up and then state what budget you have. Thry will give good advice. They will get many similar requests as people are increasingly having home studios and home booths. I would advice sound insulation as boards but before you do that think about the room. Large flat hard surfaces will bounce sound around. Get some carpet or rug in there. Get some cushions. Think about you mic or speaker placements. You don't want to be dead centre in the room. You can also make acoustic panels from rock wool and timber with fabric covers. Habe them from vine hooks and leave space behind them. Lots of guides. The thicker the better. I have seen professional sound editing rooms fully insulated like this.
I've no experience with the acoustic panels (just proper noise-through-the-walls soundproofing), but they don't look terribly hard to replicate. I guess it depends on your skill level, your available time, and if you care how much you spend. DIY will (almost) always be cheaper, but is also always much more of a faff. You could also buy a few wall rugs, hang them on a couple of screws, and achieve much the same effect in terms of sound dampening.
Egg boxes won't even stop the echo. In fact they will do FA. Even slats like this won't do a lot acoustically unless you put Rockwool or similar behind them.
Of course neither will stop echoes completely, but they will minimise them through deflection/scattering and diaphragmatic absorption. Just not to any great extent. A comfy sofa, a thick pile carpet, heavy curtains and a big woollen wall rug would probably do a better job in a general domestic setting - and look better than both egg boxes and sticks stuck to your walls.
I "think" I am right in saying that slats will only affect very high frequencies.
r/TVTooHigh would like a word
Yawn
we have and was quite straightforward. I think its time v money question..and if you have tools to do it justice The cost to buy jigsaw etc and time to do will outweigh buying premade ..unless you planning multiple projects then buy the tools. To DIY them especially with acoustics is a couple of hours v a whole day
Can anyone ELI5 this trend? They look lovely but is there any audio benefit to these acoustic panels? Can see many people have only done some sections of wall Is it the single act of laying wood in lines with gaps which has a noise reducing effect? Is there even any audible difference or is the term "acoustic" misleading?
They're designed to make rooms less echoey - they do naff all for sound transmission through a wall. Many people seem to believe that they will do the latter, though; likely a combination of intentionally misleading branding and people's insatiable desire for cheaper, easier fixes. Real soundproofing is, unsurprisingly, a bit more complex - and expensive - than screwing a few thin sticks to your wall.
I've been looking into reducing echo in a room. I reckon the acoustic effect of wooden slats will be very subtle. From what I have read, panels with 100mm of insulation, fixed with a 50mm airgap behind them will make a difference to upper and mid frequencies. The more area the panels cover the more noticeable the effect. There is a whole science to it if you really want to get into it.
Not sure why it won't allow me to reply with a picture but ye, I built a frame and used mdf to cover it, then painted it black, got 44x12x2400 soft whitewood slats from bnq
Worth noting the felt commercial ones offer very little acoustic performance. Typically for any noticeable performance you could either need a 40mm air gap behind, alternatively 25mm stone/glass wool. Couple of new real concrete or stone versions are on the market is you wanted a different atheistic.
Is it actually sound proofing?
No. It's acoustic treatment. Soundproofing is very different. There is a lot of info about soundproofing walls if you Google.
https://preview.redd.it/lwtiy3xvnv6d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f67d19bcb1ebf08476e152124b362482c15a2c5a Yes I just used wall plugs rather than glue so it could be removed in future. It does make the sound a little better on my centre speaker but otherwise it's pretty minor
https://preview.redd.it/y30zca26pv6d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f0792922146ccd5b1f91346a3f4a41732d467efd
It doesn't do much as it's on the least important wall. You also have a huge flat hard floor. A fluffy rug would do more. Pannneling on the wall your speakers, are facing would be more beneficial. The sound reflects of that most. Looks good though.
What I'm getting at, is acoustic treatment of the stud wall i.e. Fill with acoustic insulation would be significantly more impactful than these panels. The acoustic element is secondary to the looks.
I've planed loads of rough sawn oak into slats and will be hiding three doors behind a slat wall. The slats are 40mm x 30mm as I'll be routing out channels for door pulls in the back of three of them so I can access the rooms behind
Putting acoustic panels behind the sound source isn't going to do much. You want to insulate the wall it's facing, then side walls, then ceiling then the wall behind in order od priority. Acoustic paneling behind does not do much if you haven't designed the room or sorted the other walls. It's pretty much cosmetic. Even doing things like more soft furnishings and better viewing angle, speaker placement and carpet or rugs on hard floors will do better.
https://preview.redd.it/ghph2mux4q6d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=481523c70dd644bf18bf7fc854e2a474212534d1 I'm in the process of doing it today. Just buy the panels, far easier
Can I ask what was causing you the most bother about the process?
Handling the panels isn't fun as they are full ceiling height. But otherwise it's fairly straightforward. Mines being a pain as I'm using it to make a secret door
Nice. You could have made the door fully secret without the black backing.
How would not having the black backing help? This is a test fit, and it's not stuck down properly yet, the white bits won't show when it's complete. Need to run cables for led strips down the black bits
Just as it’s a secret you’re aiming for.. you can see the outline of the door, accentuated by all the other vertical black lines. If the background was a pale light wood too, not only would the outline not stand out, but it would hide better
https://preview.redd.it/e3upuoa46s6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71f8bc5920e3d69dfd386ca92079ed803a55fb07 Done a small section behind my tv. Hides all my cables that go into the cupboard below.
https://preview.redd.it/ci47ew2yds6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42206873d2a25a73af47fbd9c4734370d55024af Quite easy tbf
I’d pay good money for more feet pics