Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), February 19, 2019
Our task: complete and hang 18 acoustic panels
It’s time to quiet things down a bit–so we’re hanging acoustic panels on the south wall of the Main Hall. And we need some help! Over the past couple of weeks, the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall have purchased lumber, acoustic batts and fabric to make 24 panels–2’x 4′ panels. Kurt Giavara and I have made up the frames, and it’s time to install the batts, wrap them with acoustic fabric and hang them on the wall!
For
years, Grange Hall users have had problems hearing each other.
Whether it’s in Grange meetings, rehearsals for the Barre-Tones, contra
dance callers talking to dancers–there can be so much “reverb” that it
is hard to understand what’s being said.
S0–it’s time to do something about it, especially since Grange users
have made generous donations to the Friends in the end-of-year
fundraising campaign. We’ve decided to start with hanging the 18 panels
shown in the drawing above.
We’d like you to join us on Saturday, Feb. 23, starting at noon. We’ll be:
- Putting rockwool acoustic batts in the pre-made frames.
- Wrapping the frames with acoustically transparent, fire-resistant fabric.
- Stapling the fabric on the backs
- Attaching “french cleats” to the backs–boards with a 45 degree bevel on the bottom edge.
- Hanging the frames on matching french cleats mounted on the wall, with the beveled edge up.
Can you come and help? Can you bring a stapler–manual or electric? We’re not looking for desk-type staplers, but ones made for stapling, for example, construction plastic and insulation. Examples would be the Arrow T50, or Stanley, or other brands like the ones below. If so, we’ll buy staples to match–just let me know the brand!
Please contact Tim Swartz if you can come help us on Saturday.
We need feedback….wait. What?
“Feedback” has different meanings! When we talk about sound quality, it can mean that nasty squeal from a sound system that sometimes assaults our ears. We don’t want that.
What we are looking for is the feedback that means informed responses to the changes we hope to make in our acoustic quality from this panel trial. Do these panels make a difference in:
- un-amplified speech? As at small meetings.
- amplified speech? As at contra dances with a caller and band
- vocal music? As at Barre Tones rehearsals.
- amplified speech with no band? As might be the case at a training meeting.
We want to hear–clearly–from you, so let us know what changes you notice. We’d like to hear from a variety of the users; we’ll be getting in touch with various groups, but we want responses from anyone interested in how things sound at the Hall.