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[Denny Conn]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

[Charlie Zureki]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

    Hello Denny,

    My advice is to hire a qualified and experienced Acoustics Engineer/ Acoustician to come out to make measurements. Then, he should be able to write a report of his findings and suggest a proper plan.     

    Where are you located?

   Hammer

[Simon Lewis]

Denny,

I'd echo Charlie's advice. You can do it yourself, spend a few $thousand and possibly not be quite happy with the result, keep tweeking to get it right etc., etc. or, you can get an electroacoustician to inspect, model, specify, oversee and carry out post completion testing...

Simon Lewis

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

How about a little checking into the original builders and (if the original stuff was effective) finding an exact replacement???

[Charlie Zureki]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

How about a little checking into the original builders and (if the original stuff was effective) finding an exact replacement???

     That's a good idea, but, if the shed and it's foam are over 10 years old....it might be more productive to have some tests run.  The newer acoustic foam products are so much better in their  absorbitive and dispersive abilities, and are much longer lasting.  The testing gear is SO much better today, and will give more accurate data.

   "buy once, cry once"

  Hammer

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

How about a little checking into the original builders and (if the original stuff was effective) finding an exact replacement???

     That's a good idea, but, if the shed and it's foam are over 10 years old....it might be more productive to have some tests run.  The newer acoustic foam products are so much better in their  absorbitive and dispersive abilities, and are much longer lasting.  The testing gear is SO much better today, and will give more accurate data.

   "buy once, cry once"

  Hammer

I was basing my "guesstimate" on the fact that it is a "shell" which looks to have been designed to have a certain amount of reflectivity in the beginning.  Of course, it is an ASSumption on my part that the original design was optimal, but if so the original coefficients should still be valid today......at least as valid as the original intent.  Just speculatin'......

[Andre Vare]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

Fran's and Thomas' Acoustics In Motion is a more  appropriate forum for your query.

Andre

[Charlie Zureki]

We have an outdoor amphitheater here that has a metal roof over it.  It was previously treating with some sort of absorptive foam, but that's falling apart and coming off.  The facilities guy here has asked for some recommendations as to what to use to replace it, and I could use some suggestions.  Has anybody ever dealt with this, or have any ideas based on places you've worked?  Here's a pic of the venue...

http://www.thecuthbert.com/gallery.html

Fran's and Thomas' Acoustics In Motion is a more  appropriate forum for your query.

Andre

  Hello,

   While there may be some additional information that this part of the Forum could provide, this OP will still have only a few choices in regards to his situation:

  1.) He could try to replace the missing pieces of foam. 

       a.)  I'd advise the OP to try and get (or find) the spec sheets and prints from the site owner/manager to determine the brand and model of Foam. If the information is not on site, he could contact the Shell Building Contractor, they probably still have this info on file.   
         OR
      b.) tear off a few pieces of this foam and approach the nearest distributors, and/or Acoustic Consulting Companies to see if they know of this sample of foam.  If so, then contact the Manufacturer for purchase.

    2.) While it's probably not in the OP's budget, he could press the Owners of the Shell for an Acoustics evaluation and possible  upgrade.  If the Shell is old, new product may be a huge improvement in regards to sound quality .

   Hammer
 
         

[Brad Weber]

Fran's and Thomas' Acoustics In Motion is a more  appropriate forum for your query.

Not really as that is part of the R/E/P forums and seems intended specifically to address studio acoustics.  There is no dedicated PSW forum related to large room and live sound acoustics.
 
Perhaps your goals could be clarified.  Is the goal to analyze the situation and assess what might be most appropriate solution or is it simply to find something to 'replace' what was there?  If the former, then yes, get a qualified acoustician involved.
 
If the latter, then it would seem important to have a pretty good idea of what was there and its acoustical performance.  A general consideration is that other than resonant based treatments, which tend to be more frequency specific, most acoustical absorbers are porous and a material that is defined as 'foam' is most likely porous.   So the very aspects that may make such materials a good choice for acoustical absorption also generally makes them poor choices for exterior applications.  If you just want to find some general replacement spray-on material then perhaps the folks at International Cellulose (http://www.spray-on.com/index.html) can help you.  Companies like Kinetics Noise Control (http://www.kineticsnoise.com/) and Industrial Acoustics (http://www.industrialacoustics.com/) might be good sources for absorptive panels for exterior use.  In either case, you may also want to get a Structural Engineer and Architect to verify that what you do won't negatively impact the structure (even foam or spray-on represent some weight) or any other aspects of the facility.
 
 

[Denny Conn]

Perhaps your goals could be clarified.  Is the goal to analyze the situation and assess what might be most appropriate solution or is it simply to find something to 'replace' what was there?  If the former, then yes, get a qualified acoustician involved.
 
If the latter, then it would seem important to have a pretty good idea of what was there and its acoustical performance.  A general consideration is that other than resonant based treatments, which tend to be more frequency specific, most acoustical absorbers are porous and a material that is defined as 'foam' is most likely porous.   So the very aspects that may make such materials a good choice for acoustical absorption also generally makes them poor choices for exterior applications.  If you just want to find some general replacement spray-on material then perhaps the folks at International Cellulose (http://www.spray-on.com/index.html) can help you.  Companies like Kinetics Noise Control (http://www.kineticsnoise.com/) and Industrial Acoustics (http://www.industrialacoustics.com/) might be good sources for absorptive panels for exterior use.  In either case, you may also want to get a Structural Engineer and Architect to verify that what you do won't negatively impact the structure (even foam or spray-on represent some weight) or any other aspects of the facility.

Thanks to all for your ideas.  I agree that an analysis would be the way to go, but that would require a clearly defined goal, which doesn't exist here!  My boss came to me and said "the foam is coming off and needs to be replaced".  I asked him what specific issues they were trying to solve and the best answer he could give me was simply reflectivity from the roof back to the stage.  I think the issue is mid-high mid freqs, but even that is vague.  I'll direct him to this thread and hopefully get some better answers.

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