[HN Gopher] My failed attempt at using a closet as an office
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       My failed attempt at using a closet as an office
        
       Author : pamelafox
       Score  : 26 points
       Date   : 2023-12-19 20:05 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (blog.pamelafox.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (blog.pamelafox.org)
        
       | quickthrower2 wrote:
       | Seems like there are a lot of rooms to try out. I suspect the
       | living room or sun room would offer enough distance so that noise
       | is not a distraction. Use a temporary table if this is not
       | aesthetically pleasing when guests come for example.
        
         | pamelafox wrote:
         | Fair point! I have a 4 yr old and 1 yr old that sometimes must
         | be home in the living room and sun room (which we use as the
         | stroller room), so I really want to be able to have a door
         | between my office and their areas.
        
       | xp84 wrote:
       | Really enjoyed reading this! It's very informative reading about
       | the effectiveness of each measure you took. I've had a room
       | dedicated as my office since moving into our house, but it's on
       | the main level of our home which means, ahem, a great deal of
       | child noise. I've often wondered if a corner of a bedroom, unused
       | as is the rest of upstairs during the day, wouldn't offer a far
       | more sound-isolated environment. Probably with solid core doors
       | it would be a much better option.
       | 
       | It's funny how most of us feel like we "need" a dedicated room,
       | but really, a bedroom is in many ways an ideal space to give a
       | second, daytime use to, unless you have a partner at home who
       | takes naps or something.
       | 
       | Anyway, for now I bought a WeWork subscription!
        
       | thsksbd wrote:
       | The acoustic was a waste of money. Noise cancelling headsets with
       | a boom microphone would outperform all of those.
       | 
       | The real problem (aside from the space) is the air quality.
       | There's just no going around needing to put a duct/return to the
       | room.
        
         | pamelafox wrote:
         | It felt like the foam did improve audio quality but I think the
         | only thing that measurably reduced noise from outside was solid
         | core door. Pricey though! Agreed that a good microphone is a
         | huge help. I currently use Elgato Wave:3 which is not as fancy
         | as one can go.
        
       | margalabargala wrote:
       | This seems like a case of lots of small incremental changes being
       | slower, more expensive, and ultimately worse than one big change
       | that addresses the problem.
       | 
       | The office shown is extremely large and already big enough for
       | two people, as was initially tried. The only real problem is the
       | noise.
       | 
       | Instead of having a bunch of work done trying to change the
       | nature of the closet, it seems like the best solution would be to
       | have the contractor construct an entirely new wall dividing the
       | office room in two. Rather than being in a small closet, they now
       | have a large room, with a big window and door, etc. A real wall
       | blocks the noise they're concerned about.
        
       | bombcar wrote:
       | I've been pleasantly surprised by the improved noise cancelling
       | on tools like Zoom and even Teams, a dog can explode nearby or a
       | child start bawling and nobody can hear it.
        
         | teddyh wrote:
         | > _a dog can explode nearby_
         | 
         | Does that happen often where you are?
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-20 23:00 UTC)