How we soundproofed an old stone stable for private meetings and therapy

A building full of meeting rooms, therapy sessions and video calls only works if people can’t hear each other through the walls. When we renovated Spring Grove Stables, soundproofing was one of the things we refused to cut corners on. When our very first guests used the space, we barely noticed they were there. If you’re looking for private meeting room hire in Hebden Bridge — for therapy, coaching, interviews or a confidential meeting — this is what’s behind the walls. Here’s what we did, what went wrong, and what we’d tell anyone attempting the same.

Why privacy matters in a meeting room for hire

Our rooms are used for confidential conversations — counselling and therapy sessions, coaching, interviews, board meetings — often while people are working at desks next door. Privacy isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the whole point — whether you’re hiring a room for an hour or working at one of our dedicated desks next door.

Double-boarded walls on resilient bars

Plasterboarding would normally be quick. We chose to double-board everything, which roughly doubled the time it took. The boards are fixed to resilient bars, which separate them from the stud work so sound vibrations don’t travel through the frame, and the walls are packed with acoustic insulation.

A ceiling built for acoustics

Downstairs, the ceiling is a suspended frame filled with acoustic insulation and finished with a double layer of sound-block plasterboard, so sound from the rooms above doesn’t carry down.

The creak we didn’t see coming

Just before the upstairs carpet went down, we noticed creaking travelling through the floor to the rooms below. We tightened the floorboards — still creaking. The culprit turned out to be the suspended ceiling itself: once the joists dried out, the tiny hanging brackets had just enough play to make a noise. Every bracket was detached and refixed. Lesson learned: timber moves as it dries, so check for noise before the finishes go on.

Hiding the noisy bits

The boiler, ventilation unit, stop tap and electrics all live in one utility cupboard upstairs, behind a soundproofed wall. It’s finished with an acoustic slat wall that hides the access doors, so most visitors never know it’s there.

With the heating and ventilation running, the room next door is completely silent.

The panels we nearly didn’t buy

We held back on acoustic panelling along the riverside wall of the mezzanine because of the cost — we wanted to be sure it was needed. It was. Before it went in, you couldn’t make out words from the large meeting rooms, but conversations were noticeable and a little distracting. The panels fixed that.

The finishing touches

A private call room gives coworking members and guests somewhere to take confidential calls away from the open-plan office. And after feedback from therapists, Nutclough now has a heavy black velvet privacy curtain on its glass door, made by The Style Editors, for an extra layer of privacy during sessions.

Private meeting room hire in Hebden Bridge

All of this means our rooms are genuinely private — which is exactly what you want from a meeting room for hire. Nutclough seats two to four and is popular for therapy, counselling and coaching sessions, from £12.50 an hour or £80 a day, with 20% off regular bookings. Salem seats four to eight and suits interviews, team meetings and training, from £15 an hour. Both can be booked ad hoc — no membership needed — and the building is open 9am to 10pm, seven days a week.

We documented the whole build as it happened — you can scroll back through it all on our Instagram.

Want to hear the difference for yourself? Get in touch and we’ll show you round.

What we’d tell anyone soundproofing an old building

• Decide early. Soundproofing is built into walls and ceilings — it’s very hard to add later.
• Separate, don’t just insulate. Resilient bars and suspended ceilings stop vibration travelling through the structure.
• Keep the noisy kit together behind its own soundproofed wall.
• Test before the finishes go on — creaks and gaps are much easier to fix with the floor still exposed.
• Live with it, then top up. We added the mezzanine panels once we knew exactly where sound was escaping.

In this article

Why privacy mattersDouble-boarded wallsAn acoustic ceilingThe creak we didn’t see comingHiding the noisy bitsThe acoustic panelsFinishing touchesPrivate meeting room hireOur advice