Basement Studio Plans in NJ

thanks for all the input guys!! i will post pics of the existing space asap to provide a clear picture as to what im dealing with.. existing walls are currently up with wood panels on them, i will remove these panels and start fresh..

Why wouldn't it be? What potential savings will be gained by leaving an exposed void? I have no picture to see this ceiling, but I imagine it with rock installed >after< walls are up, no? This would have the ceiling sheet-rock hanging inside that finished wall perimeter.

no sheet-rock up yet so i will be able to off-set the seams as it goes up def with caulk tho

More info on the vent system please. This is your biggest weakness.

Andre, i will try to explain to the best of my ability i plan on removing the window in the CR..in place i put 2 dryer vents with insulated duct running to the CR.. inside the insulated ducts i put "in-line" duct fans (1 blowing fresh air in, 1 sucking stale air out) this is the same as the setup i have now (pictured in previous post). I will also have a portable AC unit with the exhaust running out the same "window" as the in-line fans. I guess your saying this will create flanking to where the window is now (flanking into the foundation) Some of the HVAC systems in Rod's book seem a little complicated.. i will go back and review a possible setup that might work for me, but tapping into existing HVAC isnt something i even want to toy with.

no sheet-rock up yet so i will be able to off-set the seams as it goes up def with caulk tho /quote Butt joints in general get a mud bed, tape and mud skim. I'm thinking you are using "seams" as a replacement for joints? This isn't a place to use caulk but to apply typical building procedure.

Xspace is bringing up a valid point. You want to stagger the seams. Stop your construction and give more detail on the HVAC. How many turns do you have in the ducts? What is the design air flow velocity? Andre

AVare wrote:

Xspace; Green Glue works as an inter-spatial damping material. Not as a sound absorber in the traditional sense. Therefore the backer rod and caulking are not required.

That is (of course) only in the body of the drywall - which I don't usually see any reason to caulk anyway - if you don't use green glue then just tape the seams like normal with joint compound. BUT - the perimiter of the ceiling (against the walls) still requires backer rod and caulk. As does the walls against the other vertical surfaces and the ceiling floor. Juat making sure there is no confusion here on the issue. Rod

rod gervais wrote:

[quote="AVare"BUT - the perimiter of the ceiling (against the walls) still requires backer rod and caulk. As does the walls against the other vertical surfaces and the ceiling floor. Juat making sure there is no confusion here on the issue. Rod

Thanks for the clarification Rod. Gotta remember the details when writing, Andre

thanks for the input guys and im honored to have rod (the man who "wrote the book on it") contribute to this thread!

BUT - the perimiter of the ceiling (against the walls) still requires backer rod and caulk. As does the walls against the other vertical surfaces and the ceiling floor.

That clears things up. i thought i would have to caulk and backer rod all joints where drywall meet, but i guess not. Just the perimeter. The seams i understand have to stagger as each layer goes up. Andre,

Stop your construction and give more detail on the HVAC. How many turns do you have in the ducts? What is the design air flow velocity?

i have not yet started any construction, only demo of current space. there are no plans for any turns in my fresh air system. Not sure what air flow velocity is, but the fans run at 75 cfm which to my understanding (from rods book) is good for up to 5 ppl in the control room. thanks again ralph

i have not yet started any construction, only demo of current space

Great. Good studio building is 90% design and 10% construction. Andre

If i may ask... I can't find 3/8" closed cell backer rod any where. Can i use 3/8" soft cell backer rod instead? Thanks guys.

Just use 5/8" backer rod... it is squishy as all hell and will squash down to around a 1/4". We've been toying with various ideas of how to easily get the backer rod installed. The latest uses a hot glue gun to tack the rod onto the gyp before it goes up to the joint. Then just smoosh it in and after screwing, caulk away. Any other methods out there? -ashley

ok so im just about done with demo of old space. there is still a 2x4 frame of a room inside the foundation walls. i am going to build a room within a room. As far as the existing framing i was considering using a spray foam insulation, either a cellulose or closed-cell foam spray ( i will post pics of the area later tonight). Which is better for this type of application, or am i better off just using fiberglass batts for this?

just using fiberglass batts

That's best. Andre

thanks for yet another tip andre! quick question about possibly framing out a floor for the CR. i have read many other threads talking about the isolation factor but thats not really why i would build a 2x4 floor. my main reason would be to prevent from water damage.. the concrete is not the issue as much as having a sump pump located in the basement area. every now and again something happens and the basement floods.. i would hate to have my drywall,insulation,etc get damaged from such an incident. the obvious answer is to keep a close eye on it with a generator handy for power or a back up pump incase of failure. part of me is thinking that the extra 3.5" of space would protect my build even in worst case scenarios.. the other part of me is thinking it will just add headaches, time and $ to the project..

You can float the the floor if you wish. That is your choice. If I was in your shoes and chose float the floor, I would design the floor so that its resonant frequency is close to the fundamental frequency of the floor/ceiling dimension. Free mode control, so to speak. This is something that requires planning, not constructing. I urge you to concentrate on the design of all aspects of the studio before building anything. Good studio building is 90% design and 10% construction. Good luck! Andre

If I was in your shoes and chose float the floor, I would design the floor so that its resonant frequency is close to the fundamental frequency of the floor/ceiling dimension. Free mode control, so to speak.

thats the kind of thing that is beyond my current knowledge of planning.. i certainly have some time to research as i am currently planning my electrical situation. all the basement power outlets/lights are on a dedicated 15 amp circuit (which is good) but there is also a few outlets in the house that are also connected to this circuit. I also have to run for new lighting, so planning before doing is the order im doing things here. again, i have done no construction other than demo at this point. is floating the floor with neoprene or rubber even necessary or can i just frame out 2x4 directly on the concrete? again isolation is not the goal here. the order of planning will be electrical, HVAC, framing

rsmooth wrote:

thats the kind of thing that is beyond my current knowledge of planning.

Give the info and I'll do the calculations. What is the height of ceiling? Meaning the hard surface if is or you are planning on a suspended ceiling.

is floating the floor with neoprene or rubber even necessary or can i just frame out 2x4 directly on the concrete? again isolation is not the goal here.

Acoustically is meaningless because as you wrote, the goal is not isolation. Would it be advisable though so that the wood is not in the water when smaller flooding happens?

the order of planning will be electrical, HVAC, framing

Andre

Give the info and I'll do the calculations. What is the height of ceiling? Meaning the hard surface if is or you are planning on a suspended ceiling.

the current height from concrete to floor joists is 8'8" the current length is 14'10" current width is 11' i plan on a 2x4 independent ceiling

Acoustically is meaningless because as you wrote, the goal is not isolation. Would it be advisable though so that the wood is not in the water when smaller flooding happens?

well if the wood is directly to the concrete then it would be in contact with water..i guess the idea would be that it would be ok if the wood was in contact with water just as long as the water stayed under the 3.5" height of the 2x4.. again this flooding has only happened once in the 4 yr history of owning the property and it was no more than 1 inch deep in the direct area around the sump pump... i guess im just trying to consider all factors before i start the build

rsmooth wrote:

well if the wood is directly to the concrete then it would be in contact with water..i guess the idea would be that it would be ok if the wood was in contact with water just as long as the water stayed under the 3.5" height of the 2x4..

Bad idea - let's suppose the water reached the 3" mark - so your floor above isn't wet - but all of the framing is - how long do you think it would take for the mold to begin forming in an environment where the wood couldn't breathe freely to dry out. 2 to 3 days would probably be about right,,,,,,,, And that wood in an enclosed area can stay wet for an awful long time, rvrn if you run as dehumidifier to try to help things along. I've had water problems in commercial properties - that it took about 2 weeks to get some professional humidity control companies into - and then - even with opening up the wall and using professional equiptment to dehumidify (along with plenty of fan action) have it take another 2 to 3 weeks before it was dry enough to close up the walls. You would be better off floating a slab than a wood deck. It isn't really all that much more money when you come right down to it. Rod

thanks rod, regarding the floor... an isolated concrete slab would certainly be best, but given that iso is not an issue i will take my chances with the pump and pray it wont be an issue. so finally here are some pics of the space this is looking through the doorway this is the doorway/staircase this corner has the panel and the sump pump is right below it.. notice the window to the left...this will be closed off and is where i will get my fresh air/portable ac vent this is the view into the iso booth all of this framing is attached to the rest of the house so i will build a room within a room completely independent. i will simply fill this frame with insulation and call it a day.. all the wiring is already run and is on a dedicated 15 amp circuit (might swap with 20amp) any questions or comments welcome -Ralph

ok so looking ahead to my new framing, i see 2 problems with what i wanted to do. Both of which involve corners of the room. If i build a new frame inside this existing frame i will run into a problem with the entrance door and the elec panel. they are both too close to their respective corner. Also, under the panel is my sump pump, if i frame out a new wall on that back wall, the wall will be slightly covering an edge of the pump. I see 3 options 1) move the door frame over a few inches and work with where the panel is (with 2x5/8" gyp i will barely make it) 2) demo this existing frame and put my new frame in the same places as the new frame 3) a combo of moving the door frame and re-framing the back wall (which still makes the elec box a tight fit i am leaning towards tearing all that framing out and building in place of where it is now but to my specs. How much of a difference will there be without that other frame filled with insulation? Notice something new every day and thats why im not rushing this... sorry to have such a long thread with not much to show for it guys :thu:

Build the floor with 5/8" plywood on 2x4s and it will absorb at your vertical mode frequency. Cheap and easy. Andre

andre- quick question. if u look in the recent pics i posted (1st one) u can see an area of what will be the rear wall with a square recess in it. I was thinking of framing that out into a triangle to put a "superchunk" trap in it. I plan on using common braodband traps in all corners anyway. just wondering if this is good placement for a chunk?? thanks ralph

rsmooth wrote:

if u look in the recent pics i posted (1st one) u can see an area of what will be the rear wall with a square recess in it. I was thinking of framing that out into a triangle to put a "superchunk" trap in it. I plan on using common braodband traps in all corners anyway. just wondering if this is good placement for a chunk??

What an easy question to answer. Yes. :D Andre

ok so ive since completely removed all existing 2x4 framing..getting ready to beef up the ceiling with drywall... question is, when i frame out the new walls/ceiling should i construct 16" oc or 24" oc for my ceiling i plan on using these types of 2x4 hangers

You would want to frame out 24" OC. This will allow the panel to have more flex in it and you will get a better return out of your Green Glue damping. (I also put this on your other thread as well.:))