Matts Studio Build

Hi there, I am currently setting up a small project studio, which is in a stand alone building, approx 8x4m, and 2.7m high. I do not have enough space to employ a room within a room approach, and am planning to simply use 15mm triboard on the internal walls instead of gib (gypsum/plasterboard). The building is steel frame with 12mm ply exterior. I am based rurally so isolation isnt of utmost importance but I obviously want the best I can reasonably achieve. My question is whether there is any benefit to be gained from lining the studs some form of rubber stripping prior to the internal cladding (triboard). The idea is it would provide some mechanical isolation between the steel frame and wall material. I have read rods book but the closest idea to this is using a green glue(?) that would allow flexing of the wall material and convert into heat energy (from memory). Anyway, is this worth doing or am I wasting my time and money? Thanks for any help, Matt

Resilient Channel?

Earshot wrote:

Hi there, I am currently setting up a small project studio, which is in a stand alone building, approx 8x4m, and 2.7m high. I do not have enough space to employ a room within a room approach, and am planning to simply use 15mm triboard on the internal walls instead of gib (gypsum/plasterboard). The building is steel frame with 12mm ply exterior. I am based rurally so isolation isnt of utmost importance but I obviously want the best I can reasonably achieve. My question is whether there is any benefit to be gained from lining the studs some form of rubber stripping prior to the internal cladding (triboard). The idea is it would provide some mechanical isolation between the steel frame and wall material. I have read rods book but the closest idea to this is using a green glue(?) that would allow flexing of the wall material and convert into heat energy (from memory). Anyway, is this worth doing or am I wasting my time and money? Thanks for any help, Matt

Matt, with what you're doing - anything else would be pretty much a waste of time/money. The only benifit you would get from decoupling would really be impact noise - because the weak link in all of this will be the isolation offered by your wall system - which is almost non-existent. So if I were you I wouldn't worry about it beyond what you're already doing. Rod

Rod, Thanks for that, will hope to get some plans and pics happening here soon. Matt

Well i figure i should get some pictures happening to share the enjoyment... ive spent many hours browsing over 'other' peoples projects with great jealousy so will return the favour

And a few more, a bit smaller I hope!

More pics...

Onto the inside...

Well i realise ive kinda turned this into a studio build diary so will fill in some details. My plan was to build a small recording studio suitable for good quality demo recordings mainly targeting younger and new bands. I wanted to keep the building semi-portable so that sale was a possible option down the track. I initially looked at a container studio as seen on this site but felt the space would be too limiting in the long run. Im not planning to have an ideal space for recording drums but would still like that to be an option for bands on limited budgets. The plan involves a separate tracking and control room with a 'window in door' system as seen on one of the container studios. I work full time and am on a limited budget so have had to make sacrifices where possible. I am fortunate to be rurally based with understanding neighbours so isolation hasn't been my primary concern. Anyway i will keep posting if people are interested as ive spent the last 18months browsing over this site and love to see progress! Oh, and im rather useless on sketchup so I don't have any plans to show at this stage, its been pen and paper so far...

Walls lined and lights up

nice framing and all, but your isolation will be next to nothing, but that didn't seem to be an issue so... tbh it's hard to say anything about the build since you don't need that type of advice. a

Thanks for looking anyway. Since ive had the building all closed in and doing a bit of testing ive found the current isolation won't be sufficient. I am planning a second layer of triboard horizontally stacked with a flexible layer in between over the entire building. Also planning a second door over the single door, as this will be the live room end. Cheers, Matt

well the second door and additional layers of drywall will just stiffen your build and not decouple it, so structural vibrations (ie. bass/low end freq.) will still be pretty audible throughout the construction. if you really wanted to separate the two parts (live and control room) you should have buildt them separately. Maybe that's too much of a hassle at this point.. a :arrow:

Ok, i am going to use a double wall between the live and control room. In terms of decoupling between the 2 rooms i had been suggested by an architect to cut through the walls/floor/ceiling with a circular saw between the two walls, (just to the depth of the lining obviously). While there is still a flanking path through the framing, do you think this would help? The cut would only be approx 3mm wide and then filled with flexible sealant. Cheers, Matt

You have two glass doors. How much effect are these two doors having on your isolation?

Hi xspace, thanks for the comment, Here http://www.metroglasstech.co.nz/120.aspx is a link to the data sheet for the glass i have ordered. I have one sheet in the 13mm soundstop and the other in the 11mm soundstop. Both will be 800mm by 500mm. Im not sure exactly how you 'add' stc/rw values together for glass, i was kinda hoping for 40+ combined. Cheers Matt

I believe that your plan to cut with a saw to decouple should help you. Not a lot of room for error. xspace raises a good question as the glass doors will be the weakest link.

hi John, Yes i realise it would be a bit of a precision process. Also it would be hard to get right into the corners with a circular blade. Is decoupling an all or nothing process? Can partial benefits be gained if the the flanking paths are reduced rather than eliminated? Thanks Matt

Hey Matt, That is a good question. sound works like water in an aquarium in that if there is a leak (flanking) the water (noise) will find its way out. Coupling allows a direct path for sound to get into other parts of the structure. Of course in the real world some things can not be avoided and if most of the flanking can be reduced, there would be gains in performance. If the corners are the tough spots and they end up being a coupling point, at least you have taken a majority of the contact out by cutting. Once you load your wall with drywall and damping (Green Glue) the amount of noise getting to those coupling points would be reduced as well. John

Well ive made some fairly good progress over the last week or two thanks to a couple of days off work (other work i mean!). With regards to the decoupling questions earlier, i was able to saw a slot in the ceiling panel between the dividing walls but not the floor or walls. As a somewhat DIY alternative to 'green glue', i used an rubber acoustic underlay on the walls, ceiling and floor, before adding a layer of triboard. I also made a solid core door to cover the existing glass door which makes a big difference to isolation. Im basically hoping to get the live room finished in the next week or so before moving onto the control room. Its amazing the cost of small items that add up, and my limited budget is taking a bit of a beating... great fun though. Im currently constructing a set of doors with glass in them to go between live and control room, more pics up soon Matt

The door seal in the previous pic is a bit budget so have got a better replacement for it. With my double wall assembly, I have the control room wall perpendicular while the live room wall is angled at approx 7deg. This allowed me to create a small cupboard to use for storage and house my ventilation system.

Earshot wrote:

As a somewhat DIY alternative to 'green glue', i used an rubber acoustic underlay on the walls, ceiling and floor, before adding a layer of triboard.

Hi Matt, Your room looks good, and should be OK for sound isolation in that you did use 2 panels. I just wanted to mention that rubber underlay is not a DIY alternative for Green Glue. The rubber underlay you put up added a bit of mass but does not accomplish damping, and sound will go through the rubber. Adding damping would have helped control low end frequency and smooth out the coincidence dip far far better.

Hi John, Yea i suspected the results would be of limited value, but green glue was out of reach pricewise and im not sure how to get hold of it in NZ anyway. My thinking was that a soft flexible layer between two layers of rigid material (triboard) would provide some damping. Cheers Matt

I made some good progress over the last two days, managing to build and hang the doors that go between live and control room. One question i have is whether is is best to create a sealed cavity between the doors? I didn't carry the jamb right through so each jamb is separately mounted on each frame. Would sealing this space between the doors completely create a resonant cavity? Am i better to just put some fabric across the gap and leave the space exposed to the wall cavity? Cheers Matt

You've gone through a lot of trouble to keep the jambs separate, may as well keep on in that direction.