STC of Steel Walls?

Hello, all! Allyn Allbright here, located in South GA, US. I've searched the forum and done quite a bit of Googling, and I can't seem to find info on the STC of steel walls. I have a large outbuilding constructed of steel and am wondering how much soundproofing treatment will be needed... looking to convert it into a studio, naturally. As per request, here's some more info: Building is 30'x40'... haven't measured the ceiling yet, but it looks to be approx. 12'-13' high and is well insulated. Nearest neighbor is ~200' away. Will be recording all sorts of music so the SPL's might rise above 100db in the live room. Really, all the info I am looking for at this point is the STC of the steel. Thank you!

This is the second post you have done here. There is an announcement at the top of the forum about what to do to assure getting as many responses as possible. The announcement leads to this post. Actually, several people, who are experts on this forum, will not reply if you do not do what is written in the post. Other people, who are very helpful with their advice, will not help, out of respect for the forum moderators.

I'm sorry... I may have neglected one minor detail in the post (although I'm unsure of which detail that might be). I believe I gave much more information than was needed, given the nature and simplicity of my question. I would have much preferred having no answer at all, rather than such a cold remark; it seems to me you wasted a lot more time scanning my post looking for an infraction of the forum's policy than it would have taken someone to come up with a helpful response. I mean no ill will, only to demonstrate a point... it seems some people on this forum are a little too caught up in silly things such as this, and waste valuable time pulling rank rather than helping those who are seeking help (which is the true purpose of this forum!) Regards, Allyn

Ms. Allbright, If I may, "info on the STC of steel walls. I have a large outbuilding constructed of steel", so many variables to guess at. More information on the steel walls is required, a lot more. It would be nothing short of a guess for even the brightest mind here to suggest any number to you as useful.

xSpace wrote:

Ms. Allbright, If I may, "info on the STC of steel walls. I have a large outbuilding constructed of steel", so many variables to guess at. More information on the steel walls is required, a lot more. It would be nothing short of a guess for even the brightest mind here to suggest any number to you as useful.

Thank you, xSpace. That was certainly more helpful. I shall try to gather more information. Forgive my ignorance in the field! :D

sure. maybe you can forget the copy and paste "welcome" message AVare uses because so many details are required and often so few given.

You are asking here about one physical component. Elsewhere you are asking about echo chambers. One of the questions in the referenced link is how much isolation do you need and want? Isolation needs equality. What is the roof structure and how are the windows and doors built? The question you asked was well intentioned. STC is not appropriate for music isolation purposes. Once you give detailed information on the wall we can give some idea of the isolation achieved by it. Isolation acoustics is limited by the weakest link. The questions are intended so that people can be helped without the helpers having to go through twenty questions to get needed information or determine what is actually wanted. As per your original "simple question" of the STC of a steel wall, a steel 20 gauge wall on wood studs would have an STC around 27. If this answer now leads to another question like what do I have to do improve it, you are getting into the twenty questions I mentioned. At some point you are going to look at what the cost is. Budget numbers are important. We can say if a number is unrealistic or not. Of course that answer depends on several questions in the link. I hope you getting an appreciation that the questions are not superfluous. I read your post once before posting my regular reply. Perhaps you are not aware of it, but several of the experts on this forum are world class designers and builders of studios. What I wrote in my standard reply is that if you do not follow the linked guide, these world class experts will not help you. Andre

Don't sell yourself short Andre, your world class enough for anything you take an interest in. From what I have read.

Perhaps I took a bit too much offense, and I apologize for that. I do have a better understanding now of the information that would be required to answer my question... I appreciate you giving me a clear response. I will get back to you when I have gathered my info! Thank you sir!

Ms. Allyn Allbright wrote:

Thank you sir!

You are welcome. If acoustics was intuitive or at least somewhat linear after certain basics were understood, there would not be so many ongoing threads about people disappointed with results and tearing down what they have started. Some people feel intimidated or angered by the amount of information required to receive useful advice. They don't realize that if they went to a professional designer, the same questions would have to answered. The designer would be more gentle in the subject and possibly get some answers by visiting the site themselves. All this would be at going rates. Our John (John L. Sayers) has a special phone consultation rate of $150/hr which is a bargain. A pro designer would not complain too much about the slowness of getting answers as they are using billable time. We, when here, are doing it for love. Poor communication from the builder turns aid off. With your project, you are not building a wall and a chamber. You are building a studio, and factors interact. All this is taken into consideration in a studio design. When someone writes that they have "a simple question" this is a siren saying the writer nows nothing and thinks they know much more. Keep the questions and responses to questions put to coming. The more you know, the better studio will be. Don't forget what I haven't written yet this week (must be a slow week). Good studio building is 90% design and 10% construction. Enjoy! Andre

Allyn, Since there are so many variations in building any wall there is no specific answer to the STC of a Steel Stud wall. Here is a simple answer for you to use as a reference. 52 STC Wall: 2 x 5/8" layers of Drywall 25 Gauge Steel Studs 24" OC r-11 Insulation in the cavity 2 x 5/8" layers of Drywall The benefit in a Steel Stud wall is that it has a bit of "resilience" in it and will give a little better STC # than wood studs. When thinking about a room's use such as yours then you want to concentrate on low end frequency noise problem. Depending solely on STC values of a product can be misleading.