Is building with wood ok?

Hello, I'm looking at the different solutions for building a garden studio. I'm considering a wooden shed for budget and practical reasons, but I know that it'll be close to non existant in terms of soundproofing, but if I do the soundproofing inside, would that be possible?

There's nothing wrong with using wood for building an isolated room. It has mass, just as gypsum.

Wood is good too, provided that you make it thick enough. It will still stop sound fine, if there is plenty of mass. The reason that gypsum board (drywall) is recommended so much here, is because it is usually cheaper (per kilogram) than wood in most places. Perhaps where you live wood is cheaper, and in that case, use wood, sure! Plywood, MDF, OSB will all work, if there is enough mass. Your wood will probably need to be a bit thicker than gypsum board, to get the same amount of mass, since wood is not quite as dense as gypsum board, but it will still work, and the same basic principles still apply: Just build your room as two-leaf "Mass-Air-Mass" system, sealed airtight, following all the other usual precautions, and it will be fine. - Stuart -

Thanks for you responses, The reason why I am looking at wood, is also because it comes in ready to assemble kits, although quite thin panels, but the idea would be to have plaster boards (gypsum?) behind with mineral wool to increase the isolation. That means the initial construction is much simpler than having to build a concrete house, and cheaper of course.

A ready-to-assemble kit might not be good enough. The floor probably will not be able to take the weight that you need to put on it to get decent isolation. Also, thin wooden panels will probably resonate and vibrate loudly, in sympathy with some frequencies in your music, causing problems both inside and outside. A wooden shed will work, but it needs to be very solid, very tough, built on solid foundations that can support the weight. I wish there was a way to bypass the laws of physics and build a good studio very cheap, but the laws of physics are fixed, and you cannot get round them. They wont go away, no matter how hard you wish! For good isolation, you need mass. There are no shortcuts. Mass needs support, lots of mass needs lots of support, so you cannot put it on a thin floor or skimpy foundation. It needs a TOUGH floor, with hefty, solid foundations. etc. - Stuart -

Maybee wood in a great thickness will work for soundisolation, but also think about fireproofing!!!! I think that Gypsum is much cheaper and more safe. This is the reason why everybody use gypsum. cheers mika

Thanks for the replies, when you talk about gypsum, is it what's used to build the actual walls from scratch ? or do you mean using the thinner (13mm) gypsum boards for the room inside the room? I'll look at the prices and compare.

Gypsum is gypsum! The thickness doesen`t change the material. But the normal thickness for wallconstruction in homes is 13mm. But you can use gypsum only inside, because it`s not waterresistant. I don`t know how you plan your wallconstruction, maybee this is important to know ,for usefull answers. Cheers mika

mika wrote:

Gypsum is gypsum! The thickness doesen`t change the material. But the normal thickness for wallconstruction in homes is 13mm. But you can use gypsum only inside, because it`s not waterresistant. I don`t know how you plan your wallconstruction, maybee this is important to know ,for usefull answers. Cheers mika

No no sorry, I know what gypsum is, what I meant (and I think you answered it) is wether you would use gypsum to build the actual walls or just the 13mm panels on the inside. So really my question is ; What do you use to build the walls for a studio? At the moment I just have the garden with grass and no building at all so I'm talking about building from scratch.

Buying a shed-kit might be something to consider for a basis. From there you can isolate the wood-shed. Mass is needed. So adding GB on the inside is a good plan. Caulking all gaps is another. If you've got the budget and know how, you might consider bricks. It's all up to you. The density of "wood" differs a lot. MDF, for example, is about the same as GB (mass wise). Your average wood will prolly be a bit lower in mass (kg/m3). It's all about mass. GB is heavy and cheap.

Ro wrote:

Buying a shed-kit might be something to consider for a basis. From there you can isolate the wood-shed. Mass is needed. So adding GB on the inside is a good plan. Caulking all gaps is another. If you've got the budget and know how, you might consider bricks. It's all up to you. The density of "wood" differs a lot. MDF, for example, is about the same as GB (mass wise). Your average wood will prolly be a bit lower in mass (kg/m3). It's all about mass. GB is heavy and cheap.

Great thanks, I'll keep all that info at hand.