Studio Build Diary - Columbus, Ohio

Hello, I am fairly new to the forum, and I would like to start by saying this is a GREAT site! There is so much collected information and experience here. This site proved invaluable during my research, and continues to be a source of great advice during my construction. I have posted previously under a different subject, but wanted to start a build diary to document my construction. Any advice or comments along the way would be MUCH appreciated!! This studio is being built in a basement. I wish I had the space to build a room within a room. But things are tight as is, and I have to work with what I have to maximize the space. FLOOR: I am installing bamboo hardwood flooring. For this, I laid down strips of treated 1X4's and 5/8ths treated plywood on top for the subfloor. The strips were attached to the concrete floor via concrete screws. The floor space for the live room measures 19' X 10'6". The height of the room from the installed subfloor to the bottom of the floor joists above is 7'3". WALLS: The walls were built along the outer perimeter of the floor. The walls were built from the concrete to the joists above. The bottom frame does not touch the subfloor I installed. Live Room - For the wall adjacent to the stairs, I plan to install GenieClips (isolation clips) to decouple the drywall from the studs. I will add 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between. For the 2 walls adjacent the concrete block walls, I plan to install 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between (no GenieClips), attached directly to the studs, to combat flanking. http://www.soundisolationstore.com/plit ... eclip.html http://www.soundisolationstore.com/case ... -glue.html Control Room - For the wall adjacent to the storage room, I plan to install GenieClips and 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between. For the 2 walls adjacent the concrete block walls, I plan to install 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between (no GenieClips), attached directly to the studs, to combat flanking. Seperation Wall Live Room/Control Room - This will be a double wall with a three inch gap. Again, the walls are attached from the concrete to the floor joists above, do not touch the subfloor, and neither wall touches the other. The only flanking path is that the walls are attached the the floor joists above. On the Live room side, I plan to install GenieClips with 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between. I'm not sure what to install on the control room side. Maybe 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall without Green Glue. Glass - For the size of the dividing wall (Length=10'6", Height=7'3"), I was thinking of a piece of glass Length=2' Height=3'. Like I mentioned earlier, the 1 inch bullet resistant glass is VERY price friendly. ($50 each). However, they measure Length=5'5", Height=3'2". It's REALLY big for that wall. It seems there would be more glass than drywall. I am concerned this would cause excessive reflections in the live room. UPDATE - After receiving feedback to my previous post, I have decided to use two panels of the 1 inch glass. The glass turned out to be in fantastic condition! They came out of a bank that was remodeled. I paid 100 bucks cash for both pieces! They are HEAVY!! CEILING: For the ceiling, I believe this to be the most direct source of sound leakage. I plan on screwing strips of 5/8ths drywall to the subfloor between the ceiling joists, with Green Glue sandwiched in between the subfloor and drywall. I then plan to install GenieClips with 2 layers of 5/8ths drywall with Green Glue in between. The ceiling will not touch the walls. Here is the plan for the ceiling: DUCTWORK: I plan to replace the current ventilation ducts with insulated flexi ducts. LIGHTING: I plan on installing track lighting instead of recessed ceiling lights. DOORS: I found 3 solid core oak doors at a second hand store for 25 bucks (for all three!). They are HEAVEY, and look really great. I could use some advice on how to effectively seal these. OTHER: I plan to use an acoustic caulk (actually I will use a 50 year caulk) to caulk and seal all gaps (between the installed subfloor and bottom walls, ceiling and upper walls, etc.) I think I covered my plan so far. I could REALLY use any advice anyone has to offer. I wish I had the room to build a true room within a room, but I'm hoping my planned efforts to combat soundproofing issues are not in vain. Am I going overboard with anything? Am I not addressing something enough? I don't want to invest money in materials if it's not going to add any soundproofing value. Does anyone have any experience with GenieClips or Green Glue? Here is a test for GenieClips and Green Glue: http://www.soundisolationstore.com/tests The walls should be finished up tonight. I will update with more pics.

You will be doing your isolation a big favor if you can find a way to actually get it completely enclosed (RE: Red Line). Like it is at the moment, you are breaching the isolation at the wall intersections with only one side of the mass/spring/mass containment and then four points that are flanking (RE: Yellow Lines) directly from one side of the control room to the other (tracking) room. I do not know why you installed pressure treated cleats and then installed pressure treated plywood over that. Seems redundant to me. But since you have already made the effort, short of taking it out, please include 15# felt in-between the plywood and your bamboo flooring AND use galvanized nails. Standard floor nails will rust in the Wolmanized process that is part of the pressure treated plywood. Please re-read the "Before you post" thread to find the correct diminsions for graphic uploads....

Brien, Going forward, I will post graphics with the proper dimensions. Are you suggesting that I build a second wall where you have lined in red? The two rooms will be totally enclosed (all four sides) and will be completely seperate from one another (except for flanking by attaching the top of the walls to the ceiling joists). Do you think that the extra wall is worth the trade off in lost "real estate"?

I think that trying to match the existing concrete wall with resilient channel on the opposite side is going to cost you in the area you need isolation the most, the side towards the living space. So I am not saying "in addition to resilient channel" but "instead of". "(except for flanking by attaching the top of the walls to the ceiling joists)" I wouldn't do that either for one of several reasons not the least of which is how hard you will make the upstairs floor due to this rigid connection below it. The other would be, yea that flanking thing is going to kick all your work in the ass, you just don't know it yet. Third, the floors ability to "flex" now being greatly reduced or non-existent always presents issues like the basement floor uplift that can happen, and when it does, the walls move upward and when they do, the upstairs floor moves upward under sever pressure. It is always best to give a 2 inch space area between the top plate and the bottom of the next hard framing. I am certain there are other guidelines that can get you closer, but you would have to ask your local guys to get a better handle. And by local, I don't mean folks that did it already, I refer to building inspectors, or someone with a qualification that can help you out here.

Brien, In regards to your first response, I believe we chose pressure treated wood to use a the subfloor because of it's resistance to decay should the basement ever become damp. We also laid the strips so that if the basement should ever leak, the water will be directed to the drain in the adjacent utility room. So far, the basement has been bone dry, and is in great shape for the age of the house. However, the added expense of using pressure treated wood for the strips and plywood gives me peace of mind. You mentioned laying felt down before the bamboo. Can you tell me why this would be necessary? We had planned to use roofing paper under the bamboo. We were also planning on using liquid nail instead of nailing the bamboo.

RoadRecording wrote:

You mentioned laying felt down before the bamboo. Can you tell me why this would be necessary? We had planned to use roofing paper under the bamboo.

Same thing.

RoadRecording wrote:

We were also planning on using liquid nail instead of nailing the bamboo.

Neat trick. How do you plan, rather, what do you plan to nail the bamboo to...the felt/roofing paper? It may be a better option to look into a mastic to glue the flooring down with rather than trying to attache it to the paper. But anything is possible with enough glue I suppose.

UPDATE: I need to mention and thank my stepfather for being a part of this project. Couldn't be doing this without him. We have walls! Live Room looking into Control Room Live Room Stairway Wall Control Room Up the Stairs Dividing Wall Double Wall Isolation Clips GenieClip Green Glue Scored all three solid core doors for $25 at a second hand store! Staggered Framing None of the wall frames touch the subfloor Should I use acoustic caulk to seal all the gaps I created between the framing?