New Studio Construction in Commercial Building Upstairs

Hi Everyone! First post here, so thank you for your replies and help in advance. Here's the situation. I am moving my studio into an upstairs commercial space having a concrete floor, and standard drywall over aluminum studs. Needless to say, when testing through a PA speaker driving loud music, sound is all over the building. I need to isolate 2 rooms approx. 18 x 30. I am getting conflicting advice. Starting with the walls. One says blow insolation between the existing walls, and apply 5/8 drywall over existing drywall, and that should do it. The other says, build a room within a room using staggered 2 x 4's that don't contact the existing walls, stuff with insulation, and add 5/8 drywall. Float the floor over existing carpet, re-pad and re-carpet? Or, build up the floor, insulate, and re-pad re-carpet? I am most definitely on a budget, and need the biggest bang for the buck. Obviously, everything will be acoustically treated when done. Any suggestions? Thanks! :shot:

welcome! please update your profile with your location information and take time to read the "read me before posting" sticky which includes a list of questions you will want to answer. this sounds like a fairly large job so you might consider your budget and get the whole "floating floor", "carpet", "blown insulation" and other ideas cleared from your mind as none of those will address your concerns or fit your budget. take some to read John's recording manual which includes many of the concepts you will need to understand on how you will create the environment you desire.

Thanks Glen! I have since done all of the things you advised. I apologize for breaching forum etiquette. I was just looking for a quick answer from someone who knows what they're talking about, as opposed to the advise of someone who "thinks" they know what they're talking about. I need to do this once.

Sir, Glenn knows what he is talking about. "I am getting conflicting advice. Starting with the walls. One says blow insolation between the existing walls, and apply 5/8 drywall over existing drywall, and that should do it. The other says, build a room within a room using staggered 2 x 4's that don't contact the existing walls, stuff with insulation, and add 5/8 drywall. Float the floor over existing carpet, re-pad and re-carpet? " It isn't conflicting information. In order to be conflicting it would assume that you have a fundamental understanding of the theories at present. You do not have that understanding. What you require is correct information and a few days/weeks here will get that for you at a low level I assure you and I can tell you first hand Glenn will be at the forefront of this education. "build a room within a room using staggered 2 x 4'" This is a morphing of two different procedures. It is either a fully decoupled room in a room or it is staggered studs...cannot be both. "Float the floor over existing carpet," Why? What purpose does the carpet serve? And this floating we have to assume is lightweight wood framing, most likely coupled directly back to the concrete. A floating floor is not in your future...maybe a decoupled/damped floor, but not a floating floor. Concrete in a highrise may have a PSI of 3.4 to 5K but that has nothing to do with the engineered liveload and the deadload. These are answers that do not come "quick" and will not come from this forum in any event. If you can get permission to place point loads upwards of 800 pounds and wall runs in the neighborhood of several hundred pounds with the overall weight possibly coming in at 4 to 5 tons...then you are in good shape. You will talk to someone involved with that building...there will be NO fast nor quick answer.