Hi there
We are ordering some neoprene from Clark Rubber here in Queensland Australia and are wondering if there is a certain type that is required for a floating floor.
They told us that it is black in color and comes in 1.5mm, 3mm and 6mm thicknesses.
We are thinking of getting the 6mm thick. It comes in a number of widths and we think the 50mm wide would be good.
We are setting up a floating timber floor on an existing timber floor that has a shop underneath. The construction is as follows from top to bottom.
- 36mm plywood(2 x 18mm and studio frame is on top of this)
- 90mm high joist(insulation between)
- 6mm(?) neoprene
- Commercial carpet(existing)
- 19mm plywood floor(this is the existing floor)
- 250mm x 45mm joists(400 centers with insulation in between)
- 30mm plasterboard(this is the shop ceiling)
We are placing neoprene pads(50mm x 50mm x 6mm) under the studio joists were they cross over the floor joists (250mm x 45mm)
Below is a image showing only the Studio joists and the floor joists( I have deleted all the other layers to show the intersection points for the neoprene pad placement)
Question 1: Is the thickness of the neoprene enough? do we double up to make 12mm thick?
Question 2: Is there only one type of neoprene? We heard that wetsuits are a softer form of neoprene.
Here's a really good thread on floating floors, and how to do the calculations for the rubber. It's a bit more complicated than you might imagine at first glance:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8173
For laboratory analysis of exactly the type of floor you are proposing, take a look at page 11, figure 7, of IR-802, here:
http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/d ... /ir802.pdf
That shows very much what you can expect from that type of floated floor. In your case, you are not building on a concrete slab, so the results won't be as good as that, but it still gives you an very good concept of how it will turn out.
Here's another interesting thread, with comments by people who have actually done floors this way, so you can see how it turns out:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8134
Hope that helps!
- Stuart -
