Key posts: slab or floating floor?

Substantial posts by jeffjazz, who started the thread, and by the forum’s most active contributors. 97 of 194 posts are listed.

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jeffjazz, 27 July 2004Hi, i have the following design idea from John Sayers. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... uter+noise right now it is a concrete slab and the concrete comes up…
jeffjazz, 28 July 2004thanks for the reply. about dem walls... on top of the concrete there are studs for the outside wall, then some wood and then aluminum siding (yes im in jersey). i'm…
jeffjazz, 28 July 2004not unless i absolutely have to... the air gap would come between the staggered studs which would be filled w. insulation. also, i will be constructing the sayers panel…
knightfly, 28 July 2004Strangely enough, absorption in rooms does almost NOTHING for isolation; in some cases, the end result is MORE sound leakage, because we tend to "turn it up" more when…
jeffjazz, 28 July 2004LOL thanks knightfly! i've been reading a lot of your posts and they're very helpful. you da man 8) ok, i plan to float the drum floor for in-out isolation and better…
jeffjazz, 28 July 2004the external walls (west and south sides) are on 2x6 sills. the 2x6 sills are on top of the foundation concrete (that comes out into the room an extra 2 inches or so.)…
jeffjazz, 29 July 2004thank you for your reply. I'm still weighing the floated floor vs. the drum riser arguement. seems the riser would be cost effective and have a similar effect on…
knightfly, 29 July 2004I would build your wall out flush with the concrete as you said, or for a few db better isolation you could recess the new studs by 1/2" and put RC on them, being sure…
jeffjazz, 29 July 2004LOL thanks! walls will go on top of the concrete. caulked to suffocation. i'll have to look into the RC. do you have a link regarding supplier/price in New Jersey? for…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004here's a shot of the wall stud sill. notice the extra concrete lip. i was planning to use the existing sill for new staggered studs. then insulate between and caulk.…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004here's a shot of the south side of the west wall. the header is what the inside of the house uses for the ceiling. but since the garage is right on the slab, the header…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004heres a shot of the south wall, with window. this is where the back wall of the control room will be. see how the concrete comes up all the way around. i think this…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004the east wall, adjacent to the house. there is an attic access door way up there. i have a temperature controlled attic fan but i keep that door open for extra…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004here's the east wall detail. there is slab, concrete, some sort of sill, floor joists (uninsulated), drywall. unlike the west and south walls there is no lip. the wall…
jeffjazz, 30 July 2004sorry, one more thing. the weather. i'm on the New Jersey shore. unpredictable day to day, but all seasons are quintessential. rains a lot in spring and in the summer it…
knightfly, 31 July 2004Jeff, haven't forgotten you just buried in projects - this is going to take more than a "breather" from projects to answer so I'll try to get started on it tonight. Pay…

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jeffjazz, 4 August 2004there is a crack in the slab and part of the floor in the drum room is slightly at an angle (not too bad, maybe 2"). should i use shims for the drum riser or should i…
knightfly, 6 August 2004Nearly 3 am here, so this will be kinda short - for the "drumhead" walls - what about having cellulose insulation blown in, then patch the holes and add a couple layers…
jeffjazz, 9 August 2004sorry for the delay! i was out in Cally for the weekend. :lol: the picture of the roof... you pretty much got it! I'm looking at your drawing from this perspective: the…
knightfly, 11 August 2004Headers that go across the top of what? Would they be from right to left across the tops of the walls in the drawing, or something else? Some term definitions, to help…
knightfly, 11 August 2004OK, kinda thought that was what I was seeing in the pix - now, as soon as I get some time to figure out WTF the builder had in mind with those joists, and why they…
knightfly, 11 August 2004"now, as soon as I get some time to figure out WTF the builder had in mind with those joists, and why they didn't tie the LOAD bearing walls together..." - OK, one brain…
jeffjazz, 12 August 2004steve, i'm thinking i shouldn't mess with the rafters or roof given what you said. but i also want the ceilings as high as possible and within modest budget. do you…
knightfly, 12 August 2004I've built trusses in place using plywood gussets glued and nailed in place, that have held up in near hurricane winds - it's not that hard once you have the concept. It…
jeffjazz, 18 August 2004steve, i'll do my best to make this as clear as possible: there are 8 rafters on each side of the roof, and numbered from east to west 1-8. i measured from centers and…
knightfly, 19 August 2004OK, 16" centers is better than 24" - now, we need the actual dimensions of the rafter lumber - looks like they might be 2x8's, which depending on the age of the building…
jeffjazz, 20 August 2004ahh, i see. the rafter lumber measures out to be 1.5" x 5.25" - can this be right? :shock: the span of the edge of NORTH wall sill to edge of SOUTH wall sill is 25'1" -…
knightfly, 20 August 2004That's what cyanide was invented for... :evil: Seriously though, good comments - this is why I mention from time to time that communication (and a mild amount of…
jeffjazz, 21 August 2004lol! :D that sucks for you Joey, thanks for the heads up! in college, i had a neighbor just like that who would actually pound on the wall until we stopped playing. I've…
jeffjazz, 4 September 2004steve, i just discovered that there actually is insulation in the east wall, separating the house and the garage. do you think i still need to take down all the drywall…
knightfly, 4 September 2004One more layer of properly caulked and sealed 5/8 drywall will give you about 6 dB better isolation all across the spectrum - a THIRD layer would improve that by another…
jeffjazz, 23 September 2004all right... change of game plan. i think for the better, though. 8) i'm now planning on building new walls on top of the new floating floor instead of trying to mess…
knightfly, 23 September 2004Using those materials for a floated floor would give a resonance of around 31 hZ, which means that you'd have no isolation below at least an octave and a half ABOVE…

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jeffjazz, 23 September 2004sweet thanks but pouring concrete won't really be an option. would 2x4 floor joists or even 1x4 joists flat be better for the floor? i plan for a high & absorbent…
jeffjazz, 24 September 2004great steve, thanks. i think i'm going to go with the 2x6 floor in the drum room and a 2x4 floor in the control room, where it wont get nearly as loud. i'll have to…
knightfly, 24 September 2004I just "faked out" the Insul calculator (modified ceiling calculations) and ran two different scenarios - one, using 2x6's (defaults to standard house insulation, no…
jeffjazz, 27 September 2004About Rockwool in NJ: I spoke with a guy from Solatek [removed] x214 who was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about estimating my needs (including figures when…
knightfly, 1 October 2004I did a search on rockwool a while back and was amazed at all the plant propagation stuff, and no slab stuff mentioned... no, it's NOT the right stuff. You need to check…
jeffjazz, 18 October 2004Ok, after some more searching and no response from roxul, i found a quote for 4pcf rigid mineral wool. it comes in thicknesses of 4" for $.80/sq ft and 2" for $.40/sq ft…
jeffjazz, 23 October 2004awesome, thanks! I received the 1/2" 60 durometer neoprene strips today. they are 2" thick, and 36" long. -what is the best way to cut them into 2" strips? -are drywall…
jeffjazz, 5 November 2004wow. :shock: ok i read through a lot of this stuff a few times. while very helpful to understand the concepts of sound dampening, i am still searching for information on…
knightfly, 6 November 2004Jeff, you can actually go as low as 5% - lighter gets you longer life, heavier gets you lower mam frequency. Here's the closest to actual pounds I can offer you without…
jeffjazz, 3 December 2004Allrighty then! :D things are progressing along, i should have some pics together shortly. i'm working on the floor, we've cut the pucks and we're adhering them to the…
knightfly, 4 December 2004You want your floor above the pucks to be essentially a "monolith" so regardless of using screws or nails, use construction adhesive at every joint to eliminate buzzes…
jeffjazz, 6 December 2004great, steve, thanks! for the control room: added the pucks to the frame, screwed it together using construction adhesive at the joints and added the roxul inbetween the…

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knightfly, 7 December 2004- when should the tyvek be applied, or do i really need it? You need a vapor barrier just behind the closest paneling to living space, so it would go on the joists just…
jeffjazz, 7 December 2004sweet. 8) i'll make a diagram of where each layer's screw's are. my slab is dry. i haven't had a problem with moisture whatsoever. nonexistent. when i washed my garage…
knightfly, 8 December 2004Jeff, first of all please stop using the word "TYVEK" - Rod pointed out what I forgot to stress, (Thanks again Rod, you always got my back) that Tyvek is NOT a VAPOR…
jeffjazz, 8 December 2004shoot, i have one other question for now... what should i use as the floor boards? i previously planned to use: - 5/8" osb - 5/8" gypsum or concrete board - 5/8" osb but…
rod gervais, 8 December 2004Steve- One comment here - This method places 2 vapor barriers in the system - and one of those is on the cold side of the assembly. If moisture comes in contact with…
jeffjazz, 11 December 2004do you have any ideas regarding the garage door? Here's what i was thinking: since i have to keep the door in place, i'll insulate it w. rigid insulation, then build a…
jeffjazz, 13 December 2004thanks, dave! i read your entire post "5.1 garage" and it was very helpful as your situation is kinda similar to mine. looks like the garage door will be one of the last…
knightfly, 13 December 2004Dave, your description - "So what I got (from outside to in) is a garage door, one layer of 5/8 rock on 2x4 framing filled with roxul, 1 inch air space, a steel stud 24…
jeffjazz, 14 December 2004steve, thanks for catching that... i was wondering a little about the cavities of the garage door and how they would play a part in a double or potentially triple leaf…

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jeffjazz, 17 December 2004Steve, in your reference sticky section you have a link to How wall/floor details affect sound insulation http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/newsletter/v7 ... ion_e.html It says:…
knightfly, 18 December 2004Jeff, I doubt you'll have ANY problems due to IMPACT noise for reasons you already stated - however, I would NOT recommend ANY layers on a floor that are only 3/8"…
jeffjazz, 18 December 2004damn... i already got the stuff delivered, what can i do? just replace the 3/8 with 5/8? the 3/8 was to serve as the top layer. is there any use for 3/8 plywood, or am i…
jeffjazz, 28 December 2004whew! glad to be back online and what a relief! regarding the back of the control room... it is supposed to be absorbent from what i gather so here is my plan for the…
knightfly, 29 December 2004Does the back wall already have house wrap (like Tyvek) on the outside? Where you're putting the R19, it should be UN-faced. The entire wall system should have only one…
jeffjazz, 19 March 2005Hello! I'm back, with some progress on the studio. This is going much slower than I had originally planned, but I'd rather do it right the first time than realize I made…
knightfly, 20 March 2005"thin, uninsulated metal door" - for that scenario, I'd read through this thread - http://forum.studiotips.com/viewtopic.php?p=3589 BTW, I hadn't considered the weight…
jeffjazz, 22 March 2005Thanks for that link, Steve, it was fantastic and a great read. The main difference here is that my garage door will serve as the outer leaf of my double-leaf system.…
jeffjazz, 24 March 2005ok, the door is a Raynor Decade - no windows, no insulation. only the raised panels. It seems like their stock item from 20 years ago. on this web page, it shows the…
knightfly, 25 March 2005OK, before we get into this much further I need to know your intentions as to the future of this garage door; will you at some point in future want to return the door to…
jeffjazz, 25 March 2005steve, at some point i may want to sell the house, so as little destruction as possible is best. i would actually like to keep the door on it's tracks b/c i think that…
jeffjazz, 27 March 2005I hope this works... here is a shot of my garage door http://brooksound.com/studiopics/garage ... aps019.jpg closer... http://brooksound.com/studiopics/garage ...…
knightfly, 29 March 2005When the door is down, how tight are the gaps between individual, hinged panels of the door? Also, gap size around the perimeter of the door? What I'm thinking is, use…
knightfly, 10 May 2005As humid as the whole east coast is, I would tend to stay away from steel framing and possibly even gypsum in some cases - I recently read a report from one of the…
jeffjazz, 10 October 2005man, it has been a while, but rome wasn't built in a day! we now have the framing up for the tracking room as well, and that has a gabled ceiling. one wall is 8.5' high,…

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jeffjazz, 12 October 2005ok guys, i read through a bunch of posts about hangars, and i am going to hang them on the ceiling joists as opposed to building a separate frame inside the room to hang…
jeffjazz, 16 October 2005for hanging hangars in an framed ceiling, is it better to: a. fasten the chains/springs for the hangars into the wood before the drywall, and then drywall around the…
knightfly, 16 October 2005Drywall first, then use long enough screws to penetrate the framing by at least an inch. http://www.stanleyfasteners.com/catalog ... h36-5.html I'd use something similar…
knightfly, 17 October 2005please explain to this fool what the above sentence means? what's a relief? Why, it's Alka Seltzer, of course :wink: All seriousness aside, if you look at most lag…
jeffjazz, 26 October 2005awesome, thanks for the clarification. i will have another question about this as things progress, but drywall comes first. regarding the drywall, the reference section…
jeffjazz, 29 October 2005hey there sactown! at 8' high on the wall, i ran 2x6 beams across the room at 24" centers to hold the false ceiling of roxul and to offer support while doing ceiling…
jeffjazz, 4 November 2005Ok, i have a wiring question but i'll ask it here since my situation is here. I can get a damn good price on proco mic cables, so i am considering using running 16…
jeffjazz, 5 November 2005gotcha! should i paint the pvc conduit with that quietcoat stuff (elastomeric compound) to dampen it further? i am looking for xlr wall plates... i'm not too sure how…
jeffjazz, 8 November 2005steve, forgive me for lack of jargon... what is pcb? particle board? :oops: lemme explain what i'm looking for: i've never soldered before and i won't need any cable run…
knightfly, 8 November 2005Sebring, welcome to the board; Jeff's right, your own thread is the way to go. It's just too difficult for us to keep all the details of each member's situations in mind…
knightfly, 9 November 2005Just a quick blurb on cabling for all interested parties, then I really have to give up and grab some sack time (It's 2 am here) - For audio cables, there are several…
jeffjazz, 11 November 2005jeez, man i guess the only way to go is to DIY and solder everything. I looked into the AES digital cable and do you know if their digital cable snake is foil sheilded…

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sharward, 12 November 2005I've done some Googling in an attempt to find actual building code references regarding proper installation of multiple layers of drywall on a ceiling (or even on…
jeffjazz, 14 November 2005:P I just made my first successful solder, thanks to you steve and the others on this site! nothing can stop me now!!! Here is what i am looking at as far as audio…
giles117, 14 November 2005Geek power. LOL I did my 1st solder at 7 and it was an amazing experience. then I got older. resolder a 48 channel patch bay for a monitor console in my church and…
jeffjazz, 14 November 2005well i must admit, it was only a guitar cord that crapped out on me (plug mold ends) - i bought 1/4" connectors from Radio Shack just for experiment's sake and whaddya…
sharward, 14 November 2005The crimper to which I was referring is specifically for fabricating CAT5 and CAT5e cables ... the kind that are used for Ethernet connections. Recovered from…

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jeffjazz, 27 January 2006hey there steve! i actually called in a framer for this and he was very familiar with this sliding glass door framing. what he did was use a 2x4 laying flat 2 2x4s on…
jeffjazz, 27 January 2006this barrier is on the inside (i am in zone 6-7), just before the drywall. there is no kraft facing on the insulation and there is no vapor barrier or retarder other…
jeffjazz, 28 January 2006thanks dan!!! you too! it is called Quiet Coat or Quiet Car. it is car body undersealer, or viscoelastic compound. it transfers vibrations to heat or something... check…
jeffjazz, 28 January 2006dan i totally recommend 2 gallons for 2 coats on a 2 car garage. who knows, you might even want to do 3 coats. i have very little left over that i can use to paint…
jeffjazz, 19 March 2006hey there dan! i have been mia due to a busy schedule. anyway here is an update... two layers of 5/8" sheet rock are now up in the tracking room. the garage door is far…
jeffjazz, 27 April 2006Hey I'm baaaack! ok, now the control room has 2 layers of drywall and we're ready to pop in the heating/cooling system! regarding room treatments, i have searched but…
jeffjazz, 8 May 2006yes i see where that is written, but i have put up 2 layers of 5/8" sheetrock. my interpretation is that the layers are not a different density and are not supposed to…
knightfly, 10 May 2006Jeff, sorry but that's not quite the case - what happens when you glue two layers together, whether they are the same thickness or not, is that you LOWER the coincidence…
jeffjazz, 10 May 2006Steve, i'm not entirely sure i understand. so if the wall is twice as thick and twice as heavy, the coincidence frequency is one half lower? i don' t understand why it…
knightfly, 13 May 2006Jeff, I'll see if I can clear this up for you - First, let's take a fairly normal (for studios, anyway) double-framed wall as an example - Let's start with using two…
jeffjazz, 13 May 2006steve, thank you so much. you made a lot of sense in your explanation. non glueing would add mass without lowering the resonant frequency of the wall. so this affects…