Basement ceiling question

I'm getting ready to build my studio, and I would like to try to maximize whatever isolation I can get from the floor above. With 7 foot ceilings, I really don't have the room to hang a ceiling, and being a realist who will be working only on my own projects, I can live with less than perfect isolation. We do have hardwood floors upstairs though, and right now, with nothing but air between the joists, I can hear my dog's toenails clicking around up there no problem. My wife will not allow me to do any mods to the floor above, so I am just wondering what is the best way to maximize my situation. I was thinking about doing the following, but please tell me if this is going to do anything or just be a waste of time and materials: First, cut a sandwich of 1/2" sheetrock, 703 or that new heavy vinyl sheeting, and 5/8" sheetrock, and screw in between the joists to the subfloor above. Then, fill the rest of the space between the joists with pink fiberglass, and then screw two layers of sheetrock to the joists for the ceiling. I won't be putting any lighting in the ceiling, so I should be able to keep things pretty tight. Will this be reasonably effective? My 7' height will only be reduced by the two layers of sheetrock and whatever I do with flooring. If this won't be effective, what else can I do? Or, is the situation hopeless? Thanks for the help. Jim

Read the following thread to see what John recommended for my new space (construction begins this weeekend!). I'll be trying his approach, even tho I'm not terribly worried about keeping studio sounds in the room or keeping external sounds out -- mostly worried about the acoustics in the room. Still, can't hurt to try to maximize isolation, especailly when John's approach seems pretty easy. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3646

Hey - thanks for the tip. I had already read that thread, but was thinking that your situation is different from mine, in that you aren't all that concerned with isolation, and I am. I wonder whether OSB is as good as my "sandwich" idea, using the sheetrock and either 703 or that heavy rubber sheeting. If someone knows the answer to that, I'd love to hear it!! I'm also assuming that a double layer of sheetrock for the ceiling will be better for isolation that fabric and 703. Jim

Jim - your approach is correct - I'd suggest you hang the drywall off a RC channel as well like this. cheers john

John - Thanks a million for the diagram. Are the "additional layers" pictured OSB, or sheetrock? I'm assuming that I will need to caulk all of the seams like crazy. Should I forget about that neoprene sheeting? Also, I've seen clip mounts for the resilient channel on Soundproofing.org. Should I do that, or simply screw the channel to the joists and hang the sheetrock directly to the channel? I don't want to lose too much room height, since I'm starting with only 7 feet, but I also want to do what is best acoustically. Thanks for all of the help. We're starting construction in a couple of weeks, and I start an album project (hopefully) in July.

OSB or Sheetrock - either will do - as you are worrying about ceiling height I'd use the simple attachment method - the clips are better but probably not worth the loss in ceiling height. cheers john

John - I was looking at your diagram, and got this idea: What if I screwed nailers against the joists, but offset upwards enough so that I don't lose more than a half inch or so when using the hangers and the channel? The hangers allow the use of standard "hat" or furring channel, which is readily available here, and cheap. Plus, I would be decoupling the ceiling even more. Worth doing?

There's a great new thread in the Construction Forum dedicated to this "adding layers between joists" technique... Complete with photos and some good discussion. :mrgreen: