Any suggestions to maximize isolation?

sammy87 wrote:

knightfly wrote:

Since you can't IGNORE the effect, you have to OVERCOMPENSATE for it or seal the existing and beef it up so it works as one of the main leaves; this doesn't sound practical in your case (pipes, missing sections, etc)

Do you mean overcompensate with mass? ie. adding as much drywall as possible to the new leafs?

Yes, I believe that's what he means.[/quote]

I'll get more details on the floor/basement construction at the studio tomorrow, and I'll post them here late afternoon. In the meantime, I'm going to start pulling plaster and lath off the ceiling.

Sounds good -- and it would be great to see some actual photos of this joint! :) --Keith :mrgreen:

knightfly wrote:

I need actual measurements of joist spacing, joist size, maximum UN-supported span of the floor,

Floor joists are 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" spaced 16" on center. The maximum unsupported span is 6', but most of the support columns are placed 4' apart.

is it possible to add support columns under this floor (in basement) to improve span?

It is possible to add supports under the south half of the live room. The north half is above a tiny crawl space, it would be difficult to add support here, but not impossible.

Is the side wall of the basement continuous into the upstairs neighbors' space? Is it solid concrete, or brick, or??

The basement walls and floor are solid concrete up to ground level. The exterior brick wall is built on top of the concrete and extends to the roof.

Is there any other reason to soundproof your floor, other than flanking possibilities thru basement, up walls and into neighbor space?

I don't see any other reason. I started pulling plaster and lath off the ceiling today. We are going to have to get all that debris to the dump before we start any actual construction. I doubt we will be able to build anything for another week or two. Sam