RC Channel vs. Hat Channel?

Is there a significant difference betwixt Auralex brand Resilient Channel and the standard drywall hanging product Hat Channel? The best price I can find for the Auralex product is $150 per box of 24 8ft. pieces. Not that that's a BAD price, just curious if I can save a buck or two. Thanks-

See this thread -- especially Steve's post. Follow the links on that thread, including the one about the contractor who used hat channel instead of RC and his recommendation of a lawsuit. :shock:

Auralex' RC8 is reportedly a re-creation of the now unavailable USG product, RC-1 - However, if you call enough drywall contractors you will probably be able to find a similar product, such as Dietrich's RC Deluxe - and the price should be significantly lower. Expect to pay around $50 to $75 for that quantity of RC locally - Also, hat channel is fine for a replacement :? - HOWEVER, you would ALSO need to buy RSIC clips to place every 4 feet or less, then the hat channel gets mounted ONLY to the RSIC clips. RSIC clips fit standard, locally available hat channel so it's silly to buy the channel from an acoustic supply place, but the clips aren't as easy to find. Expect to pay $5 each for the clips, and somewhere around 50-60 cents a foot for hat channel (haven't bought any lately, but steel products are insane - 300% rise in cost over the last two years) IF you decide on RSIC clips, be careful; there are more than one size, fitting more than one size of hat channel. This site http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/prod ... /clips.asp sells the "standard" size clips which fit most home improvement centers' offerings of "standard" hat channel, for $6 each clip. This site http://www.soundproofing.org/sales/supe ... ndclip.htm sells a smaller clip for only $3.85 (scroll down the page, that $9.85 price is just for a sample) - BUT this clip uses smaller dimension hat channel, and I'm not sure if that's available locally or not so you may spend MORE getting both clips and channel from that site. Also, be careful believing everything you read on that site; I've not re-read their stuff recently, but not too long ago there was a LOT of mis-information there. Same spacing between hat channels as for RC, slightly less than 2 foot centers (spaced so they will allow screwing drywall at edges and middle, which requires TWO channels at 4 foot increments) - the clips are rated for a maximum support of 36 pounds per clip, so a spacing of 4 feet along each channel will support more drywall than you should ever hang - 2' x 4' spacing of clips would support a total weight of over 300 pounds, and a 4x8 sheet of 5/8 drywall weighs about 75 pounds - this means that 4 layers would fall within the ratings, and there are VERY few cases where more than 3 layers will make any difference (flanking noise limitations) Personally, I'd use STANDARD hat channel (bought locally) and the larger clips even tho the clips are more expensive - the narrower channel/clips would make it harder not to MISS the channel with screws, especially after the 2nd or 3rd layer, and it's likely you'll end up paying so much more for channel from soundproofing.org that any savings on clips would be erased by the high price of their channel. Cheapest - locally purchased RC, call drywall contractors til you find it or your fingers fall off :? Best - Standard RSIC-1 clips, with locally purchased STANDARD hat channel. HTH... Steve

wanted to jump in with a question about rc spacing on ceilings. steve recommends to put 2 pieces every 4 feet to attach the ends of the drywall but also recommends to stagger the drywall so the seams don't line up in this thread:http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4619&start=15 Im about to do my ceiling but Im confused. I had originally planned on having 1 channel every 4 feet so that the ends of each sheet would be screwed to it. by using this or the "2 strips every 4 feet" method how would you stagger the drywall? Offset each sheet 4 feet in the direction where they intersect the channel? I was planning on 2 layers of 5/8. I hope my question makes sense, I know I'm confused :lol: thanks, Keith

Hopefully will get you a sketch before too long; been swamped and it's 3:30 AM, gotta crash 4 now... Steve