What to do?

Okay, I need your help, guys. :? We're in the process of constructing a rehearsal room above my father's 2-car garage. I'm unsure of what to do with the angled portion of the wall between the top of the bare studs and the ceiling. Right now, there is steel siding screwed to 2x6 joists, with mineral fiber between the joists and a 1/2" sheet of drywall on top of that. I'm looking to increase the TL as much as possible with this portion of the wall. My thoughts: 1. Add a layer of 5/8" drywall (which we've already purchased) with green glue between it and the 1/2" 2. Add some sort of strapping (2x4?) from the top of the 2x4 wall to the 2x6 ceiling joists and hang the 5/8" drywall from that. I realize that neither of these options is probably IDEAL, but I only have so much input with this project, and the budget is getting really tight. I can afford to buy a case of GG, if that's the way to go. Do I have any other options that aren't going to cost me a ton of dough? Please help me. Thanks, C

I'm sort of leaning in the direction of the Green Glue idea. If I do it the other way, I'm afraid I'll be creating a 3-leaf system, with each individual leaf being fairly weak (especially the steel exterior). If I use the GG, I'll have one heavy duty leaf, and one flimsy one. Any thoughts on which scenario is worse? Thanks, C

Is what I'm seeing in the pic a stick-framed roof with 2x6 rafters and wider "collar ties" across between the two sides of the roof? Can you post ALL dimensions of each part of the frame, including lengths between supports? We don' need no steenking cave-ins here :? Steve

Steve, Thanks for the concern. As you've probably gathered, my construction terminology and "know how" is inferior, so please bear with me. The angled 2x6 "rafters" that the steel exterior is screwed to are spaced 24" OC, and 16' long. The "collar ties" are 24" OC, 12' long, and they're attached to the centre of the angled rafters (8'). The horizontal 2x4's run perpendicular to the angled rafters, and are 24" OC. The original dimensions are 40'L x 24'W x 8'9" (to bottom of collar ties) The photos were taking at various stages, and it should give you a better idea (I hope) of what I'm trying to explain. Originally, the angled walls were just 1/2" drywall screwed to the rafters. Realizing the futility of this approach, I wanted to somehow beef up those walls, either by using Green Glue and a sheet of 5/8" drywall, or creating an airspace and adding another leaf (5/8" drywall). I tried to find the best solution of the two, but was unable to do so. I chose the second option, and as you can see in the pics, it's underway. The bottom half of the new wall is 2x4 16" OC, 5'8" tall. The angled portion is 2x4 24" OC, 4'8" long, screwed to the 2x6 collar ties. There is an space between the new 2x4's and the existing drywall about 1 1/2". Judging by your post, I have a feeling this is going to be a possible overload. Please help me get on the right track. I don't want to waste any more of my father's time & money on a room that isn't safe. :roll: Best, Colorblind

Looks like you're headed for three leaves in places... Which is hard to avoid when corregated steel is involved... :roll: What are your isolation requirements? How close are your neighbors' property lines? How loud are you? What are the specs of your original floor? You're adding (literally) tons of weight up there. Have you calculated the total weight of the materials you are adding? Are you 100% certain you're not headed for a catastrophic collapse when you load that finished room with people and gear? :shock: Do you have Rod's Book yet? We need lots of details... As in: when you think you're providing enough detail, double it, and then you'll be close... ;-) It's common for someone to ask a question, and then be asked seemingly unrelated questions in return. Guilty as charged. ;-) However, it's in your best interest, and we'll eventually get around to that original question of yours. :) One step at a time. Before we tell you how to light that cannon, we need to ensure you're not standing in front of it! ;-) --Keith :mrgreen:

C, are you there? Have you read at least the first half-dozen links in the REFERENCE section yet? Besides Keith's concerns, I'm wondering if 6" insulation in your part of the world will be enough to stop condensation from that metal roof from soaking your insulation batts - I'd think there'll be quite a temperature gradient between inside and out in your climate, so the potential for condensation due to partial heating of the inner surface of the metal roofing may be a problem. Also, do a search (here) for span calculator, and see how much weight your stick-built roof frame can support. Use the floor distance from eave to peak as your span distance, ignore the collar ties for safety, and check out the REFERENCE section for a recently added table of material weights. If you run into snags, yell for help... Steve

Keith, The property lines of the neighbour to the east are about 4 feet from our building, but her house is 40-50 feet away. The neighbour the west is at least 200 feet away. I made another post awhile ago inquiring about the safety of the floor, and Rod assured me that it would be sufficient. And yes, I've bought and read his book, albeit only once, while occasionally checking back to various sections. Steve, It's been awhile since I've read the posts in the reference section, I'll go back and do that again. That's an interesting point about roof condensation. If I remember correctly, it's a bad idea to have 2 layers of vapor barrier separated by and airspace, because moisture could get trapped between them. Is there any truth in this? If so, I've got to find a suitable workaround. :? Thanks again for the input, guys. C

There's definitely truth to that "trapped moisture between two opposing vapor barriers" issue. You'll probably want to look into your local municipal noise ordinances to see what standards you're facing. In my case there is a subjective standard and an objective standard, both of which are measured at the property line. It's a common misconception that noise levels are to be measured from within a neighboring house with windows and doors closed. :roll: Building highly soundproofed spaces upstairs, especially over a garage in a retrofit context, is extremely difficult. Often engineering limitations prohibit their construction altogether. If weight were not an issue (and it always is), I would think that a well-designed decoupled three leaf system with generous air gaps for your walls and ceiling, where the cavity between your outer two leaves (the outermost being the corregated metal) is mechanically vented extremely well, might be best. Of course there is still the issue of the floor... :roll: ...which you would want to hae two leaf. Finally, I'll throw this out there. Is it fair to say there is acreage on this property? If so, is there room for another standalone building? If so, that's the way to go -- single story, two leaf, no corregated metal siding/roofing, built from the ground up, following all the principles. Expensive? Hell yes... But so many of the retrofit headaches you are facing melt away. If I had acreage, that's what I would have done. --Keith :mrgreen:

Keith, I'll look into the noise standards for my area and see what I can dig up. I realize that there are several benefits of a ground level studio vs a studio built on the second floor, but we couldn't figure out a way to park the cars upstairs. :lol: Keep in mind that this building is on my parents' property, and I don't plan to be living here forever. With the help of these forums, I'm learning more and more each day, and I figure by the time I can afford to build my own studio with my own money on my own property, I should have a pretty good knowledge of the process. Best, C

Vapor barriers - ever seen the movie "Highlander"? Same rule; "there can be only ONE" :? In this other post, did Rod help you with ceiling loading? IF not, you'll still need to check out spans, etc... Steve

No, we didn't go over the ceiling. Construction, for the most part has come to a halt for the next couple weeks. This will give me some time to read everything (hopefully) in the reference section, as well as calculating load capacity for the ceiling. If I need help, you know I'll come knocking. 8) C

Colorblind wrote:

. . . we couldn't figure out a way to park the cars upstairs. :lol:

So long as you understand that, unless your architecture won't allow for it, you practically will be parking cars upstairs... The weight of the construction materials you'll be using may very well be the weight of a few cars. :!: --Keith :mrgreen: