ventilation plans

I have made good progress recently on my drum booth/practice room/studio. I have had the garage converted to a "room", beefed up the outer leaf and have now built the inner studwork. next I need to have definite ventilation plans so I can begin to put up the plaster board etc... (see pic below) My plans currently involve a simple in and out airflow. No Heat exchange at the mo (cause I can afford it) but instead 2 fans and a tube system that may in the future be swapped for heat exchange. my goal is not so much silent fans as silent outside (i.e. not wrecking my soundproofing...) I am after advice on 2 things. 1. What ducting will best suit my purpose? I have found various types and /or can make MDF DIY ducting... See pics, but I am looking at either Plastic round kitchen extractor type or plastic rectangular kitchen duct or thin bendable aluminium or bendable aluminium with a insulated covering.. 2. what fans would be suitable.. I have found many on ebay (see links below and they are basic duct fans. they will sit out side the outer leaf in the new garage store room. ~(see pic) do my plans seem OK. The room is pretty small but I def want ventilation and as my local building inspector is suddenly interested to know what the drum booth will look like on completion I am keen to have a good system.. for info. I had to have an inspection for the building work carried out on the garage turning it from a garage into a "study"... however once that was complete I was going to build my drum booth... sadly the inspector turned up early and the piles and piles of wood kind of gave away the fact it was not going to be just a standard study... he has now decided its best if he comes back once I have finished to take a "quick" look.... Thanks in advance.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/160mm-In-Line-Ext ... 0077666116 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Inline-Duct-Extra ... 0075932866 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IN-LINE-CENTRIFUG ... 0075971761

more pics..

hi, I know I am being pushy and should have planned this part of the build better but as its holding me back from the next build stage any feedback greatly appreciated? any comments on teh above?? I am now also looking at a "budget idea" 2 of these cheap cheap fans. http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro ... 9&ts=54840 Then using the "bendy paper" like tubing it comes with but putting it in a rock wool filled mdf box chamber along the full length it travels. with plaster around too if there is space above the studding. Then standard plastic tube through the brick wall and another mdf chamber on the outer side taking it up to the roof and to the outside world (this will be covered in 2 layers of plasterboard as it goes through what "could be " classed as a garage area and I "think" this covers my fire regs. if they end up becoming an issue. my biggest worry is can these type fans take 3-4 hours a day of continuous use?

First things, first - You HAVE to reduce the size of your pictures to less than 700 pixels wide (see the very first post in all of the forums). Most of the "regulars" here will just move on to the next thread if they have to scroll the screen to read the text. I can make a few comments. One you don't want the bare flexible duct. You need the insulated type (if you have to go flex). Most of the experts here recommend using duct board instead. It's a much better insulator and isn't as subject to getting punctured. I'm not sure how close your drawing is to scale but from the looks of it, the blue and green endpoints (in the garage) are way too close to each other. The out is going to be sucked right back in. You need about 3 ft (1 M) as a minimum. You will probably also need some kind of isolator where they go through the new wall (like a little piece of flex (insulated) between the two leaves to prevent mechanical vibration. The last piece of advice I can give is to get Rod's book and commit it to memory. Hope that helps. Fix the pix and you'll get a lot more. len

According to the building codes in effect in my part of the world, fresh air ventillation cannot under any circumstances flow to or from a garage. --Keith :mrgreen:

Good to see you again, Kieth!!!! It's been far too long since I've been here. Contrats on your promotion to Moderator!!! len

Geoff Sounds like you were looking for some support and advice...Do you have a exterior wall you can vent from opposed to the garage? Maybe go through the ceiling to get there. Fresh air is what you get from a free flowing enviroment. The garage would give you stale air or not enough exchange of fresh air Tom

hi. thanks for the posts.. dont take this as an "attck", but just for info, all the pics are less than 700px (unless I am understanding it wrong.. ? I decreased all to 450px wide?) The air that goes into the garage will not vent there, The ducts will go up (coverd by 2 layers of plaster and rock wool) to the ceiling of the garage and out to fresh air... is that what you all mean?? See attacjed pic to get a better idea.. I could go stright out of the "right" hand wall to the outside but means 2 big holes through internal then external brick. (by caravan on pic) what is duct board? I was considering using the rectangle plastic duct to go through the wall (know it will make slight bottle neck) but it means a easier to cut hole. is this a bad idea? I guess you are saying that the vibrations can carry along the duct through the wall unless the soft stuff is used there? I have the book but as great as some part are, there is not much on ventilation that I can understand. sorry Geoff

geoff_fry01 wrote:

I have made good progress recently on my drum booth/practice room/studio. I have had the garage converted to a "room", beefed up the outer leaf and have now built the inner studwork. next I need to have definite ventilation plans so I can begin to put up the plaster board etc...

Not to pick on you, Geoff... This is for the benefit of those who may aspire to follow your footsteps... But to engage in so much construction activity and then conclude that you "need to have definite ventilation plans"? :roll: Actually, you should have had your ventilation plans worked out before starting construction. You're now facing the far-less-than-ideal challenge of coming up with a solution that will fit not only the structure that existed before you started building, but also will fit the structural changes you have already made. I come from experience -- I spun around in circles for months before settling on a ventilation plan for my project. Once I had that final piece worked out, I was able to submit my plans to my city's building department and I was granted my permit to begin construction. Rather than regurgitate details of my plan here, study my thread to see the challenges I faced and what I ultimately decided was best for me. I too have the same goal as you have in terms of maintaining my isolation levels. Hope that helps... --Keith :mrgreen:

hi thanks for the reply. point taken. excuses are meaningless i know but I have been dropped in this position. I have had plans all along to add ducts from the studio to the outside world using inline fans to start then upgrading to HRV once money is available, but due to the new interest from my building inspector (see above) I am just looking for some help.

It appears I was mistaken about the pix width. I wonder if the problem is the very long URLs in your first post. Is there any chance you could reformat them (see the BBCode link on each reply form) and try and enclose the actual URL inside of the reference and have something like "click here" as the only visible part. len

Personally - I do not recommend the use of flex duct of any type as it can kink and slow flow very easily - PLUS - becaus of the manner in which it's constructed it' prone to noise. Duct board is similar to the rigid boards you use for sound attenuation - BUT - it has a polymer lining (black faced) so that the fibers don't break free under air movement. Before we can answer the rest of your questions you need to provide some info - such as - how much air do you need to provide (good rule of thumb is 15 cfm per person). a fan blowing into the room is not the best installation - a fan pulling out of the room ( as I show in the book ) is best - that way the fan noise itself is being pulled away from you - not pushed into your room. If you use duct board - you can touch the structure without worrying about flanking taking place - however you cannot with galvanized or hard plastic ducts - for that you really want to use a canvas accordian type isolator for the passage through the wall. I don't see enough info on your fan choices to really be able to advise if they're any good or not. BUT - they should be rated for continuous duty operation to be of any use to you. Rod