Greetings!
This "may" be an easy question to be answered...
1.) I will be beefing up my walls when I start construction. I was
wondering if the 1st layer of "beef" should be some type of
material offering extra "moisture protection" before drywall
layers are added. I understand this layer will most likely offer
very little as far as noise reduction capeability, but I wanted to
do all I could to protect the layers of drywall seeing that there
would be nothing between them and the very outer layer of the
house. It looks as if the outside layer is some type of "partical"
board. The first picture shows what the actual wall looks like.
*NOTE* This post has been edited. There was a question #2 & #3, but there was a change in design that eliminated the need to have those questions answered.
Thanx!
Moisture resistant "beef" layer/Sway brace
Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 8328.
Greetings! These "may" be 3 easy questions to be answered... 1.) I will be beefing up my walls when I start construction. I was wondering if the 1st layer of "beef" should be some type of material offering extra "moisture protection" before drywall layers are added. I understand this layer will most likely offer very little as far as noise reduction capeability, but I wanted to do all I could to protect the layers of drywall seeing that there would be nothing between them and the very outer layer of the house. It looks as if the outside layer is some type of "partical" board. The first picture shows what the actual wall looks like. What you likely have is siding over OSB. The siding should have a moisture barrier underneath it, and over the OSB which protects the structure. YOu shouldn't need another barrier paper before you put the Drywall on, i believe this would cause the OSB to retain moisture between the two layers aka like a sealed baggy that builds up moisture. 2.) When "beefing up" a wall or ceiling is it necessary to put backer rod and caulk on BOTH sides of the drywall or can you put one side of the drywall FLUSH against a stud or ceiling joist, caulk it, THEN put backer rod on the other end and caulk over it? It seems like it would be a lot easier having to do it on one end as opposed to both ends. Hmmm...maybe it's a sound isolation issue... Dont understand the situation you explained. But ill try and help. You dont need backer rod on the beef up stage (between studs) unless your measurements are very innacurate or your studs are out of whack which makes it difficult to get the edges close. If you have gaps, put some backer in there, and caulk. Small gaps (less than 1/8") can be filled with caulk but check back on them after time and re-fill them completely as the caulk may shrink or pull away from the drywall. Use the backer rod for your walls and ceilings of the inner build, as per outlined elsewhere. 3.) In my vocal booth I will be doing an "inside-out" wall. I plan to use sway braces to support the top of my frames. The "I" joist that I would use is approximately 16 inches from the inside-out wall frame. Is there a recommended type of support to use along with connecting it to a sway brace that would stretch from the frame to the"I" joist? Possibly a stud support of some type? In the 4th picture below you can see the frame & "I" joist. The frame is temporarily help up by a (nailed) 2x4 support for the time being. Please note that as of this time NO work has been done for beef up etc etc. Insulation in the last picture is the original insulation that was installed by the home builder. Thanx!
Hey, thanx for the reply n8nod9it. Both of your suggestions/comments work for me. As for the moisture-resistant material that will save me $$$ from having to buy more materials. As for the Backer Rod-caulking, that's good to hear too. That's even better than putting Backer Rod in "one" side and caulking both sides of the drywall. I read a post this morning where Keith stated he couldn't find any data on beefing up, but it's basically just a theory that he believes will work. I'll have to go back and read the section of his thread when he beefed up his walls. I don't believe he used Backer Rod either but I'll see.
Anyone have any other input-suggestions? (Still need the third question answered!)
Thanx for the input
Any other opinions on question #1 above?
B-B-B-Bump
Don't know how 'out-of-line' this is, but I've been thinking if something like cementboard was used, there would be no need of worrying about crumbling of drywall -- in the event that IF it does become wet... Being on the outside of the wall -- even though it 'shouldn't' be exposed to direct moisture -- it is still possible that it could get wet if some sort of breach in the outside siding or sheathing occurs... or even if water makes its way between the wall from a different location/source (like, say, a leaky roof or leaky plumbing, etc...) Cementboard can get totally wet and dry in almost endless cycle (I believe), and of course, it is used often itself as (part of) sheathing in some cases. It's one thing to have to replace drywall that is visible; but it's another thing altogether to have to replace something deep inside of a wall system... Although there seems to have been some negative talk about cementboard, I can't see why it shouldn't be an 'at least' equivalent mass 'beef' as drywall is -- in fact, it's much denser than drywall is. The only likely sounding thing of possible question seems to be porosity... But poured concrete or blocks are also porous, and they appear to have very good ratings in use in M-A-M systems.... (the 'pores' are probably too small to pass appreciable amounts of higher frequencies, and are probably irrelevant for low frequencies). If anyone has more information about cementboard used in soundproofing -- especially to the contrary of above -- please post about it.... In fact, there's at least one company that uses cementboard (or Durock) in the manufacture of sound curtains that block highway noise from getting to adjacent residential areas... (naturally, they couldn't use drywall outdoors!) A downside of cementboard is cutting it, and fastening it (but I don't think you'd need special fasteners, since it's likely cleats will be used to hold it in place, no?)Any other opinions on question #1 above?
As n8nod9it said above, it would seem I "shouldn't" need any other layer of protection. My walls are all dry on the inside and I've never seen any signs of moisture.
However, one day I was in my studio and I half-closed the door as I came in. My light bulb had burned out so the room was 90% pitch black. I happen to look over at my wall frame and saw a slight bit of light near the bottom of the frame. I went and closed the door completely and notice a few light areas "here and there" as I removed the insulation on that wall. Evidentally, between the OSB and the studs there wasn't a 100% total seal. It would seem the "lighted" areas could be caulked, but that made me wonder "if light can come through here, so can moisture and even BUGS". That's what led me to wonder if it wouldn't be better to put a protective layer next to the OSB, caulk well and continue my other drywall layers.
Luftweg, I like the idea of the cementboard, but, as you said...cutting it may be difficult :( . I wonder if there's some other type of moisture- absorbing-drying material I could consider (that could be cut easily!)
Do you or any one else have any ideas?
Thanx!