Door construction

Hi all, Well we're now into month number 5 of my 3 month studio building project! :) I'm doing the doors now and have been trying to locate sheet lead as per the suggestion in Rod's book. I am having difficulty finding it here in Brooklyn, NY. So two questions: 1) Does anyone have an affordable source in Brooklyn? 2) Can anyone recommend an alternative material - say cement board - to frame in as a second layer of mass on my door? (Which as per Rod's suggestion, I'mm building off of a 36"x80" solid core door.) My walls are 5/8+5/8 on 2x4 studs to 2 inches air to 2x4 studs to 5/8+5/8th, so there's plenty of room to add a material to the door thicker than sheet lead. Thanks, Steve

Sorry for the bump, but I haven't resolved this issue. Is there another name for "sheet lead?" I've been calling lumber yards and masonry suppliers in Brooklyn and have faced a lot of "SHEET WHAT!? WHAT THE HELL D'YA NEED THAT FOR!? RECORDING STUDIO!? 2 PIECES!? SORRY, BUDDY." Can anybody shed some light on obtaining this stuff? >>> Hi all, Well we're now into month number 5 of my 3 month studio building project! I'm doing the doors now and have been trying to locate sheet lead as per the suggestion in Rod's book. I am having difficulty finding it here in Brooklyn, NY. So two questions: 1) Does anyone have an affordable source in Brooklyn? 2) Can anyone recommend an alternative material - say cement board - to frame in as a second layer of mass on my door? (Which as per Rod's suggestion, I'mm building off of a 36"x80" solid core door.) My walls are 5/8+5/8 on 2x4 studs to 2 inches air to 2x4 studs to 5/8+5/8th, so there's plenty of room to add a material to the door thicker than sheet lead. Thanks, Steve

MDF should work well...it's easy to find and heavy. Check out the BBC papers on door construction for alternative techniques. Cheers Kris

Hi everyone, I finally found a supplier for lead sheet here in Brooklyn. For those interested it's - www.belmontmetals.com. Unfortunately they charge $3 per pound for lead sheet in the size/quantity that I'd be purchasing. So for my two studio doors I'd be looking at roughly $1008 just for my lead using the 8 lb per square foot lead that Rob recommends. At this stage in my building, this is simply out of budget. So I am looking for an alternative material that will provide high mass at a lower cost. Since my door frames are almost 12 inches deep, I have plenty of room to work with. Any more suggestions. Anyone know the mass of MDF per square foot as Kris suggested? Kris can you be more specific about the "BBC papers?" I am not familiar with this. Thanks! Steve

stevegries wrote:

Hi everyone, I finally found a supplier for lead sheet here in Brooklyn. For those interested it's - www.belmontmetals.com. Unfortunately they charge $3 per pound for lead sheet in the size/quantity that I'd be purchasing. So for my two studio doors I'd be looking at roughly $1008 just for my lead using the 8 lb per square foot lead that Rob recommends. At this stage in my building, this is simply out of budget. So I am looking for an alternative material that will provide high mass at a lower cost. Since my door frames are almost 12 inches deep, I have plenty of room to work with. Any more suggestions. Anyone know the mass of MDF per square foot as Kris suggested? Kris can you be more specific about the "BBC papers?" I am not familiar with this. Thanks! Steve

Steve, save yourself a lot of money = go to home depot - in the masonry section - get the lead sheet they use for flashing brick andstone work chimneys - it comes in rolls - is only 18" wide - so 2 rolls do a 36" wide door........ if you don't findit there- just go to a local supplier of masonry products.... Idon't think this is the full 8psf- I believe it's only 6psf........ but you still can't beat that density with any other material - MDF doesn't even think of coming close....... Rod

WOW! :shock: That's a LOTTA' money for the lead sheet! That would be out of my budget also! Think I'll take Rod's suggestion about Home Depot on that one. Steve, in case you missed the post, check out Rod's suggestion concerning a transition piece for double doors (if that's what you're doing) and the suggested mfg. and part numbers for the threshold and door seal. Also, Geoff's post has some good info/questions... http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8529 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... 0102#60102 Thanx!

rod, how do you hold the lead sheets to the door? Just bolt through it? Thanks Geoff

geoff_fry01 wrote:

rod, how do you hold the lead sheets to the door? Just bolt through it? Thanks Geoff

I always glued it and then tacked it - allowing the final plywood to really locjk it into place (trim screws are great for that) But I would change the glue to green glue today........ Rod

green glue doesn't have any adhesive properties

I think Rod means that he would use Green Glue just as the constained dampening layer and as a temporary tacky substance to temporarily hold the lead sheets in place, but then rely on trim screws through the plywood into the door to truly hold them in place. Right, Rod? --Keith :mrgreen:

sharward wrote:

I think Rod means that he would use Green Glue just as the constained dampening layer and as a temporary tacky substance to temporarily hold the lead sheets in place, but then rely on trim screws through the plywood into the door to truly hold them in place. Right, Rod? --Keith :mrgreen:

CLose Keith, I would use green glue - and still tack the door down with some small tacks so it wouldn't shift as I applied and lined up the plywood......... Exactly the same as when I use real glue glue........ But I don't need adhesive - and would opt for the gain in isolation I get with the GG. Sincerely, Rod

One of these days I'm going to learn that Rod does a heck of a lot better job speaking for himself than I do for him. ;-) --Keith :mrgreen:

Thanks, Rod. Haven't had a chance to get to Home Depot in Brooklyn yet (living in NYC and thus not needing a car is usually a blessing, but there's an occasional downside), but when I do, I'll be sure to report back here regarding whether or not the sheet lead is available. I'd disagree slightly about whether or not Green Glue has adhesive properties. True, I would not use it exclusively to hold up a sheet of lead. But I've used it between every ply/sheet rock layer in my studio, and I'll attest to it being sticky as hell. Don't know yet how well it's contributed to the isolation of my studio. But I'm glad to hear Rob vouching for it. Best, Steve

Who's Rob?

stevegries wrote:

Thanks, Rod. ....... I'd disagree slightly about whether or not Green Glue has adhesive properties. True, I would not use it exclusively to hold up a sheet of lead. But I've used it between every ply/sheet rock layer in my studio, and I'll attest to it being sticky as hell. ...... But I'm glad to hear Rob vouching for it.

I also used it, and made some test samples. :twisted: It's sticky ...... damned, it's indeed sticky and remains sticky..... But it doesn't really glues in the normal sence. After couple of months I can still tear 2 pieces of wood apart (manually) glued with Green Glue. At the other hand I mounted a heavy massive oak floor (slats) with it without any mechanical fastener (wasn't possible there). After about 6 months it still seems perfectly OK (but it are relative constant hygro-thermal conditions there). I asked Brian (the GG guy) before I did, but he didn't had the answer, hence this was more an experiment.

Rod wrote:

Who's Rob?

:mrgreen: Rod you're the curious type???? .