Hello All,
This is my first post. First I want to say this forum, in my opinion, represents one of the best applications the Internet has to offer, allowing so many of us to benefit from the kindness and generosity of the wonderfully passionate experts that are so giving of their time and knowledge. Thank you all for your knowledge and helpful nature.
I have studied many threads on the forum, and tried to take notes as I’ve gone, tried to go through the advice about posting, etc. I’ve purchased and read Rod’s book which is wonderful, and hope I am reasonably prepared to describe my project and ask silly questions without wasting anyone’s time too much. I would say my current stage of development for this project is hopefully moving from research to planning, so I hope I've posted this to the correct forum. I certainly would like to be building by the end of the summer, but want to take my time to avoid mistakes if possible.
I will try to describe my situation as coherently as I can, although I’m not sure how gifted I am in such things, so forgive me for the things that I will either leave out or inadequately (or overly) explain. I really will try my best to help you help me! :D
Budget
My budget is small, but a bit flexible. I would really like to stay below $2,000, and am hoping for closer to $1,000, but as I said I would be a bit flexible in going over $2,000 if necessary. I currently plan to do virtually all the work myself with the possible exception of ductwork changes/additions.
Recording Environment/Loudness
I plan to build a combination room, as I mainly work alone. I currently record much of my stuff direct and/or MIDI. Currently my drums are MIDI. The instruments I generally record acoustically include congas, bongos, shakers, cabasa, mandolin (rarely), acoustic guitar (generally in combination with the pickup & Fishman Aura), mic’d guitar amp for electric guitar (rarely as I generally go directly from an effectrs processor) and of course vocals (generally close mic’d). I’m hoping that when I’m done, the room will sound good enough as to inspire me to record more things acoustically. :P Although I play a reasonably large variety of music, most of my stuff could likely be best described as James Taylor-like. In regard to loudness, I cranked my studio monitors a touch louder than I would expect I would ever run them, and measured about 92 db in the listening position. My recording set up is pretty lightweight compared with most folks on this forum. Alesis Studio 32 board feeding Sonar PC setup via an Echo Mia Midi (audio & midi) card, and a set of Behringer Truth B2031A active monitors.
Goals
My goal is to create a space that I can quietly record in, while not bothering the rest of the household. I have currently been recording in the space where I plan to build the room. The issues I currently have in this space that I want to resolve as a part of this project are:
1) Noise from the utilities (furnace, water heater, water softener), the fan in my PC, and floor noise from upstairs being picked up excessively by my large condenser mic. I am currently thinking I would like to locate my CPU outside the room to remove that part of the problem.
2) Stop sound (notice it’s no longer “noise” :wink: ) from my recording/mixing from disturbing the rest of the house. My family is very supportive and have not complained, but I’ve noticed many times my wife moving to the bedroom to watch tv, rather than staying in the living room where it’s obvious my music heavily bleeds into. When I had my monitors running at 92 db, the reading in the dining room (directly above) was around 72 db. My perception is that much of the sound was coming through the floor through the openings for the heat vents into the room from below. I should mention that the basement is on one end of our house, we have no backyard neighbors, and the closest neighbor on the “basement end” is 75 feet away. Although I have not taken db readings outside, I’ve never had any complaints, and when I go outside and listen with music loudly playing, even now, it doesn’t appear to be a problem, so I’m not concerned about reducing the sound leakage to the outside world.
3) The space is currently almost always chilly, so it should be much easier to quickly warm with the space enclosed and insulated.
4) Of course I’m hoping to ultimately have a much better space acoustically in which to work.
Space Description
The space I’m looking at is in the basement of our multi-level home. The space is currently completely unfinished. The walls and floor are poured concrete, and there are no windows in the walls. Since it’s shape is unusual, it will likely be easier to reference the sketchup to understand the rooms shape and dimension. Yes, it's shaped like half a stop-sign! :shock: Above the room is our kitchen/dining room area, which has a tiled floor. Looking up from the basement the material just above the floor joists is plywood. The nails from above stick through the plywood between 1/16” and 1/8”, and the plywood is rather rough with knotholes, etc. The joists are 2 X 10, 16” OC, and the longest span is 11 feet. They span from the top of the poured wall to a beam built of 3 full dimension 2 X 12’s which spans 12 ½ feet. One end of the beam sits atop the poured wall, the other end is supported by a structure of 2 X 4’s which is against the opposite poured wall (I didn’t show the support 2 X 4s in the drawing, but they go up from the floor to support the beam on the left as you are looking into the room, and I included a picture of them). This beam will be inside the room, so (I assume) we’ll need to frame around it down one side and across the bottom to the wall. (To be clear, it appears the beam will be close enough to the wall we will build, that it would make sense to continue the framing across the bottom of it to intersect the wall we will build – probably still not clear.)
There is nothing (other than the beam I just described) that hangs below the floor joists in the space to be enclosed. However running between the joists are:
1) Two ~ 6” round sheet metal ducts that feed heat through the floor to the dining room area upstairs.
2) One ~ 1 ½” gas pipe. This happens to run between the same two joists as one of the ducts described above.
3) Two ~ 4” PVC pipes for ventilation to the water heater. Actually one of these is no longer needed and can be removed unless it would have some purpose for fresh air in the room. We replaced our two smaller water heaters with one larger one a while back, so only one of these pipes is now being used.
I should mention that the open end of the room (the 12’ 9” length where we will be building a wall and installing the door) opens to the rest of the unfinished basement.
My Plan So Far
My biggest concern is that all the things I do in building this room will compliment each other toward a certain level of isolation. For example, I don’t want to use RC, when my door leaks so much that the RC really has zero effect.
1) I plan to put two layers of 5/8” sheetrock between the floor joists against the ceiling (plywood), acoustic caulk and support with 1 X 3s.
2) Next R-13 fiberglass insulation batts
3) I plan to use flexible duct to feed both furnace and AC (we have a combination system) and air return into the room, and try to do a couple of 90 degree turns in each of them.
4) On the ceiling, I plan to use RC-1, then two layers of 5/8” sheetrock. I will use 1” screws on the first layer (half coverage) and 1 5/8” screws on the second layer (full coverage). I plan to run the sheetrock completely to the edges of the outside (house) walls, before framing the new walls. I will leave the sheetrock panels spaced ¼” apart and caulk between each of them and between them and the outside walls (attempting to create an air tight cavity). I hope to run the sheetrock in one direction on the first layer and the other direction on the second layer to minimize the effect of any seam weaknesses.
5) For the new inside walls, I plan to use 2 X 4 24” OC framing (as space is limited) anchoring the framing to the concrete with no sheetrock on the side of the framing that faces the concrete. R-13 insulation, then RC-1, then two layers of 5/8” sheetrock, using the same drill as the ceiling as far as caulk and alternating sheetrock orientation, etc.
6) On the wall that opens to the rest of the basement (12' 9"), I am leaning toward a 32” door on the left side of the opening as you look into the room. I’m currently thinking something like a Jeld-Wen flush door with ProCore core. I will likely get some type of adjustable drop seal for the bottom of the door, and if necessary some type of gasket for the perimeter of the door as well.
7) For the wall that the door goes into, I plan on two layers of 5/8” sheetrock directly screwed to 2 X 4 24” OC framing on the outside, then R-13 insulation, RC-1 and two layers of sheetrock on the inside.
Questions
1) Does this makes any sense at all? Where am I going completely the wrong direction? I hate to mention this, but I have another space that would be available instead, in this same basement that would be about 10’ X 15’ rectangular shape, and same ceiling height. There would be duct work and pipes below the joists in this area. Also there would be only two concrete walls and the other two walls would be interior. There is also a 5 foot window in the 15’ concrete wall. I assume that the "half stop sign room" would be more symmetrical and better for mixing. I also like the way the equipment lays out “in the round” in this room, which is handy when working alone. However please let me know if you think I should more seriously consider the rectagular space.
2) Should I attempt to treat the plywood above the floor joists (for example with taping mud) to make the surface smoother before applying the sheetrock? Should I be concerned about the nails that are protruding through the plywood? I assume I would want to minimize any air space between the sheetrock and the plywood, correct? Any ideas on what to do about the nails?
3) Should I plan to replace the existing sheet metal 6” round ducts that are currently between the floor joists with something else such as flexible ductwork?
4) I have read on this forum about folks using RC-1 on ceilings with 2 layers of sheetrock. I have read other entries stating that only RC-2 should be used for this even though it provides less isolation (for safety reasons). Any input?
5) For the RC-1 on the walls I have read that the piece closest to the floor should be mounted with the screws on top (up-side-down from the other pieces) to allow screws to be driven through the sheetrock closer to the floor. It seems to me this might cause the RC pieces to work against each other. Recommendations?
6) Should I be concerned about anchoring the wall framing directly to the concrete, or is it important to use “sway braces” (page 79 of Rod’s book) for this to decouple them? It seems unnecessary to me (to use sway braces), since the ceiling RC will be directly attached to the floor joists, which seems would be more of a problem then anchoring the walls directly to the concrete. Or am I completely off track?
7) At this point I’m not sure what backer rod is, but I’m sure I will find out. I’m a little confused where all it should be used. Should it really be used most anywhere that I will be caulking? For example the seams between two pieces of sheetrock?
8 ) Taping and mudding - I assume that this should be done on the first layer of sheetrock so that the surface is as smooth as possible before adding the second layer? Or should this not be a concern? And I should assume it is normal practice to tape and mud the second (top) layer? (Boy that feels like a stupid question!)
9) Sorry I don’t know much about flexible ductwork. Is there anything special I need to know about trying to make an air tight connection around it when going through the sheet rock in my wall?
10) I am undecided at this point about whether I will put outlets in the wall or surface mount things. I have not studied the sealing systems too much if I decide to go in wall. I’m thinking that if we sell the house, this room will end up serving as a storage room, so I doubt whether surface mounting the electrical would be a problem for any prospective buyers. I welcome any input in regard to this issue.
11) My general plan is to get the room built, with reasonable isolation, then at that point, analyze the acoustic situation inside the room and treat appropriately at that time. Does this sound like a reasonable approach or is there more I need to consider in regard to this during construction?
12) I haven’t researched moisture barrier options yet as much as I need to. I would welcome any input in regard to simple solutions for this.
13) For the walls that will be against the concrete, I assume that two layers of sheetrock will have value, and that I shouldn’t consider going with a single layer on those walls, correct?
14) Not as related to construction, my assumption is that the best location for my monitors in this room will be backed up and centered against the 12' 9" wall? I realize this will not be an ultimate shaped room for mixing, but am I correct in my assumption for monitor placement?
15) Again, my biggest concern right now is to make sure my different components reasonably match to provide the best overall isolation for the money, so I welcome any input as to where I might be overdoing in one area as compared to under doing it somewhere else.
Thank you very much for wading through all the information. I was paying attention when I was advised to provide as many details as possible. I only hope that the massive amount of information does scare everybody off. I will be eternally grateful for any advice you can give me. Thanks!!
Basement combination room - please help!!
Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 8728.
Welcome!
Looks like you've definitely been doing your homework. :-)
One thing jumped out at me...
You must do "full schedule" screwing on all layers. I realize there was advice posted on here years ago to the contrary -- using half the number of screws on all but the final layer. That wisdom has since been reversed in light of the fact that such a plan is not code compliant, and it's for good reason. Each layer of drywall is held primarily by the heads of the screws that were used to install each layer. Subsequent layers are held by the heads of the screws used to isntall subsequent layers. The theory behind using fewer screws on initial layers was prevention of fusing the drywall sheets together to resonate as one thicker sheet. However, as long as the sheets are not solidy glued together with construction adhesive, that won't be a problem. About two years ago, when I pulled permits for my project, I mentioned the "half schedule for first layers" plan to the plan checker, and he said (paraphrasing), "Not in my jurisdiction you won't! :shock: You'll use full schedule on all layers."On the ceiling, I plan to use RC-1, then two layers of 5/8” sheetrock. I will use 1” screws on the first layer (half coverage) and 1 5/8” screws on the second layer (full coverage).
I didn't see (or missed) your overhead clearance from basement floor surface to bottom of joists (not the beam). The reason I ask is that you may not need to use RC at all. For sure if you have enough clearance to frame new inner leaf joists to attach to your new inner leaf wall frames, RC won't be necessary. On the other hand, if you're going to use RC on your joists, and then install two layers of drywall on them, then you'll probably want to use either RC or (even better) hat channel on RSIC clips. But if you do that, you're going to be adding about 10psf to your existing ceiling structure (counting your plan to add two layers of "beef-up strips"). If you haven't consulted a structural engineer yet, chances are good that you don't know either. ;-)For the new inside walls, I plan to use 2 X 4 24” OC framing (as space is limited) anchoring the framing to the concrete with no sheetrock on the side of the framing that faces the concrete. R-13 insulation, then RC-1, then two layers of 5/8” sheetrock, using the same drill as the ceiling as far as caulk and alternating sheetrock orientation, etc.
Same applies. By the way, be aware that low end isolation will suffer the most with your relatively small air gap. Double framing is superior. One reason it's superior is the wider air gap. Don't underestimate the power of the "air" in the mass-air-mass equation.For the wall that the door goes into, I plan on two layers of 5/8” sheetrock directly screwed to 2 X 4 24” OC framing on the outside, then R-13 insulation, RC-1 and two layers of sheetrock on the inside.
Basically right direction, I think... But I think it will cost you more than $2,000. :roll: And be prepared for major headaches dealing with a basement conversion. They're tough. However, you should really talk to your local building department at this point, because your plan may be over before it even really gets started. There may be codes or other restrictions that will dictate, more or less, where you build this thing, if at all. For example, you will probably need to have emergency egress windows. :roll:Questions 1) Does this makes any sense at all? Where am I going completely the wrong direction?
I'm not an acoustics guy. But others are. Let's figure out what your options are first though.However please let me know if you think I should more seriously consider the rectagular space.
A layer of closed cell foam between the subfloor and the first layer of beef is the best way to handle the infamous "protruding nails through the subfloor" issue. This has been covered quite a few times lately... Seems to be a virus or something. ;-)2) Should I attempt to treat the plywood above the floor joists (for example with taping mud) to make the surface smoother before applying the sheetrock? Should I be concerned about the nails that are protruding through the plywood? I assume I would want to minimize any air space between the sheetrock and the plywood, correct? Any ideas on what to do about the nails?
No. That would be going in the wrong direction. :roll: You might benefit by converting them to rectangular ducts though. Rod has some good illustrations in his book on the subject of accounting for ducts between joists in basement conversions.3) Should I plan to replace the existing sheet metal 6” round ducts that are currently between the floor joists with something else such as flexible ductwork?
When safety collides with acoustics or isolation, yield to safety every time.4) I have read on this forum about folks using RC-1 on ceilings with 2 layers of sheetrock. I have read other entries stating that only RC-2 should be used for this even though it provides less isolation (for safety reasons). Any input?
Where have you read this? I don't follow... :roll: ...Sounds messed up to me though. :?5) For the RC-1 on the walls I have read that the piece closest to the floor should be mounted with the screws on top (up-side-down from the other pieces) to allow screws to be driven through the sheetrock closer to the floor. It seems to me this might cause the RC pieces to work against each other. Recommendations?
If you end up doing the full inner leaf joist framing attached to your inner leaf wall framing thing, you won't need sway braces at all. That's because the inner leaf it's all tied together and already isolated. When you use the existing ceiling joists to support both an upstairs floor and a downstairs ceiling, you run into an issue requiring decoupling. So, it depends on what you're doing.6) Should I be concerned about anchoring the wall framing directly to the concrete, or is it important to use “sway braces” (page 79 of Rod’s book) for this to decouple them? It seems unnecessary to me (to use sway braces), since the ceiling RC will be directly attached to the floor joists, which seems would be more of a problem then anchoring the walls directly to the concrete. Or am I completely off track?
Only use backer rod when the surface changes direction -- wall to wall, wall to ceiling, wall to floor... Not panel to panel. Dan Fitzpatrick has written extensively here about the benefits of backer rod. So has Rod Gervais. Search. :)7) At this point I’m not sure what backer rod is, but I’m sure I will find out. I’m a little confused where all it should be used. Should it really be used most anywhere that I will be caulking? For example the seams between two pieces of sheetrock?
I have a wall that I just did one layer of mud on the seams -- no tape, no subsequent mud layers. I personally don't think the miniscule air pocket, if any, in the tapered valleys between sheets is a problem. And if they crack, they won't leak air, 'cuz there will be another layer over it. That's just me though. I also have many layers, so many that it's often called "overkill." :twisted: So, I say, don't worry about it, but feel free to worry about it. ;-)8 ) Taping and mudding - I assume that this should be done on the first layer of sheetrock so that the surface is as smooth as possible before adding the second layer? Or should this not be a concern? And I should assume it is normal practice to tape and mud the second (top) layer? (Boy that feels like a stupid question!)
Best to use surface mounted boxes. I plan to use a plan old metal box, but probably two gang for single outlets so that they don't have to be as deep. (You need a certain amount of "cubic inchage" to accommodate the connections. This is a National Electric Code thing. Do the math.) I'll also use a nice wood trim on all four sides of the box so they'll look decent.10) I am undecided at this point about whether I will put outlets in the wall or surface mount things. I have not studied the sealing systems too much if I decide to go in wall. I’m thinking that if we sell the house, this room will end up serving as a storage room, so I doubt whether surface mounting the electrical would be a problem for any prospective buyers. I welcome any input in regard to this issue.
It's a reasonable approach for me because acoustics are totally secondary to me in terms of priorities. But for you, since acoustics are a primary concern, I would recommend designing your room with acoustics in mind from the beginning. You're wise to know what you're dealing with construction-wise, but you'll probably want to start a thread on the Design forum when you're ready (if you haven't already done so).11) My general plan is to get the room built, with reasonable isolation, then at that point, analyze the acoustic situation inside the room and treat appropriately at that time. Does this sound like a reasonable approach or is there more I need to consider in regard to this during construction?
Study, study, study. Make darned sure your basement doesn't have a moisture problem before you begin.12) I haven’t researched moisture barrier options yet as much as I need to. I would welcome any input in regard to simple solutions for this.
Yes, because you don't want the area between the concrete wall and the new inner leaf wall to be a weak link to the upstairs above it.13) For the walls that will be against the concrete, I assume that two layers of sheetrock will have value, and that I shouldn’t consider going with a single layer on those walls, correct?
Yes, keep an eye on this. It's known around here as "the weak link effect." It's real. Not sure if I'll have the chance to answer follow-up questions, but don't be shy. There are others here too. 8) --Keith :mrgreen:15) Again, my biggest concern right now is to make sure my different components reasonably match to provide the best overall isolation for the money, so I welcome any input as to where I might be overdoing in one area as compared to under doing it somewhere else.
Hello Keith,
Thank you very much for your quick and thorough response. Although I was checking about every three hours for a response, I was prepared for a much longer wait since I know you’re all in high demand.
I'm glad you feel that way. I definitely tried to resist the temptation to post before I did what I considered a reasonable amount of research.Looks like you've definitely been doing your homework.
Per your advice, I will plan “full schedule” screws on all layers. Sorry, sometimes when I’m digging around on the forum, I don’t pay as much attention as I should to how old the information is. Oh, and my tongue is quite tender from being bitten to suppress off-color responses regarding the term "full schedule screwing". :twisted: But I am proud of that suppression no matter how funny some of the possible responses were!You must do "full schedule" screwing on all layers.
My overhead clearance (to the bottom of the joists) is 7’9” (probably not as clear on the sketchup as it should be). I have thought about trying to do new joists supported by the stud walls, but am concerned about how I’d get around the existing beam, as I assume you’d definitely want to stay decoupled from that, correct? My hope (looking at the Full Shot.jpg picture) is to put the wall in between the beam and the ductwork. So that would mean the new joists would need to find a way around the beam. My initial plan was to use RSIC clips/hat channel for the entire room until I found out what the clips costs. It sounds as though I can get them for about $4 per clip locally which appears to be a relatively good price, but probably still out of my budget. I suppose I might be able to swing it if I looked at using them just on the ceiling and did RC-1 on the walls, but I’d need to check to see what the minimum quantity is I can get (I’m afraid it might be 100).I didn't see (or missed) your overhead clearance from basement floor surface to bottom of joists (not the beam).
I assume you meant to suggest the possibility of RC-2 for safety on the ceiling as opposed to RC-1? I like the idea of doing new joists for the ceiling so if you have any suggestions about getting around the beam, I’d be very interested. I suppose new joists would complicate the issue of creating a firestop above the walls against the concrete.On the other hand, if you're going to use RC on your joists, and then install two layers of drywall on them, then you'll probably want to use either RC or (even better) hat channel on RSIC clips.
I just don’t feel I have the room for double framing, although I realize it’s superior. Again I’m afraid it might be overkill for the type of door I’m planning to use, anyway? I suppose I could make the wall that will contain the door 2 X 6 rather than 2 X 4 to increase the air space in that wall. Going back to the possibility of using new joists with no RC on the ceiling being supported by a single (versus double) framed wall, there would be concern about flanking paths from the ceiling to the outside of that wall (the one with the door), not? I will mention that currently low end doesn't seem to be the main issue for disturbing the rest of the household, as I generally don't pound the low end too much, but I can see that as I improve isolation it may be the main problem that remains.By the way, be aware that low end isolation will suffer the most with your relatively small air gap. Double framing is superior. One reason it's superior is the wider air gap. Don't underestimate the power of the "air" in the mass-air-mass equation.
In regard to structural analysis and preliminary code issues, my brother has been a contractor in new residential construction and remodeling in our state for around 30 years, so I plan to discuss things with him as a first step regarding these issues. He’ll be visiting memorial day weekend to celebrate my daughter’s high school graduation. My understanding is that egress windows are required in basement bedrooms, but not necessarily in other living spaces, but I certainly may be incorrect about that. I will check it out.However, you should really talk to your local building department at this point
Thanks for the advice on the nails sticking through the floor. I had only found one post in regard to this and the advice was 1) clip the nails and grind them down or 2) use hydraulic force to jack the sheetrock up, so that the nails would seat into the sheetrock. Your advice sounds much better. I’m glad I asked. In regard to locating the closed cell foam material, is it the stuff that is used under laminate floors and such?A layer of closed cell foam between the subfloor and the first layer of beef is the best way to handle the infamous "protruding nails through the subfloor" issue.
I will study more in Rod's book about this. I was thinking about doing flexible ductwork for the new ductwork into the room so it would be easier for me to try to do some 90 degree turns. Is this also a bad choice?billshoup wrote: 3) Should I plan to replace the existing sheet metal 6” round ducts that are currently between the floor joists with something else such as flexible ductwork? No. That would be going in the wrong direction.
I think the advice for mounting the bottom piece of RC-1 upside down was probably on some other web site when I was researching RC. Sounded messed up to me too.Where have you read this? I don't follow... ...Sounds messed up to me though.
Sorry I’m still not clear on the sway brace issue. I understand that I would not need to anchor my wall framing to anything if I go with new joists (right?), but if I use let’s say RC-2 on the ceiling to the existing joists, then build my new wall framing so that it doesn’t touch the sheetrock on the ceiling, can I anchor the wall framing firmly to the concrete wall or do I need to use sway bracing, or am I still missing the boat completely?When you use the existing ceiling joists to support both an upstairs floor and a downstairs ceiling, you run into an issue requiring decoupling.
Good to know backer rod is needed only for a change in directions. I’ll search for more info on it as you suggest – thanks!Only use backer rod when the surface changes direction -- wall to wall, wall to ceiling, wall to floor... Not panel to panel.
To make sure I understand, in my case you’re saying you feel just one layer of mud on my first layer of sheetrock (the layer directly attached to the RC or studs) would be adequate, correct?I have a wall that I just did one layer of mud on the seams -- no tape, no subsequent mud layers.
Surface mounted electrical sounds good to me. I would hate to foil an otherwise good seal just to put outlets in the wall.Best to use surface mounted boxes.
Just out of curiosity, why are acoustics secondary for you, Keith? Is your space primarily for rehearsals or something of that nature? Seems like I’ve read enough of your posts that I should know that. :) Sounds like you have a lot of mass in your structure.It's a reasonable approach for me because acoustics are totally secondary to me in terms of priorities.
I will do more study of moisture barrier issues before I begin construction. Again, thank you so much Keith for your thorough response. It has been extremely helpful. I hope to continue to journal my progress here, although I’m sure it will not be nearly as interesting as the many more elegant projects that are constantly being discussed here. Maybe they’ll be something more substantial in our next house, when I can correct all the things I did wrong this time! :oops: Of course if I ask you folks the right questions and execute properly, I'm sure I'll be very happy with the outcome of this project. It certainly amazes me the level of expertise you folks are willing to share out of the kindness of your hearts and your obvious passion for this work. Thank you so much! :D :D :D :DStudy, study, study. Make darned sure your basement doesn't have a moisture problem before you begin.
I stumbled across where I had seen the verbiage recommending mounting the piece of RC closest to the floor upside down, so I thought I'd share it. It was on a site advertising Auralex's RC-8 product here, the 4th bullet point under "Instllation Tips". Am I mis-reading it?I think the advice for mounting the bottom piece of RC-1 upside down was probably on some other web site when I was researching RC. Sounded messed up to me too.