Corner detail

I've searched but cannot find a corner detail for staggered stud construction. I'm using 2 x 6 plates with two layers of 5/8 drywall. Any help? Thanks.

Hi JBursch, If you had read them stickies, you'd seen this thread: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=28924

I have read the stickies and the post you linked to. I may be mistaken, but I don't believe the post you linked to included staggered stud construction. It had examples dual wall and of regular wall construction, but not staggered stud. Thanks

Why are you doing staggered studs? :roll:

It will be a small out building (12 x 16) on a poured slab. A one room studio. There is one neighbor about 75 feet away. The rest are several times that. Most of what I write and record is pretty mellow. I record bass direct. I may occasionally record drums, but not often and I would be able to do that during the day. I realize that there will be more sound transmission of the lower frequencies through the plates, but I believe it should be enough isolation given my context. It seemed like construction would be easier, and it would take up less space. I assume from your question that you think that is a bad idea. It's not too late for me to change my plans. Do you think that staggered studs are really that bad of an idea? Thanks

staggered studs are a bit better than normal walls, but won't give near the performance of a well-executed 2-leaf room-in-room construction. The budgets of the 2 probably aren't hugely different. If you're building from scratch, you'd be better using the alternate design, imho. Generally speaking of course.

Using double 2x4s instead would be, as Jwl said, not much more expensive, but would be superior, isolationwise. It would also be, I think, easier to frame: the frames will be much lighter and easier to work with. Have you bought Rod's book? If not, I recommend it. --Keith :mrgreen:

Well, it looks like I am going to have to give this some serious thought. Thanks for the input.

So I thought about it all last night and I can no longer argue with reason and logic. I'm ditching the staggered studs and going with a true dual wall. I will still be using 2x 6 sill plates on the exterior wall since the foundation was already poured last week and the J-bolt (anchors) were set for 2 x 6's. Other than that it's just a little more lumber and a little less space. Thanks for the help.

You're welcome. Don't feel bad -- before I found this forum, I had presumed I would use staggered stud construction too, because the little bit I had read on the subject led me to believe that was the thing to do. That, and a number of other myths I had believed, melted away when I found this resource (and others). --Keith :mrgreen:

I have a question and I know I'll have many more. I don't know if I should start a new thread or keep them all together here. I'll keep it here for now. The question is do I need to put anything between the sill plates and the concrete (vapor barrier, roofing felt, caulking, liquid nails, etc)? I'm using pressure treated lumber for the sill plates. My concern is moisture and the uneveness (gaps) between the sill plate and the foundation. The slab is four inches in the middle on top of two inches of crushed and packed gravel, bringing everything about 6 inches above grade. Around the perimimeter of the slab is a dug out footing which goes about a foot below grade and is about a foot wide. There is rebar in the footing and screen in the slab. Thanks.

Don't worry too much about slight imperfections in thr surface of the slab as far as air-tightness goes. In theory, your soleplates could be an inch above the slab, but it wouldn't affect the air-tightness because you'll be using a resilient acoustic sealant (and backing rod) where the drywall meets the slab. That being said, Sillseal is good to use as a capillary break to ensure your soleplates don't get wet from the concrete. --Keith :mrgreen: