Floorboard isolation: Sylomer versus spring?

I have been suggested to use a product called Sylomer, as a solution to isolate vibration between floating floor, and original floor.They come as little pads that may be cut from bigger boards.They are made from polyether- elastomers http://www.soundguard.com.au/htdocs/sylomer.htm They are different kind of sylomer, depending on the density needed as per the weight of what relies on the floor. Does anyone ever used that product? how effective compared to spring system? Is the cutoff resonance as low?

They both serve different floors. The pucks you show in the picture is used under timber floor joists whereas the springs are used in cement floors. Whiuch one do you intend to use and why are you floating a floor anyway?? cheers john

I'm seeing a lot of threads started for your stuff, Nightmusic. You're asking some good questions. 8) But I'd like to suggest that you start one thread for your project, so that you can group all of your questions together in the context of your project. The problem with having individual threads is that the advice often (and usually!) differs, depending on the person's circumstances. Occasionally it's good to start a new topic, but yours I think (so far) would be more helpful to you and others if they were kept together. Thanks. :) --Keith :mrgreen:

Hi there... Creating a athread with all your questions would be a great idea Nightmusic....because actually i have the same questions more or less :) You know...moisture,floating floors etc so i would love to see them alltogether answered by these great people of this forum!!! However about the floor: Does anyone provide some info on the Kinetics RIM system(including price range)? John i think i saw it on one of your projects Nikodemos

Nightmusic Can you PLEASE mention the source of the pictures you enter? That's a copyright issue. Since you ask your questions, split as Sharward says, but also in multiple groups simultaneously (parallel discussions, where people of one group are unaware of what's discussed or advised elsewhere. Not difficult you get confused), maybe you can read about copyright here: http://forum.studiotips.com/viewtopic.php?t=1159 Points 4 and further down. I do know that picture of these steel springs very well, it's not yours (and probably the other neither). And I do know because I personally designed them from scratch, starting from the steel wire (this aren't commercial springs, but custom designed and produced) And as a rule of thumb: Steel springs are often used more adapted to allow lower resonance frequencies than synthetic stuff. Such steel-springs can be much more expensive and need additional measures for lateral stability. And the lowest resonances are easiest obtained with air springs (outside any practical need for studio use). But no matter what material, it's still the deflection defining the resonance frequency. Hence the choice is more mechanical than acoustical from nature in function of the application. But the main question, as rightfully posed by John remains: Do you need decoupling at all? That's the first question to be answered. Decoupling in itself is not a quality label.

Eric, Thank you for alert me about copyright aspects.I am sorry cause i just edited my post late at yesterday night, adding these 2 pics, that i had on my computer, at last minute. Today i found time to search from where i primarly got them, and able now to mention it. The steel spring pic that you may already know, was taken from a recording studio site, which is a wonderful example of what a big recording studio can be anyway! I mean Galaxy Studio http://www.galaxy.be/ The other Sylomer installation pics came finally from a french forum,describing that type of installation, where one suggested sylomer for floating floor. http://fr.forums.audiofanzine.com/apprendre/mailing_forums/index,idtopic,208503,forum,ou_acheter_online_des_plots_antivibratiles_silent_bloc.html John&Eric, 1) As i live in a flood area, I intended to use Sylomer with a cement floor, one that can be build by putting cement boards fixed together, as described there:http://www.aquapanel.com/index.php?lang=en&page=products&view=floor I also have another solution:http://www.kp1.fr/index.htm?pages/pages_pro/maison/produit_poutrelle_leader.htm~frame_contenu using that: http://www.kp1.fr/index.htm?pages/pages_pro/maison/produit_poutrelle_leader.htm~frame_contenu (Sorry cause i don't know the right translations in english for these products). 2) I thought floating a floor was the best solution for long lasting installation, as a way to improve as much as possible sound isolation from one room to the other.It is part of 'box in a box' installation, which seemed to be the classic stuff to me ! (floating floor, walls lying on the floor, then ceiling lying partly on the wall sides, and partly suspended with antivibratile connections) My adjacent rooms will each need strong isolation, as they are supposed to be, in order: Postproduction room>Control room>Live room, or Postproduction room>Live room>Control room (purposes of these room are not definitive yet !) But i would be glad if you announce to me that i won't need floating floor! Less work to do, bigger room space, and less money to spend ! Sharward&Nikodemos, I plan posting a general thread indeed. Depending on the next reactions today, i will be able to resume the first suggestions from it, as a starting point to react to. I plan posting 2 different threads, one about flood condition installations, the other about adapting big recording studios philosophy, to smaller project studios.But i still need to resume all the ideas in my mind first to make a post as clear as possible, as there's a lot of question behind these incoming posts.I will do it asap.Thank you anyway for your interest in my questions ! :D

Have you read the "Sticky: Is a Floating Floor Right For You? Answer: Probably NOT" thread yet? --Keith :mrgreen:

Hi there Nightmusic....i think starting a thread on flood conditions and on moisture problems (especially in basements) would be very interesting!! please let me know when you do I would like to make a comment on the floating floor issue(especially on the "probably not" part of it) I read this sticky 3-4 times and i think i got the point. However i think it mostly refers to studios build in garages,warehouses etc which is what you mostly find in this forum...the problem(for me) is that in Europe and especially in Greece most project or commercial studios are built in basements or appartments of residential concrete buildings. And i can asure you that there is no way to get sound isolation in a Greek concrete building without a floating floor....it's probably about the way these buildings are constructed....i think it's mostly of the flanking through the steel reinforsment of the structure....you see here in Greece we had 2 major earthquakes in the late 70's and most of the buildings made after that were built with tons of steel in their structure creating great flanking paths for sound to travel.....on the other hand a heavy structure can support a "heavy" studio construction.....so if you are interested here is my basement project in such a concrete building:http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8898 cheers Nikodemos

Sharward, Thank you for that link.It leads to question myself about the utility of floating floor, of course. As Eric and John suggested, i may finally not choose for floating my floor anymore, given the fact that my original floor is concrete only(with steel), and build on basement, directly on earth. The (possibly) conterpart is that all rooms are directly connected together, with the same cement floor/Slab. So the question would be to evaluate how much vibration would go from one room to the other, in case i wouldn't float any floor? The thing is that Rod Gervais would have written in his book Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros, that given the mass inherent to the concrete slab, vibration would be damped enough to becom much more less important than any wall/window/doors isolation defects, anyway. I am open to that theory. Would anyone confirm that conclusion to my case? Furthermore, would i have to analyse some vibrations from that concrete slab, in order to find its own resonant frequency, and/or to know more precisely how much damping i would have to add to it? is there any measurement tool dedicated to that?

Nikodemos- and other who may be interested-, My post related to 'flood conditions for building a recording studio' has been posted.http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9017&highlight= I hope it will help you also. About all other questions you ask -floating floor, 2 leaf system, etc.. for your recording studio project, i think i may join you in your own thread asap, as it seems that we have almost the same room space and agencement (!). So i may have some answers that you don't have yet, and some question where you may have answers to :lol:

Furthermore, would i have to analyse some vibrations from that concrete slab, in order to find its own resonant frequency, and/or to know more precisely how much damping i would have to add to it? is there any measurement tool dedicated to that?

Here&now I replace that question which becomes the central part of my post, now. Indeed,I have to know if floating floor is dedicated to my case, or not. I have read the link explaining that is not always a quality label, as Eric said, but i think everything depends on the way room fittings are made together, i mean if the control room is next to a second control room, or to the live room, etc... Or what i need to know then is the best common fittings, in order to improve isolation between rooms, and/or in which cases i would have to float a floor anyway... So i am starting on the idea that if i have 2 control rooms next to each other, i still would need to float one floor of the 2. If i have control room next to a big live room, i would choose for floating live room only... And the same question come into mind, about isolations walls-2-leaf also ! Am i on the right way, or should i forget about any floatin floor anyway, given the fact that everything is made concrete reinforced steel? :roll: