Quick wall construction question - special case

[Mojo Jr]

Hello all,

I've read through your rules and so hopefully everything here is in order. Please let me know if I've missed something and I'll edit the post. I'm new to the forum, so there's probably going to be a bit of a learning curve. If I've missed something, I would ask that you not just ignore the post without at least leaving a line or two of specific corrective criticism regarding it. That way I'll learn that much more quickly. Thanks in advance for the mutual courtesy.

I'm mulling over the design of a new project studio space, and I'm trying to figure out a way to construct 12 degree splayed walls which will be temporary.

In other words, I'd like to preserve the floor underneath these new walls (very nice cork floor). So, I'm trying to figure out a way to construct a wall which doesn't need to be nailed to (through) the expensive cork flooring. That way, if I later move to another location, I can simply remove the walls, and the beautiful floor is still beautiful for the next occupants.

You can see a rudimentary SketchUp (750 px width) here.

I've searched at length through the forums and I can't seem to find any reference to this type of "temporary wall" scenario. At the moment, the only two thing I can come up with is to use compression poles, or some other type of threaded compression system which holds the wall under compression between the ceiling and the existing floor without the need for fasteners (nails, screws, glue).

Anybody have any experience with building "temporary" studio walls? I could simply build large "gobo" type isolation panels, but I'm hoping to be able to actually make full walls which are technically "free standing," and which have all the features of the splayed RFZ / Slat Wall design (wall-wise anyway), but... which can be removed later.

Hopefully, the end result will be two, 12 degree splayed walls, of single-stud metal construction, slat wall on the CR side, drywall outside, and they will each have a door.

Any ideas? Technical challenges you see with this technique?

Thank you for reading the post. I look forward to any replies.

- VJ -

[Soundman2020]

Hi VJ, and welcome to the forum!

I've read through your rules and so hopefully everything here is in order.

So far you seem to be doing just fine!

So, I'm trying to figure out a way to construct a wall which doesn't need to be nailed to (through) the expensive cork flooring.

This is probably not what you wanted to hear, but what you want to do is definitely not a good idea, and probably isn't even legal. Walls don't just press straight down on the floor: there are also sideways forces on them under many circumstances, even from simply opening and closing doors and windows, as well as from air pressure, road vibrations, and of course earthquakes and tremors. The wall MUST be attached to the floor, so that it remains in place and cannot move. The only way to do that, is to nail, screw, or bolt it to the floor.

In addition to that, for acoustic reasons, the wall also has to be sealed to the floor, with acoustic caulk or something similar.

So unfortunately, what you want to do isn't really possible, either safely, legally or acoustically.

At the moment, the only two thing I can come up with is to use compression poles, or some other type of threaded compression system which holds the wall under compression between the ceiling and the existing floor without the need for fasteners (nails, screws, glue).

That might possibly work for the outer-leaf of your isolation walls (even though I don't think it would legal, and would probably overload the structural limits of both the floor and the roof), but it would not work for the inner-leaf, since that cannot be attached to the outer-leaf at all. It can't even touch the outer leaf.

I'm hoping to be able to actually make full walls which are technically "free standing," and which have all the features of the splayed RFZ / Slat Wall design (wall-wise anyway), but... which can be removed later.

They can be removable, if you bolt them down or screw them down, but they can't really be free-standing.

Hopefully, the end result will be two, 12 degree splayed walls,

Why did you choose to splay each wall by 12°? That normally isn't enough to create a true RFZ, yet is way more than what you need for simply eliminating flutter echo. For flutter echo, the TOTAL splay needs to be at least 12°, meaning that each wall only needs to be splayed 6°. Maybe that's where the confusion is coming from? But for RFZ, the angle usually needs to be larger.

slat wall on the CR side, drywall outside,

So it will be an inside-out wall, which is great, but you are only talking about your inner-leaf wall (which supports the inner-leaf ceiling), not the outer leaf wall. What is your plan for the outer leaf of your isolation wall?

- Stuart -

[Mojo Jr]

So it will be an inside-out wall, which is great, but you are only talking about your inner-leaf wall (which supports the inner-leaf ceiling), not the outer leaf wall. What is your plan for the outer leaf of your isolation wall?

- Stuart -

Hi Stuart,

Great response. Very informative as usual. I'm staying pretty neutral to the process, so no worries if I have to hear some hard truths. It's all important. The hard truths are actually the most important of all usually.

I can see by your question, quoted above, that I should do some explaining of the overall project plan, top to bottom.

With that in mind, I'm going to start a new "studio construction" thread called: "New Project Studio in the Czech Countryside," and give everyone the nitty gritty details regarding what I'm up to. I think it will be helpful. I just want to make sure I'm giving everybody the very clearest picture of what I'm trying to accomplish and, what I have to work with in terms of pros and cons.

The posts I've made so-far have been "bits and pieces" of that larger plan, so I think it'll be better to first outline the overall plan, and then maybe dig deeper into these component issues and challenges.

Thank you again for your participation in this discussion. I appreciate the time you spend on the forum here, and I'm a fan of your posts. I've read many, MANY of them over the last several days (check your visitor logs for a visitor originating in the Czech Republic).

So I'll see you in the next thread, and I'll post images and SketchUp drawings.

- VJ -