I have never tested Rod's "single frame for two doors" technique (I always do dual frames, one for each leaf), but it also raised my eyebrows when I first saw that, years ago. Then I got to thinking about, and the probable explanation here, is "mass and rigidity". The framing around doors has to be very substantial in any case (one frame or two frames: Still needs to be massive), just to handle the huge weight of a typical studio door, and even more so for Rod's "superdoor". The frame has to be able to keep the door perfectly vertical at all times: open, closed, or anywhere in between... without sagging, twisting, bending, or otherwise distorting in any way. Normally you have at least studs on each side of the door, plus additional noggins, an over-sized header, and tie-down bolts in the sole plate, close to all that. So there's a LARGE amount of mass, just in the rough framing. Plus the mass of the door frame itself, plus the mass of the doors, which normally have higher surface density than the rest of the wall, to help compensate for the lack of insulation in the cavity, and the simple fact that they are doors.
Both the doors themselves and the frames they hang on are also
very rigid, in addition to being
very massive. So those are not going to move much. Airborne sound isn't going to have a huge effect on them. Tying them together isn't going to reduce the TL by anything substantial either.
That's my theory, but I don't have any data to back it up. And as I said, I haven't ever tried a "single frame for both leaves" approach, so I can't say much about how effective it is, or isn't.
but I can't locate any information that illustrates the best way/location to bring in/run my electrical service (conduit, boxes, etc.)...
This is the way I normally suggest for doing that: One single power feed into the room, then distribute it from there. That normally means that you'll need a sub panel inside the room, with breakers for your individual circuits, and possibly also an RCCB or ELCB, if required by code (or just for being smart). All of the actual wiring inside the room is done with surface-mount raceways and fixtures, such as these:
ttp://
www.calcentron.com/Pages/fram-trak/fram ... aceway.htm
http://www.export.legrand.com/EN/dlp-wa ... ng_95.html
https://www.electriduct.com/Cable-Raceways.html
For the actual cable penetration, here's how I do it when I need high isolation for the room:
Conduit-isolation-0-SML-ENH.png
Conduit-isolation-1-SML-ENH.png
Conduit-isolation-2-SML-ENH.png
Conduit-isolation-3-SML-ENH.png
In words: Use thick PVC or metal conduit, bent in a gentle curve, one in each leaf, well sealed into its penetration hole, and perhaps with a putty pack around the penetration, to beef up the mass a bit. Line up the two pieces of conduit so they face each other but with a gap between them, then wrap that gap with a sheet of very flexible rubber, attached to the conduit with glue and zip-ties. Pull the wiring through in the normal manner. Stuff insulation down the end of the conduit where it comes through the wall, pushed in as far as you can get it, then cap the end of the conduit with abundant caulk.
If you don't need very high isolation, then you can probably skip the "gap and rubber" part.
However, do check your local electrical code to see if that is allowed. Where I live, it is compulsory to use conduit in walls for power feeds, and flexible couplings are allowed, but there might be some quirks in your local code that messes up this plan.
The conduit also just makes it so much easier in the future, if you need to replace the wiring or run additional wiring. You can pry off the caulk, fish out the insulation plug, then the conduit is open for business again.
There's probably other techniques too, but that's what I do. Of course, if you don't have a slab yet and will pour one, then just embed the conduit in the concrete!
One word to the wise, here: make your bends GENTLE! Don't get tight elbows, or you'll never be able to pull heavy wiring through. Use wide radius curves...
- Stuart -
...but great, I recognize the electrical approach illustrated and will be getting to it soon. 