Hanging Walls Because of Expansive Soils

[midigod]

Hi Rod-

Thank you so much for the reply. I've contacted them, and I'll see what they have to say.

This thread is interesting to me, as I'd been thinking about halfway through that I'd need to build an isolated room instead. This is acceptable according to local code, as long as the room is framed in steel instead of wood. It also needs to be a couple of inches from the joists on top for expansion. This allows for the (possible) deformation of the concrete without the compromising of the house structure, even though the rooms sit on the concrete. One thing I've been trying to search for, without much luck, is how to put the second layer of gyp onto the ceiling if it's only a couple inches away from the joists...

Is one of these methods going to be "better" acoustically than the other, or are they just different ways of solving the problem? Some things to consider:

1. My builder has assured me that the joists will handle the weight of the roof, the house, and an entire basement hanging from them. Enclosed are a couple pics of the joists at the moment.

2. If both solutions (hung with isolators, or separately built box) are roughly the same acoustically, would one be vastly more expensive than the other? (Yes, I'm going to hire a consultant - I just want to have some little pieces of knowledge before I start.)

-Craig