Basement studio in West Virginia: build diary

[xSpace]

I stand corrected.

[John Sayers]

ha - I didn't realise we posted simultaneously

here's how Warren (a US electrician) did his.

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[xSpace]

That is the way I did mine, with the 2X sides and the back with enough mass to control leakage. It cost's less considering the material is most likely available, but does require the ability to use a circular saw and a caulk gun:)

Thanks for the heads up.

[britune]

John, Brien, and Lilith- Thanks for your help.

I bought putty pads, but i could easily build the boxes with 2x4s and not use the putty pads. I could re-sell them, if I don't use them. I'll post pictures this weekend.

I did find some heavy duty electrical boxes that have no pre-cut knockout holes in them. They have knock outs. But they are sealed closed.

[britune]

I started mounting the outlets and light switches and building the boxes around them. I about destroyed the first 2x4, and then realized I couldn't use 12 penny nails. So I got my brad nailer and things went better. I did shoot a couple nails that came flying out the side. These nail guns are dangerous! God must have protected me from myself, and all of my fingers are still intact.

I used inch board (3/4") to make a frame around my snake. When I was shooting nails and mounting the box I made to surround the snake, I accidentally shot a nail that would have gone straight in the main cable bundle of the snake, but the manufacturer had a protective metal sleeve where the snake comes out of the box that protected it. The snake will allow me to plug in mic's in the drum room, and connect them to my preamps in the control room.

All of the electrical boxes and snake box stick 1.25" out in anticipation of two sheets of 5/8" drywall going on later.

The contractors have gone to Bristol to see the race this weekend. So I'll try to squeeze in as much work as I can on the HVAC silencers and electrical work, when I'm not working this weekend.

[britune]

John- I'm changing my build to the design you posted in your picture.

If I'm using 2 sheets of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between, should I spend the money to put fluffy fiberglass insulation between interior walls (between the control room and drum room), and between the studio ceiling and the floor joists above?

I will certainly put fluffy fiberglass insulation in between the studs of the outside walls.

[John Sayers]

basically the rule is a variation on the Christian ethic :"wherever there are gathered two studs, insulation will be between them"

[xSpace]

I didn't see it and you didn't mention, so, what have you or will you attache to the backs of these boxes to close up that hole? You can almost caulk sheetrock in place if it is small enough, but attaching it directly to the back of the box might be easier, and then caulk it.

Looking good.

[britune]

That ethic will cost me a lotta $$$ in insulation!

I have small 2x4 blocks on the back of the outlet boxes. I put acoustic caulk around the openings.

I finished the first HVAC silencer, and started the 2nd one. I put 1" OC703 wrapped in plastic inside to deaden the sound passing through the silencer. I'll upload pics later. The OC703 seems very easy to work with. It cuts nice and easy.

Thanks again John & Brien!

[Soundman2020]

That ethic will cost me a lotta $$$ in insulation!

It will cost you an awful lot more in isolation if you don't!

Failing to put insulation in your wall cavity will cost you in the region of 10 to 15 dB of transmission loss. In other words, your wall will only work half as well, or WORSE in stopping sound from getting through.... Put another way: at least twice as much sound will get through 8subkjectively), so things will be twice as loud (subjectively), and probably louder.

That sounds like a really "expensive" loss to me!

For maximum isolation, the entire cavity should be filled with mineral wool or fiberglass insulation, but at the very least you want it 4 inches thick in there. Any less, and you are throwing away a really good wall by not investing a few more dollars in it: Leave out the insulation, and you leave out the entire purpose of the wall: blocking sound as well as possible.


- Stuart -

PS: John, I'm sure God has a great sense of humor, and probably had a laugh at your sacrilegious joke!

[Soundman2020]

I put 1" OC703 wrapped in plastic inside to deaden the sound passing through the silencer.

Why did you warp it in plastic???? My guess is that will cost you a huge amount of absorption in the highs, which is where a lot of the noise in moving air lives anyway! You'll probably have to make your silencer MUCH longer now, to compensate for the reduced silencing...


- Stuart -

[britune]

I noticed that the folks who make the flex duct with fiberglass insulation have that enclosed in plastic. I thought I'd copy that so that small fiberglass particles weren't flowing out of the duct for years, where people could breath them.

I could still take the assembly apart and remove the plastic, if you think that will hurt my sound reduction. I was worried about the fiberglass fibers blowing around.

[Soundman2020]

If you are concerned about that, then a filter at the ends of the ducts would take care of all of that. Air filters are a good idea anyway.

In any event, according to Dow Corning, their 703.0 duct liner board already comes with a special treatment on the airflow side, called "BLT" ("Black Glass Tissue"), which bonds the fibers in place. Is that what you used?

I found these links, that might be useful:

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/hva ... Filtration
http://www.owenscorning.com/worldwide/a ... 4726dl.pdf


- Stuart -

[britune]

Thanks Stuart-

I am using OC703 1"x2'x4' ordered from readytraps.com

I did spend the money on fluffy fiberglass, over $2500!

[Soundman2020]

I did spend the money on fluffy fiberglass, over $2500!

Ouch! But it will be worth it. And nobody ever said that building a studio would be cheap! Its kind of like the definition of a yacht that I once heard from a guy who owns one: "A yacht is small hole in the water, into which you throw money". Pretty much like a studio!

- Stuart -