John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

I have a question that I'm sure is answered on this site, but I'm not finding it. If someone could point me to a link that would be great.

If I'm building a room within a room, what do I do with the space in between the rooms where the doors are> I mean, there would be a gap there between door frames that I assume you wouldn't want to leave for aesthetic reasons.

Like in this example, where the doors would be, you'd see the gap...
One person in a you tube video stapled fabric to the two door frames to cover the space. What say ye.

stapled fabric to the two door frames to cover the space.

That is, indeed, one way to do it. Here's a series of photos from one of the studios I designed, that shows how it was done:

First, the pair of frames are prepared inside the room, tied together with temporary bracing plates to keep them firmly together with the correct spacing, then the gaps are covered with cloth, which is stapled and taped in place, carefully stretched taught:

Then the entire assembly is presented to the rough opening, and carefully maneuvered into place.

Then it is shimmed and adjusted to get it plumb and square, and sealed in place with backer rod and caulk:

The result prior to final sanding and staining:

Details of how the gap looks after sanding, before staining:


And the final end result, with the complete jambs, seals, and doors in place:
For these sliding doors, the procedure was a bit different. First one of the metal-framed doors was set in place, then a small piece of semi-rigid insulation was carefully cut to be a firm fit in the gap between the frames. It was wrapped in fabric, and press fitted into the gap, then covered with with wood trim, then the other frame went in. There's still some masking tape on in these photos, protecting the edges of the wood:


There are other methods too, but that's the way I normally do it.



- Stuart -

Great, thx!

Looks good...I like it too Stuart.

Hey Brien! Good to see you around again! Happy New Year to you, and I sure do hope it's gonna be a good one for ya!


- Stuart -

Thank you sir...I hope it is good for all of us. Keep up the wonderful work you do here.

Keep up the wonderful work you do here.

Thanks for the kind comments, Brien, but I could sure use a little help!


- Stuart -

Stuart,

What type of isolation did you achieve with the double sliding doors like that? I haven't seen many posts containing data of double sliding doors that are NOT prefabricated by an acoustic company. Did you happen to measure?

Thanks!

nmk85roll wrote:Stuart,

What type of isolation did you achieve with the double sliding doors like that? I haven't seen many posts containing data of double sliding doors that are NOT prefabricated by an acoustic company. Did you happen to measure?

I don't recall exactly, but it was in the 40's. Those are just standard patio doors: nothing special. The owner got them by mistake, and did not have time to replace them during the build. He does plana to upgrade them at some point. When he does that, the final isolation should be about the same as the rest of the studio: mid 50's.


- Stuart -

Soundman2020 wrote:

nmk85roll wrote:Stuart,

What type of isolation did you achieve with the double sliding doors like that? I haven't seen many posts containing data of double sliding doors that are NOT prefabricated by an acoustic company. Did you happen to measure?

I don't recall exactly, but it was in the 40's. Those are just standard patio doors: nothing special. The owner got them by mistake, and did not have time to replace them during the build. He does plana to upgrade them at some point. When he does that, the final isolation should be about the same as the rest of the studio: mid 50's.


- Stuart -

Cool, thanks for the update! I'm debating on going this route with two Pella doors that each get around 35STC. Need to find out if they will do single pane laminated glass however.... otherwise I may have to pony up for pre-fabricated ones. Thanks again!