Welcome

[paradoxau]

Hi,

Have started the long arduous process of researching for an isolated music room in my garage, which is separated from the house.
I came across this site, and after lots of reading thought i would introduce myself, grab a coffee and use "READ THIS" post as a first post guide. Hopefully not breaching the rules!

Breif background, used to be a ceiling fixer, now civil engineer. No stranger to hand / power tools or maths
Music is a big hobby of mine, i am not the next big thing, and i probably wont mix a top ten hit, i just want a nice honest room that lets me play with my things.

Who/Where am I? Tom curran, albany, Western australia.
My partner and I just relocated back to my home town, we purchased a house with a nice detached brick garage, my home town rains lots. We have a newborn

What am I attempting to do? I am trying to build a studio, which is isolated enough to record in but also usable as a mixing / control room. ie i want to record a drum kit and then mix it after. The garage space i've split into a storage room, and the music room.

Where am I right now in the project? I have sealed the room to prevent water ingress (no more leaks!) and framed the dividing wall between the music room and the storage room. In the process of bricking a few courses of the garage door and framing this so i can seal it. Once this is done i have a space i can begin building the studio in.

How loud am I? to be perfectly honest, im not sure without using a meter. Being able to play a small drum kit without the neighbours hearing it would be ace, its going to be the loudest thing in the room or that i ever record. i dont play music terribly loud, and i don't mix terribly loud either.

What do I record? mostly vocals / acoustic guitar and drums / percussion.

What is my budget? would go as far as to say as cheap as possible. Newborn / single wage doesnt make finances easily available. if i got it done with 5k i would be happy.

What do I have to work with? brick rectangular room (approx 5.5m x 6m) i have split the room with a timber dividing wall to make two spaces, one of them is roughly 1.5m x 6m , the other is roughly 4m x 6m, the larger space is the music room.
Sloped ceiling but the ceiling doesnt run from front to back in the music room, it runs side to side, which means i have roughly 2.4m of height to work with. I imagine my ceiling will be at 2.1m once joist's etc. are installed.

What’s it made of? buidling is Brick, the roof is tin, the floor is an infill concrete slab on ground level.
i am hoping to build a separate wall inside this space and line it appropriately to create the isolated space, my biggest concerns are the floor, and the ceiling at this stage, but am also still researching walls.

What initial questions do I have? where do i start.........i justt want to say this site is great. i have been lost in the tangled web of misinformation and finding lots of clarification here.
.

1. As it is an infill slab, and the slab is not connected to the house, am i correct in assuming i don't need a floating floor? I read a post from Ray which stated this but i wasn't overly sure. i gather Ray was right?
Was hoping i could just put a damp proof membrane down, some acoustic rubber or lining and some flooring over the top.


2. If my assumption in #1 is correct, do i build the walls on the new floor without bolting to the ground, or next to the floor (bolted on the existing concrete)?

3. timber is likely the cheapest way of creating the internal walls, thinking two layers of gyprock / plaster with green glue in between (acoustic insulation) with a 150mm air void. Is there a more economical way of creating a better separation that i am overlooking?

4. How on earth do i go about isolating the tin roof from the rain? double line ceiling, insuulate ceiling or straight to animal sacrifices and prayer?

Many thanks, go easy.


Tom

[paradoxau]

just realised im probably a bit light on info.

If you need any pictures or dimensions etc. please ask, happy to provide.

[Soundman2020]

Hi Tom, and Welcome!

Congrats on the baby, and congrats on starting planning your studio intelligently! By that, I mean here on the forum, and not building too much before you start designing...

isolated enough to record in but also usable as a mixing / control room.

There is a problem with that approach: Control rooms must have totally neutral acoustics, for obvious reasons: A control room must not color the sound in any way: it must not add to it, nor must it subtract from it. But a live room (tracking room / rehearsal room / etc.) needs to have more "character" and "vibe": it needs to be everything EXCEPT neutral! There are ways of dealing with that, but you should be aware up front that these are two opposing concepts: "i want to record a drum kit and then mix it after." The space that sounds great for recording drums would be unsuitable for mixing them, and the space that sounds great for mixing drums would be unsuitable for recording them.

have sealed the room to prevent water ingress (no more leaks

!)What was leaking before (floor / walls / ceiling / windows / doors / etc.)? Did it dry out completely?

In the process of bricking a few courses of the garage door and framing this so i can seal it.

You are an engineer, so I guess you looked into the foundations and the amount of mass you are stacking on top of them with that new brickwork?

How loud am I? to be perfectly honest, im not sure without using a meter.

Then you better get one! You can't design a structure to provide exactly "I'm not sure" decibels of isolation...

if i got it done with 5k i would be happy.

Hmmmm..... think of it this way: you have 33 m2 to deal with, and you have 5 k. Math says that you are planning to spend $ 151 per square meter. That's less than half of what it takes, typically, to build a home studio in Oz. I have designed places for a few customers in Australia, and from what they tell me, it seems the cost of building a home studio in Australia is around $ 500 - 1000 / m2, depending on a whole bunch of factors. You should probably reconsider your budget.

i have roughly 2.4m of height to work with. I imagine my ceiling will be at 2.1m once joist's etc. are installed.

There's a difference between the actual height of the acoustic barrier that is your ceiling, and the height of the lowest point inside the room. Your acoustic ceiling could conceivably be around 2.35m.

i have been lost in the tangled web of misinformation and finding lots of clarification here.

Aren't you glad you found this place? There's a LOT of misconceptions, myth, snake-oil, voodoo, and just plain wrong info floating around on the internet. So welcome to the place that tells it like it really is! Nobody here is out to sell you anything (John forbids that: no sales promos allowed on the forum), so the info you'll find here is not intended to convince you that you must buy any particular product in order to make your studio work. It's just plain, simple, solid, acoustic fact. (OK, so maybe we could leave out the "simple" part... there's not much about studio design or acoustics that is "simple"!!!

am i correct in assuming i don't need a floating floor?

Yep! Here's why: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=2&t=8173

Was hoping i could just put a damp proof membrane down, some acoustic rubber or lining and some flooring over the top.

What's wrong with your slab, that it needs a DPC on top? If your slab was poured properly, then there should be a rather thick layer of plastic under it, which prevents water from getting in. If you put another membrane on top, then you will be trapping water inside the slab, between the layers. Not a good idea. If your slab already has a water problem, then you need to deal with that first, before you build your studio.

do i build the walls on the new floor without bolting to the ground,

In pretty much all building codes that I have dealt with, structural walls (load-bearing walls) must always be firmly attached to the structural floor. You do not want your walls "walking" around the floor form vibration, pressure changes, opening and closing doors, earthquakes, etc. In other words, you will need to bolt your walls solidly into the slab.

3. timber is likely the cheapest way of creating the internal walls, thinking two layers of gyprock / plaster with green glue in between

with a 150mm air void.

Why? Did you do the calculations to make sure that you will be getting the right amount of isolation (decibels TL) and at the right frequencies, to accomplish what you need?

Is there a more economical way of creating a better separation that i am overlooking?

Nope! There's basically two choices for high isolation: 1) Spend millions of dollars on doing a normal 2-leaf MSM isolation system, or spend gazillions of mega dollars on doing it another way.... (Well, OK, so I'm exaggerating just a little....)

4. How on earth do i go about isolating the tin roof from the rain? double line ceiling, insuulate ceiling or straight to animal sacrifices and prayer?

For a tin roof, which requires ventilation under the deck, you don't have many options! Actually, you have exactly one option: you will need to build a three-leaf system there. In other words, you'll need to create a solid, massive, air-tight "middle leaf" ceiling across the top of your existing outer-leaf walls, to complete the actual "isolation" shell, then you'll build the room proper inside of that, in the way you already mentioned: stud framing with drywall for the new walls and ceiling. Yes, technically that means your ceiling is three-leaf, but you can compensate for the three-leaf effect by designing and building it properly.

If you need any pictures or dimensions etc. please ask,

Yup! Pics, diagrams, plans, sketches, etc. would all help....


- Stuart -

[paradoxau]

Thanks Soundman! blessed to have found this place, i really am. Thanks you for your reply, i have tried my best to answer you, and ive got some pictures i will attach.

There is a problem with that approach: Control rooms must have totally neutral acoustics, for obvious reasons: A control room must not color the sound in any way: it must not add to it, nor must it subtract from it. But a live room (tracking room / rehearsal room / etc.) needs to have more "character" and "vibe": it needs to be everything EXCEPT neutral! There are ways of dealing with that, but you should be aware up front that these are two opposing concepts: "i want to record a drum kit and then mix it after." The space that sounds great for recording drums would be unsuitable for mixing them, and the space that sounds great for mixing drums would be unsuitable for recording them.

is it a viable situation to have a neutral room and accept the fact i'll have to add reverb etc. to get a live room "vibe"? If that is the case it is likely a compromise i would be willing to live with.

What was leaking before (floor / walls / ceiling / windows / doors / etc.)? Did it dry out completely?

Yeah it dried out completely, there were a few spots leaking under the garage door (which was making it hard to dry out) and also the existing entry door's floor strip wasnt sealed, so there was water ingress under it. due to the tin roof it had tiny gaps from the corrugated tin, so i used special foam to fill these and then a water proof sealant over the top just to make sure.

You are an engineer, so I guess you looked into the foundations and the amount of mass you are stacking on top of them with that new brickwork?

Yeah i could of bricked up the entire garage door, but i dont have the money at this stage, so ive got enough bricks to do roughly three courses. the remaining gap i will frame and sheet with cement board or similar (with the inso wrap and mastic sealant).

Then you better get one! You can't design a structure to provide exactly "I'm not sure" decibels of isolation...

yeah, i also need a calibrated instrument mic at some stage too, i think they offer kits, will start looking

Hmmmm..... think of it this way: you have 33 m2 to deal with, and you have 5 k. Math says that you are planning to spend $ 151 per square meter. That's less than half of what it takes, typically, to build a home studio in Oz. I have designed places for a few customers in Australia, and from what they tell me, it seems the cost of building a home studio in Australia is around $ 500 - 1000 / m2, depending on a whole bunch of factors. You should probably reconsider your budget.

Yeah, i likely have not considered the actual acoustic treatment yet though, just the construction (which i appreciate is only half the battle) i do plan on creating the acoustic panels myself, and will be doing everything myself (framing through to painting).
i've done the maths on the timber and it roughly equates to about $500.
Gyprock i am looking at a minimum of probably $800 (for two layers)
Green glue will likely take me back a few hundred.at least
insulation will be roughly $500 too depending on type.
Flooring probably another $300.
Have not costed acoustic door seals yet, but i did score two free doors!
Electrical i have not costed either, the electricity is there, i just need lights and power
point moved. I've not considered electrical isolation either, given it was a hobby space is it important? I have plugged my music equipment in and it seems to be fine (ie no noise etc).

If i put a $300 price on electrical assuming it was just relocated, and allowed say $600 for finishings and door seals, i'm still only looking at a price of around $3500k (and i think i assumed by the time i finished panels etc it would take me to 5k).

Am i overlooking something significant?

There's a difference between the actual height of the acoustic barrier that is your ceiling, and the height of the lowest point inside the room. Your acoustic ceiling could conceivably be around 2.35m.

When you refer to the acoustic ceiling, is that the "top of the inner ceiling" ? if so i think you are correct.
I imagine once its all in, my internal ceiling height is going to be around 2.1m (200mm for a cavity........wishful thinking?)

Yep! Here's why: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=2&t=8173

yay! i wasnt completely useless with my research

What's wrong with your slab, that it needs a DPC on top? If your slab was poured properly, then there should be a rather thick layer of plastic under it, which prevents water from getting in. If you put another membrane on top, then you will be trapping water inside the slab, between the layers. Not a good idea. If your slab already has a water problem, then you need to deal with that first, before you build your studio.

very good point, as its an infill slab then i will not require a DPC.

In pretty much all building codes that I have dealt with, structural walls (load-bearing walls) must always be firmly attached to the structural floor. You do not want your walls "walking" around the floor form vibration, pressure changes, opening and closing doors, earthquakes, etc. In other words, you will need to bolt your walls solidly into the slab.

noted

Why? Did you do the calculations to make sure that you will be getting the right amount of isolation (decibels TL) and at the right frequencies, to accomplish what you need?

it was a guess and probably miss-use of some information that was not correct. i really need to go outside with a meter while someones playing drums to work out what levels i need to cater to. Is that how one measures?

nope! There's basically two choices for high isolation: 1) Spend millions of dollars on doing a normal 2-leaf MSM isolation system, or spend gazillions of mega dollars on doing it another way.... (Well, OK, so I'm exaggerating just a little....)

For a tin roof, which requires ventilation under the deck, you don't have many options! Actually, you have exactly one option: you will need to build a three-leaf system there. In other words, you'll need to create a solid, massive, air-tight "middle leaf" ceiling across the top of your existing outer-leaf walls, to complete the actual "isolation" shell, then you'll build the room proper inside of that, in the way you already mentioned: stud framing with drywall for the new walls and ceiling. Yes, technically that means your ceiling is three-leaf, but you can compensate for the three-leaf effect by designing and building it properly.

This may be a problem. without lifting the roof i don't believe i have the height to install two ceilings, unless i can somehow install a thin membrane on the bottom of the existing metal roof beams, which doesnt take up too much space (but that wouldnt have any mass). I believe i am limited to a single ceiling and possible insulating the tin roof with iso wrap holding it up. I may have to draw a few diagrams to help explanations.
What you have suggested makes perfect sense, i have been focused on the walls without considering the need to also completely isolate the roof, but i also think i may be out of realistic isolation options and may have to live with some rain bleed. I am all ears at this point

Yup! Pics, diagrams, plans, sketches, etc. would all help....

Leave it with me, will try attach some to the next post.

Tom

[paradoxau]

Attached images and some sketches which should help.
I really need to take some accurate dimensions, and get a meter asap.

[Soundman2020]

is it a viable situation to have a neutral room and accept the fact i'll have to add reverb etc. to get a live room "vibe"?

It's possible, yes, but not optimal. Many people do that, "faking" room sound in the mix... but it's not always convincing.

i also need a calibrated instrument mic at some stage too,

Not so much an instrument mic, as an acoustic measurement mic. You'll need that, and it can also be used as an instrument mic, in a pinch. Get a Presonus, dbx, Earthworks, NTI, Audix, or Beyerdynamic measurement mic. But do NOT get Behringer: I've heard too many horror stories about those things, including my own personal experience.

I've not considered electrical isolation either, given it was a hobby space is it important?

I'm not talking about isolating your electrical circuits, electrically. I'm talking about isolating your electrical installation acoustically, in the sense that you cannot install electrical stuff as you usually would, by chopping holes in the walls and poking boxes through for lights, switches and plugs. You can't fo that in a studio, as it breaks your isolation shell. You can only allow on single small penetration to bring your power feed in, then you distribute around the studio internally, with surface mount systems. Extra expense, extra complication.

Am i overlooking something significant?

HVAC, to start with... (Yep, you do need it.... )

When you refer to the acoustic ceiling, is that the "top of the inner ceiling" ?

It's the ceiling that the sound waves "see". It's the surface of the hard, solid, massive layer that makes you your room ceiling. It's what you would see as you stand in side the ceiling, looking up, before you install any treatment at all.

I imagine once its all in, my internal ceiling height is going to be around 2.1m (200mm for a cavity........wishful thinking?)

As I said, the acoustic ceiling height can probably be at around 2.35m. There might well be structural members and/or treatment lower than that in places, but the actual ceiling that the sound waves see (and that you see, before treatment) can be around 2.35m

it was a guess and probably miss-use of some information that was not correct. i really need to go outside with a meter while someones playing drums to work out what levels i need to cater to. Is that how one measures?

Yep! Measure inside and outside with your favorite bunch of musicians going crazy at "11" on the 1-10 scale, playing the same song over and over, while you measure with your meter, set to dBC / slow, at several locations outside the room, all over the place, as well as inside. That tells you what your maximum level is, and also how much isolation you are getting right now. Then send everyone home, wait for the quietest time of night with not a sound anywhere, and measure that level all around your property. That's how quite you have to be. Subtract. Now you have the answer you are looking for on "hos much isolation do I need?", in decibels.

I believe i am limited to a single ceiling

Then you are also limited to very low isolation. It's that simple.

possible insulating the tin roof with iso wrap holding it up

Probably not permitted by code. Better check. Also a bad idea, as it will cause roof overheating and early failure.

I may have to draw a few diagrams to help explanations.

more foam filling

That's expanding polyurethane "foam in a can". It is closed-cell foam, so not much use acoustically. It does seal the gap air-tight and water-tight, but it is low mass and closed-cell, so it's not a lot of use as part of your outer leaf.

Outside garage, decided to remove for security reasons.

... and brick up the empty space?


- Stuart -

[paradoxau]

It's possible, yes, but not optimal. Many people do that, "faking" room sound in the mix... but it's not always convincing.

i might have to live with that given the space. recording vibe is not as important as a good mixing space. im sure ive contradicted myself now

acoustic measurement mic. But do NOT get Behringer: I've heard too many horror stories about those things, including my own personal experience.

I'm not talking about isolating your electrical circuits, electrically. I'm talking about isolating your electrical installation acoustically, in the sense that you cannot install electrical stuff as you usually would, by chopping holes in the walls and poking boxes through for lights, switches and plugs. You can't fo that in a studio, as it breaks your isolation shell. You can only allow on single small penetration to bring your power feed in, then you distribute around the studio internally, with surface mount systems. Extra expense, extra complication.

duly noted I've planned to install just the one "dual" power point directly infront of my sitting spot (behind the desk), and a single light switch at the entrance. The switch will likely be mounted on the door frame, i an chase the cable through timber and isolate it pretty easy i believe. the power point will require some thought, unless i chase that through skirting and the frame. but *cue Kanye voice* all of the lights, all of the lights?
I wanted to have a small light above and a light about the middle of the room, this will require some thought - open to suggestions for lighting and or isolating treatments for downlights? didnt consider the fact im cutting a big hole in my nicely enclosed room haha

Am i overlooking something significant?

HVAC, to start with... (Yep, you do need it.... )
do i NEED to - given the area i live in rarely (and i mean maybe two days a year) need cooling, and i was happy to have a neat portable heater for the colder nights in winter, i figured i only needed a vent for fresh air (obviously fainting mid session is a bit of a worry ) i have seen some cool boxes for isolating these, i was hoping i could build that into the wall.

Now you have the answer you are looking for on "hos much isolation do I need?", in decibels.

awesome, thanks!

Then you are also limited to very low isolation. It's that simple.

It may be something i have to live with unfortunately, lifting the roof requires significant structural changes.
A person i know (you must hate these stories ) has built a semi professional room (charges clients to record in) and was limited to the same single ceiling i will likely have to install (tin roof, void space, timber frame and then two layers of gyprock (i believe the first layer was firecheck as its thicker) with green glue and isolated ceiling clips for the furring channel) - his isolation is good, but on days with heavy rain he said it can be heard faintly. Maybe a similar solution is my best and only option? as its generally only me using the room, waiting for breaks in rain is obviously not an issue - if i was a paying client however, i would not be so patient. It would be my end goal to not have the noise, but i have accepted i am likely going to have to make sacrifices.... hearing the ceiling treatment i require and knowing what i can likely only achieve was a bitter pill to swallow ive added a suggestion below which i have considered.

Probably not permitted by code. Better check. Also a bad idea, as it will cause roof overheating and early failure.

Foil wrap is often used in ceilings,directly under the tin or tiles. i think i may have used the incorrect term when i said "iso" wrap, implying i was going to wrap in isolation matt. its a thin (2-3mm) aluminimun foil like insulation. Although, the foil is usually applied under the tin, with the insulation batts on top of the ceiling, not in the roof void between the bearers. the purpose of this would be purely to hold up insulation batts.

With the ceiling, is it an alternative solution to frame the walls and roof of the inner room, and sheet the top of my timber frame with gyprock, with insulation between that and the furring channel i will have to run for mounting the internal ceiling, essentially creating a small closed space over the room, and between the existing tin roof?

I may have to draw a few diagrams to help explanations.

That's expanding polyurethane "foam in a can". It is closed-cell foam, so not much use acoustically. It does seal the gap air-tight and water-tight, but it is low mass and closed-cell, so it's not a lot of use as part of your outer leaf.

noted, my first job was getting the room airtight and water-tight, i did not consider mass. is there a good way to add mass to it? Would be happy to cover with some mortar or thick ply. rendering might be a good option?
Lucky i stopped in here before i went too far

... and brick up the empty space?

yeah. door and window too. Again due to money, have opted for three to four courses of brickwork along the bottom and framing the remainder.
Concrete sheeting over the framed timber both sides, with batt's between, and eventually that entire external wall (across both garages) will be clad with more cement sheeting or timber boards to break up the brick on the house, so it should be adequately closed. obviously not as good as brick though.

Thanks Soundman, this input is really making me consider what i am doing!

[paradoxau]

just a quick update -

have managed to clean the room out so i can measure dimensions correctly, and also set up some equip so i can run some music and see how loud i am (as well as got a sound level meter).

Some initial test's are as follows, still need to get someone to play drums while i get the levels, all of these have been done alone which doesnt help!

Inside room drums - max level of about 101-102db, which was coming off the snare. call is 105db
Inside room mixing level - 85db is the loudest i would want speakers, appears to be my preferred mixing level.
Outside Ambient (11pm) - 32db was the "quiet" level, dogs barking and the occasional car / road noise nearby came to about 35 to 45db depending on proximity. working to 35db might be acceptable in this case.

I've included the mixing level because i figured if the drum level is too hard to restrict due to my ceiling woes i can at least aim for the next loudest thing, my speakers. Would just restrict recording of drums to between say 9am and 9pm which isnt a complete deal breaker for me, keeping in mind its a hobby space

Now to just see how much isolation i'm getting from the existing structure!

[Soundman2020]

Inside room drums - max level of about 101-102db, which was coming off the snare. call is 105db
Inside room mixing level - 85db is the loudest i would want speakers, appears to be my preferred mixing level.
Outside Ambient (11pm) - 32db was the "quiet" level, dogs barking and the occasional car / road noise nearby came to about 35 to 45db depending on proximity. working to 35db might be acceptable in this case.

Those levels all seem to be a bit on the low side. Are you CERTAIN you had your meter set to "C" weighting, and "slow" response?

- Stuart -

[paradoxau]

I was like a kid at Chrissy when the meter arrived, i just stuck a battery in it and started measuring EVERYTHING, in my excitement i have not checked the different settings for measurement. Will confirm

[paradoxau]

Hi Soundman, can confirm but i must admit, i have been getting different levels, likely due to plyaing diffrently each time.
Base levels more or less the same.

Drums dont really seem to go over 115~120 no matter how hard i am playing, i think working to 120 would be ideal. I must have been playing along with some jazz when i measured first time.

85 is a nice mixing level still, outside ambient didnt change much either.

The rain though, oh the rain!!!! had a storm come through and wanted to test the room, my max peak during the storm duration was 65db (inside the room!).........only 20db under my listening level. no wonder i cant hear when its raining

Still need to walk around and try find the loudest spot outside when someone is playing drums inside to determine how much isolation i am getting currently, but i would like to finish the sealing of garage etc. before doing this as that will have a difference, how much i am not sure.

The good news is i have been able to do some calcs and get the structural eng to check my work (i am a civil engineer, we get nervous about things that stand up) and based on some assumptions (i assumed the lowest rating brick of 5mPa as opposed to a heavier 25mpa brick) the existing walls and C channel can hold approx. 300kg's (center load point on c channel) which means i can fix something to the underside of this to help isolate the tin roof. given i have three members spanning the room, i can ultimately load up about 900kg give or take, depending on some final checks.



Ive also discussed with a builder the option of creating a cavity in the ceiling, you metnioned the roof overheating and early failure but he assured me anti-con (anti condensation material) and insulation in the roof cavity will be no problem.

i'll attached a sketch as it may help visualise my question...

So from me, my outstanding questions are;

1.What can i use to fix to bottom of existing c channel to create a reasonable leaf within the constraints of my budget, marine ply or furring channel and plasterboard? Given i can load this up a lot more than i initially thought, i guess my best bet is to clad it with something to create my roof leaf as you mentioned earlier. Can you reccommend something that would be suitable for this in terms of a dense material, i can install gyprock or a thicker ply? Once i have this leaf built i can look at ineral room specs / deisgn and treatment.

2.What is a good way to give some more weight to the areas i have used foam infill, which you pointed out is a bit light. concrete render maybe enough?

[Soundman2020]

Drums dont really seem to go over 115~120 no matter how hard i am playing, i think working to 120 would be ideal. I must have been playing along with some jazz when i measured first time.

85 is a nice mixing level still, outside ambient didnt change much either.

Right! 115 dBC is very typical of drums, and 85 dBC is a good monitoring level, frequently used by engineers.

The rain though, oh the rain!!!!

Yup. That happens! Now imagine what hail would be like, and maybe some thunder too....

walk around and try find the loudest spot outside when someone is playing drums inside to determine how much isolation i am getting currently, but i would like to finish the sealing of garage etc. before doing this as that will have a difference, how much i am not sure.

Right. It's surprising how much difference it van make when the room is completely sealed, air-tight.

1.What can i use to fix to bottom of existing c channel to create a reasonable leaf within the constraints of my budget, marine ply or furring channel and plasterboard?

Mass is mass. Sound waves don't care how much you pay for the mass: All they see is kilograms. So get the least expensive mass that will do the job. In most places, that's usually drywall (plasterboard). However, there might be valid reasons why you would use something else. For example, plasterboard falls apart if it gets wet, so for wet places you would probably want to use marine plywood or OSB. They are less dense than drywall, so you would need to use thicker materials to get the same mass. You might also need to use something thinner in some places, if space is very tight, so you could use a higher density material, such as fiber-cement board. The main things you need to be worried about is getting enough mass up there to attain the MSM resonant frequency that you need, and sealing it all perfectly.

What is a good way to give some more weight to the areas i have used foam infill, which you pointed out is a bit light. concrete render maybe enough?

Render should be fine. Make it thick! If necessary, build it up from two thinner layers, rather than one thick application, as that could crack.


- Stuart -