John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi Guys,
Construction is coming along nicely. I'm about to try to find 6 sheets of laminated glass for my studio. These sizes take into account the stud framing, minus 3/4" all around for 3/4" plywood frame, plus additional height to makeup for angling the glass in towards the floor.

25" x 48" (1/2") control room to live room (cr side)
25" x 48" (3/8") control room to live room (lr side)

26" x 24.5" (1/2") control room to vocal booth (cr side)
26" x 24.5" (3/8") control room to vocal booth (vb side)

26" x 33.5" (1/2") live room to vocal booth (lr side)
26" x 33.5" (3/8") live room to vocal booth (vb side)

2 questions:

1- Is the 3/4" plywood frame going to be strong enough for this, or do I need to use something thicker (and recalculate my glass sizes)?

2- How is the frame going to be secured to the studs? Can I do it after the drywall goes up, or do I need to wait to put up the drywall after the glass is put in (meaning do I need to get to the outside of the studs)?

I guess I was originally thinking
"build the plywood frame/ mount glass in frame/ slide frame into stud framing"
but now I'm thinking
"attach plywood to inside of stud framing/ install glass"

What's the best way to do this?
Ideally insulation and sheetrocking starts tomorrow and I was going to deal with the glass next week, is this an ok order, or will it cause problems?
Anybody got a diagram of the cross section, just so I know I'm not leaving anything out? (guessing trim/pad/caulk/glass/caulk/pad/trim)

Thanks,
Steve

Here are a few pics of window design.

And now, we need a drawing of YOUR window design - descriptions are never as good as a drawing with explanations. I'm not trying to be picky here, but consider: 3/4 ply, if unsupported for a long enough distance, can't even support itself (much less the weight of glass) - can you do a rough sketch of what you intend?

Rough guideline - glass weighs roughly 3 times what sheet rock weighs, so your 25 x 48 CR 1/2" glass would weigh about the same as 3/4 sheet of 1/2" sheet rock, or around 45-50 pounds. Without direct frame support under, a plywood sill will eventually sag due to the constant weight.

If we can see what you intend to do, it'll be much easier... Steve

Great pics Giles! Thanks.
Hi Knightfly,
my plans are exactly as the pics above demonstrate, my diagram wouldn't be any different.
The walls have been framed (2x4's) and have 2x4 window framing (top/bottom/left/right) , so the support is there... I just meant in terms of what the diagrams above are calling "cliffs", you know, the visible frame that will extend out from the wall a bit, if 3/4" plywood is good enough to hold the glass in place, not so much support the weight, and my main question was about how to assemble the whole thing. But now looking at the pics I believe I see how I can put it together (build it in the wall).
Thanks guys,
Steve

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it now - remember you can't get at the glass inside once it's together, so get some cloth gloves to handle it, and clean/dry the glass thoroughly before it goes in. I'm guessing you have double frames? if so, don't bridge between them with anything solid. You need a porous material surrounding the window, so sound can be vented into the insulated space between walls - helps the TL by a few dB. Also allows condensation to dissipate... Steve

One suggestion when looking for glass guys...
GET MANY QUOTES FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES!

Most only had 1/4" laminated in stock, but special orders only take about a week or 2.
For the 6 pieces listed above, I got a quote of $747.00, then from another place a quote of $390.00!!
What a difference for the same thing. Some of the markups on glass are crazy!
The guy I'm going with said that the
3/8" was $10.15/sf and the
1/2" was $10.25/sf
so I guess these are some good guidelines to make sure you aren't getting ripped off.