John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi, I'm new to the board as far as posting goes but I've been lurking around spying on you all. You're all a great bunch of people and I'll appreciate your help.

I have a floating floor that needs to be built. Here are my general questions:

1. In a 2 room situation (cntrl rm/drm rm) should I build a seperate floating floor for each room? The dimension of the entire space is 14x20. The 2 rooms will be basically cut right down the middle. The existing floor is concrete slab.

2. Using the 2 leaf wall method, would it benefit me in anyway to build the wall from the concrete slab (on neoprene pads first) and build the floating floor up to the wall?

3. In order for me to build this floor, I would need to get at least 12' studs for the joists. I have no way of picking these up because of my vehicle limitations. Frankly, I'd rather buy $50 more of lumber than pay $50 for delivery. Is it a nono to splice studs together to make the longer lengths?

4. Instead of using 2x4's for the floor, would 2x3's be alright?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
John

John, it's hard to say for sure on some of your questions because it depends on the degree of isolation you need to/from your outside world. I'll see what I can do -

1. Your drum room at least should be floated, this will give max isolation to the outside world. whether you float the control room will depend on budget and if you want the most isolation you can get. If you're going to have anything less than a double door, absorbed, 3-4 foot airlock between the two rooms, don't bother to float the control room unless you also intend to play really loud stuff in the control room and need max separation from the world. The good news is, those dimensions will result in no modal problems for you.

2. Generally, it's better to float the inner walls on TOP of the floated floor, using 1/4" neoprene. I would need to know what your existing walls are (all the way through) before I could make better recommendations.

3. Not at all - but for ease of finding the joists when fastening, it would be better to splice using plywood strips on both sides of the joists, so that the joists are in a straight line. You can't splice joists this way when they're NOT resting on rubber pads though - not enough strength. You will need to make sure there's a pad directly under the splice. When splicing, get some construction adhesive and clamps and clamp the assembly after gluing, then put nails in at all different angles from both sides for strength (minimises floor squeaks mainly)

4. 2x3's will be fine, as long as you have room for any under-floor wiring you plan. I'd fill the cavities with mineral wool and use the heaviest flooring you can afford (1-1/8 TG OSB or ply works well)

If your concrete floors show ANY signs of moisture, you should read through this before you start -

http://www.buildingscience.com/resource ... ystems.pdf

Read carefully, this could cost you a LOT... Steve

3. In order for me to build this floor, I would need to get at least 12' studs for the joists. I have no way of picking these up because of my vehicle limitations. Frankly, I'd rather buy $50 more of lumber than pay $50 for delivery. Is it a nono to splice studs together to make the longer lengths?

John, you can't find one friend with a pickup that would help you out in exchange for a few beers? If not, most commercial lumber yards can deliver affordably. Two yards near me offer free delivery if the order is over $150. Tack on some other items you'll need (furring strips, moulding, etc to bring the price up if you need two). Also, depending how far away from a home depot you are, they rent eazy-load pickups for $20 for 70 minutes. Not too unreasonable.

I have a pickup, and have helped friends in the past, and when I need to swap a motor, fix gutters, roofs, whatever, there are no shortage of big guys standing around to help, even if "help" means standing holding a beer