Basement Two Room Studio

[knightfly]

Got a pic (or two) of the window WITHOUT the curtain in the way? And, if possible, the thickness and type of the glass? You might be able to double up like the walls, and keep the light/view source... Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

Here's some pictures of the window. The glass is double pane, but I think that's about all I can tell you. Sorry, I don't know much about windows.

My goal is to have some isolation from the upstairs, not so much worried about the neighbors for this room. I am also trying to maintain some appearance of residential normalcy (hence the rectangular rooms) and a double window would be a little wierd, although not out of the question because I could simply remove it later. I guess my question is whether I should even bother with framing a second wall if I have a big hole in it for the window box.

Also, if I do build a second wall should I remove the existing drywall on the half wall?

Thanks again,
Marc

[knightfly]

OK, do you mean that the glass on the MOVABLE part of the window (the crank-in part that's shown open in the upper pic) is double pane, or are you referring to the inner, removable storm insert?

Also, are you asking about the UPPER half of the wall? I'm assuming that's what you mean, since I thought the lower half was all concrete block (NOT filled, right?)

Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

Sorry, I should have explained more about the window. The movable part of the window contains double pane glass. The inner insert is merely a removable screen (zero STC).

Yes, I am asking about the upper part of the wall.

Marc

[knightfly]

OK, in that case your question,"Also, if I do build a second wall should I remove the existing drywall on the half wall?" - yes; if you cut it carefully, you could beef up the outer leaf by doing a couple of layers of wallboard up against the outer leaf, between the studs.

If you remove the inner pane, and use heavy glass for the new window, you can minimise the 3-leaf effect somewhat; the more air gap between the two, the better... Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

Steve,

I just realized I didn't answer your previous question about the concrete on the lower half of the wall. It is poured solid concrete, NOT block. I assume this is better, right?

OK, I will remove the drywall from the top half of the wall.

I think for now I'm not going to insall a new window and just hang an absorber over the opening. If the existing window becomes a big problem I'll add a window to the inner wall. I am just struggling with whether to build the inner walls because they eat up floor space. I've already given the carpenter instructions to build them, but he's not actually starting for a few weeks.



Marc

[knightfly]

Whether you build inner walls or not would depend on just how much isolation you need from that wall; the upper half will be the weak link, concrete isn't bad as a single leaf wall unless you want heavy isolation, in which case you need a gap and a second leaf for sure.

If you have any doubts about the upper, non-concrete parts doing the job, you should plan on removing the inner cladding and making that upper half-wall your OUTER leaf with built up mass between studs, and doing the inner leaf all along the wall... Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

Construction is now underway so I thought I'd post some pictures. Everything is going fine except $$$, which I'm trying my best to ignore.

This first set of pics is the last of the prep work.

Pic#1)Here's the first layer of Roxul between the existing ceiling joists in the live room. This needed to go up before the new ceiling was framed.

Pic#2)Per Steve's suggestion, I removed the drywall facing on the half wall and inserted drywall between the studs. I used one layer of 5/8" and one layer of 1/2", which I reused from what I removed.

Pic#3)Here's the last shot pre-framing

[PhiloBeddoe]

More pics.

Pic#1) Control room framing showing closet, new joists, and new wall 1" from existing concrete foundation wall.

Pic#2) Double studded wall (one 2x4 wall and one 2x6 wall) between live and control room. I was careful to instruct the electrician not to use back to back outlets. Note the independent conduit runs in each wall.

Pic #3) New ceiling joists in live room.

[PhiloBeddoe]

More Pics.

Pic#1) Looking into the Live Room from the West. Double wall between open area (hopefully a bathroom in the future) and live room.

Pic#2) Double wall between live room and control room again.

Pic#3) Control room framing w/soffit around hvac duct.

[knightfly]

Looking good so far; how many layers of wallboard will go on the HVAC soffit? Not sure about those flat 2x's supporting more than two layers, even at that short span.

Also, soffit looks to be hard coupled to both the wall and ceiling frame; will RC be used to mount wallboard? If not, there's a possible flanking path - duct noise into frame into wallboard. Also, will the ducts get insulation before wallboard goes on? That will help keep noise under control too... Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

I plan to put RC and two layers of 5/8" in the entire room, including the soffit.

I have some duct insulation given to me by a friend, but I was planning to use just Roxul AFB around the duct. I'll probably use the free duct insulation in the rest of the non-studio basement.

[knightfly]

Good plan... Steve

[PhiloBeddoe]

Unfortunately I've been traveling a bit so things haven't been progressing continuously but are progressing. The HVAC is finished and I have a bunch of PVC run between the rooms for snakes and other cables.

An electrical question:

My electrical boxes are mounted so the front is flush with the front of the stud. Usually one would add a mud ring of appropriate depth to extend the box to be flush with the finished drywall. However, what about when you have RC (1/2") + two layers of 5/8" drywall = 1 3/4" depth from finished drywall to stud?

I haven't been able to find a mud ring larger than 1 1/4". It seems like the only option is to use a 1 1/2" box extender + a 1/4" mud ring. However, with this solution you'd have to make a 4" square hole in the drywall for a double fixture. I could put two duplex receptacles in each box but I don't really need them and would prefer something more elegant for a single fixture.

Considering the ubiquity of RC + 2 layers of 5/8" drywall in this business, I must be missing something simple. Ideas?

I hope this makes sense.

Many thanks

[knightfly]

First, with double framed walls you do NOT want to use RC; it's a waste of time/effort/money, for which you get a probable WORSENING of low frequency performance.

Second, on any walls that are SINGLE framed that will actually benefit from using RC, it's best to use "old work" or "cut-in" boxes, that mount directly to the drywall with "ears" - this keeps the box floated along with the drywall (suspended on the RC) - your metal conduit will get damped by insulation so shouldn't "ring", but it's still a good idea to stuff insulation into the ends after all wires are in place.

Where you're using double framed walls, any method you can find locally to get them even is the way to go; no further isolation is necessary because of the separate frames. However, where possible you should use "putty packs" behind all boxes - good acoustic seal, and they're intumescent for fire control... Steve