John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

What size insulation (looking for best possible isolation) should I use? The frame will be 24" OC. The ceiling is odd at 19" OC.

Which owen's corning is the best? R19?

For the walls, the frame is 2X4 construction for the walls, should I get 6 inch thick? Can you recommend some steps for hanging it on the walls so that it presses up against the drywall nicely?

For the ceiling, is it OK if the insulation folds up on either side... I only see 23 inches wide or 16. I'll have flex duct in-between some joists which will minimize the thickness I can use for these. In-between the other joists, I'll have 11 inches of space between the upper floor and the ceiling. Should I use 10 inch thick stuff here? The thicker the better? Or should I just use what I can use where the flex ducts are?

Greetings Tom

Check these out...

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5965

This one has a good post by Knightfly about 3/4 of the way down

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... c&start=30

And this one...
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5565

Hope they help!

Great, thanks for the links!

What about what Shayward suggested for the ceiling.... Putting insulation against the ceiling, and then resting against the channel?

What would I use to hold the insulation against the ceiling in between joists?

Also, I know that the fluffy stuff is suitable, but which r-value is best? R11? R19? R38?

Hey Tom

I was in a hurry and didn't get to send you these...

AndreasB shows some straps he used about 3/4 the way down in this post
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5715

These are called Impaling Clips that can be used...
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/prod ... _clips.asp

John used these straps...
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... c&start=75

Here's a good one...
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1163

A suggestion I would tell you is to DEFINATELY BUY THIS BOOK!

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5670

The author sometimes gives comments on this site and is VERY knowlegable about studio construction. Also, Most of us on here would be happy to help you, but be sure you utilize the "search" function for info you want in the future. I know it takes time and sometimes you can't find what you're looking for right off the bat, but the nice thing is you'll probably run into something else you can use at a later time in your construction!

Take a good look at these two links to get started...
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125

Hope all this helps!

I'd like to put something inbetween the floor joists above to help isolation.. but something light! I don't want to do drywall. I think there's something I saw at home depot called sound stop that looks kind of like rigid insulation...up to 3"thick. I can't remember exactly what it's called... it had a yellowish middle with blue covering on either side. The guys at home depot recommended it for isolation. They didn't have a clue, but i'm wondering if it would help in this situation.

I know it's not the ideal heavy mass, but I'm looking for anything that will help... I will have 2 layers of 5/8" drywall on hat channel/resilient clips as my inner leaf.

Is something like this worth it? Or should I just use regular insulation??

Seems like I remember someone asking about that product also. You might want to do a search on here for that.

I could be mistaken, but seems like that wasn't a recommended item to use for walls or ceilings.

Check this post out...
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... sound+stop

Yeah, my comments on that thread(Mar.26) still apply - Whether you're Catholic or not, Mass is where it's at... Steve

But the question isn't whether or not adding mass will give better isolation. I realize that is true.

The question is, what if you can't? Is nothing as good as something light like soundboard... and specifically if we're talking light stuff, is regular insulation just as good as soundboard for up against the upper floor?

Soundboard against your upper floor is a total waste of time and money; little mass, fairly high porosity, relatively expensive...

Are you concerned with getting too much weight supported by your floor joists, or is there another reason you don't want anything heavy? Steve

Yeah, I have a few concerns... the main one is the amount of weight on the joists.

1. The duct vents may make the effort of drywall inbetween joists against the flooring a waste of time.. I will still have insulation against the flooring above since soundboard is a waste.

2. The above floor is my living room/part of my kitchen. I'm afraid to use anymore than 2 layers 5/8" on the ceiling just because i'm not sure what will be in my living room once it's finally furnished! So far i have a sofa, love seat, recliner chair, kitchen table, TV (nothing else from the kitchen). I still need end tables, coffee table, and entertainment center. I don't want to limit my options (meaning my wife's options).

Basically the combination of those two reasons brought me to the conclusion that drywall is not an option for against the subfloor above.

Since sounboard is a waste, I think insulation will be the best option. It's light and not a leaf so I can put it around the flex duct (as long as not compressed too much), above flex duct, over duct vent.