NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

[archive]

From: "Larry Chapin" <chapi005@t...>
Date: Wed Feb 2, 2000 11:03 am
Subject: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

Hello everybody,

This is a great list. I've been observing for a while but not active -
been busy finishing construction on my new house. Now the fun part comes,
I thought I'd be sick of swinging a hammer but I want my studio. I put 10'
ceilings in my basement - so the studio could have 9' ceilings. And I'm
going with a room within a room. This will also be my 2nd basemnt studio
construction (lots of mistakes on the first one).

The biggest mistake was NO ventilation - except for a window.

My current plan is to bring fresh air into the studio & booth directly from
my HEAT EXCHANGER (not my furnace). This allows for fresher air that is
warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter than furnace air. I would
then have a cold air return just in the studio.

Question --- ISOLATION --- how? I've read alot and am looking for 50db
between rooms. But what have real people done?? Has anyone actually built a
box for turning the flow back on itself many times? DOes anyone know of a
flexible duct that attenuates more than just what I can get at Home Depot??

Question --- RUBBER --- both for the walls/ceiling to sit on and for false
floor in studio. I've had suggested to me 75% defelection. But how thick??
Does anyone know of a supplier?? How about a cheaper way to isolate??

Question --- FLOOR --- in the studio room, I plan on the false floor being

--------- PERGO What type of fill is better
--------- 3/4" T&G plywood sand or insulation????
-----
!_____! 2 x 4 on it's side

------- Rubber or Fiber for support/iso??????

Thamk you all for this great resource.

LARRY CHAPIN

[archive]

From: "Rose, Max" <mrose@d...>
Date: Wed Feb 2, 2000 5:14 pm
Subject: RE: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

You might want to see if Auralex still carries a Neoprene "puck" of some
sort. You would lay your 2x4s on them. Should provide plenty of isolation.

Max Rose
Mastering Engineer
Disc Makers/Seattle
mrose@d...
1(800)553-8906 (206)285-2642

[archive]

From: "Mucha, Kevin S (Kevin)" <kmucha@l...>
Date: Wed Feb 2, 2000 5:31 pm
Subject: RE: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

Larry-
I have not used any of these HVAC techniques due to my situation, so keep
that in mind, but you should be able to buy the insulated flexible ducting
from Home Depot. I thought I saw it there recently. If not, I would check
the phone book for insulation dealers. I had to do this to find 703.
Several turns of this should help attenuation effectively as long as the
ducts feeding each room are not connected to each other. They should run
separately back to the heat exchanger. I understand this works well.

As for isolation I am trying rolled roofing rubber under my
framework/connections and will also have a layer on my floor between
concrete, a vapor barrier, the rubber, then the plywood subfloor. I also
plan on going with Pergo. I bought this stuff for about $65 US and it comes
in a 10X25' sheet rolled on a tube. It should be readily available at most
home centers. I am not finished yet with construction but so far it looks
like it will work well. It is about a 1/4" thick and quite dense. Anyone
else have experience with this stuff or guesses on how effective it will be?
I will report back once construction is completed.

Thanks,

Kevin S. Mucha
Coerce Recording Services
www.coerce-recording.com
* kevin@c...

[archive]

From: thomas ness <user654308@w...>
Date: Wed Feb 2, 2000 11:52 pm
Subject: Re: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

Oh yeah, Auralex also has vinyl limp mass for isolating floors and
walls. It is in their catalog and Acoustics 101. One of my local
(Atlanta) dealers offered another brand of vinyl at a better cost. He
said that they are identical in attenuation. I don't know first hand,
but it makes sense. Eighth inch thick vinyl sounds rather generic. My
dealer quoted US$2.25 /sq. ft.

Thom Ness

[archive]

From: thomas ness <user654308@w...>
Date: Wed Feb 2, 2000 11:55 pm
Subject: Re: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

Auralex offers U-boats that are made to support 2x sleepers. Go to
www.auralex.com
and you will see several downloads. Get their catalog and Acoustics 101.

Thom Ness

[archive]

From: perrault@i... (David Perrault)
Date: Thu Feb 3, 2000 9:05 pm
Subject: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

>,,,,But what have real people done?? Has anyone actually built a
>box for turning the flow back on itself many times?,,,,
>LARRY CHAPIN

I don't know if my room would get a *real people* rating, but this is
what I put in to my place <g>.

There are two 6'X4'X1' boxes with two horizontal baffles. These boxes
are hung between the double wall, behind the monitors. The flow
essentially has to make a large S.

3/4" poplar plywood with one inch styrofoam insulation as a lining.
Eight inch ductwork. One 500 cubic-feet/min fan for each box. One
vents the room into the rough space ouside the studio and the other
feeds fresh air, from outside, into the room. Fresh air supply can be
connected to an air conditioner when exterior temperatures are not
suitable.

I'm not sure what the attenuation is, but it's very quiet. No
problems 24/7 in a residential setting.

DP

[archive]

From: Matt Spransy <matt@w...>
Date: Thu Feb 3, 2000 3:09 pm
Subject: Re: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

David,

Your description is a little fuzzy. How about a drawing?

[archive]

From: "Larry Chapin" <chapi005@t...>
Date: Sat Feb 5, 2000 4:47 pm
Subject: RE: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

>Larry-
>I have not used any of these HVAC techniques due to my situation, so keep
>that in mind, but you should be able to buy the insulated flexible ducting
>from Home Depot.

Yeah, I know the regular stuff is there. But I'm wondering if there might
be some designed for more acoustic attenuation . . .

>As for isolation I am trying rolled roofing rubber under my
>framework/connections and will also have a layer on my floor between
>concrete, a vapor barrier, the rubber, then the plywood subfloor. I also
>plan on going with Pergo. I bought this stuff for about $65 US and it

That's a great idea. Has anyone actually used it and seen how much
isolation you can get ???

Thank you

Larry

[archive]

From: "Larry Chapin" <chapi005@t...>
Date: Sat Feb 5, 2000 4:53 pm
Subject: RE: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

On Thu, 03 Feb 2000 14:05:36 GMT,
David Perrault wrote...
>From: perrault@i... (David Perrault)
>
>I don't know if my room would get a *real people* rating, but this is
>what I put in to my place <g>.

Everybody is real people - whatever works!

>There are two 6'X4'X1' boxes with two horizontal baffles. These boxes
>are hung between the double wall, behind the monitors. The flow
>essentially has to make a large S.
>
>3/4" poplar plywood with one inch styrofoam insulation as a lining.
>Eight inch ductwork. One 500 cubic-feet/min fan for each box. One

>I'm not sure what the attenuation is, but it's very quiet. No
>problems 24/7 in a residential setting.

Are you running live drums or more acoustic music? Just trying to get a
feel for how big a box I'll need.

Thank you

LARRY

[archive]

From: thomas ness <user654308@w...>
Date: Sat Feb 5, 2000 11:13 pm
Subject: Re: FWD: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

look at www.atcoflex.com for a listing of the available duct products. I
have UPC #37 installed and believe that you could design a very isolated
system with this stuff. It is R-6.

Thom Ness

[archive]

From: perrault@i... (David Perrault)
Date: Sun Feb 6, 2000 7:55 am
Subject: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

>Are you running live drums or more acoustic music? Just trying to get a
>feel for how big a box I'll need.
>LARRY

Live drums. Fender amps. Loud P/A feed for working things out vocal.

FWIW, I think you need to consider the volume of your room and
intented number of occupants. The plenums in my room were designed
for the size of the room, NOT for the decibel level of sound created
inside it.

In this case, my room is very small, under 2000 cu/ft. The amount
of fresh air/exhaust is probably more related to the fans than the
plenum. In this case, two 500 cu/ft/min seem to provide an abundant
fresh air feel that many have complimented.

I should add that my room is quite airtight, and well insulated, and
equipment heat alone can make things feel warm.

The biggest problem I've encountered is the dryness of fresh air at
this time of year in Canada. I need to run a humidifier when the room
is not in use, or I get major static problems. Sometimes, I need to
run a humidifier between takes, or during breaks, on long sessions.
The room dries out and the static returns.

In any case, this system of venting the room does work and seems to
satisfy residential quietness requirements.

DP

[archive]

From: "Larry Chapin" <chapi005@t...>
Date: Sat Feb 5, 2000 9:54 pm
Subject: RE: NEW STUDIO: HVAC, rubber, floor

>>Are you running live drums or more acoustic music? Just trying to get a
>>feel for how big a box I'll need.

>Live drums. Fender amps. Loud P/A feed for working things out vocal.

Sounds exactly what I wasnt to do.

>FWIW, I think you need to consider the volume of your room and
>intented number of occupants. The plenums in my room were designed
>for the size of the room, NOT for the decibel level of sound created
>inside it.
>In this case, my room is very small, under 2000 cu/ft. The amount
>of fresh air/exhaust is probably more related to the fans than the
>plenum. In this case, two 500 cu/ft/min seem to provide an abundant
>fresh air feel that many have complimented.

I've again got the same situation - but 2 rooms. I want them to have enough
air. But, I also want to isolate the drums from booth and the 1st floor of
my house.