window in wall

[bionicshane]

first off this is an amazing message board...no shit talking or bullshit...just alot of good information....what a pleasure....my questions is .....well the first of many but here it is....i am building a wall and want to put a window between the soon to be control room and live room....i saw staggerd stud post and thats how i am doin it...but should i use 2 pains of glassone on inside(in control room) and one on outside(in live room) ...is that good enough...will this let a ton of sound in or is there a better way....i have to 1/4" pieces of glass i picked up for free and there only 2'x4' what is best way to frame this thanks

[petermiller]

two paines would be a good place to start, you are going to want the one in the control room side to be mounted at 90 degrees to the floor and the one facing the live room area
to be at an angle pointing towards the floor so you do not get direct radiation to the other paine.

[Innovations]

you want two panes of thick glass each in a separate frame (so that the frame itself does not transmit through. Since glass is about three times as dense as gypsum board the glass should be at least one third as thick as your total gypsum board sheathing. Usually the pane in the live room is angled down so that the sound that reflects off it goes toward the floor rather than right back at the microphone.

[ChaseOfBass]

First of all one of the main advantages of tilting glass downward is going to be to stop light reflections to reduce strain on the eyes from staring through reflective windows for hours on end. It can also redirect some select few high frequencies the the floor to protect you from early (sound) reflections, this is important on your control room side. For maximum isolation, you should put the two glass plates as far apart as possible, but angling the glass slightly downward on both sides (and decreasing the air gap between the two sheets at the bottom) would have a miniscule effect on isolation. Make sure that the glass is set in place with neoprene or some sort of rubber and that in between the glass you place absorbant materials like rigid fiberglass. Also, what kind of glass are you using? It's important that you use heat strengthened (tempered) glass or laminate glass and not float glass.

I hope this helped,
chase

P.S. Go out and buy "Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros" by Ron Gervais. It's worth it's weight in gold.

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

There is another issue here that may negate a high Transmission loss rated wall/window assembly. Namely, flanking through the floor. IF, this staggered stud wall is built on a WOOD FRAMED floor. "Weak link" syndrome via structural transmission right under the wall could make this wall a waste of money and time if high SPL isolation of drums is the goal. However, thats not to say the wall/glass won't do its job. Just be aware that the isolation performance of studio partition assemblys are only good as the weakest flanking path, such as HVAC ducts, light ceiling mass etc.
Also, if the existing space has HVAC supply/return ducting grills, and you seperate these systems with a wall, you may experience problems with your HVAC as well not to mention setting up possible safety hazards. This is why Building codes exist. Anytime you partition off existing space without applying for a building permit, you run the risk insurance loss should something happen down the road.


fitZ

[Innovations]

[QUOTE=ChaseOfBass].... and that in between the glass you place absorbant materials like rigid fiberglass.[/quote)]Wouldn't that make the window rather hard to look through?

Also, what kind of glass are you using? It's important that you use heat strengthened (tempered) glass or laminate glass and not float glass.

That only has an effect on the safety factor. Large expanses of glass need to be tempered or laminated, but it has little to do with accoustics.