basement studio ceiling; John Sayers?

[dr_penner]

Hi, everyone. Hope John sees this post.

A few weeks ago I asked for some advice about my basement studio ceiling. John asked for a diagram and I will try to post it in this thread.

The room is partly built and has staggered stud walls mounted directly on the concrete floor. The ceiling joists above have insulation packed behind a layer of drywall.

I have gone to great pains to ensure that the walls/room does not contact the building at any point. The only place where the room does contact is at the ceiling where the room ceiling will be mounted on resilient channels to minimize the vibration sent upstairs. The room ceiling will literally hang into the space created by the walls.

The question then and now is: Is this design reasonable? I worry that the sound will sneak out the ceiling/wall junction and go overtop of the wall (see large arrow)

Caulking will be used liberally, but is it enough? I am wondering if the design could be improved.

Kurt Penner
Winnipeg, MB
Canada

 

[John Sayers]

I worry that the sound will sneak out the ceiling/wall junction and go overtop of the wall (see large arrow)

I assuma that the room adjacent will also have a RC mounted ceiling as well so there shouldn't be any leakage if you seal the ceilings to the wall studs. I have seen lengths of sheet lead used as a flexible seal between the RC ceiling and the wall frame but that's a bit OT in this case.

cheers
john

 

[dr_penner]

John,

Thanks for the reply.

The adjacent room will be a generic basement rec room, with only simple walls with one layer of drywall at best. The ceiling there will likely be just suspended panels. I haven't thought to soundproof it since most of the noise will be in the music room.

As to sheet lead, do you know of any cheap sources? I see acoustics companies selling it for a high price and wonder if any local hardware store solutions exist.

I was considering putting a thick layer of expanding foam on top of the walls to seal the wall to the ceiling joists in a way that was flexible yet airtight. Not sure of the STC rating of expanding foam sealant. Can't be very high, although it could make things airtight.

When you say that the sheet lead solution is a bit OT, do you mean a bit "over the top" as in excessive, or rather that it's a bit off topic? Seems like a reasonable solution to me.

Kurt Penner

 

[John Sayers]

Not sure of the STC rating of expanding foam sealant.

try 0

for OT I meant *over the top*.. Just make sure you have a proper seal.

cheers
john