Control Room Window Material

Z

ZPphreak

New member
I've been reading and thinking about what to make my control window out of.
I'm pretty sure I want it to be double pane instead of triple pane (for cost reasons) I've got lots of great ideas about how to make the frame for the window but I'm more concerned about what kind of glass to use. I will probably use a 4 - 6 inch gap between the panes. with a staggered stud wall.
What thoughts do you guys have on plexiglass and lexan? of course I can only get my hands on 1/4" pieces of that but I know that Glass will be much more expensive.
If lexan and plexiglass are out of the question, (let me know why you think they suck), then what kind of glass is best? I'm looking for something that I can buy locally not having to get it custom made or anything. I can make the wall to fit the glass. I want a big window.. around 4' high by 6 or 8 'wide. so a few sheets of lexan at the local Home Depot would work great. I could break the window into two separate windows close together.. but we'll see.
Thanks for reading.

-Brent
 
I think you'll get too much flex using lexan or plexiglass. IMHO this could cause the sound to reverberate right thru. Not to mention that stuff is very expensive for large, thick sheets. I'm building a studio now and will be using double glass (plate not laminated). The live room side will be 1/2" thick while the control room side is 3/8" thick. I would like them both thicker but that's all I can get in this area. The vocal booth window will be 3' x 3' and the live/control room window will be 3' x 4'. Total cost for the glass here is about $410.

DD
 
damn that window is gonna get expensive.. Ima need alot more money than I thought.
I figured that the plastics would be cheaper... does anyone have a 2nd opinion on this? How much weaker of a sound barrier would the plexi or lexan be as compared to the glass?
and what is the difference between "laminated" and "pane" glass as DD described...?

Thanks for your reply DD, I did read your other thread BTW.- very informative.

This is all about an Idea that I have for a studio..It will be another 2 or 3 years befor it happens...BUT.. I've got it all up in my head.... It's really nice up there.. but I'd rather have it on earth. I'll post floorplans if requested.... I still gotta figure out what I want to do about studio walls (shaping)... This is an idea for an upstairs of a 3 car garrage.. it's yet to be built so the plan is up to me! It will be a home studio not a big time one.. so no 80 + channel boards and 2" tape machines in MY budget.. LOL
 
I made mine out of two patio door type pieces of glass. I can't remember the exact demension off the top of my head but they're around 33"x72" or something very close to that. Each piece is two panes seperated by a 3/8" spacer. These two are mounted in a caseing that I built in a "V". It works pretty damn good. The glass was about $75 a piece for a total of $150 plus about another $50 fofr the wood to build the caseing.
 
Hells yes trackrat! that's what I'm talking about! inventiveness!
I'll just find an old sliding glass door and make it happen!

YEAH..... or maybe not.. we'll see...I gots time to think it over hehe :D

so no ideas on the lexan?

-Brent
 
Unless the Lexan is like 1" thick or something I don't think it would have enough mass to stop sound. Now the individual pieces of glass aren't very thick either but being glass, it's denser that the Lexan and in the configuration I used the sound has to go through four pieces of glass and three dead air spaces, two of them vacuum.
 
excellent point.

If anyone's tried lexan or plexiglass for a window.. feel free to share your embarrassment here :D

-Brent
 
Forget about plexi - it has to much resonance, and apart from that it's impossible to keep it clear.

The best thing to use is laminated glass, and it really should not be all that expensive if ordered direct from a good glass merchant.
If you cannot afford anything over 1/4", make the spacing between your 2 panes as large as you can, and preferably use different angles (like: have it straight on the control room side, and at an angle, meaning a larger distance at the top, on the tracking room side). An angled frame will give you superior insulation, will reduce vibration, and will also make sure you can actually see something :)
 
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