Insulation between drwall and concrete wall?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jody
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Jody

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Hi Everyone,
I posted a question yesterday but I don't believe anyone really understood what I was asking. Allow me to try this again. My basement is underground. I have solid poured concrete walls.

I want to frame these walls with 2x4's and drywall. My question is do I need to have some type of insulation in between the two? I am afraid without it it will have resonating effect. I will be gluing the vertical studs to the concrete and nailing at top and bottom to reduce vibration. Just concerned about the airspace in between.

This room will be used as a listening room for mixing so I will apply acoustic treatments later. There won't be much bass (loudness) at all as you would have with recording drums. I'm just doing vocals and acoustic guitar.

I want to start this next week. And need someone opinion soon!
Thanks.
 
No. Insulating between the studs will be enough. Any resonance would be the drywall acting like a drum head and that insulation will take care of that.


lou
 
Thanks Lou. I did mean between the studs. Not the actual studs and drywall. Just concerned about the cavity of the concrete and drywall. The reason why I'm asking is because it doesn't need to be insulated for climate control. That's fine. It's the resonating effect I'm concerned about.
 
I've often wondered if a thinner drywall - say 3/8" - would actually act as a bit of treatment/absorbption by resonating some energy away. The insulation in back should help to disperse more energy but the drumhead effect should tone it down substantially. The thicker grades would be more likely to reflect the energy back into the room to cause issues there. I deliberately went 3/8 on my window plugs for this reason. No idea if it will help or not but it seems like a "sound" idea.


lou
 
Jody said:
do I need to have some type of insulation in between the two?
Click to expand...

Thanks for moving this to the public forum. Lou already gave you the right answer, and you were already perceptive enough to assume that walls can vibrate and resonate. So kudos to both of you. :D

--Ethan
 
You still have to look into your building codes re insulation and vapour barrier.
Aside from your audio concerns, for all it costs to insulate and looking at all of the benefits, you'd be wise to do so.
 
Here's something I'm kicking around for my own place that could apply to your situation. Hopefully some of the resident pros can chime in and maybe it'll help you out. I figured I could frame up a stud wall in front of my existing concrete basement walls (not out of the ordinary to finish a basement)- like 2x4 studs @ 24"o.c. with the baseplate maybe just 1/2" in front of the concrete wall. Then, stuff all the stud cavities with rockwool floor to ceiling. Then, instead of drywalling the entire wall, I could alternate- like do 4' or 6' of drywall floor to ceiling, then leave the next piece off, then install the next piece. Then, where I left the drywall off, I could build a simple frame, upohlster it, then screw it up to cover where the drywall is missing- then I'd have a full height 4ft. wide absorber built into the stud cavity (instead of an absorber applied to the face of the new wall). And if I decide to move out, I can just put up the omitted pieces of drywall and finish off the new joints. I'm not ready to finish out my basement yet, but since you are, I figured I'd throw that idea out there...

Anyone can feel free to chime in on that. I don't think I've seen that done yet and maybe there's a reason for that, but it seems like it would be an pretty good way to get a lot of absorption and get some double duty out of your materials. Otherwise, you'd build out the wall, then get more rockwool to build acoustic treatments to go on top of that.
 
Jeff - I was alluding to the same thing on a different thread. Seems like it ought to work. Soffitted absorption.


lou
 
Thank you everyone. I'll admit I don't know too much about the acoustic side of this. But this one is common sense.
I start next week. Pics will follow.


Lou, Starting to think about what you said about the 3/8" drywall. Anyone else have an opinion?
And, the built panels is a nice idea. But I'm in a town home and won't be here for more than a couple of years.
 
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Yeah; I'm a bit more into "Home" when I plan renovations so I'd be more into renovating with an eye to accommodating the studio as opposed to building a proper studio the way I'd want it. That way, if I die tomorrow the house is easier to sell or if visitors show up, they still have a room.
Twenty four inch centres.
Aren't you just asking for vibrations, there?
 
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