Where does the vapor barrier go on an exterior framed wall assembly? When you frame wall assemblies in a basement, and this assumes the basement is more underground than not, you install a vapor barrier on the interior side of the framed wall assembly. Not that it (the vapor barrier) would go anywhere else in a […]
Sound Transmission Loss of Masonry Walls “The most common alteration made to the walls in these tests is the addition of layers of finishing materials, most frequently gypsum wallboard (sheetrock). One might imagine that the addition of extra layers of material to a wall could only improve its performance; this is not necessarily true.” ir586 […]
Floating floor over concrete “I am going to build a wooden frame and put insulation in it and plywood on top for my home studio recording room. Everyone is doing it…Isn’t this a real floating floor?” I have seen this attempt to make a floating floor before. And some have wrestled sand into the frame […]
Basement moisture control starts when designing. One of the main reasons a basement gets or stays wet is due to the walls being below ground level and subject to the moisture that the Earth contains, that’s one reason. Another is the fact that the Earth is cooler and if the temperature/dew point is elevated above […]
Sound Isolation Assembly Calculation of STC, MTC, OITC and Rw explained “Note: This document is an extension/adaptation of a document explaining STC and OITC It is expanded (+ additional adjustments and more in-depth comments) with the MTC and RW single number rating.” Acoustic Shaping “In the preceding sections we showed that significant forces could be […]
Install RC (resilient channel NOT hat track) proper The only reason this video made the cut is because it shows Resilient Channel installed properly. This is one of the main reasons for this product [resilient channel] failing, improper installation. Further discussion about walls and how the materials interact with one another, the potential for what […]
Flanking in your walls The consequences of architectural design. What a concept! Designing for confidential privacy is the same thing as designing so your neighbor isn’t experiencing your music! Knowing where you are in speech levels gives you an idea of what you are going to have to do to get your frequency levels down […]
Doors openings and window framing Often a place of question in a home theater or recording studio is the doorways and window framed areas. It proves to be simple but requires some information from the builder to do it right the first time. This video gives a quick and easy demonstration that covers everything you […]
Construct a straight wall Building a straight wall is critical Maybe you have never even considered this. All the different species of lumber is grown and milled so quickly in this Century that the tendency to bow, twist and warp is high. Fact is, depending on the quality of the lumber from “kind of warped” to the “super […]
Soundproofing a home recording studio Soundproofing on “Holmes on Homes” This is a good example of what is called “isolation” and how to do it. Isolation is often confused with acoustical treatments. This has always been incorrect. The sponsor is Quietrock(r) so thier product is used in this video. For your home theater or studio, […]