I am in the planning stages of my dedicated HT.

I am so confused about how to go about constructing my room walls.

1. Staggered Studding? How do I do it and why?

2. Green Glue? Where do I get it? Where do I use it? And why?

3. Double up Drywall? Where do I apply this method? And why?

4. RSIC Clips? Where do I get them? What are they? Where do I use them? And why?

Thank you very much.

At last, someone asks the question(s) that I have been wondering about that I didn't have the cojones to ask....lol.


Cheers,

Dave

Sounds like someone wants to do some soundproofing. The different things you mentioned are ways to "soundproof" your theater. In other words, minimize the sound that gets out of your room and minimize outside sounds from getting in and ruining your movie experience (think washer and dryer or dishwasher or furnace or traffic, etc)

The things you mentioned are a start to soundproofing your theater along with a solid core door with seal and properly planned HVAC systems.

If you search you will find a TON of info on each of your questions....but I'll hit the basics.

All of the things you mentioned try to keep vibrations from moving between rooms.

Staggered stud walls, again, minimize the paths that sound will have to travel through walls. Look here for info on staggered stud walls (http://www.greengluecompany.com/insulationCommonWall.php)

Green glue is used between layers of drywall. There is a large thread here on it.... Green glue thread (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=456614&highlight=green+glue)

More mass on the walls helps...which is why two layers of drywall is suggested when building a theater Buy green glue here and see data on different wall building techniques including staggered studs and double drywall (http://www.greengluecompany.com/) and here is the link directly to the tests lab tests from green glue (http://www.greengluecompany.com/transmissionLossTests.php)

RSIC clips allow you to connect your walls and ceiling to other parts of the house while minimizing the connection (which minimizes the sound/vibration that can travel to other parts of the house). Here is a link to the Pac international site...RSIC CLIPS (http://www.pac-intl.com/)

I'll go try to find you some links now.

EDIT: Links are up. I did this very quickly. I suggest you read, read, read the forum as there is a TON of info here and in the links I posted. Good luck

Most of this is covered at the green glue web site so...

1: http://www.greengluecompany.com/wallTypes.php

2: http://www.greengluecompany.com/studiosAndHomeTheaters.php

3: look over the green glue web site, it is part of the process

4: http://www.greengluecompany.com/understandingHowDecouplingWorks.php

thanks guys...

Also, so you know your words are not for nothing... I have and will continue to read as much as I can on this site. I just needed someone to help me filter and narrow down to where I should focus my reading.

Thanks again.

No worries, Phil. It's a lot to take in. It took me a good year of reading, thinking and planning before I felt ready to pick up a hammer.

and read all 98+ pages of the Acoustical Sticky Thread..... every you want to know is there or is referenced from there.

Thanks Cathan...

I got the idea on how to build the walls. Staggered studs, double drywall, green glue.

Now I am trying to understand the fabric on the walls... GOM, OC, Linacoustic, etc... Furring strips?

It is a lot to take in. So many choices...

Thanks guys....

-Phil

Hey Phil...I've been reading this forum for over a year now and my head still spins. I started my basement finishing project (about 1450 sq ft) almost a year ago and am as far as having just a few sheets of OSB left to lay down for my subfloor. Dry-Lok'ed everything then did 2x4 treated 16" on center with 1" rigid poly sheets between. Now it's theater time and I am trying to figure out Green Glue, RSIC-1 Clips, staggered studs, acousic caulk/foam, solid doors, sand in a stage to isolate sub woofers, conduit, double hung drywall (why not triple?) etc. Then it's on to cable, AV equiptment, screen size, carpet, paint......arghhhh. I almost want to leave the whole area open just to avoid making a mistake ( The "What not to do on your install" thread is great). I look forward to doing the work myself, just wish there were step-by-step instructions on what to do.

Good luck, and thanks for asking a great question.

Hey Phil...I've been reading this forum for over a year now and my head still spins. I started my basement finishing project (about 1450 sq ft) almost a year ago and am as far as having just a few sheets of OSB left to lay down for my subfloor. Dry-Lok'ed everything then did 2x4 treated 16" on center with 1" rigid poly sheets between. Now it's theater time and I am trying to figure out Green Glue, RSIC-1 Clips, staggered studs, acousic caulk/foam, solid doors, sand in a stage to isolate sub woofers, conduit, double hung drywall (why not triple?) etc. Then it's on to cable, AV equiptment, screen size, carpet, paint......arghhhh. I almost want to leave the whole area open just to avoid making a mistake ( The "What not to do on your install" thread is great). I look forward to doing the work myself, just wish there were step-by-step instructions on what to do.

Good luck, and thanks for asking a great question.

hahh...step by step instructions would be fantastic, but difficult to do since everyone's buget varies (and rooms vary too)

You have to decide just how far you want to take soundproofing. You can go simple....to extreme pretty easily.

Why not post up your room dimensions (a floor plan would be helpful) along with what you currently think you will be doing. I'm sure that will prompt a lot of responses.

To keep from getting overwhelmed, break your build down to phases:

1) Framing (you'll have to decide on Staggered/room within a room/RSIC clips/Hat channel) here

2) Electrical (you can worry about your wiring/conduit here)

3) Drywall (You can decide on green glue/double vs single, etc here)

4) Stage/Risers

5) Acoustics (OC/GOM/Batting/Linacoustic)

6) Finish (doors/carpet/colors)

I've oversimplified it, but this is how I'm planning my build. Trying to keep from getting overwhelmed. There is a ton of info on this forum and its easy to get overwhelmed. Don't let it get you down...

You can find all the info you need on this forum. I suggest buying the Home Theater book.... it condenses alot of the info into an easily readable format. Once you have the basics down, you can search the forum for more detail or for other ways to do a particular task.

Best of Luck.

Sea Jazz - thanks for the reply. I too plan on doing a lot of the work myself to save $$$$. As it is, I am at 40k+ by doing the build-out myself.

Sea Jazz - I also see you are a fellow PA'er. Very nice. I hope to organize a meet when I finish my theater. I don't settle on the house until May 30th, then don't move in until June sometime. So I hope to start construction as soon as my funds permit. Maybe August/September timeframe.

Sleeks.... you hit the nail on the head. But thanks for breaking it out. I too have been working towards doing the same thing. Breaking it down into different categories to help organize it all.

PhilT3: Yeah man, KoP is maybe 30 minutes away. If you don't settle til May, how are you 40k into the project? Including tools, I'm at about 6k not including the 9' foundation. Had all the poly, OSB and framing materials delivered last March. They've cured really well. Also had the HVAC guys rough in the basement so I now have 3 independant programmable zones in the house.

We built a new home and settled at the end of Oct '06. I wanted Cat-6 through the whole house and also some AV and speaker cables in the family room. When I asked the electrician if he could do the runs he asked what Cat-6 was. Should have stopped right there. I explained how to run Cat-6 and where I wanted the cables and wires. Suffice it to say I had to call another company to do the Cat-6 after pointing out the staples in the cable and the cozy cuddle-up to the electrical runs. DOH! As for the AV stuff, they left about 2" to poke through the Drywall, no boxes. I played "Insulation Fairy" and came in after everyone left the jobsite. Hung insulation in all the partition walls throughout the house:) for a little extra soundproofing.


Why not post up your room dimensions (a floor plan would be helpful) along with what you currently think you will be doing. I'm sure that will prompt a lot of responses.

To keep from getting overwhelmed, break your build down to phases:

Don't let it get you down...

Great advice, sleeks. I'll post plans and ideas in a new thread...what format do I post those in? I'm using Home Designer Suite 7.0.

budk: Which Home Theater book?

Great advice, sleeks. I'll post plans and ideas in a new thread...what format do I post those in? I'm using Home Designer Suite 7.0.


See if your software will let you save the floor plan/design as a jpeg. Then upload the picture to photobucket (or something similar) and then you can show the image here.