# What to Do for Ceiling?



## Guest (Jul 6, 2007)

I am just getting my framing done on a basement home theater room that will be 24 x 13. Most of the side walls are cement and so I will frame them out and plan to put R13 in them. Two questions for the experts:

1. What do I do for the ceiling without killing the budget? (the HT is right below the kitchen.....) Two layers of drywall with green glue and some sort of sound batting in the joists? DO I replace one drywall layer with sound board? The RSIC clips and furring channel solution looks beyond my comprehension and talent. 

2. DO I need any extra sound stuff in the side wall studs (other than R13) -- don't want to miss something as I close up the walls


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## Otto (May 18, 2006)

I'm in a similar situation. Making a place to _play_ music -- guitars, drums, stuff like that. I'm going with your option #1 -- double drywall and Green Glue. The RSIC stuff I think I could have done, but complexity and budget ruled it out. I also didn't want to lose any more headroom.

I'm not done yet. I'm working right now on finishing insulation. So, that means I don't have any results...

I think I'll get reasonable performance out of it. RSIC clips would have made it better, but there's a limit to how much one can do.

I think you are doing the insulation right. I used R13 in the walls and two layers of it in the celiing joists. 

Good luck!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

In order of effectiveness:

RSIC-1 with double drywall and Green Glue is the optimal solution (insulation in the cavities is a given for any and all solutions)

After that, RSIC-1 and double drywall with standard adhesives. Yes you lose headroom but installation really isn't that hard. If you can drive a screw, snap a chalk line, and squeeze the metal channel together you're good to go.

Next would come the 'poor mans' RSIC solution - use 1x3 wood firring strips pependicular to the floor joists and screw the double drywall with Green Glue to that. Costs less, uses less headroom, easy to install and still minimizes drywall to joist contact area.

Lastly would be standard double drywall with Green Glue. This is still a good solution - it just doesn't provide the contact area reduction. However, it's WAY better than double drywall with Liquid Nails.

Bryan


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## Jack N (Oct 7, 2006)

I see I still have a lot to learn about the construction of a room with good acoustics. Where can I learn about RSIC-1, and what is Green Glue ?


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## Otto (May 18, 2006)

Hi Dain Bramaged,



Dain Bramaged said:


> I see I still have a lot to learn about the construction of a room with good acoustics.


Well, there are two sides to it. All this talk of RSIC and Green Glue is to address _soundproofing_. That is, with these solutions, we're trying to keep the noise in the HT room, and we're trying to keep other noises from coming _into_ the HT room. 

Acoustics inside that HT room is a different thing. For example, my room is currently drywalled and pretty much wide open, with concrete walls and concrete floor. Just talking down there generates an ugly echo. Those are the "acoustics" of the room as it stands right now. Carpet will help once I get it in, couches, anything big and soft, that can absorb some of the reflections. That said, I believe I'll still have to use room treatments on the wall, and perhaps the ceiling, as I just have too many hard surfaces that will create sound reflections. Like I said, it's bad enough when you're just talking with one other person; it would be disastrous with live drums and electric guitars (or a full-blown HT setup!).



> Where can I learn about RSIC-1, and what is Green Glue ?


Here's a link to info on RSIC-1 stuff.

Green Glue is a substance that comes in large caulking tubes. You apply it between two layers of drywall -- you end up with something like an Oreo cookie. It creates a constrained damping layer that works to isolate the two pieces of drywall, and also works to turn some of the audio energy into heat. Here's a link to their official website.


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## Jack N (Oct 7, 2006)

Thanks for the links. Interesting stuff to be sure, and it has application for my upcoming dedicated HT. The mechanical room will be right next door to the HT, and I was concerned about how to control sound transferance. Sounds like this will do the trick. Thanks.


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## Otto (May 18, 2006)

Dain Bramaged said:


> Thanks for the links. Interesting stuff to be sure, and it has application for my upcoming dedicated HT. The mechanical room will be right next door to the HT, and I was concerned about how to control sound transferance. Sounds like this will do the trick. Thanks.


Interesting about the mechanical room being adjacent. That's one thing where I have noticed a huge difference. We're still not quite done (still need trim, no doorknob so there's still a big hole in the door, other stuff to block sound still needed). However, a staggered wall, double drywall & GG on one side, single drywall on the other and a solid core door made a huge difference. You can hear that the AC is running if you're paying attention, but it's much diminished from what it was.


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