# Room in room - Steel vs Wood studs



## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

Getting ready to begin our room-in-room theater build. Walls/ceiling will be 5/8 x 2 drywall with Green Glue. All interior walls isolated from exterior walls, double communicating door, dead vents, etc, etc. Room in in a basement corner so floor + 2 walls are concrete. Secondary ceiling joists will be run and only rest on the isolated interior walls.

My question is, for the interior walls is there a benefit to steel studs vs wood? I would thing wood has a higher mass and would be better at dampening vibration, but I'm not sure... We were planning on 16"OC studs, but would 24"OC be better?

Thanks.


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Good plan and good question. Once decoupled, the framing material and spacing are not an issue.


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## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

So less expensive material and larger spacing wins..


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Yep. And you use the cheapest fiberglass insulation you can find. What a deal!


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## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

Should I be concerned about dampening/isolating the interior walls from the concrete floor? I wouldn't think there would be much transmission across a .5-1" concrete gap between walls. I was planning on using a foam strip to help create an air seal between the bottom of the wall and the slightly uneven floor (typical concrete, nothing extreme).


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

No concern about isolating floor from bottom plate of the wall. Careful to not have wall studs so close that they might warp into contact with the concrete. Also be careful about a space under the wall plates. Personally, I prefer to have treated lumber in direct contact with the slab, with sealant under in "S" shapes. Then seal the edge where concrete meets bottom plate before drywalling


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## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

Planning on using treated wood for the sill plates either way. Didn't think about the warping/contact issue. What is the recommended gap between walls? 1"?

Thanks!


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Yes, 1". Deeper air cavities also isolate low frequencies better.


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## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

One additional question.. Should I use some type of isolation clip to "join" the interior and exterior walls near the door? I'm concerned that the interior wall might flex/move with a heavy door opening and closing. That wall will in theory only be tied to the concrete floor and the ceiling (via drywall, no bracing.)


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Double stud walls are beefy. The wall won't be moving sufficient to warrant clips


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

How are you connecting the tops of your walls again? That is where I used isolation clips. I tied the top of my 24" oc 2x4 walls into the sill plate about 1/2" below my floor joists.


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## patchesj (Jun 17, 2009)

bbieger said:


> How are you connecting the tops of your walls again? That is where I used isolation clips. I tied the top of my 24" oc 2x4 walls into the sill plate about 1/2" below my floor joists.


That was sort of where I am going with the clip question. The plan is to have the walls connected only to the isolated ceiling joists. True room in room. I am concerned with the tops of the walls having some room to "sway". I can tie 2 of the walls to the concrete foundation walls, would still use clips but this won't cause much transfer. The other 2 walls are more of an issue. The rear wall will have the joists on top of it and should be fairly steady, but my last wall (with the doors) would be completely isolated.


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