SOUND ON SOUND

[blinddrew]

Only a tonne and a half? What were you doing with the rest of your time?
;)

[Eddy Deegan]

Gasping for breath and melting icecubes on my face, mainly ;)

[Folderol]

A suggestion.
Unless you are using those despicable (should be illegal) push-in plastic back boxes...
When placing the boards, mark the approximate centre of the the back boxes. Once the boards are secure, use a pad saw from that centre mark (which won't be quite correct of course) to saw up and down till you feel it hit the edges of the box - being careful to avoid bunched up wires.

You now know the exact height so this time saw sideways slightly above or below the actual centre so you don't hit the mounting tags. Now you have the full dimensions, you can score with a stanley knife, and just push in the waste bit and trim off, knowing you have a perfect fit :)

[Eddy Deegan]

Thanks Will - that makes total sense :thumbup:

[Eddy Deegan]

Time for the first update of 2021 I reckon.

I didn't go too mad over the seasonal and new year break as I needed to decompress a bit from a rather tough year but I've continued to progress things and over the last few days especially.

Firstly, the thickness of the rafters of the skeiling was expanded by an additional 45mm through the application of 2-by-2 battening (which I attached with 100mm screws to make jolly sure it would take the weight of the acoustic plasterboard later). This allowed for installation of the 100mm RW3 while maintaining the requisite 50mm airgap between the rockwool and the roof as per building regs.

I'm only thicking the rafters down to the stud wall that separates the acoustic area from the storage under the eaves. In that storage area I'm installing 50mm Celotex so no modification to the rafters is required.

I also beefed up the framing over the stairs, did a bunch of non-acoustic plasterboarding downstairs and installed a doorframe (and door) in the bedroom below from which we stole space for the stairs themselves.

Mrs. D. then pitched in and insulated the skeiling and the studwork over the stairwell. You can see the additional depth of the skeiling around the velux windows in this photo of the skeiling:



I've also been cleaning up the stairwell cut-through from the 1st floor in preperation for plasterboarding (standard, not acoustic) the stairwell. You can see my partial progress on the plasterboard of the wall behind me. The other side of that wall is completed.



The installation of the alumaflex (14 layers of foil, foam, and the sort of stuffing you get in teddy bears) is progressing also:







Finally, after the inevitable delay over the holidays further materials have arrived in the form of the resilient bars (180m of them!) and genie clips ...





... and I've also got a suitable board hoist in readiness for the acoustic plasterboard.

I went for the 'official' Pliteq furring channels that go with the genie clips as they are rated for the weight of the acoustic plasterboard. The genie clips will be used on the party wall only; the rest of the acoustic space will be standard resilient bars.

I've been back in touch with the electrician who is going to run the cables for the sockets through the secondary stud wall on the party end, and the short wall under the skeiling before I get to the plasterboarding. He's also completely aware (and equally importantly, on board) with the requirement that the sockets will need to move with the wall and for there to be absolutely no rigid connection to the studs.

There is 400Kg of laminate flooring stashed in the living room which I picked up in the January sales at a certain large DIY chain but that's for future reference.

More to come ... :)

[Luke W]

:thumbup:

Great work Eddy, that's a good amount of progress for not going too mad! Looking really good, it must be reassuring to have an understanding electrician on board as well.

[Folderol]

Looking very good.
What have you done regarding ventilation?

[Martin Walker]

I am in awe of your expertise and dedication Eddy! :shocked:


Martin

[Eddy Deegan]

Thanks for the encouragement chaps - I've been doing a lot of research and the whole exercise is a learning experience that's for sure!

With regards to ventilation, I've not specifically addressed it in any meaningful way and I probably won't. There are ventilation strips across the top of the velux windows, which I'll almost certainly be leaving open permanently though.

It's a large room and I prefer a cool temperature so would normally expect to have a window open a bit anyway unless there is unwanted noise outside or on the rare occasion I want to crank things up a bit, so with 6 opening surfaces plus the aforementioned ventilation strips I'm not too fussed.