Building a wall........

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
OK, I have two lovely daughters.......really they are :rolleyes:

My eldest has started Jr. High School, and the younger one is in grade 5. Their study habits now conflict, as the older kid has way more homework than the younger, and the younger one complains about the light being on etc.

Fair enough.

When we had the building built, I designed the kids room to eventually be two separate rooms. Two doors, two windows, two lights, two light switches, two closets, even two aircons. There is a small stub wall at the middle of the room on the outside wall, only about 1 foot of it. Under the floor and in the ceiling, as well as the opposite wall, there are studs that I can anchor everything to, so now I need to build a wall.

The kids room was also designed with sound deadening stuff in the walls, so they could have a quiet place to study/sleep etc, and at some point they can blast their music and not bother the rest of the house, too much (the doors on the bedroom(s) are not interior doors, but exterior doors, so they are dense and stop sound too).

Now, the design of the wall. It will be made from either 2x4s or 2x6s.

I'm thinking of a 2x6 sill and plate, and then staggered 2x4, and then run some of the sound deadening stuff between everything...?

The wall will also be where their beds will be, loft style, with storage, or their desks under the beds.

I could also just go with the 2x6 wall, but I'm thinking the staggered studs will be a LOT quieter........?

Thoughts?

Cheers!
 
2X6 with insulation is going to give you a lot of quiet for kids and music. if I were trying to keep out power toyls or freeway noise I'd go with the staggered approach. It's all time and money.
PS good planning for future development. well done.
 
2X6 with insulation is going to give you a lot of quiet for kids and music. if I were trying to keep out power toyls or freeway noise I'd go with the staggered approach. It's all time and money.
PS good planning for future development. well done.

Thanks Tyler, the kids were just little when the new digs got built, but we knew they would grow up :rolleyes:

The kids room is away from the main road, the walls are about 6" thick poured concrete with tons of rebar (Japan you know) with the spray on foam insulation, floors, ceiling and walls. The windows are double glazed (had to raise a fuss to get those, they just "Don't" do it in Tokyo :rolleyes: , so with the windows closed the rooms are quiet, but I want to make sure there is little noise transfer from one daughters bedroom to the other's.

Tod, I'm off to do some reading! :thumb:

Cheers!
 
OK, so I had a look at that info Tod, thanks.

The way to go, seams to be the staggered studs, with a double layer of drywall and some insulation. The other thing I picked up is that there should really be no electrical outlets in the wall, which is OK, as I'll be putting a loft in that and I can run the electrical in the loft bed, surface kind of (on in the bed, but in the structure of it).

Great info guys!

Cheers!
 
The way to go, seams to be the staggered studs, with a double layer of drywall and some insulation. The other thing I picked up is that there should really be no electrical outlets in the wall, which is OK,

Heck, it's just one wall, and you're building it yourself. Even without reading those links of Tod's, I'd say "why NOT build the staggered studs"? I doubt it'd be that much more effort.

But maybe I should go read some of those links also. Never would have thought about not having electrical outlets. Hmm.
 
Stuart, our MBR shares a wall with the den. When we built, I had 2x6 plates put down and then staggered x24 studs. Alternate studs were aligned on one edge and the others on the other edge of the plates. I then and Icynene foam insulation sprayed between the studs. It is quiet! The secret is to not allow one wall to be in contact with the other via common studs. Insulation then completes the isolation.
 
Think twice, or thrice before continuing!!

OK, I have two lovely daughters.......really they are :rolleyes:

My eldest has started Jr. High School, and the younger one is in grade 5. Their study habits now conflict, as the older kid has way more homework than the younger, and the younger one complains about the light being on etc.

Fair enough.

When we had the building built, I designed the kids room to eventually be two separate rooms. Two doors, two windows, two lights, two light switches, two closets, even two aircons. There is a small stub wall at the middle of the room on the outside wall, only about 1 foot of it. Under the floor and in the ceiling, as well as the opposite wall, there are studs that I can anchor everything to, so now I need to build a wall.

...

Thoughts?

Cheers!

Stu,

I told my wife about this and she suggested that your girls think twice about this. They've got a nice big room right now, and lots of options for arranging furniture, desks, having big slumber parties, and so on. Once you build that wall, they will be forever stuck with a small room (each). And as for the music ... that is what headphones are for.

She speaks from knowledge, as she is two years older than her sister -- just like your girls -- and she always shared a bedroom with her sister. Right up til college, and then our marriage. They had a nice roomy bedroom to share. Someone to talk to, share secrets with. And a nice large floor, so that if one of them had friends over they could spread out the sleeping bags on the floor (and the other could either stay, or go sleep on the sofa or some such. (And while my wife is an angel, never ever raises her voice or lose her temper ;) her sister definitely had her "fiery" episodes. They just made it work out.)

As for the light issue... something as simple as a small focused desk light can solve that, or something more complex like a loft bed with a desk area 'hidden away' underneath it to keep the light contained.

best wishes,
...art
 
I'm with Art when he suggests not dividing the room. Growing up, I almost always shared a room and, for the most part, it was a good experience. But, if you are going to divide it, definately go with staggered studs.
 
Thanks for the suggestion Art, well Art's wife!

I will bring it up again with them, but they are both wanting their own room :dunno:

We shall see.

Cheers!
 
Heck those paper shoji would not stop the sound from a fan on low running..... nor do they stop light.

They want a wall, we have gone round and round, even my lovely wife wants them to have a wall, so they can stop fighting all the time.

I really think it is the younger one right now, she is just in a POed phase, but she is only 11, I thought that was all supposed to happen around 15 :huh:

Oh well, I'm dragging my feet :rolleyes: :D
 
Back when I was in college, I designed the new radio station when it was moved. (Yes they had radio back then :D , but there were a lot of vacuum tubes involved).

We used 2x3 studs on 12 inch centers, alternating alignment between the sides of the 2x4 plates. We did not avoid outlets, but had insulation packed in the wall around them. The biggest advantage seemed to be the isolation of the two sides of the wall. It may not have been lab quiet but we could be doing something loud in one studio, with no perceptible noise in the other studio.
 
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