Feb 4, 2013

framing tip: staggering studs for soundproofing

i meant to share this post earlier, but i have been crazy busy trying to select everything for the house. (more on that this week and next)

one little framing trick that we have used in the past, that helps to control noise in areas where sound transfers can be a problem is to stagger the studs. 
staggered stud walls are an effective way to prevent sound from traveling from room to room. in a regular stud wall, sound waves hit one side of the drywall, travel through the stud and into the drywall on the other side. since the stud connects the two sheets of drywall, the sound has a path to travel through. the trick is to separate both sides of the wall. that way, the sound won't be able to travel through the wall as easily.
we opted to stagger the studs in between the master bedroom and the entry:

as you can see, the master bedroom backs up to the entry and great room. we wanted to make sure that the bedroom will remain a quiet sanctuary, even if people are talking or watching tv in the great room.
(*edited:)
there are twice as many studs in the wall now, so all codes are met, and insulation was also added to this wall to maximize the soundproofing.

this is an especially effective way to reduce noise between a home theater and the rest of the house, as well bedrooms that back up to living spaces, or a home office.


10 comments:

  1. Somehow I haven't noticed that your master was right off the entry. We have the same set up in our house, which is always so surprising to people. Instead of the great room, the kitchen is on the other side. Interesting to see someone else chooe this layout!

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  2. Interesting. I have never seen anyone stagger stud this way. Does this pass Sheetrock and framing inspection. When you hang the Sheetrock it can't be screwed onto every stud? That's fascinating!

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    1. well. there are twice as many studs in the wall, so the codes are met.

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    2. That is so clever. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. So do you end up with twice as many studs in the wall - half for each side? Will you also put insulation in the wall to help minimize the sound transfer? Looks like a really neat technique!

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    1. yes! exactly. there are twice as many studs, and we also DID opt to put insulation in this wall, which will further aid in the sound proofing!

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  5. I'm curious, what type of soundproofing insulation did you use in between staggered studs? All the insulation I've seen comes in widths intended to fit in standard spaced studs. Did you have to cut down the insulation to size each time?

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  6. staggered stud walls are an effective way to prevent sound from traveling from room to room. in a regular stud wall aftermarket rims

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  7. Added insulation was a good way to add to the coziness, as well as the soundproofing of the room. And since the master bedroom sees most of the action in terms of AC and entertainment features (at least in my case), the added insulation can help keep down the utilities. And you can bump up the volume without disturbing anyone!

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